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What Is The Best City In Canada To Live In?
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What is the best city in Canada to live in?
Vancouver
38%
 38%  [ 7 ]
Calgary
11%
 11%  [ 2 ]
Toronto
16%
 16%  [ 3 ]
Montreal
33%
 33%  [ 6 ]
Total Votes : 18

Author Message
Dev



Joined: 18 Apr 2006

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 7:53 pm    Post subject: What Is The Best City In Canada To Live In? Reply with quote

So fellow Canadians, you're finishing up your contract and getting outta Korea. I'd like to know what you think are the main strong points / weak points when selecting a city to live in. How do the major cities size up?
Here's my opinion,

Vancouver - Pros- Great natural views, Very clean, Friendly people, Whistler is nearby, close to Korea (if you want to visit).
Cons - Highest cost of living in Canada, Slim pickings for jobs, Heroin Addicts ruining the scene in the Hastings area.


Calgary - Pros- Rapidly growing economy with lots of jobs, close to Lake Louise and Banff, no provincial sales tax, and cheap booze.
Cons - Real estate costs soaring, nightlife is not all that great unless heavy boozing is your thing.

Toronto - Pros- Lots of jobs, Entertainment choices galore (almost all international bands do a date in Toronto), Toronto International Film Festival.
Cons - Too much ugly grey concrete, smog air warnings in summer, high cost of living, Most expensive transit system in Canada (Monthly pass is $98.75), Rudest public transit workers in Canada.

Montreal - Pros - Looks like Europe, Great restaurants, Lots of good clubs and summer festivals, relatively low cost of living, Can buy beer and wine in convenience stores.
Cons - Need to speak French well to get a good job, Not enough great jobs, Quebec has some of the highest taxes in the country.


Please add to these lists.
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mindmetoo



Joined: 02 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:18 pm    Post subject: Re: What Is The Best City In Canada To Live In? Reply with quote

Quote:
Vancouver - Pros- Great natural views, Very clean, Friendly people, Whistler is nearby, close to Korea (if you want to visit).
Cons - Highest cost of living in Canada, Slim pickings for jobs, Heroin Addicts ruining the scene in the Hastings area.


High crime because of the addicts too. What's not bolted down or watched 24/7 will disappear. Jobs wise the economy seems to have rebounded. BC has one of the lowest employment rates.

Quote:
Calgary - Pros- Rapidly growing economy with lots of jobs, close to Lake Louise and Banff, no provincial sales tax, and cheap booze.
Cons - Real estate costs soaring, nightlife is not all that great unless heavy boozing is your thing.


Canadians coddled in other parts of Canada might not be able to deal with the pro-American and American-like approach to government, business, and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. *shoots pistols like Yosemite Sam* Could take some getting used to. Oil boom may last or may not. Brace yourself.


Quote:
Montreal - Pros - Looks like Europe, Great restaurants, Lots of good clubs and summer festivals, relatively low cost of living, Can buy beer and wine in convenience stores.
Cons - Need to speak French well to get a good job, Not enough great jobs, Quebec has some of the highest taxes in the country.


Taxes AND high gas costs. How are the rents in Montreal these days? They used to be the greatest deal in Canada. Low rents, beautiful old apartments with fire places and hardwood, and steps from "everything". The down side is winter. Do you like walking up a mountain on a sheet of ice? Montreal drivers. Oi.

What about Edmonton? Calgary with a human face? Bitter cold winters for sure, mild enough summers. And the sun doesn't go down until midnight in Edmonton. Don't forget the mall! Ho dad!

What about Halifax? No jobs, surely. Lobster seems as price in Halifax as Toronto. But you can dip your toes in the Atlantic.

All 'n' all I think you pretty much nailed each city's pros 'n' cons.
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Captain Corea



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, I think you did well with the list.

For me, it'd be western Canada... but that's where my contacts are.
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RACETRAITOR



Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:51 pm    Post subject: Re: What Is The Best City In Canada To Live In? Reply with quote

Quote:

What about Edmonton? Calgary with a human face? Bitter cold winters for sure, mild enough summers. And the sun doesn't go down until midnight in Edmonton. Don't forget the mall! Ho dad!

What about Halifax? No jobs, surely. Lobster seems as price in Halifax as Toronto. But you can dip your toes in the Atlantic.

All 'n' all I think you pretty much nailed each city's pros 'n' cons.


I'm with mm2. This list could've had more options. Edmonton is Calgary with a better nightlife and more festivals and arts.

Halifax seems like it would be interesting to live in also.
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captain kirk



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saskatoon. And if you don't like that you can drive four hours as the buffalo roams across vast, endless, bowling lawns minus the bowling for four hours south to Regina.

If you don't like these two cities there's Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Prince Albert and other, smaller burgs for a change of pace. The great advantage of living in Saskatchewan is that the province is a nice, neat rectangular shape (if you are compelled to live in a neatly defined, geometrically satisfying province shape).
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kermo



Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

captain kirk wrote:
The great advantage of living in Saskatchewan is that the province is a nice, neat rectangular shape (if you are compelled to live in a neatly defined, geometrically satisfying province shape).


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canuckistan
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Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Montreal: better wine selection

.....but the 1-ft deep icy slush puddles in January suck
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jessiaka



Joined: 07 Jan 2006

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*cough*KELOWNA*cough*

druggies are situated in one small (literally one street) area downtown that you can avoid, cheaper than Vancouver but only 3-4 hours away, although due to the lakes and wonderful summer weather and ski hills in winter it is quite a tourist town (I don't know if you care about that but I thought I'd mention it).
I've lived in Vancouver, Richmond, Winfield (ew), Kelowna, and Vernon and I must say that the Okanagan (specifically Kelowna) is where it's at. Very Happy
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Yesanman



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Location: Chungnam

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't know which is the best but I will agree with the previous poster and vote for the Okanagon Valley. I'm moving to Kamloops in two months.
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laogaiguk



Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is Toronto still a part of Canada Wink

I always liked Halifax, but there are tons of great cities and it really depends on the person.
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vox



Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Location: Jeollabukdo

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Screw this poll, the best city - as in by far the most beautiful and rewarding city to live in - is Halifax, Nova Scotia. Assuming of course you could get a good job there. That's the only catch. But from May 1 to September 1 there is at least one major festival going on there every day.
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mindmetoo



Joined: 02 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

vox wrote:
Screw this poll, the best city - as in by far the most beautiful and rewarding city to live in - is Halifax, Nova Scotia. Assuming of course you could get a good job there. That's the only catch. But from May 1 to September 1 there is at least one major festival going on there every day.


That's the problem with a few cities in Canada. Good traffic, good rental/home prices... but unless you want to work in a factory or a mine, well, you're gonna have to keep moving.
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Captain Corea



Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesanman wrote:
Don't know which is the best but I will agree with the previous poster and vote for the Okanagon Valley. I'm moving to Kamloops in two months.


I'm a big fan of the area but am worried about realestate prices. Is it chaper than Calgary/Van/TO?
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VanIslander



Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Captain Corea wrote:
Yesanman wrote:
Don't know which is the best but I will agree with the previous poster and vote for the Okanagon Valley. I'm moving to Kamloops in two months.

I'm a big fan of the area but am worried about realestate prices. Is it chaper than Calgary/Van/TO?

Let's get a couple of things clear.

Kamloops is NOT in the Okanagan Valley, the city is 50 km west of the northern end of the Okanagan (the two valleys meet at the Shuswap lakes, THE best place IMO). Kamloops is in the middle of a semi-arid desert area, with rattlesnakes IN town, along with tumbleweed and yes black widows under the porch of several homes!! I know because I lived there from age 10 to 20, my dad still lives retired there and I visit as infrequently as possible.

Kamloops is better than Kelowna in a few areas: Kamloops less traffic congestion problems because of more spread out roads and highways and bridges; Kamloops has a nice river (two joining into a third actually) for swimming and beach lounging right in the city, compared to Lake Okanagan's overcrowded measly small downtown park and the need in Kelowna to drive out of town to get to decent beaches; TONS of great fishing and swimming lakes surrounding Kamloops; Sunpeaks ski resort north of Kamloops has outdeveloped Big White with longer more challenging slopes; Kamloops has hotter summers, if you like that sorta thing, second only to Lytton west of Kamloops (reached 40 C in Kamloops last month, I recall a 45 C day from my teenage years, but bone dry, no humidity, that IS a big difference, you don't sweat, you choke and burn; it's regularly 2 or 3 degrees warmer in Kamloops than Kelowna, a difference felt more in early spring and late fall); great summer festivals and concerts at Riverside park in Kamloops, truly great for a city just under 100,000, developed in part for tourism, since Kamloops is a stopover point for many tourist routes across Canada; and Kamloops is closer to the Shuswap lakes, which is a huge advantage some think (though plenty of smaller lakes up in the hills and mountains).

For everything else, Kelowna is considered better. In fact, the bias in favour of Kelowna borders on the absurd until I think of all the darn fruit orchards they have! I love that. And the sailboats. (sigh) A nice place in some ways.
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jessiaka



Joined: 07 Jan 2006

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Captain Corea wrote:

I'm a big fan of the area but am worried about realestate prices. Is it chaper than Calgary/Van/TO?


It is cheaper than Vancouver for housing, but it is still pretty steep at the moment.

Real estate in Kelowna is currently $285,000 for used, and $345,000 for new.

Vancouver is at $518,000 right now.
Calgary: $408,814 (selling price of a house as of Aug 1st '06)
Toronto: $346,474 (as of May '06)

Keep in mind that Kelowna is the most expensive city to live in in the Okanagan. Vernon is 30 mins away but I'm pretty sure it's WAY cheaper.

Also, I think the average housing cost for Kamloops (which as the above poster stated is not in the Okanagan) is currently around $190,000. Kamloops is SMALL though, well it's about the same size of Kelowna but it's all sprawl.


Hope that helps Smile
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