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As someone who was born and spent decades growing up in Toronto who moved to the US years ago and spend time regularly in multiple states, I disagree vehemently with what Aba said about safety. Aba did not recognize that not only is the US like 50 different countries, with each state being somewhat unique unto themselves, but the cities are like an amalgamation of 2 or 3 different cities. What I mean by that is about the safety and security aspect, it all depends on where you live and where you hang out. Undoubtedly, US ghettos and the sketchy clubbing districts are generally worse than Canadian housing projects and such. If you live in the regular or especially good parts of the city, it's totally safe. \nBecause most US towns and cities are built around neighborhoods, security and safety is always a big selling point. As long as you avoid the ghetto and late night 'action' areas, it's generally safer than Toronto. Toronto suffers from an outbreak of car break ins, car thefts, home break ins and recently car jackings all over. Many US neighborhoods and areas have no such thing. On a side note, as a POC, I also have experienced far less racism in the US than I used to in Toronto. Without getting into a can of worms, if you live in a Democrat controlled city vs. Republican one, you are going to experience more crime, more homeless, higher unemployment, etc. You guys are referencing LA, which has become far worse, like San Francisco and New York. \nAnd the cost of living comment is ridiculous. Again maybe LA and NYC which are shadows of what they once were. Canada has far higher tax burden, way higher inflation, prices of food, energy, clothes and homes are off the charts. In Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Washington, we have ZERO income tax as well as lower tax than the HST. No way, Aba and Preach are dead wrong on these issues, because they are using LA or NYC as a reference. There's a reason the movies Escape From New York and it's sequel Escape From LA are such prophetic movies.

This video for privileged people, not people struggling to survive. In a country like Nigeria, a PhD holder is applying for trucking driving job and secondary teaching job. They would be grateful to move to Canada for a befitting job and will be excited to pay tax. Many with good educational background don't even have any job at all. At least Canadian government takes taxes and provide good infrastructure. In Nigeria, the government takes your tax and nothing works, no jobs, no security, no healthcare, no good roads or infrastructure. It's difficult to travel inter state without being kidnapped. Your family sells all your properties and pay the ransom but still be killed. You can even be gunned down in your house or on the street just for next to nothing. All my relatives in Canada are happy with their families and are begging me to come. Even people with good jobs are moving to Canada. They're not doing it for themselves for the future of their children, for peace of mind, security and to escape poverty. \n\nIf you're in doubt please move back to Nigeria then you will know Canada is heaven. Many have resorted to prostitution and crime because they believe they don't have any other way to survive. I want to come to Canada not to get rich but to get a decent job and live a meaningful life with my family. I will be more than grateful to contribute to the progress of Canada even beyond paying my taxes.

Many people leave Canada after having success for a number of years and return to their native countries at the time of retirement. Many immigrants acquired their citizenship, found good jobs, built savings and purchased homes. When they sell their home and consolidate their savings and investments, they return to their native countries with Canadian pensions and live like kings.

Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.

In the 21st century, many Canadians are also quite against Christians, though this is the basis for the underlying principles of kindness, goodness, and love that has made the Western World so attractive to many peoples around the world, and has made Canada a haven for many. This is quite a shame on Canada. While loving and blessing others, Canada should NEVER forget her own (Natives and Christians); neither should she forget her good foundations that has made her peaceful, wealthy, and stress free over the centuries. I have had to rescue a white co-worker one time, because she was ill treated by immigrants in the workplace, who thought she was not SMART enough and FAST enough for their purpose. This is a beautiful, gentile white lady, whose parents helped to build Canada. Shame on Canada. It is good to bless others, but at what cost? Selling out your good foundations? Forgetting your own peoples who do not have degrees like others. Shame on Canada for allowing these actions. Canada, rebuild your good foundations.