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I'm surprised how nice and clean that city looks. I have been to many Canadian city's that are not this clean.

As an international student, I'm studying in a uni of applied sciences, I have a German friend whom I am teaching English, because I'm fluent in English. There was a mandatory subject in our course regarding English. I know my friend, he cannot speak 2 sentences in English without making a single grammatical error, and he admits that. Still somehow the teacher gave him 80% in the English exam, and gave me 63% in the exam. I saw the grading, his grading was extremely lenient and mine was extremely harsh. Even my German friend said that he's surprised with the grading and thinks it's unfair. \n\nSo these are the reasons I don't wish to stay in Germany. If you want skilled immigrants to contribute to your social system and boost your economy, the least you could do is be nice to us.

Some of the stats cited here are straight up wrong or... creatively employed, and there's a lot of contradictory information and the typical conservative 'the sky is falling' sensationalism and misattribution. That said, the bas supposition isn't wrong. The bubble we've been sitting on for 20 or so years has completely burst. As someone born and raised in the Toronto area, it's impossible for me to afford to own a house or apartment here on a teacher's salary. Even rent pushes me to the limit unless I want to live in a... less than nice area. I'm living hand to mouth and enjoying the benefits of living in a 'developed' country less. Here's why:\n\n1. Wages aren't really even close to keeping up with the cost of living. The first tick upwards a bit. The second just keeps rising on the back of housing, food, amenities, and inflation: the four horsemen.\n\n2. Our grocery cabal ruthlessly raise prices whenever we look away, and their lobbyists are all ensconced within the leadership of our three major parties, particularly the Conservatives (so if anyone thinks that electing them will help, they're in for a nasty surprise).\n\n3. We're experiencing 'labour shrinkflation': increasing duties are downloaded onto workers and more is expected: more productivity, more availability (almost 24/7 in some jobs), and higher qualifications. Meanwhile, real wages are decreasing relative to living cost, more positions are 'contract', which is basically a way for employers to not have to give you benefits, and job security is tenuous for a lot of people.\n\n4. Houses are being bought by investors and not owners. Foreign entities are money laundering. The wealthy upper crust of high population countries are moving here and buying property because Canada is (still) more safe and stable and less repressive than their home countries in most cases. \n\n5. There's a cycle beginning: as people are squeezed and forced to spend more on 'needs', they spend less on eating out, entertainment, and other 'wants'. These are significant drivers of the service economy and they're being hit hard. So, what can they do? They can let go of workers or lower product costs to remain profitable, but they their quality declines and, in a market where people are pinching every penny and looking for quality for their dollar, they're less likely to go back. They can raise their prices, of course, but then they price people out completely and their profits still tank. I went to a decent steakhouse for my dad's 60th last week. I can't remember the last time that I went to one before that. \n\n6. Our politicians and news cycles focus on the most niche and irrelevant stuff because it'll stoke anger and get tongues wagging. This carbon thing is almost a non-issue, but our conservative leader is harping on about it like it's singlehandedly the death of the Canadian economy when it's a drop in the bucket. Trudeau focuses on 'equity' measures, hoping for a bit of cheap good press, while his efforts are, for the most part, just window dressing and the issues, while meaningful, are often not of paramount importance or even applicable to the vast majority of the people who elected him. Meanwhile, the middle class is pretty much evaporating as he speaks. The NDP keep talking about this in a pretty real way, for what it's worth, but Jagmeet Singh is giving off an increasing vibe of just being another fat cat politician beneath his rhetoric these days. Also, third-party trolls and screeching conservatives try to bury him on social media whenever he speaks... a lot more than other leaders as well, oddly. I wonder why? Oh yeah, the Greens exist and there's Quebec and the conspiracy theory party.\n\n\nUltimately, what we're experiencing is the revenge of the feudal system. Instead of paying rents to your lord and doing labour on the land for him whenever commanded to, you pay rent to your landlord now and go to work even when you're sick or when work hours are over because you have no union protection or are working 'on contract'. Unless we want to live in the armpit of nowhere, 95% of us are going to be wage slaves living hand-to-mouth, not owning our own property, and working to please our corporate overlords if current trends continue unchecked. While some of Canada's problems are unique, I fear that most aren't. As for me, I'm headed to the 'armpit of nowhere' where I can at least have a ghost of a chance of affording life.

I'm surprised by how much everyone promotes moving to Nova Scotia, given the housing shortage that has led to exorbitantly high rents, a one-bedroom apartment in an old building costs 1,600, and in new building costs 3,500 per month. And for three people I pay 85 dollars of electricity every two months. Internet is 105 dollars per month. Professional salaries barely cover rent, food, and car expenses, as they are quite low, often ranging between $50,000 and $60,000 for positions requiring 5 to 10 years of experience, and sometimes even lower. Before you even see your paycheck, expect at least 30% to be deducted for taxes, as calculated by a Nova Scotia tax calculator. The healthcare system is struggling; last year, joining a list to be assigned a family doctor was estimated to take up to three years. For those seeking care at walk-in clinics, you must arrive before 7 am and wait in line; they only see the first 15 people, typically just on Mondays. If you're last, you might wait until noon or later to be seen. After working for 40 years, the pension is approximately $1,200, or less if you haven't worked the full duration with salaries over 60,000. \n \nI forgot to mention that prices in stores are without an additional 15% tax, you should add that to every product or service you purchase. If you want to go to a restaurant, an economical one, and buy a lasagna and something to drink, it will cost you at least 70 dollars. McDonalds and Tim Hortons, for three people, may cost 40 dollars, but it is your health. \n \nThe government is investing millions to attract students and new immigrants, making labor significantly cheaper for large companies. Individuals with low wages can't even afford the cheapest rent, resulting in some living in tents across cities and towns in Nova Scotia. With an annual inflation rate of 15% to 25%—and the official rate reflecting only a detailed list of products deemed as basic food items by the government—only the minimum wage is legally required to increase when deemed appropriate by the government. Other wages increase only if the employer decides to do so. How often do they do this out of kindness to their employees? That's a good question. \n \nYour work experience in other countries does not count. They want people with Canadian experience, so it is better to think you will start with a 35,000 salary per year. A house cost between 450,000 to 2,500,000. When are you going to save to pay for a house? The cheapest ones can be 200 years old. A 100 m2 apartment, new, not very elegant but nice, can cost more than 2 million dollars in downtown Halifax. People say it is due to money laundry, and for sure is not because the medium class is buying them. \n \nI have many friends, who graduated from Canadian colleges and universities that haven't gotten a job in their career even after four years of graduation... and the list is longer. Please, be honest with people

I'm surprised by how much everyone promotes moving to Nova Scotia, given the housing shortage that has led to exorbitantly high rents, a one-bedroom apartment in an old building costs 1,600, and in new building costs 3,500 per month. And for three people I pay 85 dollars of electricity every two months. Internet is 105 dollars per month. Professional salaries barely cover rent, food, and car expenses, as they are quite low, often ranging between $50,000 and $60,000 for positions requiring 5 to 10 years of experience, and sometimes even lower. Before you even see your paycheck, expect at least 30% to be deducted for taxes, as calculated by a Nova Scotia tax calculator. The healthcare system is struggling; last year, joining a list to be assigned a family doctor was estimated to take up to three years. For those seeking care at walk-in clinics, you must arrive before 7 am and wait in line; they only see the first 15 people, typically just on Mondays. If you're last, you might wait until noon or later to be seen. After working for 40 years, the pension is approximately $1,200, or less if you haven't worked the full duration with salaries over 60,000. \n \nI forgot to mention that prices in stores are without an additional 15% tax, you should add that to every product or service you purchase. If you want to go to a restaurant, an economical one, and buy a lasagna and something to drink, it will cost you at least 70 dollars. McDonalds and Tim Hortons, for three people, may cost 40 dollars, but it is your health. \n \nThe government is investing millions to attract students and new immigrants, making labor significantly cheaper for large companies. Individuals with low wages can't even afford the cheapest rent, resulting in some living in tents across cities and towns in Nova Scotia. With an annual inflation rate of 15% to 25%—and the official rate reflecting only a detailed list of products deemed as basic food items by the government—only the minimum wage is legally required to increase when deemed appropriate by the government. Other wages increase only if the employer decides to do so. How often do they do this out of kindness to their employees? That's a good question. \n \nYour work experience in other countries does not count. They want people with Canadian experience, so it is better to think you will start with a 35,000 salary per year. A house cost between 450,000 to 2,500,000. When are you going to save to pay for a house? The cheapest ones can be 200 years old. A 100 m2 apartment, new, not very elegant but nice, can cost more than 2 million dollars in downtown Halifax. People say it is due to money laundry, and for sure is not because the medium class is buying them. \n \nI have many friends, who graduated from Canadian colleges and universities that haven't gotten a job in their career even after four years of graduation... and the list is longer. Please, be honest with people

I am glad someone is honest about the problem.\n\nI'm surprised by how much everyone promotes moving to Nova Scotia, given the housing shortage that has led to exorbitantly high rents, a one-bedroom apartment in an old building costs 1,600, and in new building costs 3,500 per month. And for three people I pay 85 dollars of electricity every two months. Internet is 105 dollars per month. Professional salaries barely cover rent, food, and car expenses, as they are quite low, often ranging between $50,000 and $60,000 for positions requiring 5 to 10 years of experience, and sometimes even lower. Before you even see your paycheck, expect at least 30% to be deducted for taxes, as calculated by a Nova Scotia tax calculator. The healthcare system is struggling; last year, joining a list to be assigned a family doctor was estimated to take up to three years. For those seeking care at walk-in clinics, you must arrive before 7 am and wait in line; they only see the first 15 people, typically just on Mondays. If you're last, you might wait until noon or later to be seen. After working for 40 years, the pension is approximately $1,200, or less if you haven't worked the full duration with salaries over 60,000. \n \nI forgot to mention that prices in stores are without an additional 15% tax, you should add that to every product or service you purchase. If you want to go to a restaurant, an economical one, and buy a lasagna and something to drink, it will cost you at least 70 dollars. McDonalds and Tim Hortons, for three people, may cost 40 dollars, but it is your health. \n \nThe government is investing millions to attract students and new immigrants, making labor significantly cheaper for large companies. Individuals with low wages can't even afford the cheapest rent, resulting in some living in tents across cities and towns in Nova Scotia. With an annual inflation rate of 15% to 25%—and the official rate reflecting only a detailed list of products deemed as basic food items by the government—only the minimum wage is legally required to increase when deemed appropriate by the government. Other wages increase only if the employer decides to do so. How often do they do this out of kindness to their employees? That's a good question. \n \nYour work experience in other countries does not count. They want people with Canadian experience, so it is better to think you will start with a 35,000 salary per year. A house cost between 450,000 to 2,500,000. When are you going to save to pay for a house? The cheapest ones can be 200 years old. A 100 m2 apartment, new, not very elegant but nice, can cost more than 2 million dollars in downtown Halifax. People say it is due to money laundry, and for sure is not because the medium class is buying them. \n \nI have many friends, who graduated from Canadian colleges and universities that haven't gotten a job in their career even after four years of graduation... and the list is longer. Please, be honest with people like these girls.

Thanks Tyler, interesting topic & not surprised by the the responses. I’ve travelled to the states many times, vacation/work training/day trips & also my son lived in NC on a golf scholarship & you’re correct that it does depend on the area/place within the US but in the end I’m always relieved when I arrive back to Canada. I feel safe here! Our last trip was to California visiting San Francisco, Monterey & the coast, so beautiful & it was a great vacation. Just to mention the only way that we felt safer going there is because it’s a majority Democratic state. US can be nice to visit but there’s no place like home & Canada is the best for many reasons.

I live in British Columbia. In a city people consider “dangerous.” I remember I had a package delivered to my door. I was at work so I couldn’t go get it. I was imagining those videos I saw on YouTube of people getting their packages stolen within 10 minutes of it sitting there. But nah, It stayed there for 6 hours and never got stolen. Heck my workplace, had a package delivered on Friday evening and it stayed there outside until Monday. I was very surprised both times. I’m not saying that I’m living in a utopia, I’ve gotten robbed before, like everyone else I have my complaints. I think what really helps Canada is the smaller population. Less people means less people to rob shit. That tap water do be nice though.

I'm a German who travelled to many European cities and when I arrived in overhyped Vancouver I was surprised what an ugly desert of concrete it mostly was. The skyline contains around 90% same looking glass towers. Yes Gastown is nice, but it's only a small part of it.

I'm from the Quebec, and I'm surprised that english speaking canadian say its the best province lol\nBut it is :D\nEven if the others are nice too

I'm Indian. Indians have a major problem with traffic management, obeying traffic rules and being generally nice to other road users. They sit on the horn while driving. And going by how this guy's car was parked, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy had actually started this by honking or driving erratically.

So I'm in a dilemma of whether I should move down to Florida and live with my American girlfriend, or stay up here and support her moving up here in Canada. My main issue is health care. I just hear many people have bad service and poor treatment with insurance down there, but it all depends what insurance your applying with. People are fairly nice, but there are also some douche bags as well so I'm not surprised. With my overall budget, I could likely stay down there for about a few months or so. Here in Canada, taxes are a little higher, but it's worth it (Some idiot said our taxes are lower), health care is paid for, winters are cold but anyone can survive through it. Some say Canada is a socialist (which is Not -_-). Liberal party is ruining Canada as it is in a way. But again, it's better Justin than Trump. (Betting for Scheer). Idk, politics is bad in both countries I say. Idk, I'm likely missing some things here. Should I move down with my girlfriend, or stay up and support her moving up here?