should i come to Canada?

[irishman]

Hello,
I am 28 and currently living in Ireland with my girlfriend. I had been been living in Sydney, Australia for about 4 years previously and have been back in Ireland about 6 months. Due to my aussie girlfriends hassle with getting a visa in Ireland we are thinking of moving for a year to Canada. Getting a 1 year working visa should not be an issue for either of us. I have good experience of working in the IT sector, support/testing/project management, and my girlfriend is an experienced account manager.

Basically I am wondering where to go to and what the big cities have to offer? I always liked the sound of Vancouver in terms of climate and what the city has to offer being on the water and parks etc.(like Sydney) We still both lead an active social life and being Irish, of course I like to go out and enjoy myself at night. To be honest my knowledge of the other big cities is limited.

So hopefully some of you good people can offer some advice on what Canada has to offer! We are looking to get things moving on this as soon as we can.

Thanks.

[CanadianGal]

Waterloo in Ontario has the strongest tech sector (Research in Motion-Blackberry-Bill Gates comes to visit) but not so much nightlife as Vancouver! TO would be the main rival there. So I guess how much/kinds of nightlife are you looking for?
Waterloo is a university and college city so there is a "scene" going on. Housing MUCH cheaper there then BC or around TO-more bang for your buck. About an hour to TO with agriculture to the north of the city (but out of the city to city sprawl immediately surrounding TO-look at the main highway 401)). Many festivals and close to other cities in the golden triangle. Of course you could look around Toronto.
Ontario has much to offer active folks and nature enthusiasts. Different areas-different topography. That is a search in itself! People love Ontario's various beauty. Especially north of Barrie. But of course BC wins for sheer beauty. But you have to like rain-alot of it. You two would have lots of options I am guessing.

[imdelta]

Although very beautiful, Vancouver is an expensive city. Toronto is expensive too. Less expensive is Montreal, with plenty of opportunities, but you need to know French a bit

[spekegirl]

Originally Posted by irishman

Hello,
I am 28 and currently living in Ireland with my girlfriend. I had been been living in Sydney, Australia for about 4 years previously and have been back in Ireland about 6 months. Due to my aussie girlfriends hassle with getting a visa in Ireland we are thinking of moving for a year to Canada. Getting a 1 year working visa should not be an issue for either of us. I have good experience of working in the IT sector, support/testing/project management, and my girlfriend is an experienced account manager.

Basically I am wondering where to go to and what the big cities have to offer? I always liked the sound of Vancouver in terms of climate and what the city has to offer being on the water and parks etc.(like Sydney) We still both lead an active social life and being Irish, of course I like to go out and enjoy myself at night. To be honest my knowledge of the other big cities is limited.

So hopefully some of you good people can offer some advice on what Canada has to offer! We are looking to get things moving on this as soon as we can.

Thanks.

I am from BC the Vancouver area, actually Vancouver Island. Vancouver as a city has much to offer. You can golf pretty much year round, ski (in the winter) after work because the ski hill is so close or hike to your hearts content.

I also really like Halifax Nova Scotia even though I have only visited it once. It is a smaller city, but very pretty and the weather there is quite nice too.

You will not have a problem socializing in either city. There are other great cities in Canada, but the weather can't be beaten in either of these cities.

You will not have a problem getting a working visa if you are both under 28. If you are older, you may not get a working visa very easily. In order for an employer to hire you they have to prove that they could not find any Canadians to fill the position.

Good luck.

[mrees007]

Originally Posted by spekegirl

I am from BC the Vancouver area, actually Vancouver Island. Vancouver as a city has much to offer. You can golf pretty much year round, ski (in the winter) after work because the ski hill is so close or hike to your hearts content.

I also really like Halifax Nova Scotia even though I have only visited it once. It is a smaller city, but very pretty and the weather there is quite nice too.

You will not have a problem socializing in either city. There are other great cities in Canada, but the weather can't be beaten in either of these cities.

You will not have a problem getting a working visa if you are both under 28. If you are older, you may not get a working visa very easily. In order for an employer to hire you they have to prove that they could not find any Canadians to fill the position.

Good luck.

I'm pretty sure if you are over 28 (i.e.: 32 like myself) you still shouldnt get too many problems, as long as you have degrees and work experience in the appropiate areas