Life in Canada

[Oliver]

Coming from the UK I'm just wondering if any canadians can tell me anything about the kind of people/culture your country is.

Is there a family friendly ethic?

Are strangers you meet generally talkative and helpful?

Is there a community feel in towns or more of an 'its my life' personal focus?

Is life good value for money?

Is the younger generation respectful?

Tell me something that I can't read on a wesite - how you really are.

[canadianroy]

Originally Posted by Oliver

Coming from the UK I'm just wondering if any canadians can tell me anything about the kind of people/culture your country is.

Is there a family friendly ethic?

Are strangers you meet generally talkative and helpful?

Is there a community feel in towns or more of an 'its my life' personal focus?

Is life good value for money?

Is the younger generation respectful?

Tell me something that I can't read on a wesite - how you really are.

Compared to UK it is more family friendly, but there is less lesser level of social support available. At work, you get some relaxations if you have short term family related problems.
In smalled towns, it is a community, but the big cities, you mostly don't even know your neighbours. But when you see them, they say a friendly hi.
Life is more expensive compared to the US, but cheaper than UK or other European countries. However, here vacation days are lesser than UK or most other countries. Normally, you start with 10 vacation days, but in better jobs you start with 15 vacation days.
Depending on the neighbourhood, younger generation could be respectful or the other way.
I have lived here for 10 years, I'm soon migrating to Australia. I know life is Australia is more expensive but is more laid back. Here in Canada, it is mostly work-work-work, though less than US.
Generally, it is a very nice country with very nice people. But the weather is not quite friendly. 8 months in a year, you are practically locked indoors. House to garage to car to heated parking to a heated office. You get to breathe fresh air for short periods in the winter (4 months). Another 4 months, you can't stand outside comfortably. People stand outside, only if they have to. Kids can hardly play outside, other than in summer.
Personally, if weather was little better here, then this is actually the best place, but weather (for me) decimates all other advantages.

[Oliver]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Where is it that you live as I've heard that the further north you go the colder it is so if you live around that area I can understand your concerns about the weather.

Tell me also - how much holiday do children get from primary school. Here in the UK as you may know there are only about 39 weeks when kids are at school and there are periodic breaks throughout the school year. Do you know any information about this?

Thanks in advance.

[canadianroy]

I live in Toronto, which you is drier and warmer than many parts of Canada. Vancouver in British Columbia is not as cold in winter, but it rains a lot round the year (quite similar to UK). In southern Ontario, it is normally sunny even during winter. In winter, it is cloudy only about 50% of the days. But sunny doesn't mean warm. Colder it gets, sunnier it is. Below -10 deg centigrade, it is normally sunny, because it is too cold for the cloud.
Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal are a lot colder and snowier. Winter starts there almost 3-6 weeks before Toronto and ends about 2-4 weeks after Toronto. However, nowadays most of the jobs are being created in Calgary and Edmonton.
You have heard it right, it gets colder as you go north. Even going 100 KM north of Toronto, makes a huge difference. The kind of a difference which you can't imagine without seeing it.
My, 8 year old son, goes to grade 2. They have three breaks in a year - March break, summer break and Christmas. Apart from this, every month, they get a day off.
March break ( 1week), Summer break (last week of June to around Sep 5th), Christmas (2 weeks).
Here are two links to school board sites, where I live. It is very similar in other school boards too. They'll give you lot of details.

On Google, search for Peel School Board, Toronto Schoold Board for comprehensive info.
Search for "C D Howe School ranking" to find information about ranking of schools in Ontario.
Hope this helps.

[oddball]

I lived in southern Ontario for over 40 years with a few years spent 3/4 hours north,at first the weather did not bother me,i could work outide at minus 10 or plus 32 degrees.Canadians tend to dote on temperature,it is mainly a state of mind,so you may succumb to this at some point.Many families including mine,spent a great deal of time out-doors all year long,the secret is to keep the indoor temperature close to that out-side.Canadians in general set the heating too high in winter and too low in the summer.Without exageration,i visited people who wore practically nothing in the winter indoors,and wearing sweaters in the summer indoors,10 degrees variant in the summer is the best viable comfort zone for less body stress going outside,around 68 maximum is the most viable in the winter.Should you be a bunch of couch potatos,the weather can be quite stressfull.
Life in general is good and the people are friendly to a point,youth,well,some ethnics,well,just go and integrate,accept what is,as is and you will be fine.Being a Brit,your general nature is to be critical,find me a Brit that is not complaining and you will have found me a sick man!!! LOL . You must have heard the expression "When in Rome do as the Romans do ",so,do as we did,go to be a Canadian,it will serve you well.Canada in general is a good place to rear a family,lots of opportunity if they work at it,all of my chidren have done well over the years,it took a little prodding and Explaining that they were working for THIER future not mine.Colin

[SczzyBoy]

Well, I haven't lived anywhere else in Canada except Calgary so I can't comment on them.

Weather : I find Calgary to be an incredibly sunny place. Even though it was 20 below in winter the sun still shone brightly. This is one of the few places where sunglasses sell really well in winter time. The cold is really cold but you get used to it. It's a very dry cold here so doesn't feel anything like the sort of cold I experienced living in London or Ireland. When it gets REALLY cold, i.e. 25 below and 20 below of windchill, people just stay indoors. It seems to only last a few days and then a warm wind (a chinook) arrives from the Rockies and all is good. Snow is not a big deal here in Calgary. You get a dump and then it clears. The locals say they get a week or two every now and again but that's exceptional. Normally it's just a dump of snow. Be careful of your footing as I faceplanted in my front garden earlier this year.

People : People are very friendly. They will smile and say Hi all the time. Again, it's the same as anywhere - there are places which are bad and places that are good. It's up to you to find them with the help of the neighbours who will talk to you.

Family feel? Not sure being a single guy. I think there is a good way of life here. The pace is really slow in comparison to London and when people say Calgary is work, work, work then they've never worked in London!

Cost of living - exceptionally cheap compared to back in UK/Ireland. Beer's the same except in the cheaper downmarket pubs (which can be good fun). Food is very cheap for good quality. You can afford to buy very high quality food even on a modest salary.

Rent - twice the size for half the rent. That's what I got and this was the first place I looked at. No complaints there.

Tax - slightly lower than the UK. Less hidden taxes although watch the actual prices as sales tax is generally NOT included in displayed prices. My remaining salary after spending a couple of months doing the same type of living as in London is higher even though I earn almost 35% less. Definitely good value.

All in all - a good move to Calgary. The last 3.5 months have been excellent. Lots of hard work but feeling better for the move.

Hope this helps a little.

[Deeana]

Hi,
I'd like to try to answer your questions one by one - from my personal point of view, having lived there for ten years.

Is there a family friendly ethic?

Yes. Canada is very family oriented, and much social life revolves around the family and their activities, which often include hockey and other sports.

Are strangers you meet generally talkative and helpful?

Yes, they are, if you are talkative and friendly towards them.

Is there a community feel in towns or more of an 'its my life' personal focus?

Yes, there is a community feel, even in towns. The residential subdivisions are like mini towns, and they have their own community organisations and activities.

Is life good value for money?

Yes, because although you pay a lot of tax, you do get something in return, i.e. good quality healthcare and education, well maintained roads and other infrastructure.

Is the younger generation respectful?

I personally was never cheeked by a youth, and never saw any street gangs or other disorder although I know it exists. Family life is still very influential on the way children behave.

Tell me something that I can't read on a wesite - how you really are.

That I can't answer. All Canadians like all other nationalities, are different. They are truly multicultural, something which is often overlooked, with roots from all over the world just one generation back. A well educated and healthy nation, I would say.

Originally Posted by Oliver

Coming from the UK I'm just wondering if any canadians can tell me anything about the kind of people/culture your country is.