Canada (Toronto)

dfer

Hello guys,

Im really thinking about going to toronto or around there , I've been researching stuff on the net but from personal experiences the pros and cons of living their? And is it easy enough to get a job over there? And the music scene any good?
Im an openminded musician, love going to gigs, and stuff like that.

Nina_Angelica

dfer - toronto has one of the BEST music scenes you will ever come across!!
(that having been said nothing beats the uk/ireland for moozik!)

check out:
http://www.pathcom.com/~dbp98/city_events/Next_Month/Symphony/Theatre/Opera/concerts.html

this will give you updates on what's coming to town and links to venue websites.

as for work, depends. if you're coming here on a work visa, it'll be relatively easy, provided you aren't overly fussy. cost of living is no different than ireland really (although ireland is probably more expensive). you will pay a hell of a lot more than you're used to in taxes but don't forget you'll do well exchanging the euro into canadian dollars.

my fiancé and i are off to cork (he's been living in canada w/ me since july '05) for a visit to his family and it's killing us to change over money 'cos it's a fortune to change to euros!!

if you have any other specific questions i should be able to give you some more websites. good luck to you!

The Sweeper

GST (Goods and Service Tax) added onto the price tag at the till is a pain in the ass. Rent is far cheaper. That's about all I know that isn't 15 years out of date!

motormatic

dfer wrote:

Hello guys,

Im really thinking about going to toronto or around there , I've been researching stuff on the net but from personal experiences the pros and cons of living their? And is it easy enough to get a job over there? And the music scene any good?
Im an openminded musician, love going to gigs, and stuff like that.

Toronto's pretty cool. I've been living here on and off for 14 years. There is a good music scene, but honestly, if you want the best music scene in North America, it's in Austin, TX. However, there are a lot of great local bands, a lot of good international bands come here, and there is a lot going on.

Rent is cheaper than Ireland by far, and it is somewhat cheaper to live here. Bear in mind though, that salaries are less so once you've been here a while, it feels exactly the same.

Jobs are easy enough to find. There are lots of bar jobs and that sort of thing, but a lot of competition for more career-oriented gigs. It is hard to get an under the table job though, so if you come make sure you're sorted for visas and such.

The weather is HORRIBLE. The summers are too short, hot and muggy. The winters are too long, freezing cold and depressing. Autumn is beautiful.

All in all I love Toronto. I complain about it all the time, and wish I was back in Ireland or the UK, but you get bored wherever you are when you're used to it. I'd recomment Toronto over Montreal but have never been to Vancouver so can't comment on that. Although my roommate is from Van and he says he likes Toronto much better. Everyone that comes here seems to love it, and for an open minded musician it's probably a great place to come check out.

BrianCalgary

Calgary has Canad's hottest economy. Getting a job is very easy. But rent is high and vacancy rates are very low.

I know nothing about the music scene.

Vancouver has loads of rain in the winter and is quite a bit warmer than Calgary. Shouldn't be too difficult getting a job in the lower mainland.

Nina_Angelica

motormatic wrote:

The weather is HORRIBLE. The summers are too short, hot and muggy. The winters are too long, freezing cold and depressing. Autumn is beautiful.

Well if you want to compare weather to Ireland, it pales! April '05 there was like 6 days w/o rain in Cork, most miserable weather I've ever witnessed! I'd say HORRIBLE is a bit harsh! No offense intended. My fella's been here for year and half and it's the one thing he likes about Canada, albeit the winters do tend to be long.
Sure we've been lucky so far this year, 17 degrees today and what, 2 days away from December?! I'm loving it!!

Nina_Angelica

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

GST (Goods and Service Tax) added onto the price tag at the till is a pain in the ass. Rent is far cheaper. That's about all I know that isn't 15 years out of date!

Aye it's a pain in the ass however, they've knocked it down to 6% now

The Sweeper

They always seem to use difficult fractions. Dunno about you, but I can't calculate 6% in my head. ("right, 10%, that's easy... and half of that... plus, er, a bit, or something...")

motormatic

Nina_Angelica wrote:

Well if you want to compare weather to Ireland, it pales! April '05 there was like 6 days w/o rain in Cork, most miserable weather I've ever witnessed! I'd say HORRIBLE is a bit harsh! No offense intended. My fella's been here for year and half and it's the one thing he likes about Canada, albeit the winters do tend to be long.
Sure we've been lucky so far this year, 17 degrees today and what, 2 days away from December?! I'm loving it!!

lol, i've gotta say i prefer the irish weather:)the two weeks i was there this october were absolutely beautiful. and i'll take lashing rain over freezing ice any day.

kushy

motormatic wrote:

lol, i've gotta say i prefer the irish weather:)the two weeks i was there this october were absolutely beautiful. and i'll take lashing rain over freezing ice any day.

the weather thing is all relative really. it depends on what you're used to and what you prefer. i've been living here the last year and a half and i hate the winters here because i hate the -20 temp so i prefer rain to snow but i know ppl who are from here go to ireland and say they prefer the freezing temp and sun to our rainy dark winters there. and i must admit having sun the majority of the year is a nice change for me cos i know in ireland when its constantly overcast it can get depressing!

anyway t.o. is a good place for music but i would recommend trying to find a place as close to downtown as possible cos once you move outta the subway area/core of the city it can be difficult to get to a lot of the gigs. its not like ireland where if you dont like a pub you can walk out and go next door. you gotta travel between pubs unless you're right downtown

Nina_Angelica

motormatic wrote:

lol, i've gotta say i prefer the irish weather:)the two weeks i was there this october were absolutely beautiful. and i'll take lashing rain over freezing ice any day.

fair enough girl you gotta admit nothing more beautiful then waking up on a sunday morning when everything is super quiet and covered in white, so damn peaceful!

motormatic

Nina_Angelica wrote:

fair enough girl you gotta admit nothing more beautiful then waking up on a sunday morning when everything is super quiet and covered in white, so damn peaceful!

this is true, it is lovely. and one of my favourite winter things is having snowball fights with my dog.

but it's only nice for the first day until the cars and streetcars go through it and it turns into disgusting brown slush that is both hard and horrible to walk through.

Nina_Angelica

motormatic wrote:

this is true, it is lovely. and one of my favourite winter things is having snowball fights with my dog.

but it's only nice for the first day until the cars and streetcars go through it and it turns into disgusting brown slush that is both hard and horrible to walk through.

too true, too true! that's the depressing part!

Faith

Okay, I think that's enough discussing the advantages and disadvantages of snow for this thread! Back on topic, please .