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Been in Canada 3 months now info inside
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27-09-2013 5:34pm#1
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retalivity wrote: »It sounds like you have been misinformed....Go read any thread in this forum with IEC in the title.
Flynnser...I feel for you man. I was the same....didnt start work til 3 and a half months after i arrived. Another thing is that canadian companies are slow to hire...interview, then maybe a second interview 2 weeks later, then a decision a week after that, then a month of redtape before you can actually start.
Toronto is a great city but it is expensive, and sitting around for 3 months basically surviving is not easy. It was tough for me and im 2 hours down the road at half the price!
I think Canada as a whole is a very overrated place to be. Im in Vancouver over 3 months and the money is worse than at home and it's insanely expensive. Only worth it for people working in a trade. It's all well and good having loads to do over here, but when it's 100s of dollars to go to hockey games, go snowboarding, mountain biking, fly internally etc. etc. it just now worth it as a permanent home. Having said that, I'm very glad to have experienced the place and will definitely see the year out anyway! Summer in Vancouver this year was brilliant.
I've heard from a lot of people that Toronto is just full of temps and internships. Grass is definitely not always greener lads!
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flynnser19 wrote: »Firstly if you want to work in a bar to tide you over i would advise doing your Smart Serve test immediately or immediately when you arive as you WILL NOT get hired without this. Bar work again is hard to pick up and in Canada a bar tender doesnt do everything like in ireland where we clean,serve drinks,serve food etc, in Canada you just bar tend you just serve drinks nothing else.
My experience is completely different, here bartenders do more, mainly cash duties and stock control, stuff a manager would do at home.I think Canada as a whole is a very overrated place to be. Im in Vancouver over 3 months and the money is worse than at home and it's insanely expensive. Only worth it for people working in a trade. It's all well and good having loads to do over here, but when it's 100s of dollars to go to hockey games, go snowboarding, mountain biking, fly internally etc. etc. it just now worth it as a permanent home. Having said that, I'm very glad to have experienced the place and will definitely see the year out anyway! Summer in Vancouver this year was brilliant.
I've heard from a lot of people that Toronto is just full of temps and internships. Grass is definitely not always greener lads!
Again, I've found the opposite, while expensive to live, I earn alot more then I would at home and have alot more disposable income. I can afford to save and do not have to live week to week.
Flights, NHL games and snow sports are pricey, but even within Calgary's parks theres trails/hikes that are great for runs, hockey rinks maintained in the winter to play on, well maintained volleyball/football/baseball/basketball/tennis facilities in every area that are safe and free to use. Theres even outdoor pools open in the summer that cost nothing for an hour to use. Theres lakes you can Kayak on for $20 for the whole day. If you have a car its even better being just an hour from the mountains and everything you can do there.0 -
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Maybe for experienced applicants, but I just graduated in July with a class of 50 or 60 or whatever, and so far there have only been a handfull that have managed to secure work since graduating. I suited up and went to a jobs fair last weekend and have an interview through that on Tuesday, but everyone I know is finding it really hard to even get a response from places.
I even got rejected for an unpaid internship like... Come on I mean I was offering to work for free! 0 -
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Jonny Blaze wrote: »Maybe for experienced applicants, but I just graduated in July with a class of 50 or 60 or whatever, and so far there have only been a handfull that have managed to secure work since graduating. I suited up and went to a jobs fair last weekend and have an interview through that on Tuesday, but everyone I know is finding it really hard to even get a response from places.
I even got rejected for an unpaid internship like... Come on I mean I was offering to work for free!
That's me too.
I really appreciate the OP's info and others and it is very helpful.
It's easy for everyone to read the lines on these pages and assume we are at the same point in life, we are not, therefore different circumstances apply and ultimately we each need to make our own decisions. A few of us are not looking for 50k jobs fresh out of college and have different needs.
Age/life point/experience puts us in different groups, with different opportunities but also desires too. I have no prospects here, the vast majority of my college classmates have struggled to get work too. Most of them come from the wealthiest locations in the country and when I ask them 'have you had any luck finding work' they tell me 'no it's really hard but I'm working in my mom/dad's company until I do'. My family does not own companies and I realize that my future is what I make of it.
Economically, with almost 100 years of independence, only fifteen years of very strong economic growth lifted the prospects of the country. The decisions made in 2008 made the then government the laughing stock of economic institutions the world over, warning governments not to 'gamble the nations finances away in the early hours of the morning'. I'm sick and tired of life here and I'm ready to go. I've already had experience abroad, I've lived in Italy and did an internship in Germany (both native languages). Canada I regard as a stable economy and so, with all factors considered, I'll be going to Canada.
Regarding Toronto, economically, it is still leading the nation's growth (sorry Calgary) as it lies strategically in the middle between the capital, Ottawa and another major center of business; Montreal. The Economist ranks Toronto as one of the top 10 biggest growth cities in the world of the next 10 years. I didn't see Calgary on that list.
The negative and the positive stories are useful. The negative ones usher me to save harder and the positive ones remind me not to over-worry. But I think it's imperative to remember we are not all in the same situations so there is no 'one size fits all'. Living abroad is supposed to erode that line of thought.0 -
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Hi everyone,
I agree with a lot of what was said in this post, so I thought I'd share my 2 cents too....
For starters my story is a little different, I'm an Accountant and I've moved to Niagara Falls and got a job in St Catharines. I moved here because my bf is from here, he was working in Ireland and chose to move back and I chose to come with him. We both had jobs in Ireland before we left.
I've been here just over 4 months. I've met very few Irish since I've arrived it's been mostly Canadians. I would agree with Canada being over rated. I'm not entirely sure what my expectations were coming here but I have definitely been disappointed by most things.
The impression I was given before I left was that it would be somewhat easy to get a job and it would certainly be at a better wage than I had back home. That did not ring true, I earn approximitely the same as I did at home and it did take a while to get a job.
But the tax is higher here, so far approx 40% of my wages is gone straight away, because there's federal tax, provincial tax, CPP (Canada Pension Plan), EI (Employment Insurance). In Ireland my average was about 30%.
I agree with Cream Bun you pay for everything here. There are a lot of outdoor areas, parks, trails by the lakes, etc that are open to the public and are free. But if you need to buy anything for that it's expensive, clothes and shoes are very expensive. We're lucky that we're close to the US and can go there to get stuff because to get it here is more expensive than Ireland.
To do anything else is very expensive. I am a runner. I was going to sign up to do a 10k when I got here, but I didn't when I found out it was $55, and not one cent of it goes to charity. I've signed up for a half marathon at the end of the month, it was $100 and the same thing not for charity. To have a road race here the organisers have to pay the police to close the roads so most of the money goes to that, plus you get a tshirt & medal. I've never paid more than E25 for a race at home and the money always goes to charity, all items like tshirts, etc are donated by a sponsor. I've signed up for the half as I want to keep my momentum up & I'm going to make my own donation to charity.
I was trying to find a yoga class. The cheapest I could find was $99 for 6 weeks, ie 6 classes for $99 (+tax!). I used to pay E5 at home to pay as you go class. Same thing with cross fit, I wanted to try that cheapest I could find was $288 a month, I didn't do this at home but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. Cheapest gym I could find was $60 a month but with a year contract. Same with a sewing class $190 (+tax) for a 4 week course... plus materials!
Insurance and mobile phones are two more things that are ridiculous. Insurance for my car is $1,200 a year, after they've given me credit for my 10 years experience. (I did do my driving test here, it's pretty easy if you're going to do it get lessons first. I did 4 hours of lessons and passed no problem). Mobile phone charges are ridiculous, they still charge you to receive calls here. It's the same price as making a call, so if I get 400 min with my plan, if someone rings me for 20 that will eat up as many minutes as if I called them for 20. There are some cheaper networks coming in, but the coverage hasn't got out this far yet. The other problem is to get the good rates they want you to sign up for a 2 or even 3 year contract!
Oh and internet subscriptions, the same thing. Have to sign up for years and it's expensive, especially if you live out of a main city, you've to pay to get it to you (they had to erect a mast on top of our house, $750 for the priviledge!!).
Banking here is expensive too. Most banks charge you to lodge and withdraw money, then charge you extra if you use a bank machine from a bank other than your home bank. I'm with PC so I have free banking but the online banking is so basic it's like something from the 90's. Cheques are still the norm here, I can transfer money in the province online but there's no international transfer options. It's not very secure either to get on to it I just put in my bank card number (I know!!) and a password.
Food shopping is another one that is more expensive for sure, especially as has been mentioned about meat. Meat quality too is a big issue, we don't realise how spoilt we are in Ireland our meat is such good quality. I didn't realise meat could be such bad quality until I lived here (don't even start me on the US, US chicken you can practically taste the hormones!!). Eating out and drinking are very expensive too, especially as it's common practice to tip, even for getting a bottle of beer at the bar. There's not the same atmosphere at all either.
Hairdressing is approx twice the price of home in my experience and a 15% tip is expected 20% if you think the service is good!
So overall although I earn approx the same I feel I have a lot less left to myself at the end of the month, in fact very little. I definitely don't feel better off for being here.
Petrol is cheaper and to buy a car is cheaper, watch out though tax of 13% is added to the price you see listed at a dealership!
The biggest thing I miss from Ireland is the banter and the craic, I know that's an Irish thing so it's to be expected. But I find people here are very serious and take themselves very seriously. People are a lot more forward with their personal lives too. They have no problem telling you about being divorced 3 times and what a jerk their ex is the first time they meet you. Or telling you that you're wrong, I eat pretty healthily and always have, I enjoy exercising too, I've been told more than once that's my 'problem' that's why I'm so 'skinny' or whatever. We had cake in the office and I just said I don't eat cake (which is typically don't as I'm lactose intolerant) and thus sparked a 20 minute conversation to try to get me to eat cake, and why would I do that to myself. (I've been in quite a few conversations where I don't know where to look!).
I find, especially in work situations, that people are quick to tell you that you're wrong, but if you try to point out to them a better way of doing things or different perspective they don't want to hear it. As a result people seem quite stressed all the time. I've been working 2 months and so far I've heard 4 full out raised voice arguements around the office. The most recent of which was a full out 'get out of my face' 'I can't deal with you right now' kind of arguement. I know apologies were made after but I was shocked. Only once in my 8 years of working in a professional environment in Ireland did I witness this.
The one thing I find people relaxed about is drink driving. I abstain completely when I'm driving, as does everyone I know from home. It's different here people will have 1 or 2 because they're driving, sometimes more. I've been at BBQ's where people stop drinking at a certain time as they've to drive later. It seems to be more ah I'll have a beer now I won't be driving for an hour type calculation. Which is fine if that's what you want to do, but if I say I'm not having a drink at all because I'm driving it seems to be a big deal. You get continually questioned on it. At home if you say you're driving then that's it, no questions asked. But here it's like there's constant pressure on you. 'Are you sure you don't want one now?' kinda thing. It doesn't rest all night.
On the working side of things, I've got a job in the public sector. From this point on I vow never again to give out about the Irish public sector, it's the gold standard in comparison to here. (I did work in the public sector for 18 months in Ireland, so I can compare). It took 6 weeks for them to set me up on the system so I could get paid. IT finally added me to the Financial software yesterday, my 9th week, as my forms were lost twice, it took me 5 phone calls to try to sort out, as the shared service centre is in another place, they referred me to the guy that set it up, I rang him to find out he'd retired in Sept, he had set me up with a start date and end date of the same day. Back to the service centre, to go back to someone else, to go to someone else, 'as that's not my area'. But no one bats an eyelid, that seems to be the norm.
Sorry this has been a very long rant, but it's just my opinions so far! Final thing, this area is lovely, lots of wineries, lots to do as there's so many attractions, but again it's all $$. Once you go off the tourist path a lot of this area is very run down, very poor, very dirty there's definitely a huge difference between the have and have nots. I've been shocked by the number of homeless. And I get asked for money daily, they come right up to you here, some even grab your arm. It's really not nice. I do feel really sorry for them but there's so many it's hard to know where to start. I lived off Thomas St in Dublin for many years, it's not intimidating at all, here can be quite a bit.
Anyway that's my rant, sorry again for the length! In summary, glad I came, definitely an experience, it's really opened my eyes, I wouldn't say it'll be for me long term, but I'll really appreciate Ireland when I go back! 0 -
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Don't get me wrong the Falls is definitely worth a visit and worth seeing for sure. But Niagara Falls itself is like tacky town, I see it as a Bundoran/Salthill of Canada. It's good for what it is I guess.
There's some really beautiful parts, and Niagara on the Lake is amazing (again $$$ to eat out or have a few drinks, go to a play). But there's a very sad backdrop to it all. It doesn't take much to find it either. It just shocked me, especially coming from Ireland which has been in recession for 5 years now, and having lived beside what is classed as the 'busiest social welfare office' in the country, but I would struggle to think of anywhere in Ireland as run down or as bleak as a lot of places round here.
We should count our blessings I guess. 0
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