Hello canadians , what are some places in canada for a young american to start a new life as a canadian?

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thinkingtime

Start here for how to get permission to enter Canada as an immigrant:

tuppenybitz

you can not just move to canada, you must apply and qualify to immigrate

you need work skills to do that

Mathew H

I dunno man, it depends what you're into, and it depends if you can even immigrate.... not anyone can just immigrate here, there's policies here too.

That's like me asking "I want to move to the States, where can I start a new life?" There's a million different answers to your question, and it all depends what you're into. I'd look into this alot more if you're serious about it. but good luck regardless.

You can't just come here 'cause you want to. You have to apply to immigrate here first and that will take a long time. Canadian immigration works on a points system and you need a score of 67 to qualify in the first place. If you only have a high school education, you won't be awarded many points. If you don't have a job offer here in Canada, you won't be awarded many points there either. A minimum wage job here in Canada simply does not pay enough for anyone to live on their own. I mention "minimum wage" because a high school graduate isn't qualified to get any other kind of higher paying job.

My advice? Apply to attend university in Canada. Once you get a letter of acceptance from an accredited university, then you can apply for a student visa. However, you will have to pay roughly 2 and half times the tuition a Canadian citizen would pay because the Canadian government subsidizes (though not much) tuition for Canadian citizens; you would not qualify for any health care coverage from our system because you would not have paid into it (via taxes); you would not be allowed to work while on a student visa and you will have to return home after you complete your studies. You will also have to have enough money to support yourself while you are here and purchase your own health care coverage.

Do you see where I'm going with this? It isn't that you would not be welcome just that it is not easy to do, takes a long time to do it and you wouldn't be able to stay afterwards anyway.

So, as you can see, it is not just a simple matter of coming on over. Canada is a different country from the US - we're not the US's playground. You will have to qualify to immigrate here first. Look through http://www.cic.gc.ca and read through the entire site very carefully.

FireFish45

I'm from New Jersey (born & raised) and my wife is from Toronto, Ontario.

I'd recommend you check out Toronto to move to (at least initially) because in the big picture, you won't have as much of a culture shock as you would in Montreal or Quebec.

Toronto is a really friendly city that is clean, growing and fun to hang around.

Canadians are really nice people & coming from New Jersey / New York, I almost wondered what they wanted when they were approaching me just to wish me a 'Good Day'.

In a nutshell, Toronto is a perfect start for you. Once you adjust to it, consider more 'deeper' cities in Canada.

By the way, I hope you like the cold. If you're a single male, the women there are really good looking and also much more down to earth. In fact, I think that Toronto is the best kept secret for awesome women.
I met mine online 7 years ago & got married 9 months ago (we dated for 6 years).

wombat.moose

apply for a university and get in, then obtain a student visa, and once you graduate, permanent resident status, ottawa is nice but if youre more into cities then go to toronto, or montreal if you want to learn some french.

Jane Marple

You won't be able to make a living or enter here if you only have a high school diploma. You could enter as a foreign student in College or University.

6js59

Well, once you take the advice of some of the people that have posted above, check out Kingston Ontario. It's not a HUGE city, but it's a nice size, beautiful, laid-back city, midway between Toronto and Ottawa. www.cityofkingston.ca

Good Luck!

dina81

My reply will include more DON'TS than DO'S, so hopefully it will give you some insight. I'm from the Toronto area and yes, although Toronto is Canada's largest and most diverse city and is generally an awesome place to be (not to mention it's the country's economic centre), I wouldn't be so keen on recommending it to a very young newcomer looking to start out on his own. The main reason for this is that the cost of living here is RIDICULOUSLY HIGH!

I wouldn't recommend Montreal either because it will be too much of a culture shock for you. Calgary & Edmonton are great cities but if you think Toronto's winters are long and cold, it's like a walk in the park compared to those two cities. Ditto for the Maritime cities!

Oh and to the girl who said "I mention "minimum wage" because a high school graduate isn't qualified to get any other kind of higher paying job." A post-secondary education is great, but it is by no means a one-way ticket to sucess! There's always a detour! And let's not forget how many university graduates are currently filling those minimum wage jobs! Where did you get your facts from? Did you not know that solid experience can often make up for a lack of post-secondary education? I'm in my mid-late twenties, I just have a high school diploma and just a few first-year university courses and my salary is WELL above the median Canadian family income! Why? Because I'm very experienced in my field and scored a great office job within the utility sector. On top of the great salary, my benefits are second to none and I get handsome annual bonuses. And the longer I stay here, the more experience I'll gain and with just a few specialized training courses, the higher I can climb up the corporate ladder and can then say hello to six-figure salaries. I also plan on finishing my degree part time over the years just for own sense of self-accomplishment. Stop believing all the hogwash from today's society that you have to go to university straight out of high school to be successful. If you're smart, you'll be sucessful regardless of whether or not you chose to follow everyone else's post-high school plans!

Wolfenstein

Well, anywhere is Canada could be a place for you.
I am obliged to recommend the Calgary Region, because that is my zone.

However, there is a difference between actually becoming a Canadian, and just being an American living in Canada; you will have to attune yourself to the Canadian way of life, which is more different from the American one than you might think. You will have to learn Canadian terms, speak with Canadian pronunciation... otherwise, you might not be well-liked. But if you can do all those things (and NEVER tell anyone that you are an American originally!), you might find your place here.
I hope you can do all things, and I hope you can find a new life in Canada.
Good luck!

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