Is Canada worth it to immigrate to?

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SteveN

To answer that, you have to put it in perspective to where you are coming from.

If I was living in a place where bombs are going off each night, where people go "missing" when walking home from the store, or your child is abducted and later found working in a child labor camp as a slave, I would think that Canada would be considered a paradise, even with its really cold winters.

- Our economy is doing fine, with the Canadian dollar almost at par with USA

- High-tech and skilled worker job positions are available in various parts of Canada.

- Real estate and the housing market is high within the major cities, but it is still possible to obtain affordable housing away from these centres. The expensive spots for hosuing are Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. But a typical bungalow in Calgary or Vancouver would buy you a upscale home or a large property in the Maritime provinces.

- Drug use is not exactly rampant. Marijuana is illegal but tolerated to some extent in Canada. The other drugs are present but you won't find them unless you go looking for it. The only effect that the drugs have on our culture is that it attracts the gangs who try to control and profit from that market. Several cities have seen a rise in youth gang activity, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

- Taxes are high in Canada, but I am not sure how much higher they are than elsewhere. The difference with Canada is that almost all of our taxes are visible. The government shows you the taxes on your bill rather than charging the manufacturer who then increases the price of their product to compensate. The Canadian VAT is called the GST and is at 6%. Each province (except Alberta) also has its own sales tax. And if you have a job here, the government expects you to pay income tax, which hovers between 18-30% depending on how much money you make. For example, if you earn $38,000 per year, you will probably pay about $10,000 worth of income tax (about 26%)

Of course, before you come here, you should try to find out if your diploma is recognized in Canada or if your skills are required.

I know of one Iranian fellow who often posts in this category who had a rather tough time getting work in Vancouver as a cartoonist and artist. He is very disillusioned with Canada and has posted several disgruntled messages about how bad Canada is to immigrants. I responded to several of them, so feel free to look at my past responses for a perspective from his point of view if you like.

tuppenybitz

Canada has one of the highest standard of living in the world. Just compare the public health system to the non existent one in the US. Everyone is treated in Canada,rich or poor!

No im not Canadian

nbr660

First of all I'm American and living in Canada. Canada is a nice place to live and raise a family. Taxes are high but you have to look at what you get for no extra money like health care. Economy is great, just look at the Canadian dollar go up. Yes houses are high but it's all proportainate to wages,inflation,living area, that kinda stuff. You may want to rethink the way your looking at Canada, but that's just my opinion. Really the violents that happens (let's say Toronto) is mostly geared towards the immigrants from over seas that come from a nice little tourist island. But violence is not everywhere.

marie9

Taxes are high, because of social programs like universal medicare and unemployment programs. Many people who immigrate even though educated in their country never work in what they have a diploma in because their diploma isn't recognized in Canada. Housing is expensive but depends where you live. What might seem cheap in one province is expensive in another because salaries differ from province to province. Average taxes paid depend on income and province. The economy is sluggish in certain areas.
Let's just say no place is perfect.
Some immigrants return to their home country because they make a better living than in Canada.

Lili B

The economy is doing fine. The dollar is rising (almost equal to the American dollar).
Housing is high in Calgary but rather cheap in Montreal. It really depends where you are.
Taxes are high, but we usually get good service out of them (consider that in Canada your taxes pay for your medical insurance, among other things). Also, taxes change depending on the provinces. The federal income tax can go as high as 29% (it depends on how much you make). Provincial income taxes go from 10% (Alberta) to 24% (Quebec). (those are the highest amounts you can pay)
Drugs aren't particularily common. Sure we have drug related problems in certain parts of the cities, but who doesn't? We are more tolerant of marijuana, but it's far from being as common as cigarettes and it is illegal.
Canada is a good place to live. It's also very safe. Like every country it has problems but I think we're doing pretty well.

bubbles

i live in vienna austria ! i was in canada for 2 1/2 years! i would like to live there !it is it worth for me!

Highlander1905

Statement 1: Apparently the economy is sluggish ---- The Canadian economy is very good and in Alberta its booming, I'll probably retire in 5 years because I don't spend my money on new cars, houses and trips everywhere. Problem is that the housing is expensive for newcomers to the province.

Statement 2: the society is not so good (drugs and stuff are rife). --- Rife? My gawd, is your thesaurus overworked? And what is the "and stuff" you're talking about? Canada is no better or worse than any other European country I've lived in or visited. The society here is great, people in my city of 70K still smile and say hello on the street. Alberta has plenty of culture but don't expect anyone to invite you to an opera or a Chinese finger puppet interpretive dance show. Think cowboy stuff, hockey and outdoor activities (Rockies).

Statement 3: housing prices are high for what one gets and the teaxes are very high ---- Really as compared to where for housing? Monowi, Nebraska? Taxes are high? Compared to the US .. yes; compared to Sweden ..No.

Question 1: Is this true or is Canada a good place to go for an educated person with plenty $$? If you were educated and had lots of cash...anywhere is good to go.

Question 2: What is an average tax % in Canada anyway? Two income family of four $75K - Alberta lowest at 16K taxes and Quebec highest province at 20K taxes. Federal and provincal.

12VDC800mA2600

Education is good, we have a good literacy rate. basically almost all Canadians can read and write English. The economy is on the rise thanks to a steady oil supply in Alberta. As for crime, there are very few crimes committed. There are a lot of social services such as free health care, Unemployment Insurance, Welfare and government pensions. Canadians are accepting and you rarely see racism, people are just more laid back and glad to meet new people.

a1a5g6

The standard of living is good in Canada. The GST rate is 6% on goods and services. In three of the four Atlantic Provinces it has been harmonized with the provincial sales taxes. The economy (Candian dollar now sits at 94.5 USD) is doing way better than expected. There are many people from other countries who are not well educated and working jobs and are able to have a decent way of life. Also, this depends on where in Canada you live. You can live on the east coast in the Atlantic Provinces, Ontario, Quebec, or in the western provinces or in the northern provinces of Yukon, NWT or Nunivut.

â™¥ miz*india â™¥

our economy isn't too bad...our dollar is really becoming stronger....drugs aren't that bad...depends on where you go.....but every country and city has its problems!! Education is free.....however you do get taxed a lot....but the people here are nice.....

coolcaprice

Depends what you want in life - huge social circle or good standard of living with health care coverage. Its hard if you think you will have a great social life like you had in your home country, but its worth the trade-off of living in a multi-cultural, respectful society.
If you are OK livign in "interesting" weatehr condition, Canada is the place to be!

Jim M

NOPE, everything's so damn expensive......

delfini

It depends where you live now. For example if you live in Switzerland don't immigrate to Canada. If, however, you come from a poor third world country it may be worth it. I, for one, born and raised in Canada have chosen to live in Europe.

snippi f

canada is the most borring place to be and theres nothing worth talking about to see or do there..culture sucks to. i known many people who came from europe and headed back after seeing how things really are here,even though they had a much easier life in canada finantially..so it comes down to how much you want to sacrifice to save a little money..i would say no to canada

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