Though there have been different posts on a few things about different locations, would like to get a consolidated list from fellow CD's ,which would not only help me but other people who are planning to move as well. Hence starting this separate thread.

Would like to know a few things considering we are new to Canada :

1] Which places in and around Toronto are safe in terms of staying as well as close to transport/groceries/healthcare/other amenities etc.? Most importantly , cost of living too.

2] How about places like Hamilton ,London , Kitchener or Mississuaga?

3] Same question for places like Vancouver or Calgary on the west coast?

4] What would be the weather like on the west coast versus the east coast especially during winter, in the above places?

5] Out of all the places above, which places are good from IT job prospects?

Would appreciate people's responses.

Can someone atleast answer some of the questions, if not all at the same time?

Would appreciate some responses here.

TIA

***** I am in the West Coast. Surrey, Abbotsford one of the most unsafest areas. Most desi's live in these areas too. . The more educated desi's tend to live away from these two cities. They'll move to Burnaby, N. Vancouver, South Surrey etc. Cost of living is the highest in the West Coast. For the same money for which you can afford maybe a 2 bedroom Condo (Surrey), you can buy a nice small house in Hamilton.

Weather wise it awesome out here. No snow ( max. 1 week in the whole year.) Generally it's raining. The temp. stays between -2 min. and 16 max in winters and summers 10 min. - 30 max. If it goes quite hot like 30 for a day it's bound to rain the next day.

Job situation for anyone except berry picking, warehouse work, dock work, lumber industry is hard to find. The job market trend on this side of Canada has always been more on labour side than technical side. There are some big corporations, but chances of getting in them without inside contacts etc are 0 to null. But one thing a person generally can do is, come here, work as a labourer for 2-3 mths and then apply for training from HRDC by going to an employment agency. Ppl. seem to be quite good at that out here, specially surrey and abbotsford where unfortunately had to stay (Surrey) for first 2 yrs when I first came to Canada. Also if you try finding a job with Surrey as the place where u reside, u'll see employers ignoring you.

hope it helps

I agree with Charles3.Having an address in Surrey dims your job prospects. But, you get a lot of basement to rent there somewhat cheap.
The immediate job you can get is Security Guard job, which pays about $9/ an hour.One CA guy from India is living in a basement in Surrey, working as a Security guard, got $5000/ loan from the Govt. for his studies and hoping to get a good job in his field.
I do not know about other fields.But, from what my husband told, people from Toronto ,Montreal and USA are coming to work here on IT projects.
Rent is killing.
Had our card window smashed the second day, we imported it from the USA.No offence, but Desis who are here for a long time, do not even acknowledge your presence. Sometimes, it breaks my heart to see desis doing Janitorial work, or driving a truck(construction).
So far, its a mixed feeling. But, my vote is for Vancouver, not for Toronto. I like the climate here.

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HOPE

Go to Calgary! The oil money's flowing there!

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Orginally posted by NorthYorkDesi

Go to Calgary! The oil money's flowing there!

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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.

Pramesh, lt's turn your question around a bit and look at it another way. What is it that you love doing, and what is your current profession? Are you a 'white collar worker currently at a senior level? If so, you are justified in seeking a white collar job, but if not, then dont shy away from 'blue collar' jobs because very often in Canada, these pay more than white collar jobs, especially if you get a unionised job. For example, are you willing to learn the 'trades' (plumbing, electrician, carpenter, drywall, welder, etc.) I am a 'very white collar' accountant and I know plumbers who earn twice my income. Why...some TTC (Toronto Transit) bus drivers make more than me. Remember, in Canada it's not about respectability, image, what your brother in law's parents think about your profession, etc... like it is in India....here you must measure your success by how much you enjoy your work, and how much $$$ it provides.

As for IT...well, Vancouver is one of the better places for that if your area of intrest is web design, film post-production, anything to do with animated graphics, pure C++ programming, etc. However, for jobs like network admin, business analysts, project mgt, finance-IT overlap jobs, DB admin, etc, Toronto is better than Vancouver. About Calgary i dont know much, and Montreal...i assume they need Francais as a primary requirement - not English....so there goes....just my observation...

LAstly, check out http://www.workopolis.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK , create 2 or 3 job alerts in your field based on the same job criteria keywords (your intended job) but with different geographical locatins, and see which search turns up with more hits....that wy you will k now which city has more jobs in the field you desire.

Good luck.