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My fiance and I are moving our family (we also have two young children, 3 yrs and 8 mths) to Halifax for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Lovely parks, lots of universities, plus nothing is too far away. I'll be going for my masters, and I'm leaning toward Dalhousie. Plus for us being near the water is a must and something we cannot afford to do where we currently live in CT.
Why Canada? You like high taxes, and little reward? There are far better places in the world. Canada was good circa 1970, but is currently a socialist mess trying to reinvent itself in todays world marketplace. I would say it may return to greatness in the next 20-40 years but if you can look elsewhere...not to make mention of the lousy weather...
Kingston, On is a nice city. roughly 100,000 pop. Queen's University, Royal military College, St. Lawrence College. Housing/Rent, $1000/mo. Avg. As for Liberal attitiudes...Most canadians dont boast their political beliefs. the "attitudes" are there, just not as widely publicized. Kingston is a "family friendly" city. Lots of parks and natural beauty. A good social scene, and if you know where look, lots of cultural diversity. In addition to being located on the shores of Lake Ontario, near the beautiful St. Lawrence River, Kingston is on the edge of the CDN/US border, and is almost directly between Toronto and Montreal. There are lots of interesting tourist towns near Kingston, and lots of quiet lakes
Have you looked into London Ontario. (cbout 2 hours north of Detroit)Known as the Forest City and home to the University of Western Ontario. A very family friendly town. I'd say it's fairly conservative but warm and welcoming!
I've lived across Canada, and in my opinion, Montreal is the best city hands down.
It has everything you mentioned in spades, plus an amazing public transit system, and a vibrant cultural/cosmopolitan flare that is lacking in most of the cities already mentioned. It is also home to McGill University, one of the most respected Canadian colleges (in America).
Canadians from outside Quebec will constantly harp on Montreal and call it dirty, unfriendly, etc. The fact is, those hostilities are borne of a longstanding linguistic feud in Canada between English and French. The good news is that the new generation of Quebec Francophones is mostly uninterested in the tired political rivalries of their parents.
The only drawback is that you will want to learn at least a little French to get by. While there are English schools and an English community, and probably 2/3 of the population can speak at least a bit of English, it is still very much a predominantly French city. It's also hard to find work as an English-speaker in Montreal, unless you work in a specialized field. I'm assuming that doesn't matter because you won't be able to work in Canada anyway without some kind of work visa. And they are not easy to get.
Ultimately, visit whatever city interests you and then draw your own conclusions.
I've lived across Canada, and in my opinion, Montreal is the best city hands down.
It has everything you mentioned in spades, plus an amazing public transit system, and a vibrant cultural/cosmopolitan flare that is lacking in most of the cities already mentioned. It is also home to McGill University, one of the most respected Canadian colleges (in America).
Canadians from outside Quebec will constantly harp on Montreal and call it dirty, unfriendly, etc. The fact is, those hostilities are borne of a longstanding linguistic feud in Canada between English and French. The good news is that the new generation of Quebec Francophones is mostly uninterested in the tired political rivalries of their parents.
The only drawback is that you will want to learn at least a little French to get by. While there are English schools and an English community, and probably 2/3 of the population can speak at least a bit of English, it is still very much a predominantly French city. It's also hard to find work as an English-speaker in Montreal, unless you work in a specialized field. I'm assuming that doesn't matter because you won't be able to work in Canada anyway without some kind of work visa. And they are not easy to get.
Ultimately, visit whatever city interests you and then draw your own conclusions.
You forgot to mention the ridiculous tax rates (highest in North America) and the extremely large bureaucracy present in Quebec. Quebeckers are of the stream of thought that this is a sign of sophistication while in reality it is just a mass transfer of wealth from the working class and small businesspeople to the Anglophone hating intelligensia. Of course the rest of Canada already knows this, but this system is kept in place by change fearing Ontario voters...
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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SMP 2010...how much time have you spent in Canada recently? As a US citizen who is spending half my time in Canada and half in the US, I can report that Canada is progressive, compassionate, clean, safe, friendly and the economy is on fire. Best days in the '70's? You ve got to be kidding!!!
Oh, and the weather is pretty good too. Its a myth that a place like Toronto has lousy weather. Sure, it gets some snow in winter, but overall I think its just fine.
Ottawa i would say. Though I have only been to 3 provinces (MB, ON and PQ). Toronto might be my second choice, but not sure how much it would cost to live there.
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