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Life in Toronto can be extremely rewarding for ambitious, intelligent and educated people. It can also be ruthless and competitive, so bring your street smarts. If you don't have them, you'll develop them.
If you are more laid back, you may find it difficult to find work, a date and even a place to live here.
Exactly! It seems like most of the negative issues mentioned about Toronto on this forum is often said about other big cities (NYC, Hong Kong, Miami, LA, London, etc...).
In short, he will have more opportunities to meet a lot of people (students, colleagues, and the community), which is much different than working a typical 9 to 5 job.
I don't know but this doesn't sound right. I don't think a university would approve of (undergrad) student-professor relationships, and I don't think most professors have a lot of contact with "the community" in their role as professors. As for colleagues, most are likely to be older and/or in a relationships (whereas most people get their PhDs in their late 20s or early 30s).
Thanks again for being so responsive. I must admit that I'm starting to doubt whether I'd like to take the leap and immigrate to Canada/move to Toronto. Honestly, you guys are scaring me a bit. I am not the most outgoing person in the world. I'm rather introverted, introspective, and shy. I knew that Toronto was an economic powerhouse, by Canadian standards, but I had no idea that the cut-throat, dog eat dog mentality was so pervasive. One of the reasons I wanted to move to Canada is because I've read and heard that Canada, generally speaking, has a more relaxed work atmosphere (less hours worked, less pay, less stress). You all are making it sound like a boiler room. I found people to be friendly enough when I was there but I guess living there is a different story alltogether. Does anyone have any experience with any of the other cities I mentioned (Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia)? Have any of you lived in any of these cities and moved back to Toronto, or vice versa? Is it any different as far as work environment or dating scene?
OP, if you can overlook the general Toronto instinct to dislike America and Americans, then you'll probably fit right in because you sound an awful lot like many Torontonians that I have met over the years. As a self-styled progressive (whatever that means), all of the tut-tutters in Toronto are likely to welcome you with open arms. I think that there are much better options in the United States for you and for most Americans who look north for salvation, but that's just one man's opinion.
Maclock,
Is there anyway you can elaborate on that statement? What makes locales in the U.S. a better option for people wanting to flee to the north in your opinion? My attraction to Canada is largely based on policy choices and outcomes (health care, no death penalty, gay marriage, more gun control, lower crime, etc.) rather than a deep seated love of Canada, per se. I like hockey too which is kind of weird for a Cuban-American from Miami.
Also, even though I might regret it after the first winter, I need a change of pace from Florida. Too hot and sticky for my taste. I lived in the DC area when I was younger and I loved the snow and the seasons. Granted, I didn't have to commute and do errands in the snow and ice so I'm a bit biased. Having snow days where I could go sledding and have snowball fights is very different than navigating on roads and watching out for "black ice" and whatnot.
In the U.S. we always think of Canadians as being very friendly and/or polite (I know those are two different things). From the way some of the posters on this thread make it sound, Toronto is full of *******s. I'd like to eventually meet a woman if I move there and, like I said before, I'm not a club-hopping, aggresive, douchey type of guy (I got all my clubbing out of my system when I was younger. I am from Miami after all. ). I'm more of a bookish type.
Also, I don't mind if Canadians want to dislike or hate on America or Americans. I don't agree with most of our policies. As far as the people are concerned, however, I don't think it's fair to generalize as there are so many regional differences in the U.S. as far as culture and social scenes are concerned.
I am an academic after all. A sociologist at that. I welcome debate about differences between Canada and the U.S. It's pretty interesting to me.
I'm not going to get into it any more deeply than this: you like a lot of stuff that I could care less about. So do many Torontonians. Those Torontonians are your kind of people and they are there in their numbers.
Toronto is full of unpleasant people, but sanctimonious types are unpleasant in my experience. Trust me, as long as you can tolerate the crushing pressure to conform to their latest asshattery (which you might be inclined to do anyway, because downtowners in Toronto are more likely to plump for stuff that you like instead of stuff that I like), then you'll probably fit in just fine. There are lots of people in Toronto with graduate and doctoral degrees ready to tell the world what's best for them. I should think that the environment will suit you just fine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JProg305
Maclock,
Is there anyway you can elaborate on that statement? What makes locales in the U.S. a better option for people wanting to flee to the north in your opinion? My attraction to Canada is largely based on policy choices and outcomes (health care, no death penalty, gay marriage, more gun control, lower crime, etc.) rather than a deep seated love of Canada, per se. I like hockey too which is kind of weird for a Cuban-American from Miami.
Also, even though I might regret it after the first winter, I need a change of pace from Florida. Too hot and sticky for my taste. I lived in the DC area when I was younger and I loved the snow and the seasons. Granted, I didn't have to commute and do errands in the snow and ice so I'm a bit biased. Having snow days where I could go sledding and have snowball fights is very different than navigating on roads and watching out for "black ice" and whatnot.
In the U.S. we always think of Canadians as being very friendly and/or polite (I know those are two different things). From the way some of the posters on this thread make it sound, Toronto is full of *******s. I'd like to eventually meet a woman if I move there and, like I said before, I'm not a club-hopping, aggresive, douchey type of guy (I got all my clubbing out of my system when I was younger. I am from Miami after all. ). I'm more of a bookish type.
Thanks again for being so responsive. I must admit that I'm starting to doubt whether I'd like to take the leap and immigrate to Canada/move to Toronto. Honestly, you guys are scaring me a bit. I am not the most outgoing person in the world. I'm rather introverted, introspective, and shy. I knew that Toronto was an economic powerhouse, by Canadian standards, but I had no idea that the cut-throat, dog eat dog mentality was so pervasive. One of the reasons I wanted to move to Canada is because I've read and heard that Canada, generally speaking, has a more relaxed work atmosphere (less hours worked, less pay, less stress). You all are making it sound like a boiler room. I found people to be friendly enough when I was there but I guess living there is a different story alltogether. Does anyone have any experience with any of the other cities I mentioned (Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia)? Have any of you lived in any of these cities and moved back to Toronto, or vice versa? Is it any different as far as work environment or dating scene?
There is nothing to fear. I'm speaking from experience. Someone that is familiar with academia, that's an American, and moved to Canada from Florida. Our quality of life/work-life-balance has improved significantly since we moved here. So again trust your instincts and ignore the cynics.
Hi all,
I am a graduate student currently living in Florida and I am planning on graduating and receiving my PhD in sociology in December. I have been entertaining the idea of either moving somewhere up north in the U.S. (Philadelphia, Boston, DC, Chicago) or immigrating to Canada for several years now and I am starting to have some reservations about the whole process. I have visited Toronto and I really liked it for various reasons (diversity, safety, good food scene, unique neighborhoods, etc.). However, I keep reading threads on this forum that discuss (at length) many of the negative aspects of Toronto (unfriendly and materialistic people, difficulty for single males in the dating arena, etc.) and I'm confused and unsure of my decision to possibly relocate to the Toronto area. I don't know anybody in Toronto and I don't want to move to a city that is known as being difficult for newcomers (surviving the first winter will be hard enough ). Is all the negative talk on this forum legit? Are any of the other possible relocation cities I discussed a better choice? Is immigrating to Canada in general, and Toronto in particular worth it?
As a current graduate student, I think you're putting the cart in front of the horse. If you remain in academia, it's highly unlikely you will be in a position to choose your location, regardless of how eminent a sociologist you might be.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you should be far more concerned with the fact that there is only one TT job for every 6 PhDs conferred in the US. In Canada, where the statistics are only marginally better, Canadian academics are given preference over foreign nationals.
Krock67 might have more to add, but as someone who defended last fall, with excellent credentials, I chose the private sector over academia, in part because the numbers are currently stacked against us and I had no desire to prostitute myself for years in order to secure tenure.
However, based on what you mentioned, I think you would really enjoy Toronto. That being said, as someone who's familiar with Canadian politics, I assume you're aware of the (in my opinion) ongoing decline in quality of life here.
Good luck!
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). I'm more of a bookish type.
