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Maybe somewhere south like DC or B'more area? I did my uni in Baltimore (JHU) and we hardly got any snow every winter (with exception of winter 2010). There were days in January when average temperature in Baltimore was approaching high 60s/70.
Yes, snow in Boston was really so so painful. I don't really mind the snow as much as the parking situation in Cambridge which was horrendous. Not to mention street closures during snow days when people had to somehow find another spot to park their cars, and the constant street cleaning and towing game...
Both TO and Boston's weathers suck in the winter. Big time. The only positive I can say about Toronto is that I don't have to deal with as much snow due to indoor parking and relatively efficient snow plowing. And the fact that I can conduct most of my daily activities without ever stepping outside (food, gym, etc), while in Boston, I had to do a 25 min walk every time I want to use the gym at the Charles in Cambridge - a big deterrence when there's a already a foot of snow outside...
I do love both cities in the summer and fall.
That is a huge plus and the modern facilities available in Toronto are an advantage over Boston. The older homes are pretty to look at and the winding streets are very "European" but once you add snow, you really start to hate it.
DC and B more are options, I know DC really well and like the city. B More is a cool town that I really dig and JHU is a great school How did you like living there, weather aside?
Honestly though I'm inching towards breaking out on my own, so something permanently outside of the US is what I am thinking. It wouldn't be immediate though, because my wife would need to practice law for another 2 years in order to take the bar in the location we are thinking.
agree on the parts about basic goods being 30% higher in Toronto
Here's what I know about these 2 places
Housing: Houston would be much cheaper to own a home. A friend of mine just moved there and bought a house of 3000+ sqft with about $500K, you will only get a 900 sqft condo in Toronto with that price. The property tax is high there, they will pay 12K a year for that house. But Texas has no state income tax, so it offsets most of the property tax one has to pay. Sounds like you won't be there for long, so you will most likely be renting.
Immigration: Yes, Canada is way easier if you have a decent paying job from a reputable employer, since you can do it yourself right away, and the whole thing can be done within a year from sending out application to receiving approval, as opposed in the US you need to be sponsored by an employer, with one hoop to jump through after another, with potential audit every step of the way, which could get your application stuck somewhere for a long time.
Based on what you described, you will be in Dubai for a while after training in Houston, then why not make your decision around the time you are ready to leave Dubai? You will be able to save quite a bit of money to buy a place in either Toronto or Huston - once that is taken care of, your quality of life would be much better in Toronto than in Huston.
If you are thinking about moving your training from Huston to Toronto, the immigration issue shouldn't be of any concern, since once you get your PR, you will need to stay in Canada for more than 2 out of 5 years , otherwise you will lose your PR status.
This is good advice. Also the time spent in Dubai may draw the OP closer to that location as well. Just because some people think its a temporary type living experience, doesnt meant the OP wont like what he sees.
That is a huge plus and the modern facilities available in Toronto are an advantage over Boston. The older homes are pretty to look at and the winding streets are very "European" but once you add snow, you really start to hate it.
DC and B more are options, I know DC really well and like the city. B More is a cool town that I really dig and JHU is a great school How did you like living there, weather aside?
Honestly though I'm inching towards breaking out on my own, so something permanently outside of the US is what I am thinking. It wouldn't be immediate though, because my wife would need to practice law for another 2 years in order to take the bar in the location we are thinking.
The undergrad experience at JHU was amazing. The campus is one of the most beautiful that you'll encounter in the U.S. (a smaller, cleaner, and more organized version of Harvard's Cambridge campus). As for B'more, I have mixed feelings:
- I love meeting people in Baltimore because they seem to be more friendly, laid back, and down to earth than people in neighboring places like DC and NYC. The city has a much slower place than the rest of the NE, and you can feel that when walking around.
- Baltimore city proper is quite a mess. The areas outside of inner harbor, harbor east, and fells point can be classified as true ghettos (I know this may offend a lot of Bmore natives...). Downtown is very small and confined, with a big detention center/prison right next to downtown, and very little residential areas and a lot of row houses that are boarded up. Public transit is shameful - the city actually has a subway line but most people rarely use it or don't even know it exists...
- While I've never seen any robbery or street violence, most of my friends and I rarely walk beyond the bounds of JHU after dark, unless escorted by campus security. It's not that you'll be robbed at every turn, but the fact that most streets in inner city are always so deserted and run down.
That is a huge plus and the modern facilities available in Toronto are an advantage over Boston. The older homes are pretty to look at and the winding streets are very "European" but once you add snow, you really start to hate it.
DC and B more are options, I know DC really well and like the city. B More is a cool town that I really dig and JHU is a great school How did you like living there, weather aside?
Honestly though I'm inching towards breaking out on my own, so something permanently outside of the US is what I am thinking. It wouldn't be immediate though, because my wife would need to practice law for another 2 years in order to take the bar in the location we are thinking.
Oh one more thing to add, if you are considering a move to B'more, is that rent is not very affordable especially in city proper or around the downtown core. A lot of it is fueled by spill-over residents from DC who live in Baltimore and commute to DC, and students at local universities. The more desirable areas to live in Baltimore are all way outside the city, in places like Towson or Timonium with large single family homes, and estates with large acres of land like this:
The undergrad experience at JHU was amazing. The campus is one of the most beautiful that you'll encounter in the U.S. (a smaller, cleaner, and more organized version of Harvard's Cambridge campus). As for B'more, I have mixed feelings:
- I love meeting people in Baltimore because they seem to be more friendly, laid back, and down to earth than people in neighboring places like DC and NYC. The city has a much slower place than the rest of the NE, and you can feel that when walking around.
- Baltimore city proper is quite a mess. The areas outside of inner harbor, harbor east, and fells point can be classified as true ghettos (I know this may offend a lot of Bmore natives...). Downtown is very small and confined, with a big detention center/prison right next to downtown, and very little residential areas and a lot of row houses that are boarded up. Public transit is shameful - the city actually has a subway line but most people rarely use it or don't even know it exists...
- While I've never seen any robbery or street violence, most of my friends and I rarely walk beyond the bounds of JHU after dark, unless escorted by campus security. It's not that you'll be robbed at every turn, but the fact that most streets in inner city are always so deserted and run down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonkid123
Oh one more thing to add, if you are considering a move to B'more, is that rent is not very affordable especially in city proper or around the downtown core. A lot of it is fueled by spill-over residents from DC who live in Baltimore and commute to DC, and students at local universities. The more desirable areas to live in Baltimore are all way outside the city, in places like Towson or Timonium with large single family homes, and estates with large acres of land like this:
Thanks for that! B more definitely has its spots that can make anyone feel uncomfortable but also alot of cool aspects to it as well. The fact that living in the main core is not attractive is a non starter to me. If you cant reasonably raise a family in the main core or an outside urban area and send them to public schools if you choose, then its a tough sell. For reference we live in Inman sq in Cambridge, so something like the DC burbs like Arlington or Alexandria would be acceptable, but the B more burbs seem very much different.
Anyways, I dont want to turn this away from the OP too much. But I appreciate the run down.
Thanks for that! B more definitely has its spots that can make anyone feel uncomfortable but also alot of cool aspects to it as well. The fact that living in the main core is not attractive is a non starter to me. If you cant reasonably raise a family in the main core or an outside urban area and send them to public schools if you choose, then its a tough sell. For reference we live in Inman sq in Cambridge, so something like the DC burbs like Arlington or Alexandria would be acceptable, but the B more burbs seem very much different.
Anyways, I dont want to turn this away from the OP too much. But I appreciate the run down.
Oh please don't get the wrong impression. B'more does have a few inner city burbs that are great, like Charles Village, Hampton, and Fells Point - they are all middle-class, upper-middle class neighborhoods that aren't too far from downtown. Just don't expect too much out of downtown B'more. This is the part of Charles Village right beside JHU where my friends and I always hung out:
Oh please don't get the wrong impression. B'more does have a few inner city burbs that are great, like Charles Village, Hampton, and Fells Point - they are all middle-class, upper-middle class neighborhoods that aren't too far from downtown. Just don't expect too much out of downtown B'more. This is the part of Charles Village right beside JHU where my friends and I always hung out:
I totally stand corrected. This is where my outside of a few b more neighborhoods ignorance starts to shine through. Honestly outside of Mt. Vernon, around JH medical, Camden yards (My favorite baseball stadium in the league), Little Italy and Lexington market area I do not know much. Well I did let my curiosity get the best of me once and visited "The block" to see what its all about. I am much more familiar with DC than B more and it shows.
Coming from Boston, I can tell you that you have to deal with snow a lot more often in Boston than you have to in Toronto. Last year in Boston we got a snow storm about every 2 weeks (sometimes twice in one single week), to the point where I couldn't drive out my car in the entire month of January and most of my colleagues worked from home for 1 entire week. The fact that most apartments in Boston only have street parking makes it even worse, because you have to dig out a new parking spot every single day after work... good daily exercise.
haha, you are from there and must known better Mother nature definitely hasn't been kind to Boston for the past two winters, which almost make Toronto winter more bearable.
Bostonkid hit on alot of good points already. Just a few additional questions.
What type of Visa are you currently working on in Houston? The path towards a GC can vary depending on your current status. I agree the US immigration system is severely damaged and no matter what you are facing a challenge, but in the end you may find certain paths to a GC and "easier" than others.
Would the move to Toronto be a lateral move? If so are the advancement and earning opportunities greater in Toronto or Houston?
Toronto does not really remind me of a European city at all, but you will run into quite a bit of Italians as mentioned, so accessing your community will not be difficult at all.
I have spent alot of time in the Emirates for work and would agree it is a short term type of experience. Of the 3 cities Dubai may be my last choice. Houston is a place I have hardly spent any time in, so hard to comment, but based on your check list it seems like Toronto may be the best fit of the bunch. With that said you seem to be enjoying Houston and you are only 1 month in (which is typically the hardest month after a move) So there also may be a strong enough reason to stick it out a bit longer to see if that love for the city grows stronger.
You really cant go wrong, as its wonderful to have options in three different countries. Good luck on your final decision.
I am here with a J1 type of Visa.
The move to Toronto would be on a same job as I'm doing now. The point is that if i decide to move forward thus being interviewed for the position (i have big pro's with respect to external candidates), I don't know what the final offer might be. My contract is an italian one and am now in Houston as an expat with all the expenses paid for by the italian company.
Definitely a move would not be considered under the expat status any more.
what should you do?
Houston is not too bad, I like it. Cost of life isn't bad at all.
But honestly i dont know much about earning opportunities at this stage.
As far as Dubai, well, that is not a long term move, might be ok for some years. But honestly I'd have to put my wife's life on hold and probably this is not fair.
As far as money, yes, I will still be an expat with all the advantages .. but i cannot take a decision on this point alone.
i dont know...I may decide to apply for the position in Toronto and then decide that the offer is not in line? So what the reaction would be since you normally face situation like this with a different employer while here you are within the same company...
I am here with a J1 type of Visa.
The move to Toronto would be on a same job as I'm doing now. The point is that if i decide to move forward thus being interviewed for the position (i have big pro's with respect to external candidates), I don't know what the final offer might be. My contract is an italian one and am now in Houston as an expat with all the expenses paid for by the italian company.
Definitely a move would not be considered under the expat status any more.
what should you do?
Houston is not too bad, I like it. Cost of life isn't bad at all.
i dont know...
Why don't you speak to the recruiters of both the Houston and Toronto positions and find out? Either way, you may have to change your current visa status to L1 intra-compan transfer (Houston) or apply for a new work permit (Toronto).
Another option: arrange an interview with the Toronto job, come up, stay for a few days, and see for yourself.
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How did you like living there, weather aside? 
I am much more familiar with DC than B more and it shows.
