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Ahem Ive live in NYC and Toronto and Toronto is a BARGAIN compared to NYC! HAve you even been or lived in both cities? A co-worker of mine is moving to Toronto next week. His newish 1 bedroom flat in Toronto is 1,150 including INDOOR HEATED PARKING. Good neighborhood. Central to all. His STUDIO off 10th avenue cost him 2,450 a month AND his MONTHLY PARKING in NYC is 420 a month (a bargain). Do the maths.
Yes, Manhattan's rent is probrbaly 100-150% more expensive than Toronto's. On the other hand, other stuff such as transportation, food, clothing etc are all cheaper.
Of course NYC is more expensive. These two cities shouldn't be compared in the first place. In fact, not a single city can be compared with NYC.
It should be pointed out that the similar job in New York should pay considerably higher than Toronto as well, probably 50% more.
Banking services in Canada are poor..? Shall we recap the American financial industry crisis and collapse? And talk about how the Canadian banking system is considered the world's safest and most efficient system by the World Economic Forum?
Despite the fees that all banks love to impose, I've always preferred the Canadian banking experience:
- You walk in, go straight to a friendly teller and take care of business. No silly paper withdrawal/deposit slips to fill out wasting everyone's time.
- Foreign currency exchange in a Canadian bank? No problem!
I've lived in Las Vegas and always had to go to specific casinos to exchange currency (I hate the casinos!). Banks don't do it, only maybe by mail, and probably for a hefty fee. I'm in Raleigh, NC and have had to go to the airport to do an exchange.
Also, I think Toronto is hardly more expensive than New York! In NY you can rent a 'closet' to share with a couple of people for $2000 per month, I've seen one! It's hardly that bad in Toronto. The cost of living can be totally reasonable depending on where and how you live in the city, as is the case for any major city.
My US bank, Chase, offer the services you are talking about; you can go to the atm and just put in your money without filling any forms, although, I have to admit that this is new. I will rather fill the forms than pay money to deposit check or cash a check or any of the million fees canadian banks charge for their services.
I have only exchanged money once for a cousin who was visiting and it was very easy with my bank.
You can get a very good place in Upper West Side or very good part of Bronx, or Brooklyn for $2000 a month. I don't feel sorry for people who want to live in a "closet" in Chelsea or the Village or any of the "hip" places in Manhattan for $2000.
Ahem Ive live in NYC and Toronto and Toronto is a BARGAIN compared to NYC! HAve you even been or lived in both cities? A co-worker of mine is moving to Toronto next week. His newish 1 bedroom flat in Toronto is 1,150 including INDOOR HEATED PARKING. Good neighborhood. Central to all. His STUDIO off 10th avenue cost him 2,450 a month AND his MONTHLY PARKING in NYC is 420 a month (a bargain). Do the maths.
I have never lived in Toronto (I would love to live there and Montreal sometime). 10th Ave and what street? with that money you can get a very good place at Upper West Side or Brooklyn. Why does he need parking in NY? You don't need a car in the city.
Toronto is not a bargain, Salaries are far lower than NY, taxes are higher in Toronto (NY has one of the highest taxes in the whole US and they are still lower than Toronto), everything in Toronto costs about 10 to 50% more: internet, cable, phone, clothes, electronic stuff, etc. So a person living in NY who has the same salary as someone in Toronto is better off.
Toronto is not a bargain, Salaries are far lower than NY, taxes are higher in Toronto (NY has one of the highest taxes in the whole US and they are still lower than Toronto), everything in Toronto costs about 10 to 50% more: internet, cable, phone, clothes, electronic stuff, etc. So a person living in NY who has the same salary as someone in Toronto is better off.
There are some good qualities, but my point was it is not a bargain to live in Toronto compared to NY. If you immigrate to Canada you can live there for 5 years, and you don't have to pay any taxes on your worldwide income, so if you have a large investment income outside Canada it might be a good option.
US Pros? Well there are many good things about this country but... I love Canada and I would move back there if I could get my citizenship. US and Canada are similar... Except that Canada doesn't have all these damn illegal immigrants that come here thinking that we have to adapt to their language and their bull****.
US Pros? Well there are many good things about this country but... I love Canada and I would move back there if I could get my citizenship. US and Canada are similar... Except that Canada doesn't have all these damn illegal immigrants that come here thinking that we have to adapt to their language and their bull****.
Pardon my French.
Admittedly illegal immigrants is a big problem for the US, but US residents are better off with them considering the low cost services they are providing.
With respect to language, we adapt to the environment. When people around your speak Spanish or Chinese, you learn them. Nobody says the US has to be English speaking. It is not even the official language. I think Angolophones are too used to speaking their native language and seeing foreigners struggle with it. Things change, some US States are not even Caucasian majority any more, and this will continue to happen. The spaniards have way more kids than the White, I can see what the US will be like in 50 years, especially in the West, the South and large cities.
Admittedly illegal immigrants is a big problem for the US, but US residents are better off with them considering the low cost services they are providing.
With respect to language, we adapt to the environment. When people around your speak Spanish or Chinese, you learn them. Nobody says the US has to be English speaking. It is not even the official language. I think Angolophones are too used to speaking their native language and seeing foreigners struggle with it. Things change, some US States are not even Caucasian majority any more, and this will continue to happen. The spaniards have way more kids than the White, I can see what the US will be like in 50 years, especially in the West, the South and large cities.
If you choose to move to a country where a different language is spoken and you refuse to learn it but rather have the mindset that everyone needs to cater to YOUR needs... is a different story. That is ignorance.
PS: I speak 4 languages and my dad is a LEGAL immigrant in the US. He speaks English... a little broken but he does.
THANK YOU.
If you choose to move to a country where a different language is spoken and you refuse to learn it but rather have the mindset that everyone needs to cater to YOUR needs... is a different story. That is ignorance.
PS: I speak 4 languages and my dad is a LEGAL immigrant in the US. He speaks English... a little broken but he does.
THANK YOU.
I agree with you. However, if they immigrates have a large enough population, they really need very little contact with the local people. In cities like Miami, you really don't need to speak English as you can get pretty much everything by just speaking Spanish. On the other hand, many local business owners won't be able to run business successfully if they only speak English.
I was never impressed by an English speaking person being able to speak 4 languages. In 99% cases, the rest three language are all Indo-European languages such as French, Spanish, Italian etc, these languages are quite similar and are so much easier than learning, say Japanese or Arabic. Being able to use a foreign language fluently which doesn't use the latin alphabets at all, that's something.
US Pros? Well there are many good things about this country but... I love Canada and I would move back there if I could get my citizenship. US and Canada are similar... Except that Canada doesn't have all these damn illegal immigrants that come here thinking that we have to adapt to their language and their bull****.
Pardon my French.
Canada may not have all those 'illegal immigrants thinking we have to adapt to their language and their bull' but in New Brunswick, we DO have the French. (Now don't blast me about being racist about French people, my sister in law is French, and my cousin married a Quebecer.)
As a former New Brunswick resident, I can speak with some authority on how the French speaking residents promoted an official second language there. While outside looking in it may appear 'progressive', it wasn't in many respects. It cost NB a fortune to convert every single road sign and all public places with new signage with both languages. That barely scrapes the surface of the conversion. Then came the added requirement that you have to speak and write both languages to get a job in the government. This required current employees to 'upgrade' their second language skills at another cost to the taxpayers and ruled out anyone out of school that didn't have French as their major. It also ruled out 3/4's of native NBer's. Instead, we got an influx of Quebecers to come and take the best paying jobs in the province because they 'qualified' with their fluent French and very poor English skills. NB has a high unemployment rate as it is, and is not a wealthy province like ON or AB.
Am I unhappy about this? You bet. Do I personally have a vendetta against the French? No. I do not. But I am resentful of the negative changes that have taken place in NB because of some of the poor choices the government made in pressure to a minority.
I could go on the changes in the schools, about the pressure on all parents for their children to have the second language so they can even get a job. About CSR's and how hard they are to understand - just like the ones in India. Or the rudeness. Or how some native NBer's are resentful of these changes and how this has divided the province on a local level in some areas. But I won't. I've said enough.
Thank you for listening to my rant. I think I will go garden now.
(Note; I have lived in Carleton County, Charlotte County and Fredericton itself, including having worked in the government over a 17 year time frame.)
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It's hardly that bad in Toronto. The cost of living can be totally reasonable depending on where and how you live in the city, as is the case for any major city.
