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Which is the more beautiful,and does one have a better climate?
I am looking to escape,the hot humid summers[with tornadoes] and frigid winters of North Central Ohio.Prefer temp range of above freezing 32 F in winter,[no ice] to below 90's in summer.
Love view of mountains and huge trees,evergreen and deciduous.
Comfortable climate is my main objective and second is lots to see and do year round,like museums,and for my son and his 13yr.old daughter.... amusement parks,go karting,paint ball,laser tag.
San Diego was first choice,however the constant sun,lack of water/rainfall,constant fires and Scorched Earth,plus the insane COL there,has turned me against California.Also, though I do love Mexican food, there are several other ethnic foods like Polish, Hungarian,Italian,German,that I enjoy.
Do you think Vancouver being in another country is a pro or con? With our government I actually feel it would be a HUGE pro!
BTW, I am not looking for work[never employed in my life],and my son is a machinist/programmer CNC mostly.
Last edited by i_love_autumn; 08-07-2014 at 08:49 AM..
I think given what you've said, and if it's somehow a non-issue to move to Canada, Vancouver is more beautiful than Seattle (and I live in / love Seattle). If you were looking for work I'd suggest otherwise, but if that's not of consideration go with Vancouver. It's much more expensive than Seattle (and even San Diego) in the city proper if you're looking to own your home. Climates are comparable, with Seattle usually being a bit warmber but it's negligible.
As far as ethnic food of the european variety that you mention, you probably have better options in Ohio. Our area is great when it comes to seafood and Asian cuisine, but otherwise it's not as varied as the east coast in my opinion....not saying you won't find it, it just won't be in abundance.
On the theme park front, there aren't really any sizable ones in the Pacific Northwest at all; I think the largest one around here is actually Silverwood over in North Idaho.
Which is the more beautiful,and does one have a better climate?
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I think Vancouver is slightly better than Seattle in terms of beauty. Once you leave the city, I would say the beauty is pretty much the same. High alpine mountains, evergreens, etc. are easy to find. Climate is pretty much the same though. Honestly you can do everything you want to do in both cities. Both cities have great access to mountains, water, snowsports, etc.
I am guessing that you are an American citizen, so it is probably better for you to stick with Seattle. Housing in Seattle is cheaper than Vancuver, and there are a lot more jobs. Seattle has a much larger creative class. Especially if you work in the tech industry. You will have more professional oppurtunities in Seattle.
The fact that you have a child, and it sounds like grandkids as well; I think I would stick with Seattle. Your children will have better oppurtunities in the Seattle area (economically speaking). Vancouver is getting insanely expensive. The cost alone is reason not to live there.
Seattle is much, much easier to emigrate to from Southern California. Cost of living is cheaper than both Vancouver and SoCal. Traffic flows more easily than in Vancouver or SoCal. No income tax, and sales taxes aren't astronomical. (They get you with property taxes, though.) Much more robust job market. Much easier to fly to other cities within the U.S., including countless flights daily back to any major city in California (except maybe Bakersfield...)
Vancouver, however, has a higher quality of life than either Seattle or SoCal. Yet cost of living is more expensive, traffic in central Vancouver is comparable to the 5 or 15 Freeway in downtown San Diego (pretty gnarly, but not like L.A.), and taxes are high all the way across the board. Public access to healthcare is cheaper, although Seattle probably has higher quality physicians across the board. Vancouver generally has low unemployment, but Canada doesn't have such robust career mobility like we have in the U.S., so the job market isn't so robust.
Seattle makes much more "sense" but if I had to choose personally between the two, and I had a high-paying job secured, I'd live in Vancouver.
On the theme park front, there aren't really any sizable ones in the Pacific Northwest at all; I think the largest one around here is actually Silverwood over in North Idaho.
I really amazes me how many Americans don't GET the fact that in order to live and work in Canada. you MUST meet our Immigration rulers and standards. Period.
Canada is a separate COUNTRY, with our own laws and requirements for Immigration, for people from ANY country. Being an American citizen means nothing, in terms of being approved, by the Canadian Government, as a potential Immigrant here.
Here are the basic paths that ANY Immigrant must take, to become a approved Immigrant, in Canada.
Apply for a Federal Skilled Worker permit. The FSWP is for a specific period of time, with a specific employer, and you have to have certified skills, AND five years of actual "working experience " in THAT field of endeavour. Time limited and employer specific.
Apply for a temporary work permit, Again, time limited, and does NOT count for "time in Country " for either a Permanent Resident status or Canadian Citizenship. TWP are for low wage, unskilled jobs, usually in the hotel or resort industry, that are seasonal, such as working at a ski resort, for the winter. When the snow goes, so do YOU. Most of those are filled by young people from NZ and OZ, here for a working holiday.
Permanent Resident. The gold medal. It is the hardest Immigration status to get, as it requires the MOST education, ( at least a 4 year University degree, in a field of endeavour that is IN DEMAND IN CANADA). And the competition is FIERCE, from all over the world.
To become a PR in Canada, the applicant needs to be in the top 5 percent of the application pile. Anyone who scores below 67, on the standard tests, will be automatically put in the denied group. The highest scores are interviewed first, and get this.........About 70 percent of our successful PR status holders have a MA or a PhD, along with years of practical experience. We want educated and motivated people, who WANT to live here, and stay here. Being a PR is the ONLY path to becoming a Canadian Citizen , and the process takes at least EIGHT years, from start to finish.
Canada also is looking for certified skilled trades people, who have a US State issued trade certificate, and also have at least five years of direct experience in their trade group. They can apply for PR status.
Canada does not want low wage unskilled people, from any where. We don't need any maids, burger flippers, truck drivers , or the like. We want professionals, who have the skills that we need NOW.
Vancouver has better natural backdrop than Seattle.
But if you think San Diego has "insane COL", how can you survive Vancouver? It is as expensive as San Francisco, to the extent that even my friend from NYC find it very expensive, plus the winter does get below 32F from time to time.
I'd live in Seattle and take weekend trips up in Vancouver(it's only about 2-2.5 hours away). Vancouver is a great town for a vacation--maybe the prettiest in North America just in terms of natural setting, though the reality of living there can be more difficult. Seattle, despite being very expensive--isn't at Vancouver levels of affordability most part and there's a range of places to live around the metro, and there's plenty of jobs these days.
Vancouver is a much better place for a vacation than Seattle--in part though is that Vancouver feels like much more of a tourist town. A walk around Stanley Park and the waterfront is glorious and then there's hikes in the mountains on the North Shore just across the water--and the neighborhoods around downtown I find more fun to walk around than Seattle. I love BC for a short vacation(I live in Portland) though I'm not going to try to move there.
Thank you all for great insight.I think it will be Seattle with lots of visiting Vancouver.
I had not heard of the theme park in Idaho,but had heard of Wild Waves in Federal Way,Washington.
Thanks again,everyone.
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