- Agree about JD.
- Lol I was there when it happened. He was asked: "Maybe you will find a nice girl or a guy if you are into that". And he answered: "Nope. I don't understand how guys can be with other guys. To me, that's unacceptable. In Saudi you can be killed for that. Maybe, if I live in Canada for some time, I will be more open and understand more". He gets called to his supervisor office and that's it. He gets kicked out of the project. Our supervisor framed it as "hate speech".
- Houston, Dallas, NOLA, Berlin... I can write a huge list of major cities that are more affordable. And one more thing; in most cities, the further you live from the center, the cheaper it gets. North York is not exactly cheaper than Liberty Village
- It's much easier in certain cities; I spent 3-4 months in Barcelona and I still talk to my Spanish friends I made there. It's smth. about south vs. north culture
- Skipping
- Most companies DO NOT provide dental and vision unless those are large and well-established companies. However, it's tough to get into 1 unless you intend to work for a non-tech company as a tech. guy. In that case, it's another long discussion with pros and cons.
- Yes and I used another one called ShiftRide. They are terrible, IMO. Cars are not near you, so you have to take a bus/Uber to get to the car. Maybe, it's better now than it was when I was using it.
- They are both at the will. Not sure what do you mean by "better in Canada"?
- Skipping
- Lol it's a saying in Canada.
- Maybe. In Moscow, if I wanted to get something done right and I couldn't take chances, I would just use the most expensive option. Not the case in Canada. I used internet provider and I paid 70$ for that. Support sucked. I switched to another provider that would charge me 50$. So much better.
1. No Canadian company is worth wasting time in CS/IT field. Most Canadian startups suck. Plain and simple. These folks do not know what they are doing. Best is to --I hate to admit-- stick of established american companies. Other alternative is british companies. JD is a universal problem.
2. Personally, this is my opinion only, but the part "Nope. I don't understand how guys can be with other guys. To me, that's unacceptable. In Saudi you can be killed for that." is indeed troublesome. It can certainly be at the very least construed as hate speech depending upon the person. I personally will never say something like this. I will just say : "Oh, I do not swing that way" and leave it at that. Just express my choice and no need to judge the intimate choices of others.
3. Canadians are crazy when it comes to real estate. Its a national delusion that Canadian real estate is a AAA rated high yield bond and is devoid of any forces of market and can only go UP. The politicians to their utmost to keep this delusion alive by doing everything in their power from limiting land supply to massive delays in permits. Basically, you have to walk on water to make an affordable home in Canada. One of these days it will catch up to them and I have a sinking suspecion that day is drawing closer than most people realize.
4. You can do what I did. I brought a friend complete with their family with me when I moved. We both gel well. We both help each other. Really, you need ONE and just ONE really good friend. As far as relationships go, for immigrants, its best to get one from the home country itself. IMHO. Cross culture relationships are HARD and best time to waste on it is during undergrads. Sometimes "Easy Mode" is a misnomer. It should be called "Sane Mode".
5. I have positive experiences with UPCCs in BC. That being said, like all things, healthcare in Canada is being "beaurocratized" to the limit. Most of the time you are untangling the red tape than working on healing.
6. Its a labour thing. If I want to fix a toilet in India, I do not need to take an "appointment" and wait for a week for plumber to show up. I just go to the hardware shop and ask the shop keeper for a plumber, he will get me one in minutes. Not like this in Canada. Its acute labor shortage in trades that is fueling this mess. Same with barbers etc. Too few of them.
7. I do not drive till now so cann't comment.
8. I believe "better" in the sense of safety net of EI and labour laws etc. US labour laws are downright exploitive.
9. Canada can give Indian government a run for its money in terms of developing new infra.
10. Constructions... Well, they do not makes houses and Condos in Canada. They make tokens for real estate appreciation in value. Many of new constructions are so bad that its practically impossible to live there. I shit you not, someone tried to make a three bedroom apartment out of 450 sqft floor space in Vancouver. The season part is much better in BC though. We have a real summer and fall here. But that means year round construction.
11. True. Its a labour thing.