Moving to Canada – best places to live?

[KNovacovschi]

I may as well get my 2 cents worth in this thread. Waterloo Region describes to a "T" what you are looking for. 25 miles away is a geougous city called Stratford, (32,000 people) famous for its live Theater. Its park system is the largest in Canada/per population and it is rapidly becoming the retirement capital of Ontario due to
its theaters, restaurants etc. It is a tourist city year round with a spin
off university (Waterloo) coming
soon. I would suggest that you
Google Stratford and read what it
is all about. I worked in Waterloo
for 36 years before retiring but I
lived in Stratford and commuted
back and forth. I just loved the city.

I would agree with Stratford. I grew up in Stratford and loved it. Great schools, restaurants & entertainment. I've lived in Hamilton for about 15 yrs and HATE it, noisy and smelly just to begin with. I visit Stratford on a regular basis and would move back if my DH would let me.

 

[roscoepc1]

Hi

Been following the posts with interest.
I'd like some perspective in two areas in particular.

1. Healthcare...we hear that Canada has a very good healthcare system but I would imagine that this would vary across the country with it being so vast and each province?
However if anyone has any info on availability of services, access to GPs/Physicians and quality of care when needed that would be helpful.
If anyone has particular info as regards Spina Bifida care and multidisciplinary clinics that would be great.
Is public service much different from private?
I only have the Irish experience (which is a low starting point) to compare against.
2. I am also interested in the education sector. Again this is I have gathered likely to be different from province to province.
Is there any support available for very bright kids and for physically challenged kids? What is teacher motivation, professional developement and actual teaching practice like?

I would highly recommend London, ON in your situation. Children's Hospital of Western Ontario is there, as well as the Thames Valley Children's Centre, which is the epicenter for therapies, mobility stuff etc.

Minor children with disabilities in Ontario have really great benefits, including the vast majority of any medical equipment etc being paid for...I believe (it's been a few years) the last wheelchair with specialized eating we got for our son had the pricetag coming in at about $6K...of which we paid about $100.

We also have some incredible charities here who pitch in in other areas of needs for kids (not putting down other provinces, I can only speak of Ontario, as that's where my experiences are).

We really did not have to access our private insurance hardly at all for our son....between the different government programs etc, they really did cover 90% of stuff, and my son had severe CP and used a TON of services!

HTH!

 

[rharper1496]

I would highly recommend London, ON in your situation. Children's Hospital of Western Ontario is there, as well as the Thames Valley Children's Centre, which is the epicenter for therapies, mobility stuff etc.

I've lived here my entire life and thanks to many family members with chronic illnesses, accidents, etc; I'm very familiar with the LHSC. I can't recommend it enough, really. Finding a family doctor can be trickier but that is improving now that we're seeing more family clinic type practices opening up in the area. I've had my GP since I was 19 and my kids are patients there now as well and I will willingly drive across the city to get to his office because I love him that much. The only real negative experience I've had was with the OB who delivered my son but that was a personality thing, not a flaw in the system.

As for the education aspect I only have personal experience with the school my niece and nephew attend but I can say that they are fantastic with all of their special needs students. My nephew is autistic and the improvements in his speech and behaviour in the year he attended (so far) were huge. I know a few people with physically disabled kids at that school and they all rave about the treatment the kids are getting. I'm very excited to be sending my oldest there in the fall and expect it will be a great experience for him.

 

[Ken_Breadbox]

I've lived here my entire life and thanks to many family members with chronic illnesses, accidents, etc; I'm very familiar with the LHSC. I can't recommend it enough, really. Finding a family doctor can be trickier but that is improving now that we're seeing more family clinic type practices opening up in the area. I've had my GP since I was 19 and my kids are patients there now as well and I will willingly drive across the city to get to his office because I love him that much. The only real negative experience I've had was with the OB who delivered my son but that was a personality thing, not a flaw in the system.

As for the education aspect I only have personal experience with the school my niece and nephew attend but I can say that they are fantastic with all of their special needs students. My nephew is autistic and the improvements in his speech and behaviour in the year he attended (so far) were huge. I know a few people with physically disabled kids at that school and they all rave about the treatment the kids are getting. I'm very excited to be sending my oldest there in the fall and expect it will be a great experience for him.

I grew up in London in the eighties. My, but it has changed. I used to feel comfortable riding my bike just about anywhere, even after dark. Now...the southern and eastern approaches to downtown are pretty scary. Not Vancouver 'corner of Pain and Wastings' scary, but the crime rate, from friends who still live there, has gone through the roof.
If you're well off enough to live in north London or Byron, though, it's a lovely place. Just don't go downtown.

 

[MystikaFaith]

Ideal locations in Canada is a VERY subjective topic. What's ideal for some is just an awful place to be for others.

I've moved around a lot and visited many areas of the country and here's my very subjective two cents based on MY experiences.

First off I'm a country mouse, not a city mouse and that plays a big part in my opinions as well.... anyways....

British Columbia - BEAUTIFUL! But expensive as hell. From my personal experiences the people tend to keep to themselves there. It seems to be a very success oriented place. Redneck hillbillies like myself tend not to fit in unless they're hidden away in an isolated cabin in the rockies (my dream retirement home!)

Alberta - Also beautiful (Banff is amazing!) but it too is EXPENSIVE and as you go further out towards Calgary or Edmonton the trees are too small for my liking (I know I know... subjective.... but I tree person....) Calgary is really fun during the stampede (EVERYONE dresses like cowboys) and some people (including my aunt and uncle) believe they're cowboys (despite not only any livestock...) ALL year round. Edmonton has a BIG mall. Overall, Alberta is a nice place to visit but it's not my cuppa tea for permanent residency.

The Prairies - I've driven through them many times. The drive is awful. It's flat.... So so flat.... You can see for miles and miles and miles and miles. You just drive and drive and drive and nothing ever gets closer....... Admittingly I never did spend any time in the cities and know very little about them so perhaps there are decent places to live there but it's not something I would ever pursue.

Ontario - Ontario sucks... I left it... but it drew me back in. It's my home. It always will be where ever I am. My family is here as is my heart. It lacks the beauty of the coasts. While there is 'nice' spots there is nothing breathtaking. I'm a few hours from Ottawa in a very rural area. I love being rural. Housing is cheap. A nice home around here will run you around $150,000 or you could buy a 3 bedroom cabin on a 1 acre island for bout the same. It's cheap! Sadly employment prospects are limited. If you're in the medical field you can pretty much get in anywhere. Not so many teaching jobs around and anything involving technology tends to be limited to the major cities. Some people in my community do actually travel the 2 hour trek to Ottawa just for work and live the best of both worlds.

Ottawa is an Okay city. It has GREAT museums but I find many areas of it to be run down and less than pleasant or clean looking. Bilingualism is a definite asset there. While people can get by only knowing english it does tend to be a real disadvantage. I also don't like driving there. Perhaps it's just my luck but every time I'm there people are always cutting people off, not putting on their signal lights, etc..... In my experience Ottawa people also tend to "keep to themselves".

Kingston is lovely for a city. It's full of culture and has a rich history . It's been well maintained and doesn't have that old city falling apart ghetto look. Despite being a city it's really kept it's small community feel. Unfortunately because it's smaller so are the job opportunities. Whether or not you can find "good" employment here is highly dependent on the field you are interested in.

Toronto and area. I LOVE visiting Toronto. But it's not a place I would like to live. I find the air quality to be very difficult to breathe in. I don't have asthma and have never had any breathing issues in the past, but have done a few work placements down in the GTA over the years and each and every time I go within 48 hours I begin experiencing breathing problems :/ It's a beautiful city though that's been well up kept (most areas) and I have found the people to be incredibly friendly eg random people are happy and eager to start a conversation with you at a grocery store check out line whereas sparking up a conversation with a total stranger in Ottawa tends to get me nothing but really bizarre looks. Despite being big, it seems to have a better "community" atmosphere than most cities where people are living their own lives just beside each other.....

The Muskoka area - Beautiful. Okay I suppose I wrong before... there really is some real beauty if Ontario and it's found in the Muskoka region! Unfortunately, unless you have a service that can benefit a smaller community job prospects here are limited.

Northern Ontario is COLD. Lived in Sudbury and North Bay for a bit and while living there wasn't horrible they weren't my favorite places to be.....

Quebec - Alright if you speak french.

New Brunswick - Another place where french is a definite asset.

Nova Scotia - I LOVE it there. If I could up and move my entire family there I would relocate there in an instant. It's beautiful. It's expensive but not as expensive as the west coast and the people are so so so friendly. They seem to breed a certain type of 'attitude' there that's just not found anywhere else. The only real drawback however is the wind. It may not be the best place for really light people who may be at risk of being BLOWN AWAY!!!! Okay, perhaps it's not that windy but it certainly feels like it at times!

Newfoundland - My home away from home. Lived there for a few years in my late teens early twenties and I LOVED it! Jobs are a problem there. A real problem. But it's amazing there. The people are amazing there. I absolutely loved it there.

As for our medical system. I have no real complaints. A few years back my gp retired leaving us without a family doctor. Took nearly 5 years to get a replacement :/ However, medical outpatient clinics in town ensured we were never without care. People complain about wait times at hospitals but I've never had any real issues. I'm in a rural area and the hospital that caters to us is small. Most times I've had to go there we've been in and out within an hour or two. In the event that there are other life threatening emergencies going on when you're there the wait time is longer (eg 4-5 hours). I also have nothing but good things to say about the CHEO (the kids hospital in Ottawa). My dealings with them have only been with the ophthalmology dept as my daughter has strabismus and the staff there have been beyond wonderful. I was told that their was a relatively long wait list to have her surgery only to discover that that long wait list was less than two months. No complaints at all.

Also of note, there are variations from province to province when it comes to medical care especially when it comes to obstetrical care. Midwifery is only available in certain provinces. It's free for everyone (with provincial coverage or not) in some places like Ontario and available for a fee in other places and not available at all in others......

 

[HockeyGalCanada]

MiskitaFaith I don't think that jobs are as big a problem in NL as they once were because we are now a have province and the oil industry is booming.

 

[MystikaFaith]

MiskitaFaith I don't think that jobs are as big a problem in NL as they once were because we are now a have province and the oil industry is booming.

I moved back to Ontario to be closer to family but many of my born and raised NL friends I met there ended up moving elsewhere as well just because they couldn't find work in their fields. Glad things have turned up though! NL really is an awesome place and I absolutely loved living there! Wouldn't have ever left if it wasn't for the family thing :/

 

[hockeymomNS]

As a Nova Scotian, born and raised, I can't imagine living anywhere else!!!