
Ask HN: People working in Canada, how do you like it? - couldi
How do you find the quality of life?<p>Healthcare costs and quality, raising children etc are of special importance.<p>Any special things to keep in mind?<p>Personal experiences welcome, thank you.
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Slaul
You are going to get different answers depending on where in Canada you are
interested in.

Personally, I live in New Brunswick and am very happy. There is a decent tech
sector (nothing compared to Toronto/SV/etc obviously). Housing costs are
relatively low, I purchased a two story 4 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood
for <200K.

I make more money where I live than I would in Toronto at an equivalent job
when you factor in cost of living. There is absolutely no way I would have the
standard of living I do now in a big city.

My healthcare costs are low as I have good insurance through my employer.

I do not have children so I can't really comment on that but I did grow up in
the area and had an excellent childhood in my opinion. I will be raising my
own kids here someday.

Public transit where I live is not very good. Bike lanes are also limited.

Most places outside of major cities in Canada will require that you own a
vehicle.

I can probably help answer any other questions if you are interested in
anything more specific.

~~~
couldi
Thank you for that detailed response.

What are one's options if you don't have decent healthcare through your
employer?

Any idea about the schools?

Also, is the 'it's always cold', true for that region?

~~~
Slaul
The employer healthcare mostly helps with things like dental and glasses,
things above and beyond the basic healthcare coverage from the government.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Canada)
might have some valuable information for you. Also, most employers usually
offer some form of additional coverage. Even minimum wage, part time jobs
often do.

My experiences with the schools were good. I feel like I got a good education
growing up.

As far as temperature goes, it kind of depends on what you are used to. If you
are coming from somewhere that doesnt see sub zero (Celsius) temperatures
you'll probably find it chilly and it could take some time to be comfortable.

Where I live, a really cold winters day might hit -25 _C before the windchill
and a really hot summers day might hit 30_ C. The summers where I live are
fairly humid though.

Something else people interested in moving to Canada sometimes ask is whether
or not there are dangerous wildlife all over the place or anything. I've seen
a wild bear once in my life. The most dangerous animals around me are probably
deer and moose at night while driving.

~~~
couldi
Thank you for all that information, this thread didn't get much attention but
I do appreciate your responses, they do help. :)

