i’m thinking of immigrating to canada or australia. i’m still trying to boost my score to qualify for canada (63 - passing is 67), but i have around 150 for australia (passing is 120 for visa type 175). pros and cons, please? and what are the costs of applying for immigration (per item and total)?
thanks!
Welcome, jns4chat.
before deciding, my first question to you would be do you prefer sand to snow? My second question would be do you prefer some degreee of civility or do you like people as rough as they come?
HG
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]or do you like people as rough as they come?
HG[/quote]
Yeah, it’s that convict DNA that the Aussies posses. 
Seriously though, I’ve lived and gone to school in both countries. If you prefer warm weather, go to Australia. If you prefer cold weather, go to Canada. Why don’t you visit places such as Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, etc. and decide. After visiting these places, I’m sure you’ll have a favorite.
And if you like high taxes, then either one will suit you fine.
Um, not anymore. Australian’s 45% Tax threshold now kicks in at $150,000 if I remember correctly, so we pay less tax than Canada and US and UK (well maybe not quite lower than the US, but…). The healthcare system and schooling system is almost free, and private healthcare is not expensive.
Also, if you’re an expat, you don’t pay ANY tax in Australia and you earn tax free capital gains on any shares that you have there. Not only that, but you can claim any tax losses on property (should it be making a loss every year), such that when u come back to Australia in 10 years, you can claim those losses back from what would normally be income tax.
Um, not anymore. Australian’s 45% Tax threshold now kicks in at $150,000 if I remember correctly, so we pay less tax than Canada and US and UK (well maybe not quite lower than the US, but…). The healthcare system and schooling system is almost free, and private healthcare is not expensive.
Also, if you’re an expat, you don’t pay ANY tax in Australia and you earn tax free capital gains on any shares that you have there. Not only that, but you can claim any tax losses on property (should it be making a loss every year), such that when u come back to Australia in 10 years, you can claim those losses back from what would normally be income tax.[/quote]
If that’s the case, then Australia is probably better from a financial and medical perspective. Canada’s experimenting with some private clinics for certain tests and procedures, but a change in government might result in more stringent adherence to the Canada Health Act.
Avoid Toronto at all costs 
Avoid Toronto at all costs [/quote]
Winnipeg is your key choice…come to the Peg…(moo ha ha ha ha ha… 
)
Australia - spent several years living there.
I loath the place. Detest the attitudes of many of the people. Found Australians lazy, arrogant, brash and over-confident yet not all that bright or educated. Canadians and Americans, in my opinion, are a generally friendlier and eager to help out / lend a stranger a hand. Less racist too, maybe.
Canada would be my vote. The friendliest people, but brutally cold weather, are in Manitoba / Saskatchewan. Vancouver is nice but there’s a gang war going on there right now and it’s an Asian city that has been taken over by the Chinese. Beautiful city, though. Winters are mild and you have close access to the mountains or Pacific. U.S. and Washington State are only 25 minutes away from Vancouver.
Ontario is just too cold / too much snow.
Both Australia and Canada have high taxes.
[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]
I loath the place. Detest the attitudes of many of the people. Found Australians lazy, arrogant, brash and over-confident yet not all that bright or educated. [/quote]
Wow! I have a totally different perspective on Aussies. Spent a year studying in Brisbane and found the people to be awesome…yes, they definitely enjoy their free time / time off work much more than their working hours, but I wouldn’t put that down to laziness. They are quite active people when it comes to the great outdoors! I thought they were some of the friendliest, most laid back people I have ever met. My hubby and I liked it so much that we even considered the possibility of emigrating there in the future.
I would pick Aus anyday over Canada. Everyone knows Canadians are tightwads who can’t drive worth crap. 
Tax has been revised in Australia. Income tax is now lower than the US and the UK, and we still get far more holidays compared to the US. Wages in my industry are higher in Aus than the US and the Australian dollar is now almost on par with the US.
I’ve not been to the UK or US, but I hear the food in Aus is much better than the UK. In terms of weather, you can still get quite a variety depending on the city. Brisbane’s weather is similar to Taiwan in the summer, but the winter is the most glorious of any place i’ve been (20 degrees blue sky’s every day).
If you prefer a cooler climate, head to Melbourne.
[quote=“Tyc00n”]
I’ve not been to the UK or US, but I hear the food in Aus is much better than the UK. In terms of weather, you can still get quite a variety depending on the city. Brisbane’s weather is similar to Taiwan in the summer, but the winter is the most glorious of any place I’ve been (20 degrees blue sky’s every day). [/quote]
The weather in Brisbane is always beautiful. The food is really great, too, much better quality than what you get in most places in North America…everything is fresh and tasty, and presentation is very important there.
My sister-in-law and her family just immigrated to Brisbane last year from the UK. They love it and say they will never move back home. Glorious weather, much more affordable, great quality of life, laid back people, and some very interesting wildlife, even in the back garden!! Great place.
It is getting more expensive there, though. Australia allows such a huge number of immigrants to come into the country (especially from Asian countries like China and Taiwan) that there is a strain on housing, which is driving prices up, as are the recent droughts. Produce, for example, can fluctuate in price and be quite expensive at times. But I think it is still probably cheaper than Canada, and more on par with the US. Salaries for educators seem to be higher in Aus than in Canada from what I understand, too.
[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]
Australia - spent several years living there.
I loath the place. Detest the attitudes of many of the people. Found Australians lazy, arrogant, brash and over-confident yet not all that bright or educated. Canadians and Americans, in my opinion, are a generally friendlier and eager to help out / lend a stranger a hand. Less racist too, maybe.[/quote]
Maybe it was a general nationwide response to your fuckwit personality.
[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]
Both Australia and … have high taxes.[/quote]
Compared to where?
[quote=“Tyc00n”][quote=“Shimokitazawa”]
Australia - spent several years living there.
I loath the place. Detest the attitudes of many of the people. Found Australians lazy, arrogant, brash and over-confident yet not all that bright or educated. Canadians and Americans, in my opinion, are a generally friendlier and eager to help out / lend a stranger a hand. Less racist too, maybe.[/quote]
Maybe it was a general nationwide response to your fuckwit personality.[/quote]
Yeah…this is the first time I have ever heard such negatives about Aussies! Really now!
In Brisbane, I was always taken back by the friendliness of strangers. For example, the bus drivers would, on a daily basis, give directions to international students or help them out with which bus they should be on. Sometimes they even ran late because they were so chatty and helpful with those who were lost! Once, a bus driver even gave us a free ride across town, not on his route…we were the only ones on the bus and he had a long chat with my husband about cricket, and obviously wanted to keep the chat going. Super friendly.
I would oftentimes get into conversations with strangers, which has rarely happened to me in the US or the UK. People would chat with you in the supermarket, pubs, wherever. Great people. Made some great friends while I was there.
Don’t make me miss the place…although I might be off to the UK in a month or 2. Just found out I can charge my rent as a tax deduction (this is the same as Aus for foreigners).
Don’t quote me on this but I think most Aussies are great. Very approachable and friendly. They are, however, quick to notice wankers, and let said wankers know what they think.
John
[quote=“Indiana”][quote=“Shimokitazawa”]
I loath the place. Detest the attitudes of many of the people. Found Australians lazy, arrogant, brash and over-confident yet not all that bright or educated. [/quote]
Wow! I have a totally different perspective on Aussies. Spent a year studying in Brisbane and found the people to be awesome…yes, they definitely enjoy their free time / time off work much more than their working hours, but I wouldn’t put that down to laziness. They are quite active people when it comes to the great outdoors! I thought they were some of the friendliest, most laid back people I have ever met. My hubby and I liked it so much that we even considered the possibility of emigrating there in the future.
I would pick Aus anyday over Canada. Everyone knows Canadians are tightwads who can’t drive worth crap. [/quote]
I lived in Brisbane for a year and Adelaide for a year. Aussies can be arrogant, a little sexist, and a little lazy. However, they have a “convict” gene pool they have to overcome. I think they’ve done a splendid job.
Greetings from Melbourne,
I’m English and moved here with my Taiwanese wife on a 457 visa eighteen months ago. The first few questions from me are - Why do you want to migrate? Have you been to Canada or Australia before? What is your profession? Have you checked out living costs in the two countries compared to salaries? Do you have any money to set yourself up with?
Australia is expensive - much more so than when I first came here in 2001, but I love the working environment (I work a lot less than in England for a better standard of living) and way of life, but I also agree with Shimokitazawa on his judgement of SOME of the people. Australia has SO much to offer, but sometimes you need to dig beneath the surface. She is after all a young country!
If you have not visited these places I’d suggest a holiday first. I spent a year in Aus as a backpacker and previously on tour with a theatre company ( which led me to come back as a tourist), so I had a pretty good idea what to expect when we came back in 2006.
Have look at gomatilda.com/home.cfm for more info on Australia. Alan who runs the site is a wealth of information.
If you need anymore help feel free to PM me.
Good luck, Go Aussies!
Limey 
[quote=“almas john”]Don’t quote me on this but I think most Aussies are great. Very approachable and friendly. They are, however, quick to notice wankers, and let said wankers know what they think.
John[/quote]
Wanker!
HG