Canadians go to Tim Hortons not Starbucks.
How old are you? If you’re under 30 you may want to consider a working holiday in Australia or NZ.
immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/
immigration.govt.nz/migrant/ … scheme.htm
It’s a good opportunity to live somewhere and see if you actually like it first before making the (big) decision to immigrate there
Oh and as someone who’s lived in both NZ and Australia before, I much prefer NZ… better environment, friendlier people, etc
lawl…just lawl…
This is a funny thread. Anyways LV good luck with your move. I hope you find a place that makes you happy. Once you travel around enough I think you’ll see that life is life no matter where you are. ZaiJian!
-Valor
[quote=“bismarck”]
Personally, despite what statistics may have you believe, I lived in South Africa for 28 years. The last six in Pretoria and the three before that in Gordon’s Bay and Simon’s Town (both on False Bay in the Cape) and I never experienced any crime.[/quote]
Urm, Mr Bismarck, I’m going to take you to task here. Sure, It’s possible to get lucky, but how many Saffers do you know that have not been affected in some way by violence? Pure luck, mate. Even if you never get personally attacked or mutilated, you always live under the shadow of the potential. Constant fear and vigilance. I didn’t realise what fear I was living under until I’d been in Taiwan for a year.
[quote=“jimipresley”][quote=“bismarck”]
Personally, despite what statistics may have you believe, I lived in South Africa for 28 years. The last six in Pretoria and the three before that in Gordon’s Bay and Simon’s Town (both on False Bay in the Cape) and I never experienced any crime.[/quote]
Urm, Mr Bismarck, I’m going to take you to task here. Sure, It’s possible to get lucky, but how many Saffers do you know that have not been affected in some way by violence? Pure luck, mate. Even if you never get personally attacked or mutilated, you always live under the shadow of the potential. Constant fear and vigilance. I didn’t realise what fear I was living under until I’d been in Taiwan for a year.[/quote]
I agree completely, as I had the same feeling after I’d been here a year. I remember being out with my girlfriend at midnight having just watched LOTR III thinking, “Wow! I’m out with a woman in the CBD at night!”
And you have a point, I was probably lucky as I personally know many who weren’t. Although the only rape I know of was a distant cousin who got raped on her farm with her husband forced to watch. But that was in Zimbabwe during the land grabs.
The really sad thing about that, though, was the reaction of family. Everyone kept saying, “They were really lucky. At least they weren’t killed.”
I think that attitude is what pisses me off more than anything else. Frog and the boiling water syndrome.
Also, it does depend where you live and what amount of “security” you can afford…
Canada is different from the U.S.
Saying Canada is like the U.S. is like saying a Lexus is the same as a Toyota Corolla.
For one thing, there are less people in Canada than in the U.S., just like there are less Lexus than Corollas.
Is Canada better than the U.S.? Depends on your perspective.
If your basis for saying one is better over the other is based on numbers, then clearly, the U.S. would be better.
But if you basis is based on liveability and “well-being”, among other characteristics, then Canada would be better – in my opinion (being someone who has lived in both places).
For one thing, there are unspoken “minimum standards” of civility in Canadian culture and society. People are actually civil to one another. Also, the Canadian cities are generally very liveable, more so than their U.S. counterparts.
Oh yes, Canadian women are prettier, especially the ones in Montreal.
[quote=“rev0lt”]
Oh yes, Canadian women are prettier, especially the ones in Montreal.[/quote]
Second that… but I thought he had given up on the visa-wife thing?
For what its worth, I have been told by people from South Africa that your safety really depends on where you live. Some areas are apparently much safer than others
No doubt. The poorer you are the more susceptible to crime of all kinds, is a general rule. However, middle class type neighbourhoods will be targeted much more for housebreaking and will most likely result in murder or rape if the owners happen to be home at the time.
Then there are just certain areas that are “out of bounds” after dark. Parks, beaches, or anywhere in the CBD of any major city or large town. Late at night, people don’t stop at red lights, they’re treated like yield signs, due to risk of hi-jackings.
I was very lucky in SA, but I usually lived in fairly secure areas and cities like Gordon’s Bay (rich upper class, and in a Naval base), Simon’s Town (mostly tourists, rich locals and naval personnel), Potchefstroom (small sleepy little university town) and Pretoria (probably the safest metropole after Bloemfontein, where buggerall happens). Also, knowing my environment, I didn’t go places after dark that were “obviously unsafe”.
But jimi is right in his post above, there is the ever present “fear” of something possibly happening and you get numbed to it. You don’t realise it. Just the other day I was with a buddy taking our kids for a walk in their strollers through a deserted foresty park in the Anping National Scenic Area. It was about 10-11pm (ok, the kids were fast asleep and we were just using the excuse to walk and drink a beer or two enjoying the cool night air, whilst getting out from under the disapproving glares of our wives) and almost pitch black in the park. I remarked, “If this was South Africa we would be begging to be robbed, murdered and possibly even raped, just by being here”.
As to some of the other countries listed, I agree it would really come down to personal preference. I could never live in England, largely because of the weather, but also the high cost of housing and other such basic things. I loved traveling through the place, and you can almost hear the echoes of your ancestors (if you’re of British descent), and there is a definite quality of the countryside that is awesome. But I couldn’t live there.
Again, between Canada and the US I think I would definitely go with the US, if for no other reason than the country is just so vast and there are just so many places and climates, and even “cultural” areas to choose from. That’s not to say Canada is a bad choice, though. Canada has a lot going for it, but again, personal preference. And I couldn’t live anywhere where it’s that cold in winter, regardless of claims to warm interiors etc etc…
Australia and NZ would be my first two choices by far, and it would really depend on my mood on the day which one I would pick above the other. Mostly, they both have great people, awesome climates, and a culture that is, if not similar, then very easy for a Saffa to adapt to. Also, of all the people that I’ve met in Taiwan, I’ve always gotten along best with Kiwis and Aussies. Often, even better than with fellow Saffas.
And another place I’ve only been to for a very short time and didn’t see much of, but that really impressed me, is Argentina. If I hadn’t gotten married and settled down here, Argentina would most definitely have been the place I would have gone next to live and work for a few years.
But other than personal preference, sometimes it just comes down to where you feel most comfortable, where you have friends and family. Where the heart is, so to speak. Most days, that’s Taiwan for me.
I say most days, because there are times I pine for my huge backyard with two dogs roaming the grass like lions on the savannah, kids playing in the pool, the gentle murmur of a rugby game on in the background and the smell of Saturday afternoon braaivleis (bbq) fires all around you. But given a bit of luck and planning, one day soon I may have that here anyway (Ok, probably not that big of a backyard, and probably no pool. There’s only so much you can do in Pingdong county, afterall…).