I’ve been in Canada since July on a Working Holiday Visa.
In our media, Canada is always portrayed as a dream country. Yes of course, it’s beautiful here (Rockies, nature) but it also has a lot of downsides.
The quality of food is incomparable to my home country and the food prices are even higher here.
I thought rent prices back home were high, but here (except for small towns on the prairie), you have to share an apartment with 3 people and still pay the same amount as getting a 2-bedroom apartment alone back home.
Then 5 weeks of paid vacation + 11 paid holidays (weekends are generally free, there is no business open at Sundays), when you’re sick, you’re sick, but you still get paid.
Canadians are polite that is true, but what I’ve noticed is that people often make false promises just to be nice.
Making friends here as a foreigner is challenging and perhaps I’m homesick being on the other side of the world.
I’m considering abandoning everything and flying back home. While at first it was really nice here (especially the traveling in the summer), the drawbacks are becoming apparent.
Additionally, my education isn’t recognized here and honestly I don’t want to work at Tim Hortons or Walmart just to „survive“ and with much lower QOL than in Europe.
But on the other hand, I’m afraid of missing out if I fly back home now.
Idk what i should do :(
Any suggestions?
People see countries like Canada and Australia (where I am) through some serious rose tinted goggles and think that the country is perfect when it is absolutely not. Canada is heading towards societal life support, if I were you personally I’d go back to Europe and enjoy the higher standards there while you sort something new out
Honestly thr only reason I, as a Canadian would want to live in Canada is because of the legal weed market. Once I can buy vape pens anywhere in europe there won’t be any real benefit to Canada anymore lol
Are you from Poland?
You are basically listing all of the reasons why I LEFT Canada and came to Poland instead.
In Canada, the groceries are terrible quality, with very little variance in brands and choices. Don’t even get me started on the “bread”. I looked for good bread for over a decade and never found it. MOST bread here in Poland is amazing.
The house prices were just beginning to grow where I lived, but at this point you can kiss any chance of living somewhere “nicer” (AKA not the prairies/winter wasteland) goodbye. Nobody is able to afford owning anything anymore in the nicer cities, that’s a time long past.
10 days vacation?! It takes 2 days to fly out anywhere from Canada! That leaves you with 8 days a YEAR, which most people dip into if they don’t have sick days to use.
And the weather… omg. I don’t think I can ever return to 6 month winters as cold as -55C. I got here to Poland in May, it seemed like summer already… then it continued to be summer in my mind until middle of October. End of October and November were beautiful, warm fall months- super cozy and enjoyable. I am told April is already nice and warm. That’s almost 7 months of ideal weather, I can’t even believe it… Where I am from in Canada, it still sometimes snowed in May, didn’t warm up until middle of June, then already tapered off by mid August early September if we were lucky, at which point the nights get cold, etc. And good luck picking a non-storm week or two to enjoy your measely time off in the nice months.
Many people are putting on a mask in Canada, acting differently around different groups of people- which I can’t stand. The environment shouldn’t dictate your personality- and that’s what seems to happen with Canadians. Polish people are just who they are, everywhere. They don’t play masks.
But the deciding factor for me was definitely SAFETY. The safety in my Canadian city was always a terrible thing- stabbings all the time, theft, attacks, murder capital of Canada, yada yada. I am so traumatized by the whole situation there that I am constantly looking over my shoulder and being paranoid here… only to see families and women walking around at 10 pm, no problem. It is so much safer here. So much more lively, so much more alive than downtown in Canada. Downtown in Canada was empty except for people uncomfortably walking to their destinations or homeless populations begging. SO MANY BEGGARS. I’ve seen 2 here, in half a year.
So yeah… consider all of your options and don’t believe the grass is greener in the west. The grass is dead and brown and freezing cold for 6 months.
Thank you also for your insight, no i am from Austria but have a few friends from Poland back home. I traveled a lot in the beginning in Canada and have now settled in a 60k town on the prairie, but I think that was a mistake. It’s a bit depressing here in winter, despite how beautiful the prairie was in the summer.
I know that winter hasn’t really started yet, the coldest it has been so far is -20.
I found my dream location from USA to Poland. Look into it ;)
can i come with you? i’m canadian and tired of the job market and cost of living
You probably wouldn’t like it, life there is completely different than here. Also, while many people can speak English, you won’t get far without speaking German or even better the austrian accent.
On Saturdays, most stores are closing at 5:00 PM and on Sundays, everything is closed, while everyone is spending time with their families or go hiking/skiing.
I never thought I would miss our Sundays so much.
those are the things i want, the 24/7 north american hustle culture is exhausting, slower paced and societally forced days off are not downsides to me haha, and i’m in the midst of learning german lol
Leave now, run away as fast as you fucking can.
I also came to Canada on a working holiday visa. I married a local girl and put down roots thinking it’d be better than the UK. How wrong I was. I’m now trapped here and I absolutely hate it, I consider moving here to be the biggest mistake of my life. The things you’re starting to notice about Canada; the terrible food, the high prices, unfriendly people, lack of any culture, nothing to do; it only gets worse over time. These shortcomings will grind you down as a person and you’ll stop enjoying life. It doesn’t get any better, I’ve tried 3 provinces and visited several others, it’s the same everywhere. It even LOOKS the same everywhere.
I’ve been here 8 years now, I basically never leave my house because there’s not really any fucking point. When I lived in the UK I used to go out for walks all the time because I genuinely enjoyed my surroundings; here I can’t stand the sight of it. Suburbs make me angry just looking at them, as do “stroads”, strip malls and “shopping centres”. Someone on here once defined living in Canada as “driving and spending” and that’s what I feel it really is. The worst part is that everyone here thinks it’s the best thing ever and that there’s nothing else in the world, so it literally has no hope of ever getting any better.
You’re having trouble making friends because frankly with few exceptions Canadians are absolute dicks. I’ve travelled the world and met all kinds of people, never have I met people as childish, emotionally stunted, vindictive, gossipy, unpredictable, irresponsible, and unprofessional as Canadians. This shows up in all kinds of areas, but the one that irritates me the most is having my life constantly threatened any time I have to drive anywhere (which is all the time). For such a car-centric society you’d think they’d at least be cooperative drivers but they seem to delight in making your journey as difficult as possible, actively preventing you from merging or changing lanes, and in many cases it’s just plain fucking dangerous.
Others have mentioned cost of living. I sometimes check the prices online for supermarkets back home and I’m always disgusted by how much I’m getting ripped off here. I’m not even joking when I say groceries are frequently triple the price they are in Europe. Housing is absurd now, when I first moved here it was significantly cheaper than the UK, now it’s about the same or worse.
My wife has a well paid job that she understandably doesn’t want to leave and is going through medical treatments to deal with a serious illness. We also have pets which makes moving a bit more difficult. I’m in the middle of starting up a business that will allow me to work from anywhere once it’s established. She seems to be gradually coming around to the idea of moving in future, but we’ve had fights about it in the past. The thing is, she’s spent her entire life in Canada, and apart from the occasional trip abroad she doesn’t really have much idea of what she’s missing out on, where as it’s all I can see every day. I’m hoping once the business is established and her illness is better, we can start taking trips to Europe so she can see what life is supposed to be.
Please don’t make my mistake. Nobody from Europe should EVER move to Canada for any reason. Not even money. This is a miserable irrelevant backwater with zero quality of life.
A bit of a rant, but leaving Europe is the best thing anyone can do. If you want to make any money, get out of that shithole
I mean this the nicest way possible but I don’t think changing countries or even cities will make a difference. You honestly just sound angry and depressed. If there’s nothing good that you can find from your daily life then the problem isn’t your daily life. Everywhere has it’s pros and its cons. Maybe Canada just isn’t for you.
In retrospect you will see that life there wasn’t as bad as you were thinking it was, but a change in location sounds like it might help your mindset. For you I would definitely recommend leaving. Especially if you cannot find a single thing that you like about such a massive country.
100% this. Here is a similar post about Toronto that I made 6 months ago
I was in Toronto end of 2021 for a couple months and it’s probably one of the most expensive cities I have ever been in North America, even though I lived in New York. Prices must be even much crazier now given the double digit inflation that has hit Canada since 2021.
First of all, there is a huge housing problem with skyrocketing rents and purchasing prices. Some people say it is one of the largest real estate bubble market in the world at the moment. I don’t plan in entering a debate but the reality is that you will struggle to find a decent place to rent or buy (you are competing against dozens of others applicants as a potential buyer or renter). From what I have heard this is due to the immigration volume, population concentration in the area, and a weak construction projects pipeline.
Then, the CAD is about 36% weaker than USD, and about 42% weaker than the EUR which might dramatically jeopardise your financial future by slashing your savings capabilities as well as your purchasing power whenever you travel or settle back outside Canada (including back home in Europe).
Thirdly, the food scene is genuinely one of the worst I have ever seen. Terrible options, very unhealthy, no fresh vegetables (even worse than in the US), even the expensive European options are subpar compared to the low end restaurants you find in Western Europe. Besides, it is incredibly expensive. I felt that I was paying even less in NYC and the food in NYC while not incredible was still miles ahead. I was extremely disappointed by the food in Toronto.
Moreover, the weather is terrible more than half of the year. Incredibly cold and dry too during winter. Houses and apartments are also poorly insulated therefore expect to pay a LOT of money towards your energy bills, especially in today’s economic situation.
Lastly the social environment is slightly awkward. High homelessness and drug use (meth, crack, PCP) in many parts of downtown Toronto, its main streets and public parks. Obviously, tt will get worse and worse given the current economic situation, alongside inflation in the food, energy and housing sectors. Oh, telecommunications bills are also among the highest in the world (home internet, cellphone plans). If you do not trust me google it and you will realise you will need to plunge at least 150 or 200 $ per month on this alone.
Of course, it’s not all negatives. The people in Toronto are very nice (Canadians are truly nice people. Also, lot of immigration seeking a better life, lots of interesting people everywhere) but at the same time this city looks a bit dull and soulless because of the lack of culture and authenticity. If you are into techno/EDM, this scene in Toronto is to me the best in the world.
If you have any other questions, please shoot. This is purely based on my limited 2 month experience in the city.What shocked me about Toronto is how run down it looks. It’s supposed to be Canadas international city, but it’s just fucking embarrassing. Also it STINKS… it felt like I was in some third world city like Delhi with all the garbage and raw sewage smells. I genuinely don’t understand how Canadians can live like that.
It’s things like this that make me realise it’s not just me, Canadians are just like a messy person who is content to live in squalor. It’s never getting better. If not even the primate city can be good, what hope does the rest of it have?
I feel sorry for people because while it’s a majority problem I also know a lot of Canadians who hate it too and wish they could get out. There’s the lucky ones like Not Just Bikes who managed to escape to the Netherlands but for most people they just have to deal with rampant incompetence, poorly designed infrastructure, bad food, and a trickle-up economy.
I knew pretty early on in my working holiday that something was wrong with Canada and I’ve been here for a year and I now share all the same thoughts as you. I’m applying for jobs to go home to Australia — I miss the beach more than I knew
I keep going back and forth about returning to Australia. Mountains are amazing, but the warm weather and beach just feels like home.
Thank you for sharing. Can I ask where are you from in the UK? Because I’ve heard similar criticisms to some parts of the UK and I’ll be moving there soon
I’m from Cornwall, but I’ve lived in Devon, Hampshire, Yorkshire, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire. I’ve also travelled around most of the Isles and some of the islands (Jersey, Scilly, etc).
Yes not everywhere is great, but you have to remember most of the criticisms are comparing Britain now to Britain 20 or more years ago, or to other European countries. I think it still compares very favourably to North America and there’s a lot of reasons why Britain on a bad day is still better than the US or Canada on a good day.
You’ll find the country is, for the most part, whatever you make of it. Unless you’re dirt poor it’s actually trivially easy to avoid bad areas.
Word of caution. Most Brits are friendly and earnest, but if you’re American you will find a small minority of people will poke fun at you for it. Some of it will be good intentioned, but some will be mean spirited and they will attempt to disguise it as “only joking” (that’s a favourite trick in Britain). Don’t be gaslit by “oh come on, can’t you take a joke?”, because if you take it once they will just continue to throw insults at you, and no it won’t ever get any better. You might also get the occasional asshole who has a chip on their shoulder about it.
You’ll eventually be able to avoid these people completely, but in the initial phase where you’re meeting new people and establishing your social circle you will unfortunately come across them. Don’t waste your time around people who try to drag you down, basically. There’s enough amazing uplifting people in the UK that you aren’t missing anything by telling the crabs in a bucket to go kick rocks.
As a former resident of Canada —- it’s a true hellscape culturally, economically, and environmentally. As much as people dump on the USA in this forum, it is much more difficult to make a comfortable life for yourself as a Canadian. I am so much happier in the US than I could ever be in Canada. Every time I visit Toronto again I am incredibly grateful to have left.
Housing is expensive and overall low quality (lots without yards, cookie cutter housing, overpriced because there are no property taxes, high competition from foreign buyers), the urban environment is incredibly dull (the same 15 big box stores basically repeat every 1km in block manner), and on top of that you constantly have to live with the borderline propaganda about how much better Canadians have it than Americans.
The parts of Canada where most of the jobs are (Ontario) are geographically worse than the Midwest of the US, and on top of that freezing cold 5-6 months of the year. There aren’t many activities for pleasure and it seems like people in Canada don’t understand the concept of “having fun.”
Being here has shown you that you like it better where you came from. Nothing wrong with that. You would obviously be happier with what the life is like in your home country, so if I ws you, I’d go home.
Go home, or travel other parts of the world. You’re not going to miss out on anything. North America is not the world, terribly overrated given everything you mentioned. I can’t wait to leave and go back to Europe ❤️
“Canada is always portrayed as dream country.” bruh, men can participate in women sports in Canada :D i am from europe, have never been to America, but this joke makes Canada visible all over the world :D dream country…
Canada is an exceptionally difficult place to live in. I regret moving here and leaving next month. There seems to be this insane marketing strategy of the “friendliest people” here. Ive lived in 6 different cities in North america and Europe and this place has outright the rudest , meanest people Ive encountered.
This is an accurate description of *a* reality one might find in Canada (not everyone will experience the same thing). You are now looking down the barrel of 4-6 more months of winter. If you can pop south without much extra effort, I would spend time in various areas of the United States. Pacific NW, California, Western desert, the South, into the historic cities of the Atlantic.
You won’t get a job there since Canadians require everyone to have a Canadian experience. So yeah better go back to Europe. Canada deserves to have a skilled workers shortage
I also left Canada early due to the costs of rent and low quality of food compared to Europe. A bag of groceries that would cost about 15 euros here was at least $50 in Vancouver. Can’t speak for the rest of Canada as I couldn’t afford to see it!
Living in Canada might be harder than expected. I think you should go back, because working holiday visa can’t provide you with good job opportunities.