dreamcast said:

OneWhoHasSeen said:

Generally, I am interested in the environment of the area (hot/cold, rainy/sunny, forests/mountains/lakes, snowy/clear, etc.), the social and political climate of the area (are the people generally liberal or conservative, drug laws, taxes, etc.), the economic status of the area (are there a good amount of jobs, places to live, cheap/expensive living, etc.), or really anything else you think I should know before I decide to live there.

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I have lived in Toronto, and the GTA (greater toronto area) and I'll try to sum up what its like in general terms for you, the straight facts. Toronto is a pretty liberal city as far as I'm concerned. As a white person you'll probably find yourself easily outnumbered by other ethnicities in any public area of the city pretty much. Unless you have money and live/hangout in the more trendy areas. Taxes, probably more than you're used to as an American. Google around online for that info.
Cops pretty much look the other way about marijuana, as long as your a user. Don't know about other ones.
Toronto and the surrounding area is booming, so chances are you'll be able to find work...but you should really check job postings to get an idea depending on your field.

The further you move away from Toronto, generally a reversal happens as far as ethnicity. When I was in highschool there was litereally 2 black people in my school, and 2 asians. That's it. When I moved to Toronto it was pretty "shocking." Weed acceptance, depends on the city. Same deal for jobs etc. I think this is why most immigrants come to the bigger cities: like Toronto.
Also, if you want say, a weekend getaway its practically the boonies just a few hours outside of Toronto. Tons of camping places in the province. In fact you don't even really have to leave the GTA to escape the city, there are lots of cool places to go in between places.

Also, don't let anybody tell you Toronto is a clean city. Its so fucking dirty. London and NYC are tons cleaner in comparison.

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Im loving toronto. I vacation there from detroit, and let me tell you why it IS A CLEAN CITY, just stop by my block for the weekend. Ill show you some shit.

wait... here:  Google maps

why dont you try some street level views and compair them between the cities. 

anyways, next time im in toronto im going for The government.

Quote:

1. The Toronto region of Ontario

2. The Victoria region of British Columbia

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Haha you managed to pick probably the two most expensive cities to live in.

Here are my unfair generalizations:

Ok, BC is beautiful but quite expensive.  If money and family were not a consideration I'd move back there in an instant.  I may still.  Near the coast, the weather never gets very cold, but it is often overcast.  In the interior, summers are hot and dry and winters are moderate.

Alberta is expensive and conservative.  Drivers are rude, there are lots of young guys driving new Ford trucks sporting douchebag goatees.  Housing costs (not to mention self-absorption) are at an all-time high.  You might as well stay in the US.

Saskatchewan is true prairie country.  Living expenses are lower here, but honestly there aren't too many memorable things about it.  Every young person I talk to from there wants to move somewhere else.  Beautiful summers, brutal winters. 

Manitoba is more diverse geographically and culturally.  Some excellent beaches and lakes.  Middle-of-the-road political leanings.  I live here and my only consistent complaint is the length of the winter. Beautiful summers, brutal (but still beautiful) winters.

Ontario is huge (hell they're all huge), much of which is the rocky, lakey, and picturesque Canadian Shield region.  The St. Lawrence valley is where most of the population is, in the form of a sprawling megalopolis.  Winters are less bad than in the prairies, and living expenses are correspondingly higher.  Summers are by all accounts nice. 

Quebec is French.  Montreal is a beautiful, cosmopolitan city, very liberal; as in all places the political climate gets more conservative as you get into more rural areas. 

I have never been to the maritime provinces.  They have long intrigued me.  From what I know, living expenses are lower, and employment opportunities are thinner.

About Canada in general:

It is politically more liberal across the board compared to the US. Cops generally aren't going to put you through the ringer for marijuana.  Religion is a big part of many people's lives but religious organizations don't have the monetary and cultural power to permeate entire towns or cities.  People tend to keep their religion to themselves, which is fine by me.  Everything is much more spread out, which is nice, but it means travel times between cities can be long.  Most of our cultural influence comes from the US, but it is noticeably toned down (glitz and bombast-wise) from what you may be used to.  People are easy-going and they tend to know what they want out of life.

I love it here.