# Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver! help! (Graphic Designer)



## IrishSammie (Jun 3, 2014)

Hey guys,

First time poster but I've been watching the forums for a while now. I'm moving over to Canada in nearly 2 months time, but I'm still a bit baffled as to where I should go.

I'm from Ireland, 30 and I'm a Graphic Designer. I don't have worked lined up so I'm prepping that before heading over. What has me a bit confused is the conflicting information I'm reading about each place.

From what I can gather, each of the three are beautiful places to live in but there are a few aspects that I tend to prioritize that factor heavily into my decision process.

*1.)* I've been reading a lot that Vancouver is very Clicky, that it's super hard to make friends? It seems that although Vancouverites are friendly, there's a certain point where they just don't want to know?

*2.)* I've read that Toronto tends to be very introverted, making it hard to break into social circles there? I've not heard great things about the disposition of people from Toronto but this is merely coming from things I've read. Can someone correct me on this?

*3.)* Calgary seems to have the nicest sounding and most welcoming people, is this true?


(_I don't wish to cause offence to anyone! that's not my goal here!_  )



I'm FULLY aware that there are stereotypes, but the disposition of the area I'm moving to is a huge element that I'm considering. Establishing a good friends base over there is hugely important to me for various reasons and it's been on my mind having read lots of articles on each place.

Secondly, as a designer, I've heard that Vancouver is the place to go to as it seems to have the most design culture, but then I'm hearing the same about Toronto too? That if you were to characterize Vancouver and Toronto, you'd have the Hippy and the Corporate man?

I hope I've not come across in a negative way, I thought that those living there now would have the most accurate information which I can apply to my planning process.

Thank you


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

IrishSammie said:


> Hey guys,
> First time poster but I've been watching the forums for a while now. I'm moving over to Canada in nearly 2 months time, but I'm still a bit baffled as to where I should go.
> I'm from Ireland, 30 and I'm a Graphic Designer. I don't have worked lined up so I'm prepping that before heading over. What has me a bit confused is the conflicting information I'm reading about each place.
> From what I can gather, each of the three are beautiful places to live in but there are a few aspects that I tend to prioritize that factor heavily into my decision process.
> ...


 Since you don't have a job lined up, under what circumstances are you moving to Canada in 2 months? Do you have a visa to even live in Canada?.
Making friends somewhere doesn't depend on where you live, it depends an how you come across to others, and whether you are a person they want to be friends with. I'm sure lots of people in Vancouver have friends. If you make friends easily, it shouldn't matter where you live, if you don't make friend easily, then it doesn't matter where you live. True friendships develop over time, and shouldn't be planned. And are you not concerned about other things like the cost of housing, healthcare, taxes, overall cost of living, commuting, etc, and what about the weather, if you want cold, long winters, choose Toronto, if you want even colder and longer winters choose Calgary. The bigger the city, the more people for you to choose your friends from, and more who might choose you as a friend, and the more spread a city is, the more areas to choose form, but still doesn't guarantee a friend, no one can say, hang out in this neighbourhood and you'll make friends.


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## IrishSammie (Jun 3, 2014)

Hey Tim,

When I had posted this, I left out parts that I wanted to include by accident, then it wouldn't allow me to edit it afterwards.

I only initially asked parts that I wanted other peoples views on, as I've already done research on other parts of my travel plan. I've have obtained a 2 year working visa for Canada. You made a good point about if you're a person who just makes friends easily etc. I'm coming from a country where we're notorious for being a friendly bunch and relatively easy to make friends. That's our stereotype. I was querying other stereotypes that seemed to differ from my own, that's all.

I've just been reading up on these places and what the majority of people have been saying about it. Alarm bells tend to ring when you hear multiple different people all agree on particular views about a place.

Each of the three places mentioned have pros and cons that seem to balance each other out. The ease of making friends is very important to me for reasons I won't go into right now as they wouldn't really be understood.

You made good points though, thank you


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

IrishSammie said:


> ........
> I've just been reading up on these places and what the majority of people have been saying about it. Alarm bells tend to ring when you hear multiple different people all agree on particular views about a place.
> QUOTE]
> 
> But who are those people? are they long time residents of that particular city, are they even the same demographic as you, are they Canadians born and raised in only one city, are they only going by what they have heard but never experienced, or maybe they are recent expats who can't adjust to a different culture, or people who immigrated many years ago and still can't let go of there home countries culture. It surprises me the number of people who come to Canada and then expect it to be the same as the country they left, and when its not, all they do is complain. People of different ages will have different opinions of places as well. My 33 yr old gay nephew and his partner just love living in downtown Toronto, when we went to visit, I couldn't wait to leave, too noisy, too crowded, to expensive etc, People outside Canada say its really friendly here, well ya, when you are a tourist, people in every country are friendly especially when they rely on tips to make ends meet, of course they are going to be friendly, but when you actually live here year round, you will see there are just as many rude and unfriendly people in Canada as in any other country. The friendliest people I have ever met are in Mexico, but there are people on here who have said anyone would be nuts to live in Mexico, because of all the killings, forgetting, or not knowing that 99% of killings in Mexico are by the drug cartels and drug related. My point is, don't just go by what a few people (probably strangers) say about a place, just like everything else, its what makes you happy. If you want to live in the friendliest place on earth, you'll have to go to Disneyland


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## IrishSammie (Jun 3, 2014)

Hehehe, thanks Tim.

My personal preference is a place that's not crazy busy. Wide open city planning, lots of parks, well looked after..that sort of thing. Originally, I had my heart set on Vancouver, as their downtown didn't look as crazy as Toronto's. Some of the reasons why I've gone off Vancouver a bit, is that it's supposedly the most expensive place to live and jobs in the creative industry are hard to come by there at the moment, I've been told.

My brother told me, that perhaps the best way of predicting where to do, is to apply for jobs in a few areas. Where ever you get the best feedback and more attention, go there! But being in Ireland, it's a bit tricky organizing work from over here.

Just to point something out, I'm not trying to get the same experience here as I'd like to get in Canada, I'm going because I want to turn over a new leaf. My questions were merely curiosities that will help my decision making


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## sillywilly (Apr 7, 2014)

Is there a reason you are only considering those 3 cities? They are nothing alike, especially the climate. Vancouver is said by some to be one of the most expensive cities in the world to live, but that's taking everything into consideration, like the cost of a house, which is why so many people who work in downtown Vancouver choose to live in one of the many surrounding suburbs where its a lot less expensive. Of those 3 places, you can't beat the natural beauty of the Vancouver , aka, the lower mainland area, except maybe Victoria, or the year round weather. I have heard more people who moved to Toronto area and didn't like it than people who moved to the Vancouver area and didn't like it. Just Sayin, Good luck with whatever you decide.


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## IrishSammie (Jun 3, 2014)

sillywilly said:


> Is there a reason you are only considering those 3 cities? They are nothing alike, especially the climate. Vancouver is said by some to be one of the most expensive cities in the world to live, but that's taking everything into consideration, like the cost of a house, which is why so many people who work in downtown Vancouver choose to live in one of the many surrounding suburbs where its a lot less expensive. Of those 3 places, you can't beat the natural beauty of the Vancouver , aka, the lower mainland area, except maybe Victoria, or the year round weather. I have heard more people who moved to Toronto area and didn't like it than people who moved to the Vancouver area and didn't like it. Just Sayin, Good luck with whatever you decide.


Thank you willy!

It's a massive deal that I'm leaving the country, so I really want to make sure that I'm making the best decision for what's good for me. Why only those three? Well, they are they three that I've researched the most on, the three that will probably provide me the best job opportunities regarding my profession. If you can think of any other place that might be beneficial to look into, by all means let me know. I suppose anything that will be life changing will have that effect!


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Getting a job in the 'creative industry' in Toronto will also be a challenge. Overall, who you know is often more important than what you can do.
But to the point: what are your specific talents in Graphic Design? 
Have you looked at sites as Monter, Workopolis, Indeed to check where they are looking for people with exactly your skills?
Is there any place in Canada where you do know people (who can introduce you to others, hence expand your very very precious network, needed to find a job)?
Have you build on your portfolio/LinkedIn profile? Do you have a lot of professional contacts who reside in those cities? Are you active in LinkedIn groups related to your field with lots of Canadian members? (they can give you some insight specific for your skill set)


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