snowball1982

Hey,
I'm a born and bread prairie boy, currently living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I've got a couple degrees, and a lot of ambitions. But having only lived on my farm, or in this city (going on 7.5 years), as a 25 year old I am ready to hit the world.

I'm traveling Europe this summer (2-6 months, not sure) and am either going to work abroad for a while (NZ perhaps), or come back to Canada. Oh sweet Canada, I could never leave you. My background is pretty strong/diverse, and I am confident that I could find a career almost anywhere I went (given some time).

BUT. I am sick of Saskatoon, I love this city - and I might come back someday - but I have to check out some other places first. Basically I am pretty set on going to the West Coast (Victoria) once I get back, but am open to other options as well. Basically I want a new scene, better climate, more progressive atmosphere, more entertainment, and more culture. However, having only lived in a city 220,000 strong - I don't think I could handle an extreme metropolis (but Van intrigues me).

Basically I have narrowed the field down to: Victoria, Vancouver (not sure about this one), Kelowna, Ottawa, Halifax.

Any tips!
Thanks

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mollymore

hey snowball, how's it going?

I grew up in Winnipeg but I've been here on the west coast since 1997. I've lived mostly in Victoria with the exception of 2 years in east Van. Have you ever been out here? I could give you a prairie girl's perspective on both cities. If you have any specific questions, feel free. The main thing to bear in mind is that cost of living here can be a lot higher than pretty much anywhere else in Canada. After 11 years out here, I'm pretty restless. I've had my sights set on Montreal for awhile now but my current plan is to keep Victoria as my home base and spend extended times living & working elsewhere.

I was just in Penticton last week. The valley is nice but even the bigger towns seem too small to me. I wouldn't move to Kelowna. Not crazy about Ottawa & never been to Halifax but I hear it's a cool city comparable to Victoria in many ways.

Molly

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MolsonGirl

yeah if you're looking for a better climate I would definitely not move to Ottawa. haha. But I'd definitely suggest you go on a mini trip out west to scope out some places and then make a choice.. Van city is beautiful, but if you don't like it, you can always move

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indierock05

I've heard great things about Vancouver!

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Living and loving life in Cairns

"The whole object of travel is to not set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as foreign land" -G.K. Chesterton
"As long as we have memories of the ones we love, we will always be home" - me
Claudette
Go Gators!

trevor_schofield

Hey, I grew up living between Victoria & Vancouver and love them both, but left almost 2 years ago to work and travel in Europe. I lived in Dublin for about a year, then did the typical backpacker thing around Western Europe for 4 months last summer. Since then I settled in Edinburgh and plan on packing through Scandinavia and Eastern Europe this summer/fall before heading back to Canada.

I'm in the same boat as you, trying to figure out where to settle. I would love to get back to Vancouver, with the cost of living being the only real drawback. However, after living in Ireland and the UK everything seems fairly cheap. Halifax is a strong number 2 on my list, but I think I'm going to have to do a cross-country road trip before I make a final decision.

Good luck with the planning and I'll be looking forward to see how you work it all out.

thekid

victoria is a damn good choice, i grew up on vancouver island till i hit the road at 17, but i always said id end up there. theres something about that place that gets into ya. im guessin its citys your after so my sugestions are vic van or montreal

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