I lived in Toronto from 1976 to 1982. The city was absolutely wonderful then - a multicultural paradise. Many of my friends have moved out to neighboring towns claiming that things are just insane there now. I really don’t know if this is true and what they are basing their opinions on. I live on the NW coast of the US now and I have heard very positive things about Vancouver. Montreal? I’ve been there too, and sure, it is also an interesting city. It has one of the coolest subways systems I have ever seen. If I had a choice (and it sounds like you do) I would go for Vancouver. My brother spent a year there and had an absolute blast. It’s visually beautiful in a way that Montreal is not - great food from all over…and the Pacific ocean, of course. I don’t like to be landlocked. I’m only an hour from the coast now and wish I was closer all the time!
Then you have to live in Montreal or Toronto. You’ve left yourself no other reasonable option, sorry. Even the big Western cities would be difficult to fully appreciate without a driver’s license.
You COULD live in a smaller town like Kingston, but frankly without a car there just isn’t a lot to see. Kingston is my home town and it’s a lovely, lovely town, but it has a public transit system consisting of maybe a dozen buses that go along routes designed by lunatics. You would basically be spending a year within walking distance of your home. I mean, if that’s your thing and you’re looking to not do much by all means, but I’d lose my mind.
Canada is a big and empty place, and except for Toronto and Montreal, and arguably Vancouver and Ottawa, you need a car.
Ottawa would be ok - especially if you plan on living downtown, perhaps near the University of Ottawa. There are plenty of attractions and cultural events near by and the transit system is fairly good. Ottawa would allow you a front row seat on Ontario and Canadian politics (there actually is some) and you’d have a relatively gentle introduction to language politics in Canada.
There’s also the Gatineau Hills just across the river for all your hiking, biking and skiing pleasure.
Alberta or BC. Anywhere within either. Most. Beautiful. Scenery. Ever.
I thought us states had some pretty serious gorgeous, and I’ve traveled a fair bit of it, but I think you lucky Canadians might just have us 'mericans beat in that category.
That’s a link to Vancouver not Vancouver Island.
“Sidney enjoys a cool Mediterranean climate with year-round mild temperatures and moderate rainfall.”
From here:
I’ll second Vancouver. It’s got everything worth having, plus my man Dr. Drake.
I know when I was up in Arviat, NU - they were offering me a job teaching at the school if I was interested, and i am not a teacher by trade.
Ottawa is lovely and downtown is pretty pedestrian friendly. I live in Winnipeg and although I like it most of the time, it would be tough being dependant on buses (although you would experience winter 
).
Saskatoon is very nice, and still fits the bill for winter.
Lots of relatives on my wife’s side live in/around the Winnipeg area…and ALL the stories I have heard…it’s sounds like barely habitable in the winter.
So is Sidney’s climate comparably closer to Vancouver, BC, or Los Angeles/Santa Barbara, CA which is considered Mediterranean? Living here in Southern California, I am having a hard time understanding anything on the coast north of San Francisco as being Mediterranean. The Pacific Northwest is much more temperate, more rainfall, overall cooler regardless of season, and cloudier overall. “Cool Mediterranean” climate is loosely used for anything in the drier parts of the Pacific Northwest coast, but more realistically, they are more comparable to Oceanic Climate:
It has it’s moments, that’s for sure! We were all a little bummed when the other RCAF bases were getting stood down due to extreme windchill.
Not us, we should be “used” to it. It becomes sort of a manner of pride for some Winnipegger/Manitobans - there was actually this lovely book I bought my daughter “If You Aren’t from The Prairie…”
In that vein, Poysyn, I remember going to school in winter as a kid in a small town north of Saskatoon; we had no snow days or too cold for school days - there was just, “Put another layer on” days.
Growing up in Calgary the schools would always open - the busses just might not run.
(school busses are notoriously unreliable in the extreme cold)
Unfortunately for my sisters and I - mom would drive us in anyways. Those were fun days though - not much would get done.
I, too, was going to suggest Calgary, but not driving in that city might pose a problem. And it might be frustrating because Calgary is only 90 minutes or less from the mountains.
If I ended up in Calgary with no wheels I’d go nuts not being able to drive to Kananaskis Country, Banff and Lake Louise, though I could rent a car. But that’s not an option for you.
That’s not necessarily true. I’ve lived in Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Halifax without a car and it was fine. It’s not that bad if you are used to walking, biking, or taking the bus, and it sounds like to OP is. I think to some extent it depends on your personal interests - while I enjoy the outdoors as much as the next guy, I’m not especially attached to heading out to the countryside every weekend. If I really wanted to do that I guess I might feel differently, but as it is I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
To the OP - if you want somewhere with a European flavor, Montreal is probably the best bet. It’s definitely more similar to Dublin than anywhere else I’ve been in Canada. If you want somewhere with a climate like Ireland, look at Vancouver or Victoria. If you like a big city, Toronto might be for you. Personally I wouldn’t recommend the prairies, but that’s just because I lived there for years and the idea of another -40C winter makes me want to cry.
Thanks for your replies everyone. You’ve given me lots of food for thought.
Don’t forget the beer.
As far as Calgary weather goes I think back to the 1988 Olympics. It was cold during the opening ceremonies, like -20 to -30 range. I also remember that about 3 days later it +12 and I was sitting outside in a Tshirt. The Chinooks can really help break up the monotony of the winter.
Yeah, but you can take a bus to Banff and then walk around there. That is another plus for Calgary, if you want to ski or snowboard (not to mention mountain biking and fly fishing and hiking in the summer) the Rockies are right there.
An,
It might help if you give us a bit more info on what your interests are other than work. Do you want world class skiing? Calgary or Vancouver Mtn biking? Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. Awesome music scene? Winnipeg, Kingston, or Halifax. In the summer, you can get around no problem (for the most part) by bike. In the winter use public transit or your feet. You want to see Canada without leaving Ireland? St. John’s or Sidney. What floats your boat? Also, great refs with the TPBs and the NFB.
Oops, double post. So Sorry.