Where should I move?

Those are really beautiful flowers.

Ok, PowerBall it is.

Those are shamelessly-beautiful lichens. :slight_smile:

What? When was this? Only crash in the Faroes I ever heard of was a helicopter crashing at sea in a storm.

No, not dangerous, “challenging” for the pilot - the runway is a bit short. Its just air on the other side, so all that happens is you have to take another go 'round. Alternatively it may be foggy, and you have to fly back to Bergen. Unless it’s Tuesday - then you get a free night in Reykjavik :smiley:

“Lichens”? {sputters helplessly} I’ll have you know we have a good six months of growing season here! You want to see plants with a mission, try northern gardening. :smiley:

Regarding Calgary’s reputation as Redneck Central - pretty much everyone in Calgary is from somewhere else (Dread Pirate Jimbo is that rare bird, a native Calgarian). The culture here is very much live and let live. The rural areas, I can’t speak for them.

Hey, Australia just got home from work.

We have universal, good, free public health care.

Depending on your income and requirements, you may also chose to have private cover on top of that. This is very cheap (by my US brained standards) and covers private care.

Public dental care isn’t so good, so that’s the main reason (besides the tax break you get if you make over a certain amount) to have private health cover.

But for example: I got really sick, I went to the ER, I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, four days of that was intensive care, and it cost me nothing.

I had a specialist doctor see me during that time, it cost me $120 dollars.

So, for $120 dollars, high level, expensive health care, follow up care at my home, lab work done at my home, take home prescriptions, etc. And the charge, I must stress, was NOT from the hospital, but from the doctor, because I asked for a specialist. If I had been willing to see what was basically his student (he’s a professor at the University here) it would have been totally, utterly free.

My private cover - my kid’s getting braces. This is pretty cosmetic, but might (or might not) save trouble down the road. My private cover for a family of 3 is $150AUD a month, and I get $1000 per year towards his braces, which rolls over. Also, if I wanted to have elective procedures faster, or go to a private hospital (the main difference seems to be better food and a private room, from what I can tell), I could. So three years later, my husband has gone to a private hospital for surgery on his gall bladder purely so he could schedule work around it, my kid has braces, and that’s all I pay per month for the extra privileges. But if I fell over in the street, I’d end up at a public hospital.

Full disclosure: How good the care is at a public facility varies by state and remoteness. But I, and the people I know, have always had really good care. If I lived out in the back of beyond, maybe not so much.

Our taxes are fairly reasonable, too - again, by my US standards - for the level of benefits we’re entitled to.

Cheers,
G

The basics of the story are covered here. Apparently it happened in -96 and since then I promised myself that I’d only visit the Faroe Islands with the Norröna.

Ok, cool. Pretty much exactly like here then. Australia is still in the runnings :slight_smile:

So the list as it looks at the moment:

[ol]
[li]Canada - lots of nice places, lots of jobs and an adventure[/li][li]London/UK - I know what I get, but I have yet to live there[/li][li]Australia - beach, bbq… but still far away[/li][li]Singapore - I still need to check on that magnificent immigration policy[/li][li]US - lots of cool places, but I need to work on my pick-up skillz[/li][li]Sweden/Norway - backup[/li][/ol]
But for all you guys, some general job-related questions:

  • How long a vacation do you get? (Here, I get 24 days a year + holidays)
  • How many sick-days do you get? (Here, 2 per month that I can save for later)
  • How much do I need to make to have a “comfortable” lifestyle? (Hard to define, I know)
  • Is a car a must? (Here, yes)
  • Anything else I’ve forgotten in this list?

Australia

4 weeks /year (20 days) plus public holidays, usually New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Anzac Day. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labor Day, Queen’s Birthday, Christmas and Boxing Day. In Melbourne, they usually get Melbourne Cup day, too. Some employers either give more leave or you can negotiate for more, but that’s rare. Some (not all) employers shut down over Christmas week, some (not all) pay you for that over and above, some ask you to take leave at that time, but that’s all individual.

10 days per year sick leave, unused leave rolls over at year end

Um…that IS hard to define? Where would you live - cheaper dollar wise in the outer suburbs, but less stuff to do? What’s “comfortable” to you? The average wage is $50KAUD per year, with your education you’d surely make more than that, maybe $80-$100K per year in Sydney at a big ol’ fat guess based on what I know the guys where my husband works make. You surely wouldn’t be comfortable on that wage in a waterfront or harbourfront community, where it’s all about private beaches and boat slips, but you would be in the inner west, close to the city (5k where I live), no water. See? It’s all relative. Do you need a really big house? Do you want a flatmate? Want a detached house? Flat? Yard? No yard? It’s so hard to quantify…

A car is not a must, if you live and work in a major city or surrounding suburbs. Public transport is cheap and safe, if not totally on time. (Sydney is very bad for this, but it mostly effects people who live further out than I do.) If not, then yes you need one. Where I live in Sydney to where I work in North Sydney, a car would take longer to get to work and be more of a hassle, and be much much MUCH more expensive to drive anyway.

Have you thought about how much you need to get yourself set up somewhere? What a deposit on a flat might cost, how the real estate system works, etc.? For example, I was floored that rents are quoted here by the week, not by the month. I thought it was cheapest place ever till I realized that…and of course, every country is different.

Also, I’m giving you a very Sydney-centric view. There’s Melbourne dopers and Perth dopers and I think one or two in Brisbane that might chime in, too. It’s a very big place!

Cheers,
G

Oh, missed the edit, you also get long service leave, which, in New South Wales, is 3 months after 10 years employment with one employer. I believe (but am not positive) this varies by state.

Cheers,
G

For living, I at the most need a 1-2 bedroom apartment (I share a flat with a buddy now, so I don’t mind that). What I mean by comfortable is to be able to eat out when I want to, take minor trips without major considerations, buy the books and games I want to and generally not have to worry too much about the end of the month.

I’m quite easy going in that way :slight_smile:

Australia sounds like a very nice place to work… it’s just that distance thing :frowning:

But what’s service leave?

I have a buffer to set me up in most not ridiculously expensive places on the planet. So that I have thought off.

And another thing that just popped into my mind. How do the rules work for laying people off? (months/weeks pay and so on)

Since I just found out those rules for Iceland the hard way a few hours ago :frowning:
(3 months pay + remaining vacation days will be payed in full)

Why, may I ask, would you want to leave Iceland in the 1st place?:confused: It’s clean, low crime, and I have heard it has the most beautiful women in the Northern Hemisphere.

Calgary - usually start at two or three weeks paid vacation. Unpaid leave on top of that could be negotiated.

  • we get snow days with no questions asked usually (the whole city is snowed in, no one is expected to come to work).
  • statutory holidays are paid days off.
  • sick days is very variable; most companies give reasonable amounts of paid sick time without making you jump through hoops.
  • I would say most professional jobs will pay you enough to live comfortably here.
  • car is pretty much a must in Calgary. That said, it is possible to arrange your life for minimal driving if you really wanted to (live and work downtown, walk to shopping, etc.). We’re working on it.

Additional info - Calgary has a reputation of not being much for the nightlife (although we do have a lot of amenities like symphony, opera, plays, music acts, festivals, etc.), but people here go to the mountains all the time for hiking and camping in summer and skiing in winter.

Take a look at this threadand get back to me :wink:

Basically, Iceland’s going to hell in a handbasket!

You are however right about the cleanliness and the absolutely gorgeous women :smiley: … crime is on the rise though :frowning:

Calgary is looking more and more like the winner here. I especially like the unemployment rate figures and the multitude of cool jobs I’ve found so far.

I’m heading towards the Canadian embassy on monday, to get stocked up on info and brochures about everything they have to offer :slight_smile:

Sorry - missed rules for laying people off. In professional occupations, there are procedures to be followed to fire people (employment is not at-will for professionals) - it usually follows the policy of verbal warning, written warnings, attempts to fix problems, then firing. Lay-offs usually involve severance packages - I don’t know much about these, and I think they vary a lot by company. I think it’s a week of severance for every year worked, but I’m not sure of that. Three months pay sounds really good to me.

That’s due to strong unions :wink:

Depending upon your union (which you have to be in) you first have a months trial, after that month you get one months pay and in my case I got three months after six months work (in some unions you get the 3 months after the first year).

Sorry to hear about your layoff, WormTheRed. :frowning:

Toronto is similar for these, and for the layoff requirements.

Define comfortable. I make 50k a year and live in a bachelor apartment. On the other hand, I have no debt. Typical apartment prices (dollars per month) in Toronto…
Bachelor (zero-bedroom) ~700-800.
One-bedroom: ~850-1000 and up.
Two-bedroom: ~950-1100 and up.
Three-bedroom apartments are hard to find but they exist.

Many condominium apartments are rented out by their owners as well, so from the viewpoint of the tenant, they’re rentals.

There is also a vast collection of shared basement rooms and basement apartments of varying legality and quality in houses. I think everyone goes through a phase of living in one; it is common for university students to live in one after they live in residence on-campus.

To truly afford a house in the Toronto area, I’d need to be making well over 100k per year.

A car is not needed in Toronto, unless you live in the far suburbs. Even then it’s possible to live without a car; just not the most convenient.

Where you do need a car is outside the Greater Toronto Area, especially in small towns. Intercity public transport in Ontario sucks. A few places have infrequent trains. Larger cities will have semi-frequent buses. More places have infrequent buses that often show up at odd times like three in the morning (if they’re on a longer route between two more distant cities). Most intercity buses in Ontario are run by Greyhound Canada, a company noted for buying up competing bus services and then reducing service. And the buses aren’t in great shape either; dented, scratched, all sorts of liveries from their former owners (I was once picked up in Madoc, Ontario, heading to Toronto, by a bus bearing the Aeroports de Montreal logo!) Greyhound just got bought out by another company, so maybe things will improve, but before that they were owned by Laidlaw.

On the other hand, Toronto has all sorts of nightlife, but could use a few mountains. “Blue Mountain” isn’t. (It’s a ski area on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, facing north and looking over Georgian Bay. :slight_smile:

A few words about health insurance.

Health insurance is run by the provinces, paid for by taxes, and is broadly interchangeable among provinces. Emergency care is paid for no question. Elective surgery tends to have waiting lists. And for some reason it’s difficult to find a family doctor in Ontario.

I believe that new immigrants have to have their own health insurance for six months before they get onto OHIP, but I’m not certain about this.

Ontario’s health insurance plan (OHIP) does not pay for dental care; for that we have a US-style system of private insurance (often paid for by the employer), or you pay for it in cash. This sucks; I’m saving up for a new tooth that my employer’s insurance does not cover. On the other hand, it’s easy to find a dentist. Just not to pay for one.

Thanks man, I’m looking for that open window now :wink:

That was basically the final push. I’m definately getting out of Dodge now… so how about I buy you that beer in Toronto instead?

Both Toronto and Calgary sound like great places to live! I’m now leaving it up to the job-gods and the Canadian Government to see where I land (basically, do I get a work permit and where do I get a job).

Now, I’m off for the movies…

Ok, I looked into it. The crash apparantly happened because (a) the pilot was not familiar with the airstrip (a big no-no today) and (b) they insisted on attempting to land, despite being warned about adverse weather conditions. And it was not a comercial flight, it was a military gulf-something or other.

Anyway, good luck, wherever you wind up. If you choose your backup plan, there will just about enough dopers here for a ScandiDope.

Ok, sounds a bit better now. And you know those army guys have to try to show off :wink:

Thanks for the well-wishes! This weekend, I’m fading away in a bang and I’ll pull my stuff together come Monday.

I believe that the average wage in Calgary goes a wee bit farther than in Toronto, but not much – I believe the costs of living are pretty much on par at this point. Our apartment rental costs are currently artificially high due to a general lack of availability, but the housing market has cooled off considerably in the last few months after a major market correction in 2006. Our fairly average 3-bedroom house with a pretty good sized yard in an average little middle-class neighbourhood would likely go for around $300,000 if we put it on the market right now. I think the average house price right now is closer to $400K, but there are A LOT of McMansions in this city owned by BMW-driving oil and gas execs.

featherlou is right about needing a car here. Public transit is OK, but unspectacular. It does a pretty good job of funneling people downtown from the 'burbs, but heaven forbid you want to go anywhere else. The roads are also sub-optimal and, as a result, traffic is much more crowded and slow than it ought to be, considering the size of the city and the number of cars. It is my one and only conspiracy theory that the roadways are kept crappy here by the many oil companies who want us in our cars as much as possible.

While the reputation for mediocre nightlife does exist for Calgary, we actually do have a lot more activities available than one might think, from bars and nightclubs to restaurants to theatres (movie and live action) to bike trails to sports to special events, such as the world famous Calgary-freaking-Stampede. I recall seeing a newspaper article a while back that indicated that there are actually more entertainment options in Calgary per capita than any other city in the country, but that was a while ago, so I can neither confirm nor deny whether that is still the case.

Health care is very much the same in Alberta as Sunspace described for Ontario, but if you get a job with the right company with secondary coverage as part of their benefits package, you’ll need not worry about dental or other incidental medical expenses.

And finally, the Calgary Flames have won the Stanley Cup in my 39-year lifetime. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not. Just sayin’. :smiley: