Hi im moving to canada and need help in making friends

Hi misbahkhan, your thread has been moved to Toronto forum for better visibility.

Harmonie.

[Moderated]

Hi there, welcome to canada

You can join meet up to make friends, go to meetup website and join some groups in Canada that you are interested.

Hi all, I'm looking at moving to Canada this year and would like to start some friendships with people.  Not sure where I will end up yet and I suppose it depends on jobs but Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver are the picks so far.  Look forward to hearing from you.

please buy coats and ski suites we are freezing out here.
also join meet ups. local churches mosques etc

BlueHusky wrote:

Hi all, I'm looking at moving to Canada this year and would like to start some friendships with people.  Not sure where I will end up yet and I suppose it depends on jobs but Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver are the picks so far.  Look forward to hearing from you.

Good luck with Toronto and Vancouver, since they've been among the cities most chosen as destinations to newcomers to Canada work will be a real challenge to find there. You will need to compete against not only all the other newcomers to Canada, but also unemployed or underemployed local residents for every single job vacancy. The cost of living in Toronto and Vancouver will also be much higher than Edmonton.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

James  so the cost of living is lower in Vancouver? than Edmonton.

James wrote:

BlueHusky wrote:

Hi all, I'm looking at moving to Canada this year and would like to start some friendships with people.  Not sure where I will end up yet and I suppose it depends on jobs but Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver are the picks so far.  Look forward to hearing from you.

Good luck with Toronto and Vancouver, since they've been among the cities most chosen as destinations to newcomers to Canada work will be a real challenge to find there. You will need to compete against not only all the other newcomers to Canada, but also unemployed or underemployed local residents for every single job vacancy. The cost of living in Toronto and Vancouver will also be much higher than Edmonton.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

Yeah I know, I've seen that copy and pasted reply of yours many times on here lol.  Well we landed in NZ with just 2 bags, nowhere to stay and NZ$900 in the pocket and built a life from that....many can't say they have done the same and that is in a far smaller competitive country.  I reckon it's all in the attitude and willingness to strive.

@BlueHusky,

What James is saying is true. Being on the ground here in Canada, I would say it is a common theme across every province whereby jobs are hard scarce and more so if one is an immigrant. Having said that, the exclusion would be based on one's profession and choice of city that one settles in. You haven't shared that information (in this thread) which makes it hard for James to craft a more unique response to your question. However, no matter what one's profession is or which city one chooses to settle in, determination and strive (and sometimes a little bit of luck) will eventually lead anybody towards success.

Here's wishing to your success in settling in the Great White North...

As to your question itself although I haven't lived in those cities before. I've always been based in rustic Halifax, NS which is fareast of Canada. Love it and enjoy it here tremendously. However I've heard a thing or two about the cities that interest you and I've travelled to Toronto many times. Here are my thoughts on them:

- Edmonton,

Capital of the province Alberta is fast becoming a major city and competing with its cousin, Calgary. Many people would compare Edmonton with Winnipeg or Ottawa than with Toronto or Vancouver simply because its a smaller sized city. Calgary would be comparable with Toronto - large and urbanized city. I have heard from friends that Edmonton although less urbanized than Calgary, is a very flat city and some find rather uninspiring (I am not sure why). But than again its a matter of opinion. On the other hand, Calgarians have the benefit of being close to great outdoor spaces like Banff which takes only an hour and 1/2 driving time (it takes 4 hrs to drive from Edmonton to Banff).

- Toronto,

is the largest metropolitan area in Canada of course and has many cities within it purview. Take for example Mississauga or Brampton. You'll find that its really urbanized down to the core. Some people live and work only within one area and do not bother travelling to other unless necessary. However you'll have your daily commuters who travels from the suburbs  to downtown for work - which is your typical rat race like scenario. You might be in this situation if you choose to purchase a home there in the long run as it is rather expensive to buy homes in the downtown area. But you may afford ones further away. Then again it all depends on where your job is and what you can afford for a home. I find that having long commute to work rather draining and have no patience for it.

However, the fact that Toronto is in Southern Ontario makes it very easy to drive to Niagara or Buffalo (US) if one wants to over the weekend for a short getaway or even travel to Montreal or Ottawa.

- Vancouver

Personally I have nothing much to say about this place other than the fact is that if you choose to stay here for the long haul than get ready to not own a home anytime soon, because property price in Vancouver is one of the highest in Canada (if not the highest). @James on the other hand may be able to share his thoughts of Vancouver as he used to live there before.

philipyeo wrote:

As to your question itself although I haven't lived in those cities before. I've always been based in rustic Halifax, NS which is fareast of Canada. Love it and enjoy it here tremendously. However I've heard a thing or two about the cities that interest you and I've travelled to Toronto many times. Here are my thoughts on them:

- Edmonton,

Capital of the province Alberta is fast becoming a major city and competing with its cousin, Calgary. Many people would compare Edmonton with Winnipeg or Ottawa than with Toronto or Vancouver simply because its a smaller sized city. Calgary would be comparable with Toronto - large and urbanized city. I have heard from friends that Edmonton although less urbanized than Calgary, is a very flat city and some find rather uninspiring (I am not sure why). But than again its a matter of opinion. On the other hand, Calgarians have the benefit of being close to great outdoor spaces like Banff which takes only an hour and 1/2 driving time (it takes 4 hrs to drive from Edmonton to Banff).

- Toronto,

is the largest metropolitan area in Canada of course and has many cities within it purview. Take for example Mississauga or Brampton. You'll find that its really urbanized down to the core. Some people live and work only within one area and do not bother travelling to other unless necessary. However you'll have your daily commuters who travels from the suburbs  to downtown for work - which is your typical rat race like scenario. You might be in this situation if you choose to purchase a home there in the long run as it is rather expensive to buy homes in the downtown area. But you may afford ones further away. Then again it all depends on where your job is and what you can afford for a home. I find that having long commute to work rather draining and have no patience for it.

However, the fact that Toronto is in Southern Ontario makes it very easy to drive to Niagara or Buffalo (US) if one wants to over the weekend for a short getaway or even travel to Montreal or Ottawa.

- Vancouver

Personally I have nothing much to say about this place other than the fact is that if you choose to stay here for the long haul than get ready to not own a home anytime soon, because property price in Vancouver is one of the highest in Canada (if not the highest). @James on the other hand may be able to share his thoughts of Vancouver as he used to live there before.

Thanks for your reply, this was useful and we may have distant relatives which stay in Edmonton.  We will reach out to them and get their views too as they are South African, which helps with how we would perceive it.  Great help and feedback.  Now how do we get to talk to more people on here?  Is it just quiet because of the time of year?