Canadian question.

[maximus]

Off topic and might cause fistfight among the canadians.
Well, you have been warned :mrgreen:

Background: It is been a long desire of mine to go to canada for retirement (Ok, still a long time before retirement, but I like to plan ahead). I prefer a calm smaller city, so Vancouver and Toronto are basically out of the question. My preference is cities like Victoria, Regina, Windsor or Halifax .... a slightly larger cities like Edmonton and Calgary can still be considered. Mild winter, mild summer, nice weather, clean and fresh air, scenic, not too crowded and english speaking (My french is quite rusty, I often got confused between dans, depuis, pour ... and then ce homme vs. cet homme :oops:) And most importantly, the people should be open minded, willing to accept people from different race and culture. During my study in the U.S., I have visited Canada once, but sadly I did not visited those cities. Like all happy tourists, we only visited Vancouver, the rockies and Toronto.

Suggestions, anyone? I am planning to visit Canada again around the end of this year, and your suggestion will directly change my itinerary =)

[ctmagnus]

Out of the cities you listed, I would recommend Victoria. It's a very nice, very peaceful city, or it was when I visited it a few years ago. The only issue you may find is that the roads are a bit curvier than most cities' roads (at least most cities I've seen). And they are having some awful storms right about now. As for Calgary, forget it. (Nothing personal, Jason ;) .) Calgary has grown seemingly exponentially these last few years and it seems that everyone there is always rushing to be somewhere they're not. And it's fracking expensive (compared to a few years ago) as well. Money, money, money, rush, rush, rush. My sister is living there atm and she can barely afford to pay her mostly minor bills, even with two jobs.

And, if you reply to this, happy 2000th post! (You're at 1999 now.)

[Cybrid]

Like all happy tourists, we only visited Vancouver, the rockies and Toronto.
Having lived in Toronto, I can sympathize with not wanting to live in a big city. As to Victoria vs. Vancouver...Victoria is expensive to live in and very touristy. In the peak seasons, you'd have to put up with tourists and in comparison goods are noticeably cheaper in Vancouver.

I'd recommend the 'burbs.
Coquitlam is a suburb outside of Vancouver. After moving there from Toronto, I wondered..."Geez, Does everyone here go to bed at 9p.m.?" At night, it is a virtual ghost town. Except for the little tiny community of Maillardville. They're french derivative so somewhat more interesting...at night. :devilboy:

[Janak Parekh]

My preference is cities like Victoria, Regina, Windsor or Halifax .... a slightly larger cities like Edmonton and Calgary can still be considered. Mild winter, mild summer, nice weather, clean and fresh air, scenic, not too crowded and english speaking
I'm not a Canadian, but as a Northeasterner who's traveled a little in North America, I can tell you this: from an Indonesian standpoint, neither Regina, Windsor, Calgary, Edmonton, nor Halifax have "mild winters". Regina and Windsor suffer from the midwest continental effect: hot-to-very hot summers, and extremely cold winters. (Well, in theory. As of late, it seems global warming is reducing the effect. Still, both cities will have stretches of weather where they stay below 0C for weeks, and Regina will stay below 0F (-17C) for days if not weeks. Windsor, being further south and near a Great Lake, is certainly the better of the two, but with correspondingly hotter summers.) Calgary/Edmonton fall somewhere in between the two: milder summers and protection from some of the arctic air masses thanks to the Rockies. Still, they often visit -30C at least once a winter. That might be mild for folks from Winnipeg or Regina, but not much else. I also would not consider Calgary or Edmonton "smaller cities" at this point -- that corridor is one of the fastest-growing parts of Canada, and both cities have grown rapidly. Halifax is a little milder on average, but you're still talking about sub-0C temperatures with the occasional cold snap.

The west coast is the best bet if you want mild winters and mild summers, but be careful: mild winters mean average temperatures of 0-5C with cloudy/drizzly weather. And as Cybrid pointed out, cities like Victoria (and Vancouver) tend to be expensive. Vancouver suburbs may be one way to go.

And most importantly, the people should be open minded, willing to accept people from different race and culture. During my study in the U.S., I have visited Canada once, but sadly I did not visited those cities. Like all happy tourists, we only visited Vancouver, the rockies and Toronto.
As an Indian-American, I would say that most Northern cities are generally accepting of races and cultures. No one looks at me twice in NY, nor Chicago, nor Seattle, nor Vancouver, etc. (Most southern US cities would be, too, although I'd be a little wary of the deep South or the Bible Belt.)

A simpler question, though: why only Canada? Canada is a beautiful country with extremely nice folk, but it's not the only choice. If English is a constraint, there's also Australia, New Zealand, parts of the US... I'd consider parts of New Zealand as having near-perfect climate.

--janak

[isajoo]

lol

[maximus]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ah yes, Victoria. My first choice. Aside from the storms, according to the below website, they have mild weather all year long. Between 6-21 celcius all year long. Can anyone confirm about the figure? If they are true, then that must be the ideal place to take an early retirement =)

http://www.victoria.ca/visitors/about_clmt.shtml

Why canada? Because from canada we can easily head south to the US =) Lots of my friends are there, so many things to see in the US.

Australia and New Zealand are very close to Indonesia. Been there so many times for work. For retirement, I would prefer a new environment.
Furthermore, New Zealand is a bit too slow for me. Maybe it is just me. In Indonesia, my regular working day is 7 AM to 8 PM. Hence I usually arrived home at around 9 PM. But everytime I was in New Zealand, I found myself very sleepy even at 6 PM ... I guess New Zealand is a bit like Vancouver suburb, If I live there, I am afraid that I might be sleeping through my retirement =)

ctmagnus : 2000th message ;p

[Janak Parekh]

Ah yes, Victoria. My first choice. Aside from the storms, according to the below website, they have mild weather all year long. Between 6-21 celcius all year long. Can anyone confirm about the figure? If they are true, then that must be the ideal place to take an early retirement =)
Not quite. That's the highs. Check the stats on Weatherbase (http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=99717&refer=&units=metric) (these guys have stats on every city, too, which you may find helpful). While the average stays above freezing, as per that site, 51 days of the year find temps (presumably lows) below freezing.

Basically, cool (but not cold) winters, and mild summers. I personally wouldn't call it perfect, but by North American standards it's nice. (In general, North America is more subject to weather swings than other places, due to the large continent allowing the formation of air masses of various shapes and sizes, particularly in the middle of winter and summer.)

Why canada? Because from canada we can easily head south to the US =) Lots of my friends are there, so many things to see in the US.
You still haven't answered why not US. ;) I guess Canada would have better national healthcare, etc...

--janak

[maximus]

Why not US?

Because it is almost impossible for people from my country to migrate directly to the US =)
Must have job first, before we can get a residency.
Must have residency before anyone is offering you a job.

Chicken vs. egg, allover again.

Unless you have some advice on the easy way to get residency =)

[Janak Parekh]

Because it is almost impossible for people from my country to migrate directly to the US =)
Must have job first, before we can get a residency.
Must have residency before anyone is offering you a job.
Well, I'm surprised Canada's much easier, but I presume you've done the research.

--janak

[isajoo]

lol

[Janak Parekh]

But, take for example a country like INDIA, british culture(english speaking), cheap houses(average $50000), dirt cheap living expenses(food,gas,hydroaverage $400 monthly) and heres the best part, the banks there give an interest rate anywhere from 6.5%-8.5% annually(many tax free). so it would not take much(min. $100,000) to live off only savings.
While this is true in some areas, do realize that the cost of living in desirable places is booming as the country's economy continues to do well. Mumbai, for example, has become very expensive in areas. My parents bought a property there last year, and its value has doubled even before the construction is complete.

Also, depending on where you live, you'll want to learn some Hindi. While it's true most of the educated folks speak English, this is less common amongst the average joe. This also depends on where you go.

--janak

[isajoo]

lol

[Don Tolson]

If you are looking for mild winters and summers, then the only real choice is Victoria/Vancouver. Most of the rest of the country is hit pretty hard at both ends of the seasonal spectrum.

We here in Lotus Land get quite a bit of 'calming' of weather extremes due to the Pacific currents.

HOWEVER - be prepared for a number of grey, cloudy, rainy kind of days as well -- good for cuddling up to a fire, hot coffee, etc. From living and working across Canada, I know our periods of 'grey' weather drives others CRAZY...

[Mattitude]

If you're a millionaire, then you can move to my hometown, Canmore, Alberta, the most beautiful place in the world. Hands down, no contest, boo-ya, in your face, woot. And who ever mentioned USA? Off topic. We're talking about cool places to retire to.

[Mattitude]

Also, depending on where you live, you'll want to learn some Hindi.

LOL