Close Reading

Simple : \nIf you have your own house in a big metro city , household income : 2.5 lakhs a month , at least 1 household help and age 30 + . I firmly believe you are better off in India . \nNow if you are younger, no money no hope and not much education . Canada is your home.

You are spot on! (And far too polite/politically correct - sorry to say lol).\n\nToronto is the WORST city to live in. I look forward to leaving. I regret moving here 17 years ago - don't know how I've managed to stay this long. Toronto has changed me... and not for the better. This place will make you bitter, you'll have no friends (or shallow, money-hungry ones) and there's no sense of community. Your workplace will be toxic, you'll work long hours for a boss that treats you like crap and pays you less than you're worth. You'll be underpaid, and not valued or appreciated. You'll wake up in the dark to go to work in the freezing cold and come home in the dark, in the freezing cold. You'll live in an expensive tiny box in the sky with disrespectful neighbours (and their barking dogs). The 'unhoused' and addicts will hang outside of your building, begging you for money and smoking crack/weed. The stench of urine and poop on a hot summer's day (the 3 months of it that there is) will make you want to heave.\n\nAnyone thinking of moving to Toronto should seriously think twice and do LOTS of research. There are so many BETTER cities in the world - choose wisely. Don't choose Canada.

Reasons people are leaving Canada. \n1. Govt promoting on your face LBGTQ+ sh*t agenda. \n2. Sun-less cold winter + related depression.\n3. Cost of home ownership + living. \n4. No jobs for foreign-qualified people in their field.\n5. Supporting wars overseas with our tax money.\n6. High tax + broken health care system.\n7. Pot + Drug + Sexual abuse.\n8. Unsafe big cities.\n9. Business unfriendly policy.\n10. \n\nI am keeping point 10 for you all to add here.

I think these problems have come to plague almost all big cities in the developed countries in the last decade. Canada, like Australia, the UK,, USA, NZ, Netherlands etc is still cursed with the millstone of the failed political ideologies of the last forty or so years. These mitigate against the solutions: the end of mass immigration and a huge home building program. Expensive housing is the root of the problem.

May Allah reward you with Jannah, it is a 100% correct decision, knowing that the Prophet Alayhi Salam forbade living in an environment where the call to prayer is not heard. \nBe ready for trials, because whenever a person says he believes and does something right, Allah tests how sincere he is in that act. Maybe your next home will be smaller, and your salary will be lower, and maybe you will think that you should never have left Canada, but those thoughts are definitely from shaytan. So be determined and persevere on your way to Jannah. I also left England and never regretted it. \nI would suggest Novi Pazar in Sandzak, Sarajevo in Bosnia or a city you like in Turkey, if you can't settle in Saudi Arabia, which is a haven for a religious soul. \nIf you need some help with those places, feel free to contact me. \nSalam Alaikum

I left Toronto in 2017 (born and raised there, lived in Toronto for 35 years about). I moved to London Ontario, the cost of housing here is basically half of what I was paying in Toronto. I even took a $10k per year paycut for a new job and I still live better in London Ontario than I did in Toronto because in Toronto nearly my whole salary went towards living in squalor.. whereas for half of what I paid in Toronto got me a comfortable home in London. Unless you are wealthy, living in Toronto is lunacy.. you can live much more comfortably by just leaving the big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, even if it means taking a lower paying job.

I left toronto for Kansas city in 2008 for a job. It used to be that I craved coming back home. In the last 2-3 years I can't wait to leave.

I’ve visited Toronto a few times from the USA. It’s an amazing city and I considered moving there because it’s so hard getting a green card in the USA as an Indian. \n\nBut the more I think about it, I’d rather go back home if I needed to. I’d earn 1/3 of what I currently make if I move there with so little growth opportunities. And the refugee and unskilled immigrants there seem to be a downside as well. Instead of moving them to the sparser regions and having them employed in industries Canada seems to let them free with no oversight. Why would I pay my taxes for this?

One of the primary aspects of Toronto that people applaud is the multiculturalism. They say this even whilst shaking their heads in wonder at how rotted the city is at its core. They never make the obvious connection: A citizenry whose heart is lodged elsewhere is never going to build and maintain a high quality life and structure in a place to which they have no fundamental personal commitment. When 'home' is always somewhere else, the citizenry is just going through the motions but not really in for the long run. Often people are working to send money 'home', which is definitely not Toronto.

Homes are cheaper in smaller cities but immigrants don't want to live there

You explained this so well!! My partner and I moved to Canada 3 years ago just as we got approved for H1B. We had to chose between moving to CA or staying there in an uncertain limbo for 2 decades waiting for a greencard. You did a good job talking about the downsides of moving such as a lower salary and higher home prices. We bought a small townhouse for the price we could have paid in the US for a detached house. Many people I know in similar situations leave CA and move back to the US once they get their Canadian citizenship. However, I do think that there are many reasons to stay such as the political climate. The US has become very regressive banning abortions, making gun laws more lenient and it’s not as accepting when it comes to diversity and inclusion (be it POC community or Lgbtqia+) unless you live in a big city which is expensive. These are the reasons we chose to stay, especially if we have kids as school shootings are getting more and more common there.

I'm Canadian and also want to leave this country, it's extremely unaffordable. Taxes are insane, home prices are out of reach, hospital care is non existent, the drug issue that's growing in every city.. etc etc. \nCanada is not what it used to be.

American expat in Germany here. The tax/salary problem is the same here. \n\nEvery cool place has been overrun with people seeking to move there. I say this as someone doing exactly that, so please don’t think this is “anti immigrant” or anything like that; my spouse is an immigrant. The same thing has happened to cities where everyone from the home country tries to move there from the “uncool” suburbs. \n\nSlowly, then suddenly all at once, the affordable housing vanishes, any government appointment is impossible to get, jobs get scarce, and taxes go up. \n\nBig respect to immigrants, newcomers, and to weary, crowded, overtaxed locals alike. There is just no way to preserve any desirable place when x-million people move there.

I make more than twice the average annual income in Canada. I still struggle to save despite not spending on nice things or taking vacations. Car Insurance costs are higher than the US. Healthcare situation is horrifyingly bad. Groceries are 15% higher. Childcare costs are higher if you are even lucky to find a spot in one. Cars cost more and so does gas. Taxes are higher than the US while salaries are almost 30% lower. On top of that, you can't really claim a lot of tax credits like in the US for being married or having work related expenses. It's a punishment to live in canada these days. Unless you have inheritance from your parents, forget about ever owning a home in GTA, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal. There are other cities in canada too but job prospects for most educated folks are sparse and the weather is worse. Leave Canada if you can.

I think people who leave the country is because don’t have the skills that required for the high cost of living specially in the biggest cities like Vancouver ,Toronto ,although Montreal was less expensive to live in compared to the others ones, \nNew immigrants coming to Toronto finds almost impossible to find a reasonable accommodation due to the high demands for housing ,family’s ‘re the most affected, One big reason some people are returning home is because the minimum wages at 18 dollars an hour -40 hours work , 2,880.00 dollars, minus tax, take home is 2,448.00 taxable at the rate of 15 %, , now your rent for one bedroom ,600 square feet cost $2.000 dollars a month , leave you with 448.00 to cover food, transportation , and utilities, at the end you haven’t save any money , So what to do just go home

Why?\n\nCommunism in Venezuela caused this. \n\nWhy do you think border states (annoyed with Biden Administration inaction) are bussing and flying illegals to sanctuary cities?\n\nSanctuary city dwellers voted for this. They should open up their homes to allow what they voted. It's time to take ownership of the policies you wanted and voted for.

I moved out of Canada in 2023 due to the high living costs, after nearly a decade. Taxes are super high as you start making a bit more of money, healthcare is precarious (talk about preventative medicine… non-existing in Canada) and the real estate market is just the cherry on top. Making 200k plus I couldn’t buy a condo anywhere for me and my wife without accruing a lot of debt, at least a 2/3 bedroom as we both work from home. Even cities like Calgary, known before for cheap rent, have doubled the prices. \n\nToronto and Vancouver are blatantly used for money laundering and the government doesn’t care. Prices as a result have super inflated and people doing any type of decent work are the ones to pay for it. \n\nCanada is amazing if you are either VERY poor or VERY rich. The rest is better off moving elsewhere

In 1993, I received a phone call from Canada, I was headhunted & offered a 2-year work contract. Within months, I moved from Singapore to Banff, Alberta. When my contract came-up for renewal in 1995, they wanted to extend my employment but they couldn't confirm the projected remuneration I would be receiving as the institution was undergoing restructuring, so I left. I stayed on in Canada for a couple more.months to enquire on job opportunities. I quickly realised that many in my profession had quit for better salaries in other fields or that they hopped from city to city for work. thus I decided that it would be best for me to return to my home country, Singapore after all.

I live in texas went from a big city but since becoming a mom we moved to a small town. Best decision we ever made my girls play outside and are ssying hi and thank you, learning to live among others with different views or beliefs with respect. My family is a mix of el Salvador and Honduras, my moms family is of Palestine descent who left and went to a small country who was the only one at time that opened their doors due to their religion. Because of that religion and politics stay outside of our home we were all allowed to explore others but respect was always the rule, and i do the same for my girls if they want to learn we research together and teach them respect of all faiths. We do homeschool because in our small town public school is actually thw second choice of how far out we are from the school. We have also still homes in el Salvador and honduras because my family told us from being little this isnt home and to respect the hist country that opens their doors. Blessings to you and your family.

No all of Ontario is that expensive . Toronto, Ottawa and major cities but if you were to look at Cambridge or you are 1 hour from T.O. but you can get a studio or apartment under 2k . You can get a fully detached Houseman cambridge ontario 3 bedroom around 1100 for around 500k . Again about 1 hour away. It depends what you want. If you like the big city of Toronto then you have to pay to play. Right now there are opportunities especially with work from home now.

ALina I see you are a jet setter ( going around the world seeing different places which. Is great and educational ) but remember your dear. dad. he. raised you in a good and Loving way and he’s getting older not younger have you ever considered Living close. too him. and working from home ( And I agree Toronto suck’s I trucked 18 wheeler’s in there delivering product’s in the the 1980s for a. while and everything you said is true about Toronto , I also worked. there. about 5 year’s ago on night shift on a union pipeline job, and stayed at Bradford, Ontario about 40 miles or. so north of the city of Toronto , driving a small truck , I don’ t want too sound. negative either but you couldn’t pay me enough. too. Live there, Now. or Never not. my cup of tea / I grew up most of my Life in. Saskatchewan , I’ am about the same age as your Dad or a year younger , / A good Looking Lady Like you would do well in Saskatchewan , and if you didn’ t Like the cold in the winter you could be a snowbird. you and your Dad ( go away for a few month’s too a warmer place) just. saying. there are a lot of good people in Saskatchewan (Ukrainian, German, Norwegian,Finnish, Irish and English and Scottish just. too name a few, I think there is a good future for a young person or person’s in. Saskatchewan for. a future, and Listen too your father , he Looked Like he’s worked hard all his Life on. the farm, I can tell Listening too him , he’s no dummy ,smart man, I still have a neighbour where I had a small acreage 17 acres south of Tisdale, Saskatchewan ( Brent Butt country ) he farmed across the road from me ( still owns the farm ) retired Lives in nearby Melfort, Saskatchewan has an apartment room he’s around your dad’s age , / I. Live in a small town on the edge of town between Toronto. and. Ottawa ( winter are quite damp here , do too all the Lake’s in Ontario )Anyway the best too you and your Dad in the new year if he is still. farming l hope he had a good crop this ( or if the Land is rented l hope the renter got a good crop) also. best too you and your Dad / Bill S. Canada

The housing thing is fucked up. Nobody can buy a home bcuz selfish owners dont want their city build more houses bcuz their value would drop. Like fuck off!

Canada has the same problem as the United States: wrong kind of politicians elected. Like the U.S., most Canadians consider themselves compassionate liberals and thus feel obligated to vote for said, compassionate liberal politicians. The problem is, for Canada and the U.S., these compassionate liberal politicians don't know how to run the nation's economy except to run it further into the ground. And when the problems get really bad, the solution is always, raise taxes because liberal politicians are either Marxist Socialist and believe the citizenry are obligated to pay higher and higher taxes for more government intervention, meaning, interference, in most cases.\n Whenever Canada does get around to voting in a conservative prime minister and government, the Canadian mass media immediately goes on a years-long negative campaign of deliberately undermining the government in the eyes of the Canadian People, demeaning them as inept and uncompassionate and comparing them to fascists. Eventually the Canadian People get so distressed they have to vote back in the liberal party. And then the same happens again.\n I'm just glad our Canadian brothers are not blaming the U.S. government or the CIA, but instead are clear-headed and courageous enough to blame their own government and past legislations and laws that do the exact opposite of what is supposed to happen, level the playing field for all Canadians.\n I'm reading about the outrageous pricing of Canadian housing and am astonished. But one YouTuber explained this about his Canada. Everyone in Canada wants to squeeze into the few, concentrated urban areas that concentrate business, finance, manufacturing, job opportunities, et al. As it happens, these areas are too few and far between. So what ends up happening is geographical overpopulation, despite Canada having a total population of around 32 million souls. People in California can certainly understand this phenomenon. You can purchase a 3-bedroom house out in California City, which is near the Mojave Desert, for $176,000, but there's nothing out there to make it worthwhile living there. Conversely, a tiny, 3-bedroom home in Torrance, Los Angeles, was selling for $800,000 in 2018. \n As realtors put it this way all the time, location, location, location!\n I'm going to pass on commenting on Canada's National Health Care. I've read criticisms from native Canadians on the Internet. As Canadians, they're entitled to say whatever they want about their country. If I, a Yank, open my big mouth, I'm going to get trolled by a hundred angry Canadians defending their National Health Care as the world's greatest socialized medical care. Health Care is already expensive enough in the U.S. Most people get it through their employer, which pays a part of it. But employees' monthly deductions for health insurance have been growing steadily over the past 30 years to where it's now a huge chunk out of one's monthly paycheck.

In my province healthcare is ostensibly nonexistent. Wait times at ER's are well over 12 hours and you're often directed to go home without ever seeing a doctor. \nThere is an extreme deficit of doctors. I've been waiting 6 years for one and there are people who have waited much longer with no relief in sight. \nHousing is unaffordable. A decent (nothing special) one bedroom 1 bath apartment is around 1600 a month and this is a largely rural province, not a metropolitan city. \nHomes are being bought as fast as they go on the market at extremely inflated prices by people moving here to escape the more populated provinces. This has raised property taxes by 20% in the last 2 years.\nThe economy is in shambles. Homelessness is exploding and the government seems uninterested in fixing it in any realistic or helpful way.\nFederal and provincial income taxes are nearly 50% of your income (44% for me and a bit more for my wife). So, what money you do make you get to keep a little more than half.\nElectricity is about 3 times what it is in the US and the rate here is increasing by 29% over the next 3 years.\nGroceries are unreasonably expensive and becoming more pricey by the day. Provincial sales tax is 15% on top of those groceries as well. \nThis is a short list of a few of the more glaring issues but there are far more. Canada has transformed over the last 5 years into a place I hardly recognize anymore. If something isn't done about it soon we'll be living in a third world country by 2030.

We don’t need single detached homes. We need town houses and walkable cities. Cities are so car focused, with VERY few exceptions if you don’t have a car you aren’t going much anywhere

Canada is a huge country. It is much more than Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. There are places in Canada, other large cities, where housing is a fraction of the cost of Toronto, jobs for the trades and University educated alike are available. So many people say its expensive in Canada then use Toronto as an example. That is your problem. As a Canadian and employer in the tech industry look to western Canada for homes and jobs.

I stopped visiting Canada 40 years ago because of insane or corrupt border control policies. I traveled to Canada from California to record an album for a popular rock star. My crew number 4 people and we had reserves a month for basic tracking in a studio there. We bought our own reels of 3 inch wide recording tape because the studio wanted twice the rate as normal and since my studio was a distributor for the mastering tapes we brought from my own inventory. Each reel of tape was 3 lbs and brought 30 reels. We got to customs and they said we owed money for importing the tape. Normally a reel would have been $180, and customs wanted $38,000 x 20, and would not let us retrieve it to take it back to the US side of the border. How can a tape worth $180 suddenly have duty of $38,000?\nIt was explained to me as the Potential Value of the tape which meant AFTER a hit song was recording in it. Most recordings are total losses and the tape cant used on a new project even if properly bulk-erased. They expected me to pay on the spot $760,000 in duties. I gave up and left the tape with them. I called the artist and said we could not do the project in Canada and we went back to California. The artist came to us a few months later and the result was a minor hit, and probably barely made its production cost since the label only distributed it in Canada. I talked to an international trade lawyer about what happened and he said customs officials were wrong in Canada but they are given full latitude with no appeal so his advice was never take anything over the border that I did not mind being confiscated. Sometimes they would let it in because it was going back out in a month, but likely they sold it off and pocketed the money. The US is corrupt on a federal level but Canada is corrupt on the local level. I moved out of the US 24 years ago have a much higher quality of life than is even possible in the US, and live very cheaply. Total cost of living with a very active social and cultural life impossible to duplicate in the US which as some of the least options for culture. And my cost of living is $1500 a month, less than utilities alone for one house in California, and that is for 2 people. Last month for example I attended world class opera, ballet and symphonies 9 times, and went out to dinner, in jazz clubs or dance clubs, visited12 top museums, and it was still under $1500 for the month. A pair of tickets to the MET in NYC for lower grade performance, sets, orchestra ad theater, was $1800!! $600 for tickets to drama for 2. Here there 237 drama theaters within walking distance of my city center home, and can walk anywhere at any time of day and be safe due to VERY low crime rates. Free medical is good. I am not citizen but still I had an operation and 10 days in a vip single room for $5300 and despite my insurance I had been paying back in California $824.month, it was going to cost me out o pocket $500,000 and one day in a recovery 12 bed room, and require paid nursing attendant for 30 days. The results were great and was treated like king.\nCanadians have lost control of their government but Americas are screwed regardless, with lower than international standards for everything, with crime, corruption in Washington, extreme cost of living, no access to culture, few if any safe parks. My adopted city is not only far more beautiful than any US city, my GF can walk, alone, anywhere in a city of 7mil at any time of day through any of the 600 beautiful parks open 24/7..at 3am. There are no homeless, and 80% of those over 20yo own their home clear of debt. No college debt despite twice the % of people having degrees. The rest of the world caught up and has surpassed the US and Europe in quality of life. \n\nI have only been back to the US 5 times in 24 years and each time I am shocked by how much the entire society has declined while most of the world outside of Europe, Canada, US, UK or Australia have dramatically improved.\nEvery year since 2008 more Americans leave the US to live elsewhere than legal immigrants arrive.

I joined Canadian citizenship in 2019 hoping for a career and life in Vancouver after I graduate from the U.S. this May. However, the insanely scare job opportunities even in the city and local competition made that impossible. Even though our family is well-off with a home, I don't want to go back long-term because whenever I do, I will be unemployed (even with my BS & MS from top 30 American institutions). Will only be back occasionally to visit HS friends.

Alberta is very good. Born in BC, lot's of great nature but is unaffordable and almost impossible to have a home remotely close to Vancouver but in Alberta you can buy a home right in one of it's cities for a decent price oil will always be needed at least for lubrication of vehicles and farm ware.

the price of housing is off the roof because everyone wants/need to move to cities and developers don't wanna build average housing because communist governments like Canada's make it expensive to start any business, so if they are going to build new homes they are going to be luxury homes because rich people don't complain about prices. Another reason is immigration, more people means more demand.

I think you could say the same for every first world countries major cities. Immigrates first consideration should be to improve their opportunities in their home country and avoid migration. \n\nFirst generation immigrants to Canada going back to the early 1900’s had a very difficult life and often only their children benefit. Many immigrants come to Canada with the sole purpose of obtaining a passport for ticket out of their political unstable native country if it goes south.

You can 100% own a home. Most of out of GTA detached houses are around 550-750,000. \nThousands. \nToronto Condos now are under 550,000. Hundreds of them. \nI have a ton of clients buying for these prices. \nHave patience and focus on your career. \nThe most important in Canada. \nThere are 100% hopes for all of you. \nJust believe in you. \n140 detached houses sold in London under 750,000. \n43 detached houses sold in Niagara Falls under 750,000. \n41 detached houses sold in Kitchener under 750,000. \n20 detached houses sold in Barrie under 750,000. \n51 detached houses sold in Kingston under 750,000. \nThe Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. Niagara, London, Kitchener and Barrie are not part of GTA.

I live in the buildings behind you in the last scene on the waterfront, I love this area but me and my partner are seriously considering leaving, I can work from home and he can't find suitable work in his industry. Within the next year we plan to move in with his widowed mother in her home 1 hour north of the city where we can take care of her health issues and save money.

Canadians need to stand up more to the indian community thats bullied their way into this great nation. Knife attacks are on rampant, harassing women is more rampant especially in major cities.. \n\nIf you feel the need to bring your toxic behavior to this country, stay home.

I see a lot of people in the comments romanticizing the United States. We have about 250,000-300,000 homeless unvetted folks from all around the world sneaking through the U.S. southern border each month. Fact: a couple of hundred people on the terrorist watch list have been caught at the border (and reasonably for every one caught and apprehended, a few more haven't been caught and are setting up sleeper cells as we speak). All the while, we are facing a dire housing shortage, and an explosion of homelessness and lawlessness is hitting every major U.S. city. It's about to get very crowded and even more violent here. Come for the opportunities legally, but always watch your back and be prepared to defend yourself, your home, and your family. A peaceful, quiet cold life in Canada may not be that bad in comparison. It doesn't take long for a lawless country to fall from grace no matter how prosperous it seems. Look at what happened to Venezuela within a single decade.

The current status of the housing has nothing to do with immigration, they are just the easy target to blame. The current status of housing is the result of MUNICIPAL AND PROVINCIAL POLICIES. Both regulate land use strategies, taxation and environmental impact assessments. It is no longer viable for investors to deal with the layers of red tape. It can take up to a decade to get permits for a new 50 home survey or 200 unit apartment building. Want to blame someone, attend a city council meeting and see the process of trying to build anything for public use.

The poll suggests Canadians are extremely propagandized because immigration is not negatively causing housing crisis. You know why? Because there are entire buidings sitting empty, blocks of buildings in gentrified cities that could easily be converted into residential homes. The polititians blame immigrants to cover for their criminal back door deals and insider trading etc etc. They rather invest in a high end expensive codo that they will get a kick back for than invest money in convetting existing areas into housing. This is NOT a housing crisis its a politcal crisis. We have three parties that are pretending to be different. They are all compromised however by the same big money influencers and owned by the security state and billionaires. The ultimate criminals who collaborate with mass grocery stores as we are made to pay 50 dollars for bread, milk and eggs. PC and Liberals are just a different mask.

Immigration is great. Legal immigration. But even then you have to have the resources and if you don’t you will cause undo stress on all of society. Keep voting for Trudeau and Sing. They will for sure keep immigration up high. Those tent cities should all be moved to liberal and NDP properties. Their personal property so they can take care of the people this winter. They should be forced to take in immigrants at the homes to give them shelter food and conveniences at their expense instead of ours.

Not true. I did an inter office transfer.i am senior. ;-D. I bought my house in the first 2 months! But yes 2 months after lockdown. I guess I was lucky. Yeah my home has gone up 30% at least. I am in Quebec. I love it here so far. Love my neighborhood. Also I live outside of the city. Nah, my neighbours are fantastic! I am invited to dinner, they help me out when I fractured my knees. People stopped me and talks to me and I am pretty much the only Asia around the area. I wish I speak more French. Totally disagree with you. You were from Germany? Honestly don’t they have a law on Sunday to not make noise?

Born Canadians are leaving. Why does it matter in this economy that those not born are leaving ? I care about born Canadians that must leave. And this channel is talking about kids from other countries living in our most expensive cities? How about the ones that have worked their whole lives here that are losing their homes? How ridiculous and trivial this was

The problem is the US, we need to fix our problems at home with immigration first!!!! \nWe have immigrants on the waiting list, doing the right thing by following the law!!! Waiting in line to have there case and situation heard.\n\n Immigrants from the 60s 80s never got free housing free food were never allowed to enter the country the way the immigrants today are just entering and they're staying in 5 star hotels in New York City never in the country's history has it been seen.\n Never in the country's history has resources from US citizens been given to immigrants I have entered illegally.\n And now if you are from Venezuela you're ahead of the line ahead of all the people that've been waiting to legalize their status these people are just getting documents faster than everybody else why is that.\n We need to fix the situation in our country first and take care of the people that are in line doing it the right way.

I grew up coming to Toronto regularly and I moved here in 2018 to start university. I felt safe and had no real issues for the first 2 years. This past year though I have had three life threatening situations on the TTC and street. I was threatened to be stabbed by a man on the subway and chased by a woman on St Clair threatening to kill me. The city is not the same at all. I love it here but I do feel like im risking my life leaving my home.

I live north of brampton of DT Toronto i use to work the east end of Toronto. I get burnt out from driving to work 2 days a week really fast, becase traffic and our transit system is just terrible, it takes 2 hrs for me to get to work and 2 and a half hrs to get home and recently my work place was cruel enough to replace me with someone thats cheaper. Toronto is deffinitly not a good place to move to if you don't love the city

Thank you for posting this! I feel much the same.\nI was born in Toronto but my family moved to another city in Southwestern On. when I was 10. I pledged to move back and did in 2004 to become a student. I loved the freedom and vibrancy of the city, met many friends and had a wonderful time. Even as a student, working part time, I was able to afford a shared accommodation downtown and still have a bit of disposable income. \nAfter graduating college, I found full time employment and was able to live comfortably alone in my own 2 bd apartment in mid-town for many years. In 2012, I met my partner and we continued to live in North York in a 3bd rent-controlled unit. We could see the decline in the city over the next several years. We decided we would never be able to achieve what we wanted to by staying where we were so in 2018 we took the plunge and bought a home in Windsor and have never looked back (though Windsor also has many social/affordability issues) .\nIn all, I miss the Toronto I once knew and loved but the decline of the city is pretty shocking.

I'm from Asia and recently moved to Canada with my family to live a slower-paced and safer life. I've seen firsthand that the drug problem here is worse than it was back home, and they're being coddled with no plans to discipline or rehabilitate them. I asked my friends how I could defend myself and my family if a random drug addict broke into our house and stole our belongings; could I at least beat that person up until the police arrived? They said you couldn't because you'd be charged with assault. It's funny. \n\nApart from the crimes and exorbitant living costs despite living in a rural area, even Canadians who have lived in the country since birth are struggling to make ends meet. \n\nSome positive comments, Canada provided me with a work-life balance that was not possible in Asia due to the competitive nature of the corporate world. So I had time to spend with my family, and you don't have to travel abroad to see beautiful scenery. Canadians are also very accommodating and friendly, in contrast to where I came from, where people will not help unless it benefits them as well. The Canadians here are extremely friendly. So Canada is great because of its people, but I can tell you that the government consistently makes bad decisions about how to solve certain problems, such as drugs and harm reduction strategies. Another issue is that they do not recognize internationally trained professionals, which could have helped alleviate healthcare issues in our area, where we have many internationally trained nurses from the Philippines working as restaurant servers and janitors. We have doctors from Kenya who have to work as general laborers and in other odd jobs where they can use their profession and experience to help people. I am also an immigrant, but the government should strategically distribute us based on our qualifications. I chose a rural area because I don't want to add to the number of immigrants in big cities and instead want to contribute to the local economy by bringing my skills and experience to the pool. \n\nCanada is a wonderful country, and I continue to believe so, but the government must reward and do more for its people who are trying their best to make this country great.

Born and raised Torontonian here. I lived there for 39 years before moving North to Barrie. I miss my home city but I'm happy where I am now

I am a Toronto Native, a nurse that used to work in Critical Care at Sunnybrook, but moved to Dubai as my husband received a job offer. That was more than 10yrs ago. I must say that every time I visit home, things are definitely worse. I notice that ppl are very negative and also rude. It's quite startling. I also see how much the demographics have changed as well. The city is also dirtier and not as pretty. I can say that if I ever returned, I would consider Vancouver, somewhere outside of the city, or on the island, but for now, I can say that I will never return to live in Toronto., We will go someplace else like Mexico where it's close enough for family to visit and it's close to home. Btw, Toronto is NOT the most diverse city in the world, it's Dubai, and UAE as a whole, where 85% of the population is born outside of the country.

Who in the hell would now want to immigrate to Canada ? Outrageous housing costs which consume most of your income . One has to work at least two to three jobs just to try to keep from completely drowning economically . A healthcare system which is on life support . It is next to impossible to get a doctor . Emergency waits times at hospitals can range from 4 to 24 hours . Traffic from hell in all of the major cities .... particularly Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver . The crushing cost of living . A political leader who is a complete fool who has basically destroyed the country in just 8 years . As if all of this wasn't bad enough ...... 5 months of winter from hell . Living in Canada is now an extreme struggle in every way imaginable . One will always struggle . One will always work like a dog . One will very likely fall into extreme debt in Canada just to survive . One has to pay outrageous taxes on their income leaving them with about 50% of what they actually earn after they have paid all of the combined taxes on everything that they buy or services that they use . Forget about ever being able to save money . Incomes are about about 35% less than other advanced than those in other advanced countries for the same skilled job . One will never own a home . One will never be able to start a family . One will always freeze in the winter . Life in Canada has become an absolute hell . The Canadian dream is as dead as dead can be . It is no longer a country where one can earn a decent living , own a home and live a good life . On top of all of this it has an authoritarian government which keeps passing new laws to reduce free speech and civil rights .

Tons of working people living in ten cities... we need homes!!! Not more people

My first visit to Canada (the so called Province of Quebec) was in 1972. If you've had asked me at that time where was paradise, I'd have answered to you that it was right here in Quebec and particularly in Montreal. I spent two years and went back home in 1974. I came back five years later in 1979 with the intent of staying and I did. I've spent decades of wonderful years here, and although I will leave next year, I will still remember with nostalgia the lost best decades (70s, 80s and 90s) I'd have spent in Montreal. I will remember the most beautiful city of the world and what it has become in the years 2000 amd counting. I remember how clean and well maintained that city was; how its people were among the most polite and civilized in the World; how life was so easy and affordable; how tolerant as a society the French Canadian one was and so on. Today, all that is gone, and when I take a look at the pile of trashes and garbages on the Ste-Catherine street and Saint Laurent Boulevard, it makes feel sick. In fact, Montreal has become a huge Third World city, and it is not better on a social point of view : you can't walk one block or two without being dragged by a homosexual or a lesbian. Speaking of lesbian and homosexual, you can't keep your work if you don't support the LGBT and or willing to date your boss. I am leaving next year to go back to my country where there is still a seemingly willingness to normalcy, but since the LGBT has managed to sneak its power everywhere, I am not holding my breath of a bright future overthere, but it's my home and I prefer to be there and deal with it.