Canada-vs-Australia

mac123

Has anyone here lived in both of these places for a long period of time? I want to do a whv to either one of them but in the long run im hoping to settle down in Australia. I just think id settle in very easily over there.
But in terms of a one year working holiday which would you choose?

ibh

mac123 wrote: »

Has anyone here lived in both of these places for a long period of time? I want to do a whv to either one of them but in the long run im hoping to settle down in Australia. I just think id settle in very easily over there.
But in terms of a one year working holiday which would you choose?

For me it's a close toss up between the two. Both are geared toward the outdoors lifestyle with great open spaces but big cities as well.
I did 3 months in Canads and 12months in Australia. Didn't get to travel round Canada too much cause of money problems though.

I think they are quite similar in many ways (better weather in Oz obviously) as in they are quite welcoming to visitors and very liberal countries.

dSTAR

I love Canada. The people and the Canadian way of life appeals more to me more than the Aussie way of life which is a bit more conservative. My brother lives in Newfoundland (which is a country unto itself) and given the choice of living in either country I would probably choose Canada even tho' I love Australia and its a great place to bring up kids. Canada is so much more progressive and doesn't have the English hangover that is so prevalent here.

mac123

Thanks for the replies. Its a bit of a tough decision for me, i must say. Tbh from my experience id probably prefer the people of Canada to the Aussies but then the weather is a big issue for me, love the sun and beaches and im learning to surf at the moment and id like to keep it up. Think im gonna go for the whv for Canada, see how i get on and then do the same in Australia and see which suits me best.

[Jackass]

mac123 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Its a bit of a tough decision for me, i must say. Tbh from my experience id probably prefer the people of Canada to the Aussies but then the weather is a big issue for me, love the sun and beaches and im learning to surf at the moment and id like to keep it up. Think im gonna go for the whv for Canada, see how i get on and then do the same in Australia and see which suits me best.

Hey Mac, it's like you picked the thoughts right out of my head!

I have been having this exact same debate about where to go and have the exact same dilema as yourself. I really like the sound of Oz and the weather is a major plus, but the Canada lifestyle is supposed to be amazing and from what I've heard they are very warm, welcoming people, supposidly easy to get along over there.

Same as yourself I am going to Canada next year for the year on a whv and plan to go to Oz straight after.

I plan to settle in Toronto for the year but might get a week in over in Vancouver which is supposed to be brilliant night life etc. (as does Toronto) and I will take a holiday from my whv and go to New York for a week also.

Ideally in the long run I think I'd like to settle abroad, which is why I want to do Oz second, as getting a long term visa there is a lot easier, however I will be working hard to get an extended visa in Canada while I am over there through the skilled worker visa programme. If I loved it and got that I would stay on for the few years to get residency.

Anyway best of luck with it mate, we seem to be walking the same unknown track, I'll be over in Canada from about April / May, be sure to drop me a line on here and we'll go for a pint!

mac123

Yeah i pretty much decided to go to Canada first because its a bit harder to get the visa and as far as i know you can organise the aussie visa from anywhere! I havnt decided where in Canada il be going yet but i want to see a few places mainly as you said Toronto and Vancouver and possibly work in a ski resort for a while. Iv never been skiing but id like to learn!
Also heard work in Vancouver is good(in terms of pay) but there isnt really much else there.

Yeah cant wait now...dont think il be over until the end of June but il get in touch anyway! Good luck with it.

mac123

Jackass, since your not planning on coming back to Ireland what are you doing about your flights? Are you just going to book a one way flight?

[Jackass]

Well it's early days yet, I don't know how everything is going to pan out, but i'd probably have to come home for a month or so to see family and friends etc., plus if I could, I'd be open to staying on longer than a year in Toronto if I was lucky enough to get sponsored (fingers crossed) but if I was to keep travelling, as far as I know you have to book return flights when booking the visa with USIT, but while over there you can cancel the flight. (You have to reschedule it anyway whilst over there as flights wont be booked a year in advance apperantly).

You'd have to talk to USIT about a refund, I'm not sure how that works as I haven't gone into that much detail with them yet. (I will next month when it get serious and I'm putting money down and getting all my documents together etc.)

Also, the skilled worker visa takes 3 years to get a discovered!! :eek: But I'm on the verge of applying for that (have been in touch with an agency) but might look into other options, but I don't want to waste time if that ends up being my only option.

BraziliaNZ

I've lived in both countries, spent over a year in canada and am currently in Oz. I prefer it here though, weaether is better, people aren't as bloody excited that you're foreign, and it's a bit more like home here, i.e. it's more british than canada. Canada is effing FREEZING in winter, for 6 months or so it was getting ridiculously cold on and off, -30c etc. That was in Alberta though, other provinces aren't quite as bad. Also job opportunities seem to be a lot less in Canada, they seem to be more hesitant giving jobs to foreigners, and foreign experience is virtually ignored over there. In Australia I feel you're treated more like an equal. However if you're just going to have a good time for a year or so, Canada is great craic, the girls put out more because you're almost like a celebrity if you're irish, whereas down here you're just one of the other 20 irish blokes in every single bar you go to in Australia.