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Vancouver vs Ireland - Pros and cons ***MOD WARNING IN FIRST POST!!!***
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12-08-2013 9:34pm#1***Mod Note:****
This thread is for discussing what Pros Cons you have found in Vancouver.
It IS NOT a place for sniping each others opinion.
I've already had to intervene on this thread, and take action against a poster.
I don't want to see any more of that shyt in here.
You have all now been warned.
Please just keep it civil and respectful folks.
Thank you,
Panthro.
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I moved here to Vancouver 2 months ago from Limerick City. Just thought I'd post a list of pros and cons vs living at home. Hopefully this info will be useful for people looking to make the move!
Pros:
- Beautiful scenery
- Beaches are good fun and are very close!
- People are generally friendly
- Very good public transport (I live near Cambie, Richmond etc. wont be as good!)
- Not as expensive as some would have you believe. I found Dublin more expensive when I lived there.($720 rent here vs 560 euro in Dublin)
- Lots of good bars!
- Very outdoorsy type city. Everyone is active and there are loads of different sports to play.
- The girls are big into sport here!
- The girls are very easy on the eye
- Lots of shops and that we don't have back home!
- Lots of concerts etc. always on!
- Wreck Beach
- I generally would like to have more Canadian friends, but there is a lot of Irish here so theres a good outlet when you want to have a bit of banter!
- Close to the states, cheap flights to Vegas/Hawaii etc.
- The weather has been fantastic since landing, I'm sure that will change though!
- Got a good job in my field (software developer) after 6 weeks. All very nice people and it's a very interesting job.
Cons :
- Chinese food is nothing like back home. But then again I'm a picky eater.
- The people can be a little condescending about your tastes in food here. E.G. if I don't want lettuce or something they question it and look at me like I have 2 heads.
- My accent. Oh god this drives me nuts. I have a very strong Limerick accent but I've really calmed it down. Talking more slowly and clearly, but a lot of people still have trouble with it. Either they genuinely can't understand it or they are just being ignorant!
- Obviously missing friends and family but that's a given.
- Sense of humour. Canadians do have a sense of humour but it's very different. There's no slagging or banter which drives me nuts.
- Tipping and not including tax in the price, but that just their culture!
- Pints aren't as nice but sure outside Ireland in general is like that.
- I find that people can have very odd personalities, but it's probably just a culture clash.
- Rugby, soccer and GAA is on too early haha
- Getting set up initially with jobs and accommodation is a pain in the hole. Same anywhere really though.
- Lot of homeless people here.
- The flight over is too long. Dunno how people deal with flights to OZ/NZ!
- The time difference is 8 hours, so I can only call home at weekends.
- Only played touch rugby, but so far it's an awful standard! But hey, I'm making friends and keeping fit in the process!
Some advice for people coming over :
- Fly KLM if you can! Virgin are terrible (no legroom at all, I'm 6 foot, hardly a giant!)!
- Don't use Vancity or other credit unions. Transferring money is a pain. I went with TD.
- Get a BCID ASAP, save your passport for travelling!
- Once you have the BCID, you can get a phone very easily on bill. (Went with Fido and got a Neus 4 for 50 bucks or something)
- Buy loads of underwear, socks t shirts etc. in penneys before leaving!
- Get your SIN number the day after arriving.
- Get a transit pass at the beginning of the month. $91 for 1 zone, skytrain, bus and seabus.
- If you like rugby, bring a ball! $60 here for an adidas one!
I'll write more if I think of anything! Feel free to ad!8
Comments
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Good post, couple comments from my experience (been here about 6 months)
I didn't need a BCID to get a phone. Went to Fido as well and just showed my passport (and visa) and a proof of a bank account (which I set up a few hours earlier).
I'd recommend ScotiaBank as they offer (or did offer anyway) free banking for a year. Be aware that most banks charge monthly fees of around $10.
I do find Vancouver expensive, for grocery shopping and eating/drinking out. 2l of milk is around $4 and cheese is a complete rip off.
In terms of work, I'm also a Software Developer and there are tonnes of jobs. But I know a few friends who have had more difficulty in other areas like accounting.
If you want to watch rugby, you can subscribe to a channel "Sports Net World" which showed all the Lions live, Magners League (possibly delayed which isn't a bad thing instead of getting up at 6am!) and I think 6 Nations. As well as a load of NRL/superXV games, I think some GAA (but haven't found it)
All in all a great city like Kev_2012 said. And if your into the outdoors its perfect.
I was told I needed a Canadian ID, but the BCID comes in handy for pubs/liquor stores etc. so probably worth getting it anyway!
Yeah Scotiabank was suggested to me because of the free banking for the year, but TD have the offer of a free Samsung tablet, much of a muchness really, I guess it's what ever suits you.
I found eating out a little cheaper, I tend to do so a lot more here, but you are right, cheese, milk, chicken cereal, pasta, all very expensive! But red meat seems to be cheaper. No Frills is a good supermarket to go to for some bargains.
Yeah lot of software work around, but others have had trouble with jobs, but theres a lot of menial work around (not great pay but good to get started!)
Cool thanks for the info on that. I'm dreading missing the sport so might check that out!
All in all it's a great city!
Chinese food isnt as good as Ireland's is an absolute classic.
You mean it doesnt come in boxes frozen in Superquinn?
haha! I wouldn't normally eat chinese food too often, but back home, a greasy curry is a great hangover cure!
Then again, Chinese food in Ireland is not really traditional Chinese cuisine 0 -
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Scotiabank told me that I need to have a regular wage before I could get a credit card..... I didn't push them since still have my Irish CC for emergencies.
Hmm I wonder how long you'd need to have a regular wage coming in before they'd entertain an application.
I'm more worried about you saying cheese is a rip off
Fergus-what phone company did you go with? I would be a massive data user and was looking at mobilicity and wind, until discovering they don't work with my iphone 5. (well wind does but my phone is older than the ones required to use the network)0 -
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Regarding banking, how easy is to get a credit card over there?Scotiabank told me that I need to have a regular wage before I could get a credit card..... I didn't push them since still have my Irish CC for emergencies.
TD gave signed us up for a credit card when we opened our accounts! Didnt ask for anything. The manager in our branch over rid the system 0 -
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kitchenchair wrote: »Kev its very worrying that the last thing you mentioned in your pros after the beaches and bars was your job. Shouldn't that be the number 1 pro? Getting work in your field of work. Which is why most people emmigrate in the first place.
Other pros would be a well run country, good banking system (bank charges we pay aid the lack of bankruptcy), optimistic open-minded people, access to a variety of cultures and not just predominantly white and catholic . Just some things I have noticed over here.
Couldnt agree with you more regarding getting BCID and SIN no. asap.
Well no, I'll have to disagree with you there. Many people have been forced abroad looking for work, but I have been fortunate that the software sector is actually very strong in Ireland at the minute.
My main reason for coming here was experience a different country for a while and to be able to experience things I couldn't do back home (visit the States, go skiing/snowboarding, experience a different way of life effectively!).
But having said that, I am gaining invaluable experience which will help me vastly in the future, I appreciate your concerns, but everything is going well!
Yeah, it is a well run country and the banks are strong (and open at convenient times!), but there are some major cons here too. I really do like it here, but I think I will eventually head home! I prefer Irish people to be honest, as a familiarity thing, but there are a lot of very nice people here.
But the open minded thing you mention, in a way yes, but they can be very critical of what others do, the food thing drives me insane!!!
Also many of them are a little ignorant when it comes to the accent thing and also the geography of the world outside North America.
A friend of mine was refused from Ceilis before because he said he was Irish, i.e. from Ireland and the bouncer thought he was making it up because he thought that Irish was a way of living like Amish people!
Overall though, it is a pretty cool country, just don't knock ours as much because after seeing both sides, they weight up pretty evenly for me 0 -
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Also many of them are a little ignorant when it comes to the accent thing and also the geography of the world outside North America.
I think a lot of people are quite hard on anyone with an 'American' accent. I've been guilty so many times. It's like we wait for them to say something a bit ignorant or annoy us and it fits with stereotype. Every country has a large proportion who are bit thick, blimey the British Isles is full of 'em.
Having said that, I do laugh when you tell them you lived in Ireland and they say, Man i love Vancouver Island.
Have good year Kev mate.0 -
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You're forgetting some big con's:
Food - chicken in safeway when not on special is roughly $22 for 5 chicken fillets
Work - they begin work at 8.30am, finish at 5pm and you get less breaks (well i do in my job) also getting work is extremely hard. Took me over a month to even get an interview in a place (after applying for roughly 100 jobs across all different sectors) and i've a friend here from New Zealand who can't get a job anywhere and that's going on 2 months now. 10 holiday days a year with 2 already accounted for, again that might just be my job, but 8 hoilday days a year is brutal.
I get 10 days a year, but at least there is a bank holiday nearly every month! I get about 10 days off for xmas too so it's not too bad I guess.
Yeah my friends who aren't qualified were having some trouble in finding work. I got a decent job after 5/6 weeks in software.And lads..lets not get started on the price of cheese...SWEET MERFICUL JESUS.
+1. It's a bit ridiculous to be fair! Could do with a deli counter in the convenience stores!Gintonious wrote: »Some of these reasons are hilarious!!!
The Chinese food here is amazing, its the closet thing to the food I got in China, Chinese food at home is absolute garbage. The accent can be a hindrance but its up to you to sort that I'm afraid, you are a stranger in their town.
The flight over is too long? The time difference? Sports on too early? Maybe we can see if they can move Vancouver for you.
I have to disagree with you there. It's personal preference and 99% of the Irish people I have spoken to dislike the traditional Chinese food. I work with a lot of Asian people so I've tried it a few times in different places and I just don't like it. Mexican good here is unreal though.
I've sorted my accent out so most people understand, but there are still a lot of people who haven't a clue what I'm saying without me impersonating a north american accent which is irritating.
Well no need for that, but obviously it is a con if I am into sport and can't watch them live at a reasonable time! These are reasonable cons to mention. Is Australia being a day or so travelling from Ireland not a con? Come on now, don't get narky because you disagree with me.You must of found the only decent Chinky in Canada then because Chinese food as a whole over here is disgusting. Full of sugar (like a lot of things over here) and the chicken balls over here have more batter then chicken. Can you please tell me this place that you have found?
Connie's cook house on 4th in Kits! It's savage! Very like back home. Killed a craving it did!:D:DThat's interesting, I think you are probably the first Irish person I know who has claimed that Chinese food is disgusting here. Chinese food here is proper Chinese food, which I love personally! there are so many different spices, the huge variety of fish and wonderul vegetables we just don't get at home. If you love the curry chips, chicken ball, 3 in 1's type of food then proper Chinese is probably going to be a disappointment. I have to say the Asian food over here is absolutely amazing and any foodie will love it here (it's proper Asian food due to the fact that Canada has a huge Asian population, they don't need to starch it up and remove traditional elements to suit the Irish palate)
Regarding Pints, not sure if I can take you serious now! In Ireland every pub will have the same horrible tap water - Bud, heino, Carlsberg etc on tap! here it's crazy the number of beers they have from all over the World. I have tried so many new beers it's crazy and still every bar I go to I will find a new beer from some small local brewery that will knock the socks off the dish water that is Bud & Carlsberg. Hell even the Cider here is better (sorry Magners)
Conversely, every Irish person I've spoken to doesn't like the Chinese food here! They like sushi and other asian food, but not chinese food. (Just for the record I don't like Sushi, and yes I have tried it).
Yeah, the foodie culture here can be very irritating at times. What I eat seems to bother everyone over here, I wish they'd f*ck off and mind their own business!
If you think that beer is better over here on tap then you actually must be tapped in the head! It's cat! Cider isn't better here, lets not get silly now. Heineken on tap in Limerick anyway is savage. They don't have Paulaner on tap over here and they can't pull a pint to save their lives, although the Marquis on Granville do a nice pint of Grolsch. They do have a very wide range of beers and I try new beers when possible, but you never get a head on the pint and it's like it's scooped out of a bathtub!0 -
If you think that beer is better over here on tap then you actually must be tapped in the head! It's cat! Cider isn't better here, lets not get silly now. Heineken on tap in Limerick anyway is savage. They don't have Paulaner on tap over here and they can't pull a pint to save their lives, although the Marquis on Granville do a nice pint of Grolsch. They do have a very wide range of beers and I try new beers when possible, but you never get a head on the pint and it's like it's scooped out of a bathtub!
Have to agree with that statement. It's not the case everywhere but 9 times out of 10 and no, Irish pubs do not count. It's funny because I've asked a few times (when i've got a very poorly poured pint), why there is such a big space at the top of pint for them only to reply "it's meant for the head".......but where's the head?? Customer service over here is a bit iffy as well sometimes but I guess the same could be said for home...sometimes.
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Have to agree with that statement. It's not the case everywhere but 9 times out of 10 and no, Irish pubs do not count. It's funny because I've asked a few times (when i've got a very poorly poured pint), why there is such a big space at the top of pint for them only to reply "it's meant for the head".......but where's the head?? Customer service over here is a bit iffy as well sometimes but I guess the same could be said for home...sometimes.
Beer tastes good, just gives me the worst hangovers.0 -
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