planning to move in canda..pls help

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Specializes in critical care.

hi guys

kinda new here..

ive read so many threads as to why people want to stay in canada and so far, most of them are very encouraging...now i think it's time for me to hear from nurses' point of view as to what makes canada a good place to live and work (for us, most especially!)

i would like to know any opinions that you may wish to share whether you are currently working in canada or planning to work in canada.

i am considering moving and working in Canada, Ontario, within the next year,

any help would be so helpful.

many thanks. xx

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I too am in the process of trying to move to canada. I have been there a couple of times in BC and loved it instantly. One thing i noticed was how cleaner it was from here. The scenery is breath taking whichever way you look at it. I found the people quite nice and the streets not as crowded as here (talking about London). Maybe you need to just take a vacation out there and see for yourself but I find the times I go there on vacation, i feel healthier and refreshed.

Hope you go ahead and follow your dreams.

:)

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Specializes in critical care.

the31woman,

thank you for the info..

many people have given us (my partner & I) d advice to do d same..and go for a holiday first before finalising things...

we spoke to my partner's canadian friend night b4 last and shared invaluable info...made me more excited ...but like you said we do need to see and feel what's it like to be there...so we're taking some time off 1st week of October and go to ON but i know, like u, i will just love the place .. Plus the fact that everytime we find out something new about canada, (thanks 2 d threads in here), makes us tend to lean more to going rather than staying...

may i ask how far are you with the registration with .. is it with BC??.. and do you already have a hospital who will sponsor you or is it a direct hire??

anyways, i hope to hear from you again...thanks again!!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Having only ever lived in Ontario my opinion is biased of course, but I think that Ontario is a wonderful place to live. It has beautiful scenery and the cities are wonderful.

What part of Ontario are you going to visit? I hope you have a wonderful time.

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Specializes in critical care.

We're planning to go to Toronto that's for sure, and the potential areas (around the hospital) we might live in...

As we wanted somewhere that is few minutes away the from city and few minutes away from the hospital...so that would be around Markham, Richmondhill and Aurora (at least some of the area we looked into for houses and flats)...

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
We're planning to go to Toronto that's for sure, and the potential areas (around the hospital) we might live in...

As we wanted somewhere that is few minutes away the from city and few minutes away from the hospital...so that would be around Markham, Richmondhill and Aurora (at least some of the area we looked into for houses and flats)...

What are you considering to be "a few minutes away"? Most hospitals in Toronto are in the same general area of downtown. Richmond Hill is closest, at between 13 and 17 miles away and in the total absence of any traffic (:roll) 20 to 25 minutes' traveling time; more realistically it will take twice as long. Markham is anywhere from 14 to 18 miles from this area, and will take from 20 to 30 minutes to drive, same caveat. Aurora is farthest away, 27 to 31 miles and 35 to 40 minutes' drive... again assuming no traffic. All three of those communities are along the Don Valley Parkway/Highway 404... the third busiest highway in Ontario. Some 35,000 vehicles use it every single day. The 401, the busiest, isn't called the world's biggest parking lot in jest... Even at 8:45 pm on a Saturday, traffic going north out of Toronto on the 404 is incredibly heavy. (I just looked at a traffic cam from there.) So realistically you're looking at a commute of up to 90 minutes each way, every day. I couldn't do it.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg..

I am the first to admit that Canada and especially Ontario has many great qualities and of course universal healthcare which is a great thing. The other reality is that the taxes on one's income, both federal and provincial are very high in Ontario as you move up in income level. It is not unheard of to be paying up to forty five percent of your income out in taxes. As I said, I am in favor of universal healthcare but of course there is a cost to those who earn professional salaries.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Jan is right on with her commute estimates. To be a few minutes away from a Toronto hospital you would have to live in downtown Toronto.If you want to be in a smaller centre there lots of opportunities for work there as well.

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Specializes in critical care.

Guys,

I do apologise as i wasn't clear at all, my hosptal is not at all in Toronto...we just want to live and be in between the city and the suburbs ...

but thanks for the info as we'll take them all in...as ive said any input from those people who knows better than we do is greatly appreciated...

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
Jan is right on with her commute estimates...
Why thank you! Not bad for an Alberta gal who hasn't been to TO for oh... about 20 years!!

My commute here is bad enough, about 25 minutes each way in the summer and about 35 to 40 in the winter. (I drive through a ravine that includes 11 "S" curves and poor visibility at the best of times, that fills up with snow quite quickly. Oh and in the summer, most weekends the ravine is closed for one triathlon or another... the detour is about another 15 minutes. Nasty after a night shift.) I couldn't imagine a 90 minute drive each way. I'd rather have a root canal twice a day.

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Specializes in critical care.

well, i was already briefed by my agency that my hospital is about 30 - 45 minutes away from Toronto...(which is kinda cool anyways as my partner doesn't like the city life) and most of the employees there live in Aurora, Markham etc.. we just thought that we would like to live somewhere that is not far from the city and at the same near to my workplace...

Like i said, we'd be taking some time off soon to see Toronto and hoping the rest of Ontario...Getting more excited!!!...

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hey...good to see you getting a lot of great advice. I completed my registration and all in BC. I have decided to work in AB, thanks to some great advice on this site and have a job with capital health. Im currently transferring my registration from BC to AB and hopefully everything can be done by November. I had no idea that a police check takes that long, was told by essex police it can be up to 40 days so thats what i am basically waiting for really.

Again, dont hold back, be adventurous and i think Canada is a country for that coz its so beautiful and vast!!. Hope you enjoy your vacation.

:)

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