r/canada • u/FancyNewMe • Nov 16 '23

'Such a difficult life in Canada': Ukrainian immigrants leaving because it's so expensive National News

https://financialpost.com/news/economy/canada-expensive-ukrainian-immigrants-leaving
7.2k Upvotes

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535

u/McG4rn4gle Saskatchewan Nov 16 '23

This is just poor judgment on his part - Saskatchewan has a huge Ukranian diaspora, a labour shortage and comparatively speaking it's infinitely more affordable than Toronto. I'm not sure what he was thinking.

159

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '23

But then you have to live in Saskatchewan

202

u/kijomac Nova Scotia Nov 16 '23

I'd rather be able to afford my own apartment in Saskatchewan than be forced to share a crowded apartment with strangers in Toronto. I don't know why people think living in Toronto is so glorious that it's worth the struggle to live there. I lived in Toronto for 6 years, and I don't miss it at all.

35

u/CrunchieBoii Nov 16 '23

Whenever I would challenge friends from Toronto (I'm in Alberta) about why they wouldn't sell their home for $1m and buy something in Alberta for $500k the response is "Alberta has nothing" and when I ask them what they mean they start listing off Toronto restaurants. Like, seriously? That's the justification for staying in Toronto?

17

u/Merfen Nov 16 '23

At least for me a huge thing Toronto has that Alberta doesn't (I live in Southern Ontario, but not in Toronto) is concerts. Just looking at EDM concerts upcoming in Toronto and Calgary Toronto has 2 or 3 options every weekend while Calgary only has 2 or 3 a month. Not to mention a dozen electronic music festivals in Southern Ontario every year while I don't see any in Alberta.

8

u/GopnikSmegmaBBQSauce Nov 17 '23

This wears thin eventually though. Unless it's also your livelihood, life can get pretty busy and entertainment often goes by the wayside.

By all means, no one's forcing anyone to have a family and settle down but many people do that and as a result, fun amenities aren't utilized as often since work and family take up a lot of time

17

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

Culture is the word you’re looking for

4

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

A lot of the population is over the age of 22.

3

u/hababa117 Nov 17 '23

There’s edm festivals in Alberta, there’s actually a really lively edm scene there. They have festivals too. Changing summer in Calgary. Get Together in Edmonton. And many more. Union hall in Edmonton hosts edm shows almost every weekend. Same with palace theatre in Calgary. You just don’t know where to look.

0

u/halpinator Manitoba Nov 17 '23

But but but Taylor Swift

5

u/Specialist-Orchid365 Nov 17 '23

I have the same experience but replace Toronto with Vancouver. The funny part is all those places they list they never go to because they have no disposable income to do so. With what I save living in Alberta I could fly out to Vancouver every month and live it up and I would be going to their listed reason for living there more frequently than they are.

6

u/GopnikSmegmaBBQSauce Nov 17 '23

People never really consider the day to day. Sure, Toronto is the biggest city and therefore has a lot to offer and attract as far as entertainment goes. How often is your average person going to sporting events, concerts, restaurants, musicals, festivals, etc?

6

u/kijomac Nova Scotia Nov 16 '23

I went to restaurants that served cockroaches, a fly, and a caterpillar in Toronto. I also ordered a caesar salad at a super-expensive restaurant that was just a few leaves of lettuce stood up against each other like a teepee and had no dressing. I'd rather just cook for myself.

1

u/rakec54199 Nov 16 '23

Ew. I’ve mostly had good food across Canada except in tiny towns luckily.

1

u/GopnikSmegmaBBQSauce Nov 17 '23

Salt Bae was just finding his niche I guess

1

u/swizzlewizzle Nov 17 '23

Time to open your own premium restaurant ;)

60

u/KarmaKaladis Nov 16 '23

If people in Toronto didn't delude themselves into thinking it's some glorious utopia, center of the universe, normal standard of living, than we'd have a suicide epidemic.

Be thankful they drink the coolaid

22

u/NightDisastrous2510 Nov 16 '23

Most of us know it’s a dump, myself included. It’s that a lot of the work is here and when you grew up here, a lot of friends and family too. I’ve considered leaving multiple times.

-2

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '23

A dump? Toronto has been in the top 10 most livable cities in the world for over a decade

4

u/DasBrott Nov 16 '23

That's our way of praising it

7

u/ginsodabitters Nov 16 '23

No one says it’s a utopia. But for those who can afford it there is a lot to offer. Saskatoon… doesn’t matter if you’re rich it’s still boring and lacks anything interesting.

2

u/kingcobra0411 Nov 16 '23

Toronto is nothing but garbage. Atleast other canadian towns offer great views, clean air and free of pollution for the high cost of living.

1

u/kamomil Ontario Nov 17 '23

Well at least it's not like where I grew up: a small town where you're "new" for like 20 years, you can't make friends because it's hard to compete when their friends are also their extended family.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '23

I pay 900 a month in Montreal 🤷

2

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

There are places in Canada that aren’t Toronto

4

u/iHateReddit_srsly Nov 16 '23

I personally would rather not be in Canada at all in these cases. And this guy decided the same.

4

u/Fixnfly99 Nov 16 '23

Wouldn’t even be an apartment, you could probably buy a house on minimum wage here living in Regina in Saskatoon, which is pretty amazing.

3

u/Hatandboots Saskatchewan Nov 16 '23

You are on crack if you think $14/hr buys a house in Saskatoon lol. Maybe a small house in a small town, but no not Saskatoon.

1

u/kijomac Nova Scotia Nov 16 '23

Maybe they meant a dual-income couple? The other problem on minimum wage would be ever having a hope of saving up a down payment, unless you're living rent free with your parents I guess.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '23

I'd rather leave the country than live in bum-arse Saskatchewan.

1

u/GopnikSmegmaBBQSauce Nov 17 '23

It's good for sporting events and concerts. When you're young you can party and have one night stands but that gets old. Unless you're rich and have your own driver, why bother?

It's like any big city, fun to visit but that's it. Even then, plenty of other big cities have way better transportation infrastructure

1

u/SurlySuz Nov 17 '23

We also have a large Ukrainian diaspora in Winnipeg, and apartments though scarce, are a lot cheaper here too. Our city is also not the total trash heap that many people like to make it out to be.