A couple of notes to those only familiar with the US:
Wikipedia: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
excange rates from Google while writing this post:
$60,000/yr Can -> $58,380/yr US
$90,000/yr Can -> $87,574/yr US
$20/hr Can -> $19.46/hr US
$18/hr Can -> $17.51/hr US
"Communicate effectively in English" is a somewhat higher standard than US people might think. However, since you're reading a blog for a game, you're probably ok. Canadian schools actually teach English in a way that the US schools don't any more.
HEALTH INSURANCE:
Here in the US, the recently passed laws don't give free insurance to anybody, they just FINE you and your employer if you don't have it. The IRS will be handling it. (co-incidentally, the very same woman who just took the fifth before Congress in the IRS harassment scandal was just moved to head the health care enforcement division.) The fines will go higher each year.
Due to another stupidity in the law, most non-essential workers will get hours cut to 27/week. What nobody is talking about publicly is that medium size companies are going to fire pretty much everybody and rehire them as contractors through a ton of smaller 'staffing' companies. These smaller staffing companies are going to go bankrupt with depressing regularity.
This isn't a political post, it's just to let you know that if you're in an hourly wage job in a decent company, things are about to get much, much worse in ways you probably haven't heard of yet. I like socialized medicine (I grew up with it). It's just that our 2,700 page law for healthcare is a massive power grab written by thieves (lobbyists) and passed by morons (congress) who never read it in the 72 hours they had it. If Congress had called Alberta and said "Hey, send us a copy of your social insurance law" and passed it, I'd have jumped for joy. But they didn't, and we're ******.
Canada, and especially Alberta, has a very, very good government run health insurance program. Everybody working in the province (state) is in the same insurance pool, so the rates are much lower than the US. Each province in Canada has it's own health insurance system, and it's good. No, it isn't perfect, and if you're filthy rich you fly to private doctors in the US. But if you were filthy rich, you wouldn't have read this far.
I live in the US, but have visited a few times, and have some very close friends who live in Alberta, and we talk a lot, especially about health care.
Temperatures:
No bones about it, it gets ******* cold in Calgary.
If your ancestors grew up in hot environments, and you laugh at all the fat people who sweat to death in the summer, Calgary might not be for you. Last winter, speaking with a friend at 2:00 pm it was -22F (-30C). Twenty two degrees below zero. The Canucks know how to deal with this cold ok, and they have extremely good winter clothing. ALL the cars have plug-in electric engine heaters.
Oh, and you might not be able to take your car with you either. Check with Transport Canada before assuming you can. Gas is about $5-$6 per gallon, the speed limits are low and strictly enforced.
Edited by Suicidal Idiot, 26 May 2013 - 05:57 AM.
4
This topic is locked
Vassago Rain, on 24 May 2013 - 09:03 AM, said:
