As we all know, from the days of the Famine through to the 1980’s, emigrating has always been a rite of passage for many Irish young people. Given the state of our weather, our economy,our politicians and of course, our alcohol prices, it’s no surprise that at this stage emigration has become as Irish as Guinness and Leprechauns.
A lot of my friends have emigrated, and like many others I’m currently thinking about it myself, but I’m not really sure where I’d like to go. I thought it might be a good idea to ask my friends a few questions about each of the cities they live in, a sort of pro’s and con’s list, so that we get a nice little collection of top emigration destinations!
My friend Caoimhe moved to Canada with her friends Catriona and Andrea in June 2012, and is currently living in Toronto. I asked her to tell me a bit about what it was like to emigrate and what life is like over there:
Why did you decide to emigrate to Canada?
We had been thinking of emigrating for a while, and the main reason that we started to consider Canada was because at the time none of us knew anyone going to Canada, it was always Australia and we wanted to be different. Also, you didn't need as much money in your account to get into the country, and there is always the option to travel to America while you're there!
How are you finding the experience so far?
Overall, I'm loving it. It's harder to get work than they make out though, unless you're in certain sectors like construction, which most people who come over here aren't. Even for the likes of bar work or retail there are certain times of the year when it’s easier to get a job, but nobody ever tells you that before you come over, so you could be left stuck if you're relying on that. Having said that, it is a cheaper lifestyle and we see so many things that are that we would never have gotten to see if we had stayed in Ireland, and we've made so many friends, both Canadian and Irish, so overall it’s really fun!
What was the hardest part about emigrating?
The hardest part was definitely getting a job. It took 7 weeks because we came over at the wrong time for what we wanted. We were out every Monday-Friday applying in stores and then we'd go back to the computers and apply online. Also, it was kinda hard to find a place to live, because most places don't accept foreign people when they don't have a job, so that adds to the stress of setting up over here.
What’s the best thing about living in Toronto?
The best thing is the people and how different it is from Ireland. You meet so many different people here especially on nights out, like I’ve met people from places like Venezuela and Dubai, and it’s so interesting to hear all the stories of how and why people moved to Toronto. I’ve also made loads of friends from all over Ireland, as well as Canadians, and my Spanish friend Carlos’s family live next to Amish people!! The city itself is frickin huge, at night all you see is lights and every single building is like 30 stories high. Sometimes you're just like woahh. I just like how different it is to home. The nightlife is also very good here, you just have to find your own scene really :) But they offer everything, from pubs to clubs to pub-clubs to karaoke bars and theres just loads to do at night!
The weather in the summer is amazing, we got here in June and it was constantly sunshine & shorts until late September!
The weather in the summer is amazing, we got here in June and it was constantly sunshine & shorts until late September!
What’s the worst thing about it?
The worst part of living here would be missing home. I don't dislike anything about the city and the people are much friendlier than in Ireland. The only thing that makes me think I would like to go home is the days when you're feeling down and all you wanna do is talk to your family or one of your friends. But I guess that's what it would be like living away from anywhere… so I'm gonna say the worst thing about Toronto itself is the winter weather, it gets mad cold!
Describe your average day/night in Toronto.
Every Monday-Friday I work from 9:30-5:00 so that's what my day consists of on average.
Then me & Triona go home and we make our usual dinner: beans, eggs & toast. Then we have our showers and chill out until bed time :)
At the weekend, I usually have the place to myself on Saturday so I get whatever needs to be done done, like the heavy cleaning and if we need anything picked up or anything that’s when I do it! Then we get our drink on with the friendlings, there’s so many bars/clubs here we just go a wandering until we find one we like :)
Then me & Triona go home and we make our usual dinner: beans, eggs & toast. Then we have our showers and chill out until bed time :)
At the weekend, I usually have the place to myself on Saturday so I get whatever needs to be done done, like the heavy cleaning and if we need anything picked up or anything that’s when I do it! Then we get our drink on with the friendlings, there’s so many bars/clubs here we just go a wandering until we find one we like :)
Where do you work? What are the wages & cost of living like in relation to Ireland?
I work in Bulk Ville, which is a store that sells stuff like food items etc in bulk for cheaper prices. I'm on minimum wage which is $10.25 an hour and I find it cheaper living here than at home. (That's probably because of the amount of money you used to spend in Heaven! -Keira)
We live in a 1-bed with the rent at $1050 so between three thats $350 a month. The only problem with bills I have is the phone bill, everyone seems to have similar thoughts on the Fido network being a rip off though, so I ain't worrying about that too much!
We also live in central downtown so I do know people who are paying much higher rent especially in shared housing downtown, but it's because it's where everything is happening! Like if you go out 7 stops east on the subway there is a very spacious 2-bed apartments for the same price we are paying now. So it depends where you want to be located that reflects how much your cost of living will be!
I find everything else overall to be cheaper than home though, when it comes to groceries and stuff then yeah but it could just be that we buy what we need when we need it, instead of doing a big weekly shop!
Also, be careful of items being sold in shops here, because they have a certain price tag but when you go up to pay for them the tax is then added on to it so that catches you like a bitch!
We live in a 1-bed with the rent at $1050 so between three thats $350 a month. The only problem with bills I have is the phone bill, everyone seems to have similar thoughts on the Fido network being a rip off though, so I ain't worrying about that too much!
We also live in central downtown so I do know people who are paying much higher rent especially in shared housing downtown, but it's because it's where everything is happening! Like if you go out 7 stops east on the subway there is a very spacious 2-bed apartments for the same price we are paying now. So it depends where you want to be located that reflects how much your cost of living will be!
I find everything else overall to be cheaper than home though, when it comes to groceries and stuff then yeah but it could just be that we buy what we need when we need it, instead of doing a big weekly shop!
Also, be careful of items being sold in shops here, because they have a certain price tag but when you go up to pay for them the tax is then added on to it so that catches you like a bitch!
Would you consider moving back to Ireland any time soon?
No, I ain't planning to move home anytime soon! I wanna spend all next year traveling different parts of Canada/America and then the following year I want to see different parts of the world like Australia/NZ.
What are the top 5 things Toronto has to offer?
1: Public transport is a BIG thing in Toronto! It's frickin amazing! They have subways running every single minute, there are buses going all different routes from subway stations & then there are streetcars on tracks! Nobody ever has an excuse not to go somewhere because everything is so easily accessible! I'm in love with the subway here, and they are expanding it in the next few years too. There’s a lot to see here as well, but it would mainly be during the summer months that I'd recommend the sightseeing side of things!
2: The CN Tower is amazing; it was built as a broadcasting tower, and it sends radio & TV signals all over the city! You can get an elevator up to the lobby of the tower and walk right around it looking out the window and seeing the entire city, and then you can pay extra to go up further, to the highest point available to the public and see it from a caged surrounding. Very windy! There's also a glass bottomed floor up there, where you can get professional pictures or jump on it or lie down or whatever. This is pretty much what the view is like:
3: The Ex. This is a giant festival on every year which is whopper big, like a huge carnival with loads of shows on and garden shows and ice skating shows and a farm and air shows all mixed into one. Every single week of the summer there is a new festival on, just walking through them is so fun!
4: Yonge Street is another unique thing Toronto has to offer, it’s the longest street in the world and is packed with everything you need!
5: Niagra Falls is one of the must see landmarks if you ever hit up Toronto. You can get a bus to it; Greyhound & Megabus are the best bus services to take! They're cheap (around $10 each way) and they leave from pretty much every part of Canada/America. The journey takes just under two hours each way to get to the falls! You get to do the Maid of The Mist for like $20 which is a boat ride right under the mist of both the falls :)
you get frickin soaked man, I advise it to be done on a hot day where you just dry up! Here I am loving life:
you get frickin soaked man, I advise it to be done on a hot day where you just dry up! Here I am loving life:
What advice would you give to someone thinking about moving to Toronto, or even just Canada in general?
Don’t go through an agency because they charge you like €1000 just to help you fill out the visa application forms, which you can easily do yourself. Also, then you have to buy their travel insurance which is like €400, whereas I know other people who have gotten it independently for as little as €100, it’s a pure rip going through USIT! It’s also a good idea to research how to change your CV to a resume, because they’re pretty different. If you have resumes prepared straight away to start handing out when you get there it makes getting a job a bit easier.
Follow Caoimhe's Canadian Adventures via her Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaoimheMurphyy
Next Week: #2 - Sydney
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