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Originally posted by The Highroller I agree that the notion of tipping is pretty ridiculous in most cases. An example that I always find comical: a bathroom attendant with a tipping plate in the washroom at Beba. Beba is a bar. What's next? A washroom attendant in the local sports bar?

Or better yet...McDonalds

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Originally posted by Jayx1 By contrast, teachers in argentina make 2000 pesos a month and spend 300 of that on rent for a decent sized apartment.

Fuck, 300 Argentinian Pesos is $108 CDN per month. Shit.

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Originally posted by Orko So Jayx1 do you only respond when you can argue based on non-facts? Lets see some proof.

what do you want? My friend's paystub from argentina? My rent payment receipts?

Im talking from real life experience for the most part.

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Originally posted by jester Everything in this country is illegal.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery…" Winston Churchill

‎"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law" - Winston Churchill

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Originally posted by VERTiG0 Fuck, 300 Argentinian Pesos is $108 CDN per month. Shit.

Yeah and that was my rent payment and was average rent when i was there. 2000 pesos isnt a lot of money either. But compare 2000 pesos to rent of 300 and you are laughing. You could never have that kind of ratio as a teacher here.

This is why i laugh at those ads for poor people in other countries that say "little jaunita's family lives on only $400 a month." What they fail to tell you is that the $400 a month probably gives them a very comfortable living where they are.

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quote:

Originally posted by jester Everything in this country is illegal.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery…" Winston Churchill

‎"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law" - Winston Churchill

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I have to disagree with your comment on cars. While for many there may be inconveniance from not owning a car I don't believe it's essential for everyone. Essential and conveniant aren't the same thing. It can make some things more difficult but if you live in a big city like Toronto it's quite possible to live without a car. I've never gotten my licence. You don't miss what you've never had and I just haven't felt the need to get one. Now if you live in a mid-size town in say northern Alberta you might have a problem. Also it depends on what you do for a living and if you have kids or not. Oh yeah, I'm not one of those people who mooches rides from friends all the time.

If you live and stay downtown and work day hours you are right. But a lot of people commute from the suburbs or have night jobs. Public transport is either a non-option or a very inefficient one. Ive been to 3rd world countries that put our transportation infrastructure (including highways) to shame.

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quote:

Originally posted by jester Everything in this country is illegal.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery…" Winston Churchill

‎"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law" - Winston Churchill

quote:

Originally posted by Jayx1 Yeah and that was my rent payment and was average rent when i was there. 2000 pesos isnt a lot of money either. But compare 2000 pesos to rent of 300 and you are laughing. You could never have that kind of ratio as a teacher here. This is why i laugh at those ads for poor people in other countries that say "little jaunita's family lives on only $400 a month." What they fail to tell you is that the $400 a month probably gives them a very comfortable living where they are.

Well i agree with u for most of the things u say...

u are not 100% correct about rent

lets say a teacher makes about 3000 a month, after taxes is left with about 2400 or so.

if u choose to live in Toronto yes u will pay 1400 for rent (2 bedroom)...
however noones forces u to live in toronto...u can move to a smaller town where rent will be much less, about 800 for same size..

this is not as good of a ratio as u speak of argentina, but it is much lower.

Lot of the big expenses you speak of can be eliminated by moving to a smaller town..

no parking costs
50% reduction in rent cost

right there ur already saving urself 800-1000 a month..

There was a recent survey done in the U.S. that clearly showed that people that live in smaller towns have much higher savings rates than those in cities. Living in western PA, my gf and I pulled in about $87K in one year and was able to save about $40K, after paying all of life's expenses including trips to Toronto, summer trip to Ibiza, rent (the same rent which could have easily gone to pay the mortgage on a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house), car insurance, taxes etc.
Both of us doing the same type of work in Toronto might gross us $100K a year, but there's no way in hell we would have been able to save $40K living the same lifestyle because of car insurance thats 5X more expensive, the mortgage on the same house would be about double, not to mention the interest not being tax deductible, the 30-50% tax, the 20-40% premium on consumer goods on Canada vs the U.S, etc. Of course Toronto offers much better dining, more opportunity to build social capital, etc, than western PA, but the tradeoff is you must do with less.
According to the following article, the median family income in toronto is $63700. To me trying to buy any property in Toronto and raising a family on such an income would be nearly impossible. Better off in a small town where the median income will get you a lot more, if thats what you want.
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/cen...inc/toronto.cfm

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Me gusta la salsa picante!! ??Y'tu??

This thread is kind of strange.
Jayx1, I'm just curious, were you born in Canada?

I immigrated here, and I find it laughable at many of the things the article pointed out. I'm not sure what effect there is in using a point of view of an immigrant crying about life in Canada. If things were so happy and stable and fine from wherever immigrants are comming from, why move here at all? And if there is so much to complain about, why stay here? I find it ludicrous to state that some of these facts are taken in stride by Canadian born residents, but are a shock to immigrants. What exactly is the point of that statement? Should every single law, rule, form of etiquette, spoken and unspoken taboo be explained to immigrants? No. Facts are immigrating will take you into a new land with completely different customs, and they should learn to adapt.
As for the costs of living in Canada, yes, they are high. You don't like it? Get the f*** out of Toronto, out of the bigger urban areas. It is not nearly as expensive in the more 'remote' regions of Canada. This is just how it is, for a multitude of reasons. Deal with it.
It is expensive, but do immigrants deserve some kind of break, some form of charity because their Canadian-born brethren have a leg up on them? Perhaps a few, but in general I'd have to say no. We all have to start somewhere. The cold hard reality is that Canadian-born citizens, immigrants, and first-generation citizens are paying taxes, equally, and covering a lot of the basic infrastructure of the country that they seem to have no problem with taking for granted.

Also, lol at comparing Canada to Argentina. Clearly we stand on the same ladder on the world stage. Economic systems and etiquette of living are just different from country to country. There is a lot to be fixed here, true, but bitching and complaining about change-of-address fees and delivery charges probably is not the way to do it. It does get on my nerves sometimes too to have to pay for every step I take, but there are ways around it, you just have to take your time and manage your money well. Something I have yet to learn

Change of address in the US costs $1 online and is permanent. Not $37, with a need to renew in 6 mos. Sorry, but bill collectors are not the only ones who need to know of your address change, and not everyone has email to know of your address change to send out a quick note.

One recent visitor for my wedding couldn't believe the price of some things while she was up here. 4 drinks at the hotel bar cost them just over $40 (although I told her hotels are some of the more expensive places to drink, where ever u are in the world), but she was totally shocked at the price of a black eyeliner from the Rexall drug store- over $9. I know for a fact that the liquid Loreal liner I use sells for over $11 at Shoppers, while at Target in the US you can get it for $5.97. BIG difference.

Overall, I think some things are very similar in price, its the taxes that kill you. I swore I would never buy a car here in Canada for fear of the taxes, but I had to this past January. Brutal!!! But definitely there are MUCH better sales and bargains to be found in the US. Anyone travelling there should hit up a Target or Walmart or even an Old Navy and see the difference.

One thing I wish would change in price is the price of books. Know how the liner always has one price for US and Canada? Well, that made sense when the CDN dollar was valued at $0.65, but now that its near equal, it pains me to pay $35 for something that would cost $20 in the US.

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"When I die, I want to be buried under the dancefloor"- Frankie Madgenta

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Originally posted by tatgirl One thing I wish would change in price is the price of books. Know how the liner always has one price for US and Canada? Well, that made sense when the CDN dollar was valued at $0.65, but now that its near equal, it pains me to pay $35 for something that would cost $20 in the US.

I have a book-habit (read 7 in a week when I went to Cuba) and yes, it can be very expensive at $20 a pop.

I joined the library and this is saving me some money but I am a germophobe so it grosses me out

In England, you can buy books in the supermarket and they are about 4 pounds for new releases, something I wish Loblaws would do (sure, you can buy them there but they are almost full price)

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Be the best person you can be. Always.

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Originally posted by English Rachel I have a book-habit (read 7 in a week when I went to Cuba) and yes, it can be very expensive at $20 a pop.

I hear ya. When I move, half my shite is just books.

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I joined the library and this is saving me some money but I am a germophobe so it grosses me out

Hand sanitizer is your friend...

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Originally posted by chinamon not true. i say "ugh" but i am a tranny.

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Originally posted by kotsy lol colour me retarded

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Originally posted by EvilTree I hear ya. When I move, half my shite is just books. Hand sanitizer is your friend...

I couldn't bring my books with me Although in 2 years I have managed to fill a bookcase!!!

I spray them lightly with lysol haha!!

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Be the best person you can be. Always.