6 months in Canada.

After 6 months in Canada, it's time to draw another line and share some statistics and subjective opinions.

The first impressions were made here.

The photo shows Downtown - the city center.

Expenses

So, what can be said about this period? Here's some statistics on prices:

For two people in CAD per month (Edmonton):

$1000 - food (delivery from Walmart)
$1200 - rent (2-bedroom in Edmonton)
$110 - home internet
$70 - electricity
$50 - communication (calls, texts - unlimited, 4GB mobile internet)
$75 - transit (concession)

It seems like many people watch a lot of YouTube, and often I hear that Canada is the best choice.

Right now, almost every other immigrant in Canada seems to be a blogger, talking about how well they live here.

My opinion differs; I don't need to monetize anything, so I share information 'as is'.

By the way, I've been watching a lot of houses for the past few months, and it seems like they're building a lot of them out of cardboard, practically.

Here's an example in the photo - a 6-story wooden house in the city center. It's hard to find a decent house.

Medicine

Another topic regarding healthcare. Here you get free insurance, but you somehow need to find a family doctor. In Canada, they call them 'family physicians,' but according to the latest information, they're nowhere to be found. The only option is to go to a so-called 'Walking clinic.'

There, a doctor can prescribe some pills and conduct a basic examination.

As for specialist doctors, it's generally hard to get an appointment quickly - waiting times range from several months to several years, depending on the province.

The latest thing I found out is that to get your eyes checked at a shopping center, you need to pay between $100 to $150.

And as for dental care, for obvious reasons, it starts from $500 for any problem.

Kindergartens and Social Matters

A kindergarten is usually a small space with an outdoor area that can be considered a playground.

Children are not fed; you need to provide your own food, and most likely, they won't heat it up for you.

Often, it's all located in or near a parking lot - it costs around $2000 per month and looks like this:

Another topic - drug addicts, they are everywhere here.

There are especially many of them in certain areas of the city - Downtown, near public transport, and in some residential areas. They are even appearing in wealthy neighborhoods.

If you think it's just 1-3 people, it's not. There can be 20 or 40 of them, and they often occupy the central library or live at stations/stops.

Schools are also not straightforward - you have to go to different ones depending on the age. For me, it's inconvenient. And there's no food at school either.

On the plus side - you can get discounted access to public transport and free access to the city's sports centers (pool, hammam, sauna, hot tub, and sometimes a gym).

Work

If you're thinking of working in IT in Canada, it's not all smooth sailing either. In short - there's a lack of jobs.

There are some job openings, but mainly in big cities, where the expenses I mentioned earlier need to be tripled. Even there, job opportunities are very scarce.

In six months of searching, I've only had two phone interviews.

Edmonton is a city of welders and other manual labor professions.

In the end, it turns out to be a lot of expenses, no social benefits, lack of healthcare, and unemployment.

Is it worth immigrating? No. There are more promising places.

I also forgot to mention about the credit rating - the system requires getting credit cards, which unemployed people can't obtain, and spending to increase the rating.

Often, people find solutions here:

A not very positive post, but that's just how it is.