Pondering employment in the breadline

[thenakedcat]

So, I've been working on a job-hunting strategy, something I've mentioned to quakey already. Trying to apply for jobs WHILE finishing a degree that makes me irritable and crazy would result in...exponential irritable and crazy. I'm more likely to simply pick a city large enough to have a decent number of libraries/archives/records management type jobs (

Comments

[gishkishenh]

Dude, take it from me- I've lived in Vancouver for 2 years and Canada is my home... Vancouver is the HIGHEST in standard of living and prices in ALL of Canada, and EVERYTHING is more expensive there. It's NOT a good place for easy costs and starting up.
If you are looking for places affordable and the like in Canada, more east coast (Nova Scotia) is the key. Also, Saskatchewan is in the midst of a boom for growth, might wanna look there. :)

[thenakedcat]

Ahhhhh okay good to know. I have some vague ideas about what costs of living might be in Canada, but not much. Are there any cities with good public transport and a big cultural heritage scene (libraries, museums, arts)? The transportation could reduce my living costs a lot and the cultural heritage scene affects my job prospects.

[gishkishenh]

Well, speaking in that terms, yes Vancouver is big on that- ALL those things. Transportation is a big plus there, and it's really rooting in the local Native American and Asian immigration... but it is costly. As for other cities? I can't talk about transportation since I never lived in other places asides from Toronto and Vancouver. Heritage wise? That's also hard to say- Toronto is a place with a LOT of libraries and other archives and the like, but again, 2nd on the standard of living. Quebec is a good place to look into. BIG on heritage, and the prices are not as harsh.

[thenakedcat]

Hmmm, okay. Of Quebec City and Montreal, is one significantly better than the other for someone who is NOT fluent in French? I'm fine with reading signs and can usually follow what's being said but can't formulate a reply fast enough to carry on a conversation.

(Sorry to be picking your brain! I don't have enough Canadians that I feel comfortable asking about this D: )

[gishkishenh]

That's a tough question to answer. A family relative lives in Montreal for nearly all her adult life and speaks not one word of French and she gets by just fine. Yet I do hear of Francephones that are very adamant in their Frenchness.
You know, let me ask a friend of mine. She is originally from Ottawa and works for the government... and that's where Parliament, LOTS of heritage sites and like like are. I'll ask her if she has any good info.

[thenakedcat]

Thank you! Ottawa sounds pretty promising for transport and jobs. Going to put that on the list for further research...