pros and cons of where you've lived

i live in alberta

pros - nice scenic rockies

cons - very few hippies

 

I've been to every province in Canada except Newfoundland so far (though I think I'm going there this summer)

So here's a province by province list of pros and cons

The "Western Provinces"

British Columbia
Pros
-Very pretty
-Very diversified landscapes (a days drive can take you from rainforest to mountains)
-As perviously mentioned very multi cultural
-Fairly friendly people
-Complete weirdos (if you like those sorts)

Cons
-Stupidly expensive (seriously last time I was there I saw a trailor on a scrap of land going for half a million)
-Vancouver (the city) is nice but I personally wouldn't live there. (Nice to visit and nice to leave)
-Complete weirdos (if you don't enjoy those sorts)

Alberta
Pros
-Nice if you like grass.
-Less tax on stuff you buy then in Ontario and it's also worth buying.

Cons
-Cowboy hats. (I just don't like them)
-Maybe going into a two teared health care system
-Conservative but they probably won't say anything
-Crazy weather.

Saskatchewan (It's not actually flat)
Pros
-less people so in theory more privacy
-interesting history for most towns
-All my expirences with grocery stores were pretty good (nice healthy looking food)
-Cheap housing

Cons
-Not really that much around
-Strange weather
-Cheap housing is probably for a reason

Manitoba
pros
-To me it was an all around nice place, not exactly exicting but nice.
-The people weren't exactly friendly but they weren't hostile either. Neutral People then?
-No tourism really.

Cons
-ticks seem to be a problem
-Some sort of beetle that kills trees seems to be a problem there too.

 

(Had to break it up to be able to post it all)

"Central Canada"

Northern Ontario
Pros
-Pretty landscape
-Generally cheaper housing
-Towns tend to be "close-knit"

Cons
-Bugs. Insane amounts of bugs.(possibly the reason why housing is cheap)
-heavy snowfalls
-very cold winters compared to the rest of the pronvice
-not really much in the way of...well anything really unless you live in one of the larger towns.
-Larger towns could be hours away
-Freaky conservative bunchs who will say something

Southern Ontario
pros
-multi cultural as if it's some kind of contest
-fairly mild climate in the winter
-a wide variety of houses to choose from
-most people don't care how you "express" yourself as long as you don't "express" at them
-Going through a sort of "green revolution"

cons
-tourism
-development like there's no tomarrow
-a lot of black outs (especailly in newer subdivisions or areas near to them, which is pretty much everywhere)
-lots of snobby people
-Insanely expensive housing (and land) with no indication of it letting up.
-You're likely to get robbed (theft under 5000$ is the most common)

Quebec (kinda like ontario without the uber snobby people except that they speak french)
Pros
-They do it however they want to do it.
-fairly liberal bunch (not in the sense of the party)
-amusing politics
-lots of history
-Nice weather

cons
-if you don't speak french you are screwed.
-they may not be in Canada much longer if the bloc party keeps at it.
-Very bazarr road systems.
-lots of politics

The Maritimes

New Brunswick
Pros
-All around pretty cool place to live
-Wildlife that is very abundant but generally isn't large enough to eat you
-many natarul attractions

Cons
-Tourists. Lost of Tourists.

Nova Scotia
Pros
-Another cool place
-Neat culture of its own
-lots of everything you might want to see
-like New Brunswick but with less tourists.

Cons
-At least one major snowstorm every year
-generally one major flood too.
-crazy pedestrains who run out onto the road.

Prince Edward Island
Pros
-It's red. Well most of the soil is red. (I think that's pretty neat)
-Very Friendly people (everyone we met there invited us for a meal)
-very easy to figure out raods and signs

Cons
-I've heard that the school options post secondary aren't too amazing
-I read somewhere or another that homicide was highest in PEI out of all of Canada

 

Here's my take on North Bay, Ontario:

Pros:
University town, big student population
Very cultured
Strong feminist/lesbian presence
Loads of artists and musicians (lots of hippies too)
Beautiful waterfront
Pretty clean air and water
Some lovely old neighbourhoods
Surrounded by lakes, hills and forests
Ski/snowboarding hill right in town
Big cycling scene and lots of bike paths
Dense and walkable urban core
Low crime rate
Good public transit
Housing is still relatively afforable (for now)
Fairly tolerant, liberal and progressive minded for it's size
Lots of weirdos
Lots of social agencies
Increasingly popular vacation area
Centrally located (3 hours North of Toronto)

Cons:
Cold, snowy winters (i suppose that's a pro if you're into skiing and snowboarding)
Pretty buggy in the summertime (shadflys!)
Lots of annoying summer tourists
Good full-time jobs are hard to come by
Need lots of education and experience to get those good higher paying jobs (most of which are at the university, hospitals and government offices)
Nepotism
Lots of weirdos
Scary hicks who live in the surrounding communities and rural areas
A fair number of older folks with old-school attitudes
Municipal politicians with god complexes
Too much red-tape
Lots of complainers
Many 'troubled' or disadvantaged people who live here because of said social agencies
A little rough around the edges in some parts of town
People South of Barrie always confuse us with Thunder Bay or have a negative impression of the city based soley on it's name. (it sounds cold and farrrr away)