(edit title) To Canadians who moved to Sweden Is Sweden better than Canada, if yes, why? Options

[Furu]

@Furu,If he is an entrepreneur type, I'd suspect Canada is a better place to be to start a business than Sweden due to not as many layers of government beaucracy. But cont ... (show full quote)

@Furu,

If he is an entrepreneur type, I'd suspect Canada is a better place to be to start a business than Sweden due to not as many layers of government beaucracy. But contrary to what Furu is suggesting, he'll still have to pay taxes. ... (hide full quote)

How is it better. Corporations are managed at Provincial Level in Canada unless you register a Federal Corproation in that case you need to register the company in all of the provinces. They need to pay Provincial and Federal Tax. Business owners cannot contribute to EI. So if you are sick you are on your own. You have to have private insurance for Dental because you are a business owner. Corporate Income tax is higher in Canada compared to Sweden. You need to file two Sales tax returns every month, Provincial (PST) and Federal (GST).

In Canada you need to apply a Business Number, A GST Number, A PST Number, Corporate Income Tax Nr and a Provincial Income Tax Nr. In Sweden your Org Nr becomes your Moms Nr. Cost of Incorporating a Business is cheaper in Sweden (900kr) and costs upto (7000kr) in Canada.

On what grounds you base your statements.

[Furu]

I am not Canadian but I've lived in both Canada and Sweden for about the same period of time.If you actually want a job, never mind a career, Canada is a much better deal ... (show full quote)

I am not Canadian but I've lived in both Canada and Sweden for about the same period of time.

If you actually want a job, never mind a career, Canada is a much better deal especially for foreigners.
The job market is really tough as an immigrant in Sweden, whereas in Canada I find employers far more open to diversity in the workplace. In the long run even, the career prospects of non-native Swedes is significantly reduced. Your career mobility in Canada is a lot more promising if you're ambitious. It's a lot more open for entrepreneurs in Canada as well
i think Canadian society (economically and socially) is more penetrable as a whole for foreigners.

Aside from the huge employment factor, I love Sweden a whole lot more!
Education is a huge plus if you intend on studying.
The healthcare system is far more efficient, personal and accessible. The bureaucratic machine of Canadian healthcare is obstructive to obtaining even adequate medical attention.
While the state is extensive in Sweden, it remains accessible - your questions do get answered even if it takes a few hundred phone calls.
Tax is heavy in Sweden but the benefits are extensive and i find the system accommodating and fair. In Canada, I actually ended up paying higher taxes than in Sweden with no benefits (not even healthcare). The system was more unpredictable as well and i had difficulty accessing information from the state departments.
While Sweden is socially tough to crack in the long-term, I find Swedes educated, patient, self-aware and kind. The society as a whole is responsive and respectful. Canada is more diverse though, Swedes can be quite conservative and suspicious at times.
The cities are cleaner in Sweden and the food is a whole lot better than in Canada. I sometimes felt a little isolated in Canada with the expense of travel even within Canada whereas in Sweden, Europe and the rest of Sweden is more accessible.
And the weather is a whole lot better in Sweden. Huge factor!


my opinion might be quite weighted by what states/provinces and municipalities i've experienced though... ... (hide full quote)

I agree on cleanliness. I just found that Canada had wide variety of ethnic cuisines.

[Chuy]

We get Americans as neighbours... doesn't that earn us any sympathy?

Oh look; there's that Canadian inferiority complex we (Americans) always hear about. For some reasons Canadians have this non-existent competition with American, when the American perspective on Canadians is; they're really nice and laid back...that's it.

[Mack]

Chuy... buddy... I was making a joke. Actually I think Canadians have become quite smug and certainly don't suffer from an inferiority complex. Quite the opposite in many cases unfortunately.

[Caribbean guy/Swedish Gal]

HAHAHAHA what a bunch of idiots on here!!!

Unless youre in a factory packing boxes like the Thai that picked berries here in Sweden then you got no coverage or its very basic when it come to dental or prescription drugs EXACTLY the way health care is designed here in SWeden..If youre educated and have a job that pays well in Canada 99% out of 100 your fully covered for dental and prescption drugs.

Ive lived in Canada and now im in Sweden..moved here because of my Sambo...I lived in Toronto and not in remote areas of canada and theres not a square meter of sweden that can compare to canada.Be it health care,food,clothing,sustainable income, housing,integration whatever u name it

In toronto Private Day Care cost around 6000kr to 9000kr and these are the ones that caters for parents that wish for their kids to be taught in French...


Now somebodys got something to say to me?

[Furu]

Do you think access to health care should be for educated and well paid people only ?

In Sweden, anyone with a right to stay over 12 months gets same dental and medical coverage. Correct me if I am wrong.

The price in Vancouver for day care is in the range of $1200 - $1400 (8000kr - 10,000kr) per month.

If your child is under 2 it cost even more.

[Caribbean guy/Swedish Gal]

And where in Sweden the middle class is covered for dental? IF perhaps youre still 19 or younger you wont know what im talking about cause thats all i know thats covered by the state.Most of the companies here dont include dental in their medical coverage either.

[Furu]

Dental is covered through Forsakringskassan and is subsidized in Sweden.

[Greg in Canada]

I think it's six of one and half a dozen of another. I wouldn't dare try to say if Canada is a better place than Sweden or vice versa. There are similiarities/differences and people are happy in either place. It depends upon your personal situation and what you want. Any Canuk I've ever known who lived in Sweden always came home once the master's degree is finished, or they discovered their grandparents ethnic heritage or the love refugee relationship ended, and I've also known a number of Swedes in Canada who have no intention of ever returning back to their home country. But that's only my personal experience and doesn't speak for everybody.

The huge advantage to an immigrant is that many people on the planet speak English and very few speak Swedish, so one would assume that is a huge plus that Canada would have over Sweden when it comes to attracting higher quality educated immigrants. Even French speaking immigrants could chose Quebec. Why immigrate some place where you have to learn a new language and most can't find a job in your field without fluent language skills? You must love that sambo a lot to put up with that.

To go back to the original poster and his Pakistani workmate, he would probably do better in Canada than Sweden for the reasons I posted earlier - English language, Pakistani community in a few larger cities, and a more realistic view of "multi-culturalism" after 200 yrs of naturally occuring immigration patterns rather than something that was imposed only 25 yrs ago. .

[CanadianCoder]

I've only been in Sweden a bit over 4 months now so its tough to say a lot about Sweden at this point.

But I can say that it is much easier to integrate into Canada. The country is already a melting pot of different cultures with a very strong business climate. Finding jobs is easy, although if you aren't educated you can get stuck with low wages or hard labour. But either way, at least it isn't hard to find something to do.

Some places in Canada are expensive and hard to live in (like Victoria), but each province offers something a little different so you can't really use blanket statements with a place as large as Canada.

Only downsides compared to Sweden is that we don't have as good of social benefits, but as far as I'm concerned its a happy trade-off to be able to find employment at pretty well anytime.

Canadians are also more relaxed about things. Alcohol can be purchased much later into the night, good weed is everywhere (even up north).

I could write an essay on it though, you'd have to go there to see if you really like it or not.

[Caribbean guy/Swedish Gal]

And who said theres no good WEED here in Sweden

[Greg in Canada]

"my opinion might be quite weighted by what states/provinces and municipalities i've experienced though... "

It's hard to generalize about a country as large and vast as Canada. Some things are so regional. Even the weather - compare Vancouver Island with hardly any snow against the Prairies. I'd say winter in southern Ontario is comparable to the southern half of Sweden.

I hear you on the distances in Europe being so conveniently close. Compare that to flying from Victoria to St. John's.

[Omidn]

In agreement with Greg and CanadianCoder, I think there are pros and cons in both places. I have been in Sweden for six years and couldn’t find any job opportunity in my field of studies (MSc. in biochemistry/ Microbiology). Bottom line is, if you are a young couple and want to make money with good ethnic integrations, Canada is better place for you. If you have so many kids and want to relax and use resources Sweden is better place so you have to see what do you want and where do you want to be financially.

[Benzed]

Interesting, although despite having read Carribean Guy's rantings three times I can still barely decipher which country he is saying is better - presumably Canada?

The points on integration as a foreigner, access to (some kind of) employment, ethnic diversity reflected in the cuisine options (the standard of food in Sweden is probably the lowest aspect of all in my experience) and desire of the populace to integrate with different types outside of drinking sessions is food for thought. Montreal has always interested me but having worked in conjunction with "Quebecois" in two companies they seem fairly anti-English tongue users. Toronto always struck me as unspectacular but I've heard some good anecdotes about it lately, and have several family members there.

Any opinions on Winnipeg / Manitoba? Is it akin to something like Dalarna in terms of provincial makeup or what?

[Gwrhyr]

There was a really good thread on city-data.com about Manitoba and Winnipeg in general that I was reading a few weeks ago... here is a good post from that thread, from user loralee_2007:

Oh boy. My very first post here, and one I am passionate about, so here goes!

I moved to Winnipeg from out of province when I was 17 to attend the U of M. I literally fell in love with the city and have never moved, and would never consider moving, even though my career would probably benefit if I did.

Top things I love about Winnipeg/other notes about upcoming developments:
- Smog? What's that? You don't find it here
- Yes the winter is cold. But we have many winter activities that embrace the heritage & nature of the outdoors (Festival du Voyageur, snowmobiling, etc etc). Winter is soon gone and over.
- Summer is absolutely divine. We have some of the hottest temperatures in Canada in the summer months.
- We are Cottage country here. Our standard of living allows allows affordability for both a prime residence as well as a cottage residence (we are the land of 100,000 lakes!)
- Property taxes have not been raised in 12 years and counting! (woot woot)
- Post secondary tuition fees have not been raised for at least 5 years or so
- Property appreciation has been very steady over the last 10 years, nothing "bubble" induced like Saskatoon/Regina/Calgary...but slow and steady wins the race. *grin*
- Reknowned for our arts & creativity, we will be home to the new Human Rights Museum
- Rebranding is currently underway to make us the Canadian shipping hub since we are the centre of Canada (much like Chicago is the US hub). The airport is currently undertaking a massive expansion to allow this undertaking
- As an example of our attractability, Ikea once wouldn't even consider us because we didn't meet the min 1M population scale. They are now not only building here, but they are building the largest store in Canada - with a population of 700,000+. *more grins*
- We are within 45 mins of the border, so it is very easy, and very cheap, to take advantage of Tour destinations of your flavor.
- Our economy is very diversified so downturns in the general economy don't hit near as hard here as they do elsewhere, such as Ontario (we currently have one of the best employment rates in Canada, and is expected to continue)
- Lastly "windy city" generalizations refer to the corner of Portage & Main because of the building configurations. The city itself, except for that corner, are perfectly fine. Having come from SK, and still having family there, I can easily attest that that province - notice province and not just a "corner" in a city - are the windiest my poor ears have experienced. Every time I go "home" to SK, I can only last 2 or 3 days before my ears are begging me to leave LOL.

If you've never been to Winnipeg, seriously consider it. For those who go "oh" when you tell them where you're from...I just laugh. I won't tell you some of the questions I've been asked by Americans, they really need an education on their northern neighbor. (And before I get flamed, my numerous american friends have all told me how lacking the education is, so I'm only quoting what they've told me)

Interesting that Ikea gets a mention there. I figure there might not be many Manitobans here at the Local (and I'm not one either...). I just thought I'd share that since Manitoba came up and I remembered reading that thread a few weeks ago. Sounds a bit more like Sweden than some other places, what with the Summer cottages and all.