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Generally speaking they are and research from 2001 showed that they are actually the happiest of all immigrants and the most adapted. Can you not be happy if you come from a country with 16 million people which fits in Lake Ontario or covers approximately Vancouver Island?
It depends on your needs. We think a couple without kids can get by with approximately C$ 30,000. In the Ottawa area you can buy a reasonable starters home (rijtjeshuis) for around 100,000. Your mortgage is not deductible and mortgage rates are in the 6% range. Renting is getting better in Ottawa, as the vacancy rate is around 2%. Renting units are about $ 550 for a single bedroom and $800-1000 for a double and $ 1300 and up for a more luxurious one. Food is around $75 dollar a week for a couple, if you don't buy the ready made meals, nor go to McDonalds (you shouldn't go anyway after you have read: "fast food nation"). The 30,000 dollar includes a small leased car (as low as 200 dollar with some down payment) and even some holidays. Noot: De gemiddelde verkoopprijs van een woning (huis, appartement, villa of keet) in maart 2007 bedroeg: landelijk $300,000, in Ontario $292,500 en in Ottawa $277,000 (bron CREA)
Big, very, very big. It is so big that people think in hours of travelling, not in kilometers or miles. Crossing Ontario east to west takes 24 hours if your drive a hypothetical 100km/hour for 24 hours in a row. Most of western Europe, including Great Britain, fits in the province of Quebec. The people in Newfoundland live likely closer to Europe (Ireland) than to their countrymen in Vancouver Island on the west coast. Ottawa to Toronto takes about 5 hours and Ottawa to Montreal 2 hours drive. Ottawa to New York or Boston takes about 8 hours, Ottawa to Florida a good 2 and a half day. The vast majority of Canadians live within 150 km of the US border
If people want to raise attention for a cause, they will travel west-east or east-west through the country. The most famous one is Terry Fox, who started a run to raise awareness for cancer. He died before he could complete the cross country run, but the annual Terry Fox run has become a tradition in many places. A statue can be found in Ottawa. People have crossed the country running, cycling, by tractor, by combine, by scooter, walking and on a lawnmower (or was that a movie?). One usually ends up at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where the government seat is.
Canada is the second biggest country in the world. Obviously, that attracted quite a number of Dutch. A rough estimate tells us, that there are about 1,000,000 people of Dutch descent in Canada (Census 2001) of which 300,000 still claim to speak Dutch (or something that sounds pretty close after 45 years in Canada). There should be around 8000 people in the Ottawa Valley who claim to have Dutch blood in their veins. In 2005 new Dutch arrivals made the crossing to Canada, the majority heading for Alberta and B.C. 30% will go back eventually, as Canada won't fullfill their dreams.
Everyone tells us that 'when they were young' snow started in September and didn't melt until April. The last years, snow falls end of November or even end of December and disappears somewhere between end of February and April. It can be as cold as -27 Celsius. During the winter, snow rarely melts. The summers are nice and warm and people go in shorts to work, even business people (myself). Temperatures are weeks in a row in the high twenties. Spring is only a month and autumn kicks in at the end of September until November. The summer can be very humid.
There are many signs of global warming in Canada. Polar bears behaviour, the vegetation in the arctic all show changes. Most Canadians can't wait for the global warming: the warmer, the better. Only the folks in the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and in particular Prins Edward Island aka PEI) are getting nervous, as they are rather close to the sea.
Canada has 170,000 public servants. Every province has its own government. A common expression is that the only thing bigger than Canada's horizon is the bureaucracy. Although most by laws and regulation is harmonized, there are slight differences. Taxes are different in every province, alcohol legislation is different, driver's licenses are different, health care has different legislation etc.
Yes. Except if you are from the USA or Japan. You can drive two months
on the road on your native license, but than you are supposed to have a
Canadian one. If you drive after the two months on the road with your old
licence, you are all of a sudden considered a danger to the public.
However, your friend who visits you on holidays can pick up a 10 meter
(30 feet) mobile home and drive cross country for half a year on her own
foreign license, as she is not an immigrant.
Your license is issued by the province, NOT the federal government.
It is only valid in one province and the provinces acknowlegde each others
licenses.
As of 2006 there a an agreement between Canada and The Netherlands allowing
you to 'exchange' your Dutch license for a Canadian license,
but it doesn't apply to to all catagories of vehicles or in all provinces.
You will surrender your Dutch license in exchange for a provincial one in Canada.
Check with the embassy for up-to-date information on this matter.
Yes, and you can have it sponsored by the government of Ontario. However, you first have to finish all your savings except a few thousand if you apply for subsidized day care. Smart is to make sure that you don't have savings. How? By taking out a big mortgage and lease or finance a big truck so you don't have any money left at the end of the month. The poor Dutch woman who saves for four years and bought a tiny house and a small second hand Ford has to use up her savings first. A prime example of bureaucracy. Quebec has -we believe- subsidized daycare at 5 dollar a day (but for how long?).
Check first on www.411.ca Canada's on line phone book. Check the internet and type in word like 'Janssen Canada' (if you look for the Janssen family). Older immigrants sometimes changed their name from Willem or Wim to Bill or William, from Jaap to Jake and from Jan to John and Elisabeth to Liz or Hans to Jack and Jeroen to Jerome (in Quebec). Newer Dutch immigrants care less and find that the Canadian society should simply put more effort in learning their real name.
There are 5.9 million households in Canada. Approximately 50% has at least one member of the family accessing the Internet. 15% of these households surf at high speed connections (approx 450,000). The others surf at work in the boss' time.
Yes there is, Het Beste van Nederland BVN it is called and serves the Dutch
speaking community including our Flemish brothers and sisters.
You will be spending a $ 500 to to install a satellite dish and decoder
but the signal is not encrypted (http://www.bvntv.ca/ may be able to assist you).
With a high speed internet connection you can of course stream
Dutch broadcasts, like het NOS Journaal, Nova or Netwerk, directly to your pc from
websites as http://www.tvopjepc.nl/
There are also some regional radio programs and content in Dutch
e.g in Toronto and Ottawa
There are many ways. In short: as a landed immigrant, married to a partner, on a work permit (partner can come and work as well), as an investor. Check with the Canadian Embassy (and their website) in your country. Landed immigrant status gives you all rights and duties as a Canadian, other than voting rights (but who cares, there is only one party anyway, the rest is so small that they aren't visible). As a landed immigrant, you need to meet certain criteria. You get points for education (so finish your school first), for skills, for knowledge of English and French, for age etc. You have to show that you can financially support yourself for a while, once you arrive here as it will be hard to find a job.
No, well maybe. You don't have any less education on a HBO or University level than you would have on Canadian institutions. But your education is not always formally recognized. Do some research, check with a Dutch organisation called 'Nuffic' and but be prepared to start at the bottom behind the fryer, tossing fries in the air.
There is a lot to learn about banking the Canadian way when you first arrive: A must read before you leave are our pointers to get started but it is too much for a FAQ so we placed the article on a separate page. more…
