Canada

[sligoman]

This is my long term goal, for a year. Any previous experiences people have, would appreciate it.

[strangeirish]

This is my long term goal, for a year. Any previous experiences people have, would appreciate it.

I think magicme lived there for a while. She could be a good source for you.

[BohsPartisan]

I travelled about a bit in Canada. My advice to everyone is if you can go - go. The West is beautiful. When we came back we were considering trying to move over but for a number of reasons it wasn't a runner.
Where do I start?
Vancouver is my favourite city. Really laid back. Great combination of city life and the great outdoors.
Banff, in the Rockies about two hours drive from Calgary is stunning. Brokeback was filmed around there, so you get the idea of the scenery. Did some horseriding in the mountains there. Awesome.
Dawson City, yukon territory, hundreds of miles from any other major town is a former Goldrush town and is well worth a visit. Its like walking through a western.
Toronto is also a great city.

[YankExile]

Toronto is an excellent city. I wouldn't recommend Niagara Falls in terms of the whole city. The waterfall itself is gorgeous, but everything around it has been built up into one huge tourist trap, complete with not one but two casinos. (The first one was meant as a temporary casino till the second, and larger, got completed, but then they decided to keep both running.) It's more than a bit tacky. However, there are some nice casual restaurants in the area near the smaller one. There is also Niagara Falls, New York, right across the US/Canada border. It has its own casino, but much of everything else is full of urban blight despite attempts to fix it for many years. (The waterfall view from the US side is nice too, though.)

[pineapple stu]

Rockies are superb. If you can get somewhere near there (Calgary or Edmonton), go there and the Rockies are only a couple of hundred miles away (on your doorstep in Canadian terms).

Didn't think much of Vancouver when I was there, to be honest.

The north of the country looks superb for a random trip or two.

Very laid back people too. Very very different to the US, from what I've heard from people who've been to both.

[Karlos]

Spent a year working out of Toronto. Absolutely loved it. Montreal and Quebec are well worth a visit too and only about 4 hours by train from T.O. and a weekend cottage break around Lake Muskoka is a must. Niagara on the lake and in particular the yineyards are well worth the trip too. Sadly didn't make it out West as it's quite expensive to fly out but did get down to Florida for 5 days for a mere $120.

Couldn't speak any more highly of the place! Great country with great people.

[sligoman]

What's the story with visas for Canada? I'm thinking of going for about 3 months just on a holiday visa, anyone know prices and if they're handy to get? I've been looking online but can't find anything for sure.

[theworm2345]

What's the story with visas for Canada? I'm thinking of going for about 3 months just on a holiday visa, anyone know prices and if they're handy to get? I've been looking online but can't find anything for sure.

You don't need a visa for Canada, my brother crossed the border even after forgetting all forms of ID just a few years ago Could be different for crossing from places other than the US but I doubt it. Don't know about vacation visas either.

[pineapple stu]

Could be different for crossing from places other than the US but I doubt it.

What places would they be?