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| Subject: wannabecanadian (re: K-W) |
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Hi there,
Yes, I´ve lived in Kitchener my whole life, and love it here. In fact, I´m passing up living in Silicon Valley (the San Francisco Bay area) where my husband lives to move him here instead, lol. K-W has grown substantially over the past decade, but it´s still a ´comfortable´ size city. We have everything we need here without having to drive an hour out of town, but it doesn´t have the big-city craziness feel like Toronto. It´s a nice ´clean´ city.
There´s a strong German heritage here, and we have one of the largest "Oktoberfest" festivals in the world, rivaling only Munich.
Just 15 minutes outside of town you can drive through mennonite country (careful of the horse and buggies!), and visit the farmer´s markets where you can buy some of the best fresh produce, maple syrup and homemade baked goods you´d find anywhere.
If you have any specific questions I´d be happy to answer them! :)
Michelle
[14-09-2005,19:45]
[**.193.72.81]
FWChelle |
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(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
hey girl... watch out for the perogies and farmer sausage- forget the buggies :) I have a very nice online friend in Kitchener. I have never met him! he always says how lovely Kitchener is as a home - just far enough away from TO.
[15-09-2005,01:49]
[***.20.170.23]
sharon |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
Hey, small world! Maybe I went to school with your friend :)
Perogies.. don´t even get me started! I can gain 5lbs just talking about them, LOL.
[15-09-2005,03:09]
[**.193.72.81]
FWChelle |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
Thanks for the info. We just spent a couple days there camping at Elora Gorge Conservation Area, which was a great respite after the craziness of TO (after years of visiting Toronto, I´ve finally decided it´s way too big to live in!). My husband has found lots of interesting jobs online in the K-W area, although he hasn´t had any luck in getting calls back after sending in resumes (I don´t suppose that will happen until we have PR), so we thought we´d check it out as a possiblity. I love the setting; it´s not too different from where we live now, except smaller and more manageable. My mom is German, so I love that influence, and was thrilled to be able to get linze torte at the Public Market! What a treat!
K-W seems like a very stable community, large and diverse enough to be interesting but small and relaxed enough to settle down in. Because it´s not too different than where we are now, and it´s pretty close in distance, it´s a tempting idea; however, our BIG dream is to live in Nova Scotia. So, we have a lot of soul searching to do! Thanks again for responding, and I´m wishing you and your new husband all the luck in getting to be together permanently very soon!! :)
BTW: I grew up in the Bay Area (just north of), and you´re not missing anything by not moving out there! It´s beautiful for sure, but crazy and expensive beyond belief. When I left San Francisco (where I went to school) for the midwest, I went through major culture shock. I hope your hubby will have an easier adjustment! :)
[15-09-2005,14:01]
[***.188.116.10]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
wannabe,
Good luck with your decisions. I´ve never been to Nova Scotia but my father spent some time down there when he was in the navy, and he has only fond things to say about it. I hear it´s beautiful.
The Bay area is gorgeous, and I love it... to visit! You´re right, it´s crazy expensive. The house we just bought here in Kitchener would have been at LEAST 5x more in Silicon Valley, not even factoring the exchange. The cost of living alone was a major deciding factor, even with the wages he´s making out there (he works for Cisco Sytems). Though he´s been in Cali for 20 years (with a brief stint in WA), he actually grew up in Chicago, so culture shock isn´t a real issue for us. He´s far more nostalgic about snow than I am, LOL.
Thanks for the good wishes, and best of luck with your PR!
[15-09-2005,14:26]
[**.193.72.81]
FWChelle |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
holly!!!sounds like my favour area. wish i can get PR soon and have a road trip to there.
Hey, I got a 1967 Mustang!!!!! tried to fix it in my local college which doesn´t charge any labour.
Hopefully I can get my PR, then I wanna drive that Mustang to there. might wanna pick up some and ship by to Nanaimo.
haha
How´s chicks over there? are they hot or cute?
[15-09-2005,15:31]
[**.66.36.59]
departure bay |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
DB: If you want pretty girls, Nova Scotia is your place. Seriously. Tall, blonde, and very attractive--the guys too for that matter. Then again, I´m pretty baised; can´t think of many negatives about NS other than the economy! Yeah, a cross country Canadian road trip--heavenly! Every new PR should do that, to get a feel for his/her new country, to see how large and diverse it really is. Why do you need to wait for PR to go on a road trip?
[15-09-2005,15:45]
[***.188.116.10]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
hey wannabecanadian, i still have my full-time job here, if I gotta take vacation, let´s say a month, I will end up without income.
Once I got my PR, I will go back to college with student loan, wanna take couple of years off and stay in college. That´s the time I gotta go vacation, not right now.
if I wanna take road trip, probably still use my 1986 TOYOTA COROLLA, good on gas and super reliable. My 1967 Mustang, can´t rely on that for long trip. you don´t see old mustang in big cities, only my town, chicks love that!!
haha.
well, I guess Nova Scotia chicks might be more conservative than here, since not too many Asian live there, not sure if they will hang out with me.
Hey I spend a month this summer on my delivery job for my organization, I drove a 13 ton truck, visit every cities in British Columbia, this is such diversity province.
[15-09-2005,17:07]
[**.66.36.59]
departure bay |
(in reply to: wannabecanadian (re: K-W))
Oh yeah, work. That will always get in the way of a good road trip. LOL. Well, sounds like you have a good plan; lucky lucky you that you get to live there while waiting out your PR process. I feel lucky enough to get to visit pretty easily, but then again, there is that pesky issue of work standing in the way all too often. BC sounds so lovely from what you and Sharon say; I´ve never been. Glad you love it so much! :)
[15-09-2005,19:13]
[***.200.116.5]
wannabecanadian |
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