welll said deep ur point of view and to certain extent is the true fact about canada, specially the standard of living people try to achieve. even though me and my husband are content with our proper jobs unlike most people who struggle with so called "Survival" Jobs. As I have said earlier people will in the near future think of reverse immigration and so will be my case depending on various factors.

Bottom line is life is all about adjustments and what is good for you, may not be good for me/others

It is kind of fund having these discussions.

Cheryl

hi frineds from UAE..

i am at present living in abudhabi, looking forward to move to canada soon.
you guys had a good time in dubai it looks, but we in abudhabi really terrible whitout any recreation...

by the way nice to see you all posting your duabi stories..

cmanyam

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Hi to all...

S'up Deep,
I did not say going to concerts and bars is a measure of success.That was in reply to you saying that people moving from DXB where life begins at 7.30 pm. All I am saying that there are a lot more opportunities here for recreation than DXB.
Please note that there are desi MBA's working here in their field and are very happy. I went to a get together last Thursday at the distillery district for MBA's. There were tons of them from India/Pakistan quite content with their lives here. They did have an intial tough two -three years but they persisted in the right direction and have achieved some of their dreams.
As for me, I was a fund analyst when I came here . Down from a director in India but making more money . Now i am an entrepreneur with my own business and managing my own time and money. i definitely will say that is a step above being a director. My soul and time is owned by me and God not by Birla and God. To tell you the truth, Birla is going to open an office here and they offered me a position as director with a 6 figure salary plus perks and I refused. Even though i am not making a 6 figure income now, I can see it within 2 years and I will be my own boss. I have tasted the power of a "kursi"- after all if people salaamed me in Mumbai it was not to me but to the seat I was occupying. Now people talk to me not to my "kursi". That is a whole new sense of liberation, the like I have never experienced before.
Anyway, again to each his/her own. if you flash on DXB. I don't. Many people from DXB who have come here only for the PR, say that Canada has a lot more recreational activities in all fields including spiritual , intellectual and boozing but they feel more at home in DXB, where they are professionally satisfied. And as you say, so what if Santana, Britney Spears and Christine Aguilera don't go to DXB and perform.So what if The Pope doesn't go there. but the Black Label there is the same as it is here but somehow tastes better in DXB and the kitty parties are more fun there. At least they get to see the Indian stars and performers and of course Vijay Singh.
Once again, Dubai just don't cut it for me. And as far as money goes, they are far richer Indians in DXB than here in Canada.The taxes eat away all your money here.
Bambai ka babu

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Get what you want by helping others get what they want

The most positive thing about Canada for me is that I am 45+ and people do not consider me old and call me "uncle" here. One feels more alive and "chust" here. Even you Deep in DXb say that it is good to know that "aged" people can migrate to Canada and succeed. That mind set that anybody above 45 is "aged" sucks!
Bambai ka babu

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Get what you want by helping others get what they want

Hi guys,
I was in DXB from 2000 to 2002 and hated every last moment of it. Not a place for IT specialists at any rate. There I applied for my Immigration to Canada. When I returned home after 2 years, I got a job at the Microsoft facility in Hyderabad, for less pay than in DXB. But I stayed. Eight months later they sent me to California with a phenomenal increase in salary, more than DXB, where I was till the beginning of this year when I got my landing papers for Canada. My original plan was to get my PR and go back to Microsoft California. However within 3 weeks of landing here and without a SIN number as yet, I serendipitously landed a job with RIM (the blackberry unit maker) at a higher pay than Microsoft. So I am here since March of this year. So far Canada has been kind to me. I am not in Toronto, but in Waterloo. Where I am there are hardly any desis, but somewhere I read on this site that people should move out of Toronto to other places for jobs. Perhaps they are right.
DXB may be heaven for certain people but def not for IT wallahs. There is more action here anyday for us. Even India is better than DXB. Also I agree with Bambai ka babu that there is more to do here, more opportunities to see and experience what we read about in school. In school we read about Stanford, Cal Tech, Bill Gates, Cisco, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Niagara falls, vagara (not viagara) vagara. Never did we read anything about stupid Dubai.
The only thing I miss here is desi khaana. Even in Calif we had tons of Indian eating places.
This has nothing to do with DXB, but following a line of thought started by Bambai ka babu,those of you who have studied In IIT or Management schools in India and have attended university here as well. Do you think they are better? I attended classes at Stanford and Cal Tech and Berkeley and do not think their theoretical instruction is any better. Their pracs are much much better and also they cover a lot more topics. But topic for topic being an IIT guy- the instruction is much better in India than in the universities I mentioned and they are considered top. I do not think that the slight difference in the quality of instruction warrants the huge difference in tuition fees. A lot of IIT guys in Calif agreed with me It’s just that the Americans are good at hyping things up and India is not. It is only when the US started appreciating us IITians, that India jumped on the bandwagon and started blowing its horn on the IIT schools, otherwise they were meek and humble about it .Anyway I should start a new thread on this
If you are planning to meet at Tim Horton’s any day please post here so I can take the day off and come to Toronto, Mississauga or Brampton or Scarboro and meet up with old DXB people and exchange pleasant and horror memories.
See you later from Dubai hater.
P.S I may hate Dubai but I love desis so don’t get turned off by my signature.

Hello Uncle entreprenuer,

Sorry my bad. This uncle business never happens in our community though. Whether back home or here we never call anyone uncle/aunty in our freinds circle or even relatives or any tom/dick and harry, most we will is really immediate like parents kin and that too if that is a really big age gap. Good to know ur njoying canada.

I have seen three places and each place i have enjoyed and try to make it happen with solid good positve attitude. Whether Canada is the ultimate i don't know yet. only time will tell. So this discussion is not discourage anyone. eveyone has their views and situations can change views.

by wall chacaji what business are u into. Don't get mad at me.
cherryl

Quote:

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Orginally posted by the-entrepreneur

The most positive thing about Canada for me is that I am 45+ and people do not consider me old and call me "uncle" here. One feels more alive and "chust" here. Even you Deep in DXb say that it is good to know that "aged" people can migrate to Canada and succeed. That mind set that anybody above 45 is "aged" sucks!
Bambai ka babu

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Hello Everyone,

Was just browsing about and happened to pop onto this site. I was reading the threads and have noticed the topic of Dubai.

I was in Dubai this August for about a month for business purposes. It was my first time there, and I found it quite a nice place. I did go in the hottest time of the year, but I did not find it unbearable since everywhere is pretty much AC'd. In terms of leisure, I visited the Wild Wadi Water park and a few other sites, and also made a stop to Sharjah Desert Park as well, and went clubbing with a few of my colleagues. The shopping in Dubai is excellent -- that's one thing I did enjoy. Walking along Al-Maktoum Rd down to AL Sabkha rd and spending hours in the Electronic Souq's. The proximity to India is a good thing too, I believe it's only a 3 hour flight?

However, for those whom have stated that Toronto is nothing compared to Dubai, it seems as though you may haven't got out much in Toronto.

I'm born and raised in Toronto, so you could say I've been in Toronto for about 23 years, whereas I've noticed many people here haven't been in Toronto for more than 5 years. I also live in downtown Toronto, so I'm generally admist all the hype. (Yonge/Dundas)

Whoever compared Brampton to Dubai, that's hilarious. Brampton is crap, I don't even goto brampton myself. Brampton is purely a residential area. People in Brampton goto Downtown TO to party, not Brampton.

Someone said nightlife that doesn't continue after 2am? Well, perhaps you should hit Guverment Saturdays at the Guverment Complex -- mostly house and trance music on Sat, but the party keeps on pumpin till at least 7 am -- every saturday. It's on QueensQuay and Jarvis.

Clubs/Disco's in Dubai? Goto Richmond, Adelaide, King, Peter St in downtown Toronto on a Thurs/Fri/Sat. There's at least 200 clubs in that area alone, all that are active till at least 3-5 am. I noticed the only "main" clubs I've visited in Dubai were at the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency (and these apparently were highly recommended), since that is where I stayed for the month. I did goto "Cyclone", and found it quite ratty and infested with prostitution.

I have to admit, the new non-smoking policy is a drag for many people. However, Dubai also has it's own drawbacks in terms of that as well. Similarly in Dubai, alcohol is not readily available unless with special permits, or unless in clubs/hotels (and alcohol is way overpriced).

As for lifestyle. Perhaps my stay was short in Dubai. But all I saw were many labouring expatriates, whom seem to have it alot harder there than do the labourers in Canada. I mean at least in Canada, labourers here can afford 4000 sq ft homes and don't get kicked out of the country if they lose their job.

In terms of Religious freedom. Although, I personally am not religious whatsoever, the Sikh Gurdwara there in Bur Dubai, is tiny. I'm not sure if it should even be classified as a Gurdwara at all. I actually wanted to see what a Gurdwara would be like in the Mid-East, and I had a hell of a time finding it, because I was expecting huge onion-shaped domed gurdwara's, like that of Canada. To my disappointment, I found something not larger than a contemporary living room. In addition, I had to go through a maze in a bazaar to find it, granted my luck I found a short cut along the creek.

Dubai does have the money and capital, but it doesn't imply that the average citizen is doing well. In fact, it seems as though the majority whom are doing well are the Arabs and Western Educated/Citizens of the N.America's who come to Dubai to work. In fact, a few peopple at the company I was consulting for were surprised to know that I was Indian because they said it is generally rare to see a professionally educated indian canadian citizen whom is also born and raised in Canada. Well I'm nothing special, there's many people like myself here.

Dubai is a nice city/emirate, but it's nowhere to the standards and class of Toronto. Simply put, if I were to compare the professional lifestyle of Toronto and Dubai. Dubai does look like a great place to invest and make money for temporary contracts. But to live -- that's a different story. If you're doing really well in Toronto, you would never trade Toronto for any place in the world. If you feel you have to, then you're not doing as well as you think.