Its true, Toronto is extremely safe, and we are very lucky. But recently there have been many areas which have become unsafe. - the entertainment district where there are 20,000 drunks walking around. I have yet to hear of a Saturday night without a stabbing or shooting there. When I was partying down there years ago, there were never problems like this. - Broadview/Danforth, it seems there have been more and more muggings, robberies and shootings there over the last 3 years - Scarborough, unfortunately it keeps on getting worse and worse every year. And recently there have been many areas which have become safe. Ie, Queen st, with new restaurants and condos. Regent park which is being torn down and rebuilt into a new neighborhood.
In my opinion Canada is actually a pretty good country for a visit,but only in summer(if you want to have good memories from Canada i suggest you completely avoid visiting Canada during the winter as the skies are 90% of the time cloudy and it either rains or snows constantly not to mention the bitter cold). I am going to tell you about the major cities that i have visited in Canada:Vancouver,Toronto,Montreal. Vancouver is a very beautiful city i recommend this city only because of its scenery,the city it's self is nothing exciting. The incredible sceneries of Vancouver and whistler makes it worth a visit. The girls here are absolutely beautiful with hot bodies and booties they are some of the best looking girls in Canada I also recommend kelowna and kamloops which are about 3-4 hours drive from Vancouver,they are very beautiful,they have very good wineries and have kind of a Mediterranean climate and the scenery is similar to that of Southern California(which is gorgeous). Toronto is not a city that i would really recommend for a tourist but however there are some cite that are interesting such as the famous CN tower,royal Ontario museum,Casa Loma,and north of Toronto there is Canada's wonderland amusement park which is probably the best in Canada. Toronto is an exciting city which a lot happening but it is mostly a business center than a vacation spot. Montreal is the city that i would mostly recommend with so much to see and so much to do,the beautiful architecture,the sceneries from mont royal and of course the formula 1 grand pix there sure isn't a shortage of activities during the daytime and during the nighttime that when all the fun begins with the clubs that are open till 5am and the hot girls(and i mean damn hot)and the crowded streets you wonder if this city ever sleeps lol. Montreal definitely has the best nightlife in Canada. Canada is a very beautiful country but if you really want to visit north America i would recommend you saving the trip to Canada and visiting the U.S.A(no offense to my fellow Canadians but this is my opinion)it has pretty much everything that Canada has times 10 from the sceneries to amazing exciting cities and a lot better weather it certainly is a better place for a vacation specially a trip to California would definitely amaze you so much that you won't want to leave. After all that i have to tell you that Australia is many many Canadians dream and fantasy including me with perfect sunny weather all year round beautiful beaches exciting cities such as Melbourne,Sydney,Brisbane,gold coast city etc. and amazingly hot girls there is no doubt that i will visit there someday. All i can say is good luck with your decision.
alright i think we get the picture, lets end this back and forth. Nobody here is going to change their respective views.....cheering for one or the other will not make this better....lets move on.
As an ex-Californian, I can say that its partly true about what miladferrari said. California is a beautiful state BUT safety and security is so so. Not that every place is like L.A. or anything but the political climate is not stable (is it anywhere!?). One thing's for sure though, I wouldn't trade living in Vancouver for anything! I am in-love with Canada and plan to stay here for however long the Canadians let me. Im hoping that one day (soon) I may present myself as a Canadian! I would recommend planning a trip to Canada first then maybe fly down to Cali to see that as well, then you decide. We'll leave it at that!
In a nutshell Australia is nice. People are easy going and we have a diverse culture. Melbourne has probably the biggest mix of europeans and asians in all of Australia. The weather in Melbourne... sucks. One day it may be 30 degrees (summer) the next its like 20. The next its 40 and the next 25. So goes from hot to cold very quickly. Apparently we have a massive ozone lair hole, so slip, slop and slap (sunscreen). Women are pretty good, although that can be argued. My GF is "imported" from England but she was born in Australia... Holden and Ford are the most common cars here, Toyota too. I also drive an imported car, Nissan Skyline. Actually I am imported as well...lol The beaches here are great, warm waters in summer... I wouldnt swim in winter in Melbourne... lots of surfing. Ask if anything else...
We are "metric" since the early 70's, but the construction trade still works in feet and inches....go figure!!! Our speed is measured in KM....most Americans think that this means "Kanadian Miles"...
Oh and we have retardedly expensive houses... the most expensive in English speaking countries. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=84608
ahh, not quite: if you read the report Australia doesn't even show up on the list until #6 with Mandurah @ 9.5 median housing / median income, nowhere near LA @ 11.5 http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf A rather misleading value, imo, but probably better than most available metrics. I feel so much better off now that Vancouver is only 15th at 8.4, which if I remember my demographics is about a 700sf 1bed + den leaky condo next to an alternative lifestyle nightclub