Deal Details

If they want to give myself and my wife comparable jobs, we’re there.  Toronto has become a glorified ghetto.

Robster, one site you can use to look for jobs is SaskJobs.ca. Hopefully you can find something. We currently have the lowest unemployment rate in Canada (~4%). You are more than welcome to come join us in Saskatchewan.

Living in Saskatoon, I drive across town to work. Arriving around 7:30, it takes 17 minutes most days. During rush hour, it may take 30-35 minutes at most. A typical 3 bedroom bungalow in Saskatoon runs under 300K with ranges from well under 200K to $600 for a larger home in an upscale neighbourhood. A strong economy, clean air, mid level taxation, car insurance much cheaper than most provinces, lots of sunshine (though winters are long) most amenities nearby and lake country close for weekends away during the summer make it a family friendly city. No Ikea here but all the big boxes are present. Being a university city, there is a great deal of research being conducted (a synchrotron is located on campus). Lots of manufacturing, engineering and resource sector activity. Construction has been wild the last few years but has slowed town a bit. Saskatchewan will lead the country in GDP growth in 09.
Wish we had a major sports team but many big acts make a stop here and there is year round theatre all over plus festivals all summer. One more thing for all you Torontonians, early bird parking is around $6/day downtown.

Not sure this is a hot deal. The provincial income tax rate in Saskatchewan is higher than Ontario. If you earn, say, $70,000/yr, you’ll be paying around $2,000/yr more tax in Sask than in Ontario.

If they pay you $20,000 over 7 years, they’ll be taking $14,000 back of that from your higher taxes over the same time period!

But you also only pay 5% PST and everyone under 40 will probably save 50% or more on car insurance

If you make 70,000 you will pay $1300 or so more in SK.  But like scouzer says you would save in other areas.  I pay $550 a year for car insurance even though I totaled off my last car last year.  No health care premiums here either.
If you are making $70,000 a year in Toronto, have low rent, and a short commute this probably isn’t the deal for you.  But if job security/high rent/long commutes are worrying you this would be a great incentive to move.

Note that Saskatchewan has the highest crime rate in Canada… 164% higher than national average.

stop with the crime rates already. Just a media tool to generate viewers and readers. They have nothing better to put on the headlines.

Winnipeg is the third highest but I have never ever ran into any trouble.

It depends on the neighborhood and most importantly, what the stats are based on. Toronto’s got far more crimes but oh look on a “per” basis, it seems so insignificant.

As an engineering graduate of May 2008, I am definitely interested in relocating to Saskatchewan as I am having a difficult time getting anything here.

I am going to apply for some jobs through Saskjobs but I am also coming up to Regina on May 6 for 10 days to apply to stuff in person and get to know the area.  If there is anyone who has any pointers on some nice places to meet people and enjoy the city let me know please.

highest crime rate PER CAPITA. Doesn’t mean it is the highest crime rate.

per capita DOES mean highest crime rate. That’s how statistics works you see. Chances of crime happening to YOU is what’s important and that’s per capita. It’s higher in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in Canada. Don’t spin it the other way.

Having said that I still don’t think it should be an issue for those moving. Just stay out of the ghetto and I’m sure you’ll be fine.

привет владислав как дела?

привет владислав как дела? ”

yes

Actually when it comes to statistics, it’s a good idea to really think of what data is actually the best data for a given situation.

For example, when it comes to GDP I am more interested in figuring out the per capita rate more than the absolute value.  This is because I am more concerned about the individual wealth over the total wealth of a large city.

But crime rate?  You really need to think of this one.  Sure per capita shows that there are more people relative to the total population that are committing crimes in Saskatchewan.  But that is easy to understand - considering they have a population of ~1 000 000.  Heck any crime committed in Saskatchewan will jack up that per capita rate immensely compared to Ontario. 

Now I don’t know about you, but I am more concerned with the absolute crime rate in an area.  Sure Toronto’s crime rate might seem alright when looked upon in a per capita rate, but I bet you that I will be more exposed to crime there than Saskatchewan - even if statistically I am not the victim of those crimes.

Remember per capita does not mean chances that crime happens to YOU, it means crime rate per person (unit of population).  I don’t care how great the per capita rate is in Toronto compared to Saskatchewan - there is a huge absolute higher crime rate there and that’s what really counts if you want to limit your exposure to crime.

I hate how because some people (media especially) learn that it’s best to represent some results in a relative number (GDP per capita), that all of a sudden absolute values are evil, biased, spin numbers to them.  It depends on what information you REALLY WANT people - don’t assume relative statistics like per capita are the only good values.

Here in Saskatoon, gas price is a few cents higher than in Toronto but the commute time is wayyyy shorter. I drive home for lunch everyday and drive back to downtown to work. My coworker also drives home to feed the dogs at lunch.
Here it is far away from US, there are not many guns around, no strip bar either. Water sports are allowed in the river right in the heart of the city. Stay away from the bad area, you have no business there unless you are cops. Crimes is contained in that small pocket of the city.
We do play outdoor sports in winter time. The city has facilities to accommodate sports indoor.
Don’t come if you can’t take the cold

How is the demography there? Is it diverse, culturally?

Actually if you graduate this year you can only claim a max of $15k. See #3 in the link below.

http://www.aeel.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=1267,1036,104,81,1,Documents

NNN

OK, Saskatoon is just like any cities in Canada, it is simply smaller. More info:
http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/quick_facts/index.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMA&Code1=725__&Geo2=PR&Code2=47&Data=Count&SearchText=saskatoon&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=

Every year, the city has Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Folk Fest, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, the Ex,...
Summer weekends the city are fairly quiet, Saskatonians drive to the lakes.

Don’t expect to:
- see “big” things, “big” is not a norm. I think Saskatoon does need “big” thinkers here. I moved from a 6-million people city a while ago, I can tell you that.
- have a $70,000 job, they ain’t popular even though I know many people make more than that.
- make quick bucks and move away. The lifestyle here matters more than money.

Another job website:
http://www.saskatoonjobshop.ca

douglastempest: I am not trying to put down Saskatchewan, but your post makes no sense whatsoever. First, you argue that “per capita” in GDP means how much it affects each individual, then contradict yourself by saying crime rate “per capita” does not apply to all individuals… Are you at all familiar with statistical definitions or are intentionally trying to create confusion?? In a place where per capita crime rate is higher I am or ANYONE for that matter are more likely to be “exposed to crime” than in a place with lower crime rate. “More people committing committing crime relative to total population” ALSO MEANS MORE VICTIMS OF CRIME RELATIVE TO TOTAL POPULATION THAN ANYWHERE ELSE. Simple, if you think about it.

For exposure to crime I always look at the crime maps in the newspaper that show where the crimes are happening.  In the north and east sides of Saskatoon you have small numbers of crimes occurring over large areas.  The opposite is true with the core areas. 

Also, being in a more densely populated city will expose you to more crimes.  Taking murders for 2007 (which in Saskatoon were 450% higher than 2008) divided by the area of the city you get: 6.25 murders per 100 sq km. in Saskaton, and in Toronto the number is 13.3 murders per 100 sq km.  For Saskatoon this drops to 1.4 in 2008.

For anyone considering moving to Saskatoon and worried about safety, or just looking for a place to live, message me and I can give you some recommendations.

They should extend this offer to British Columbia as well.  There are a lot of intelligent and talented people here and a bad local provincial government full of empty promises.

What kind of Entertainment does this province has during night?  Work and Entertainment must be balancing.

yeah, yeah...what is the point? I have applied for a job at the government public service but never get any reply. For who believe they think that Saskatchewan provide job opportunity when the arrive there think again… My advise is to apply in where you are first...Until you get the job, then relocate...IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME IF YOU ARRIVE THERE AND THEN LOOK FOR A JOB.

By the way, I have applied for an engineering job but unfortuniately no interview....

My husband & I relocated to Saskatoon for 3 years for a temporary position out there. Here’s my 2 cents - Saskatoon/SASK is fabulous! Summers are great 26-28 C everyday, Sunrise 4:30am - 10:30 Sunset. No Toronto GRAY days. You usually don’t even need to run the AC. Winters are cold but you get used to it by layering your clothing and it is BRIGHT sunshine all winterlong. It is a DRY cold, so you don’t feel it the same as a damp Ontario cold day.As far as what to do there....it really is a leisure, family centered style of living. In the summer there is one festival or another running almost every weekend(they try to pack it in) In the winters you VISIT alot, do outdoor sports, indoor sports, read etc, If you are a high type A personality (like my hubby) you’ll go crazy. But if you love nature, seeing the sky all the time(no skyscrapers), socializing and raising kids in a family centered environment you’ll love it. The atmosphere is low-pressure not at all like T.O. where we’re all busy and rushing but not sure why. As far as crime goes, if you stay out of the downtown low housing ghetto area you are absolutely fine. I have a feeling what they call “crime” (domestic altercations, drunk & disorderly)is quite tame to what we call crime (shootings etc).

I grew up in Saskatchewan and moved to Ontario for work.  The sad truth about crime in Saskatchewan is that much of it occurs within the Aboriginal community.  Since middle-class whites and natives rarely mix - except when a white guy wants a hooker - crime shouldn’t be a concern for immigrants to the province.

Izzy,

It’s the relative to total population that makes per capita statistics strong in some arguments and weak in others.

Think about this hypothetical situation: I could live in a small city of population 40 000 that has a murder rate of 40 people per year.  That’s a rate of 0.001 murders per capita. 

Now I could move to a larger, denser city with a population of 2 million.  It can have a murder rate of 1500 per year.  That’s 0.00075 murders per capita.

So you can argue that your larger cities murder rate is all nice and dandy RELATIVE to the size of city, but when you account for more people per region of space (larger cities are more densely packed) and the high crime focus points in each city, you will in fact be exposed to less crime in the small city.

To simplify the different uses of relative and absolute statistics I’ll try my GDP example again.

When I am moving to a city, I am interested in knowing how rich the area is and the general populace.  The total GDP of a city is less informative of that because it means nothing if the population of it is immensely high.  That is why relative statistics are great here.

When I am concerned about crime rate, I want to know how often it occurs in the area to understand my probability of getting exposed to it.  Although the per capita value might try to comfort me by saying “hey statistically you will not be the CHOSEN victim of a crime” by living in a big city, the absolute value will tell me very fast that there is a crap load more crime in this area than in a small city.  The absolute value is more important because even if I am not the statistically chosen victim of a crime, I will undoubtedly encounter more crime happening in the area.

Again do NOT assume relative statistics are the only form of useful data.  Sometimes absolute statistics are more valuable and it takes some real thought and a good understanding of statistics to know which to apply.

"The absolute value is more important because even if I am not the statistically chosen victim of a crime, I will undoubtedly encounter more crime happening in the area.”
Wrong! That will depend on the area you will move into as the distribution of crime varies from one part of city to the other. You will encounter (undoubtfully) more crime in a ghetto of small city as opposed to high-scale neighbourhood in a large city. Absolute values (totals) are not as important in this case.

“So you can argue that your larger cities murder rate is all nice and dandy RELATIVE to the size of city, but when you account for more people per region of space (larger cities are more densely packed) and the high crime focus points in each city, you will in fact be exposed to less crime in the small city.”
If by “exposed”, you mean “being a victim of crime” (the only relevant meaning really), then you’re wrong again. Population density has nothing to do with the rate of “exposure”. Crime rate and distribution (as noted above) do. If more people live around me, it means more people (other than me) will be potential victims. The lower the crime rate, the lower are my chances of “exposure”.
“Again do NOT assume relative statistics are the only form of useful data.  Sometimes absolute statistics are more valuable and it takes some real thought and a good understanding of statistics to know which to apply.”
I never assumed that (see my point about distribution of crime). You didn’t apply “good thought” to your argument and I (and others) were merely noting the flaws in it.

LOL
I moved away from Sask to find something to do besides drink at the bar every night. Sask has the worst crime rates in the country, don’t believe people trying to spin it with the per capita argument , the crime is horrible. Growing up in sask I was robbed a total of 10 times, and I lived in a good neighborhood and it didnt all occur in my home. I don’t care how much money I make if I have to worry about my kids getting robbed or jumped and there is nothing real exciting to spend my money on. Growing up in sask I was robbed a total of 10 times, and I lived in a good neighborhood.Since moving to TO I have never even been confronted or felt unsafe and I get to experience things like arts and culture. You may hear the people of sask saying, o but we have this festival and that festival, they suck, they can barely draw crowds and there is not a single ounce of a distinct culture or fun to be had. I don’t think the people of Ontario understand how good they have, but they will when they move to this boring, federal fund sucking province. I have lived all over the country and there really isn’t a better place to live than Southern Ontario.
Its funny, every single one of my friends from sask left the province once they got the chance because there is NOTHING TO DO and now the province wants to entice people from other provinces to come when they can’t even hold onto their own.Sasks population has been going down for years, nuff said.
If they were offering 250,000 to move back there I would not go.

"Moved away from Sask to find something to do besides drink at the bar every night.”?  Like troll RFD for Rider fans?  The “federal fund sucking province” comment gave you away, on the day that Ontario gets its first equalization payment.  Or the one about the “population has been going down for years” when the opposite is true. 
So sad to have lost such a productive citizen.

Don’t get me wrong I’m a Riders fan for life and continue to cheer for the flames and never forget where I came from. But lets be real here, Saskathcewan has most definitely taken more from this country than it has given back, and Ontario has given the most. The only money that Ontario will be recieving is money it has already given. If you knew anything about the numbers you may understand that at least. Seems like you are pretty defensive when it comes to your own province and I don’t blame you because you gotta love where you live and make the best of it.
Saskatchewan has been losing its young people for years and almost everyone I knew has moved on to greener pastures in Alberta, BC, or Ontario.
Since the government is offering ME as a university engineering grad 20,000 to move back I could most definitely tell you they should be sad to have lost me and everyone I knew because the crappy NDP government that the people of sask had voted in far to many times didnt focus on keeping their young people and now look at how desperate things have gotten, your tax dollars “which you pay alot of” are going to go to bringing people to the province.
Don’t worry Andrew, I am sure you will be back on the have not list in no time. I lived in sask for decades and the entire time they were on the have not list getting funding from Ontario, so don’t even begin to get cocky or ungrateful for what you have.

How are Saskatchewans’ attitudes towards minorities? 

If you are a minority in Saskatchewan, would you mind sharing?  I hear out West they have a “conservative” mindset.

Thanks

Saskatoon is not another country, like any other Canadian cities, everyone is protected under the Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There have been a lot of changes recently. You will find no problem here.

I live in Vancouver, but go to school in Waterloo where the population of the Kitchener-Waterloo region is around 300,000.  Compared to Vancouver, everything is flat and spread far apart.  Unlike Toronto and Vancouver, the streets are usually dead.  Because of the low density, it feels like there’s no one around.  I’ve been to small, but more densely populated European towns (pop ~40,000) where the life is more bustling. The saving grace is that Toronto is nearby.  If Saskatoon is anything like this, and you’re young, single, and want to have a life, I recommend going to a place where the buffet is bigger and the opportunities are larger. If you have a family and want a comforable safe place to raise your kids, then such as place may work for you.

I think Saskatoon is not a bad place to live, but definity can’t compare with Winnipeg.  It is extremely hard to find good food here in SK.  If I can choose again, I rather live in MB.  People are more friendly and hygienic there....