In my situation, is moving out of the city of Toronto the answer to a better life?

[jesb]

I lived in Toronto all my life, but I haven't really liked living here. The job market has been terrible. At least for me Most of my work experience has been office related work or customer service. I've had a terrible time finding anything that I can actually call a career. And at being over the age of 30 still without a solid career I don't know what to do with myself. I really need to consider my options. So I was wondering if I should consider making a change. Would I have a better life somewhere else in Canada?

I guess part of my problem is I spent all my time in a field that has way too many applicants, and these type of jobs never exactly had room to grow strongly with a company. I guess it's a field for the less educated person. But it's all I ever done, so not sure where to turn, maybe I should be doing something completely out of left field and change careers in toronto, and to what I'm not sure, or move to a new city and also change careers, but to what.....

Do you guys think I should pick up and leave to somewhere else, maybe Ottawa, Vancouver, Alberta? It's hard to leave because my family is here, but at this point I need to start thinking about myself.

[chibsta08]

Have you ever moved before? I've moved quite a bit (different cities and countries), I got used to it and once I moved to Mississauga, I was really homesick because I knew we were going to live here permanently. I wasn't used to that, so I would definitely research where you're moving to because a big change will come as a shock since you won't have family with you + you won't know anyone around yet. I know a few people who went to Alberta to work but they don't really like it and they're just there because there's more jobs + higher pay than in the GTA. I'm not sure if it will help your career though, because I feel like if I moved to another place, I would have to start my career all over again unless I am being employed by the same international company.

I also think you should use your experience and refresh your resume, have an HR expert look at it or go to the job banks so it won't look as common as the other applicants

[MrKap]

No, more money is the solution to your problem.

Moving out of the city is no guarantee of a job, in fact the jobs could be potentially more limited where you move to.

Moving to another city, sure, Alberta is supposed to have tons of jobs, aren't they? What makes anyone think the jobs are better in any other city in Canada, except Calgary? I don't know, but I wouldn't think any other city is really that different. Depends what kind of jobs too, I guess.



What industry are you in?

[Shaner]

The first sentence is all I needed to read. If you don't enjoy living in Toronto, you should absolutely move away. You don't have to move across country, even just a move to Ottawa or Kingston might be all you need.

[MrKap]

Isn't Kingston basically an army town?


I will guess, but I don't know for sure, but if you're not applying for some sort of government job, what's in Ottawa?

Also, wouldn't they have higher ethics in terms of human resources hiring minorities?

Wiki claims they are Public Service and High Tech Sector and Tourism


Ottawa's primary employers are the Public Service of Canada and the high-tech industry.[84] The city has a high standard of living and low unemployment.[98][99] Ottawa had the fourth highest growth rate among major Canadian cities in 2007 with a 2.7% GDP growth rate, which exceeded the Canadian average of 2.4%.[100] It is estimated that the National Capital Region attracts around seven million tourists annually who spend about 1.3 billion dollars.[101]





Also why move to another city just for the sake of moving to another city? Shouldn't you be moving to another job, regardless of what city it is in?



Kingston is entirely a military town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_Ontario


Kingston's economy relies heavily on public sector institutions and establishments. The most important sectors are related to health care, education (Queen's University, the Royal Military College of Canada, and St. Lawrence College), government (including the military and correctional services), tourism and culture. Manufacturing, and research and development play a smaller role than in the past. One of Kingston's major industrial employers of the 20th century, the Canadian Locomotive Company, closed in 1969, and the former Alcan and DuPont operations employ far fewer people than in the past.

I remember driving through there with a friend, eating out, and we looked like "strangers" according to the locals.



What industry are you in? Most industry experience is entirely transferable to another industry, and to be perfectly honest, experience is worth way more than education in a vast variety of occupations. jmo...

[Shaner]

Ignore mrkap, he rarely has any idea what he's talking about. Kingston is not a military town whatsoever. There's a military base, but Kingston is far from a military town. Kingston has over 100,000 people living here, tourists don't stand out. That's a ridiculous thing to say.

Besides, the job is a secondary issue. The OP hasn't enjoyed living in Toronto, who cares if there are more jobs, he doesn't like it there. That's a good enough reason to leavel.

[umop]

If he doesn't like Toronto because of the job situation, moving won't make a difference unless he finds a better one.

If he doesn't like Toronto for other reasons, then moving might make a difference.

OP didn't make it clear.

[MrKap]

Ignore mrkap, he rarely has any idea what he's talking about. Kingston is not a military town whatsoever. There's a military base, but Kingston is far from a military town. Kingston has over 100,000 people living here, tourists don't stand out. That's a ridiculous thing to say.

Besides, the job is a secondary issue. The OP hasn't enjoyed living in Toronto, who cares if there are more jobs, he doesn't like it there. That's a good enough reason to leavel.

Kingston looks like one of those movie sets from an old western.

It actually looks more like a movie set, than a real life city. That's how I remember it.

What's the name of the city close by, but closer to Ottawa with barracks and a history with the "MatchStick" industry?


Op, there are fewer jobs outside of the major cities. People don't go to college and university so they can land good paying jobs in their home town.

[Shaner]

Kingston looks like one of those movie sets from an old western.

It actually looks more like a movie set, than a real life city. That's how I remember it.

What's the name of the city close by, but closer to Ottawa with barracks and a history with the "MatchStick" industry?


Op, there are fewer jobs outside of the major cities. People don't go to college and university so they can land good paying jobs in their home town.

Kingston looks like every other city.

Yes, there's fewer jobs, there's also fewer people competing for those jobs. Fact is, every dollar I earn gets me twice as much as a dollar a Torontonian earns. That alone is reason enough to move out of Toronto.

You don't have to work as much or as hard to earn a living out here. I paid $315,000 for my house and it's bigger and nicer than most 700k houses in Toronto. Insurance is cheaper, there's little to no traffic which means less gas used and less wear and year on your vehicle, attractions out here are cheaper, restaurants are cheaper (other than your chains, those are standard across the board), bars and pubs are cheaper, etc.

So yeah you might only make $40k here compared to a similar job in Toronto paying $60k, but your dollar goes much, much further.

Ottawa is the same. Yeah, it's more family oriented than Toronto and people are more friendly, but how is that a bad thing? There are plenty of pubs and bars in Ottawa, I know because I've partied in Ottawa many times.

If you're not happy, then move. Many times a change of scenery perks people back up.

[MrKap]

So yeah you might only make $40k here compared to a similar job in Toronto paying $60k, but your dollar goes much, much further.


Doubtful, there are more crooks in Toronto and the immediately surrounding areas. Jmo...

How does money go further when you have to commute 3 hours by highway to get anywhere?

Big cities don't grow big industry because they pay out high wages, they do it because of the appeal.



Kingston looks like every other city.

It was very sparse last I remember about a decade ago. It is hick town. No offense.

I wouldn't move there to try and make a living and find a job, but if I found a job in Kingston, I would move there.

[Shaner]

Doubtful, there are more crooks in Toronto and the immediately surrounding areas. Jmo...

How does money go further when you have to commute 3 hours by highway to get anywhere?

Big cities don't grow big industry because they pay out high wages, they do it because of the appeal.




It was very sparse last I remember about a decade ago. It is hick town. No offense.

I wouldn't move there to try and make a living and find a job, but if I found a job in Kingston, I would move there.

What does the number of crooks have to do with anything?

What does a 3 hour commute have to do with anything? Out here, people don't commute far to work. I can be from one side of the city to the other in as little as 10 minutes. Nobody commutes to Toronto. Believe it or not, there's plenty to do in Kingston, do going to Toronto is a once in a while thing, not a regular occurrence. Out here people commute far less than in Toronto as everything is close out here.

Yeah, the appeal of the big city draws industry, but the OP said he hasn't enjoyed life in Toronto, so its irrelevant why industry is in Toronto.

As for Kingston being a hick town even though it's like the 15th biggest city in Canada, that shows how uneducated and isolated you are. Seriously, take a trip outside the GTA at some point

[diggler649]

I lived in Toronto all my life, but I haven't really liked living here. The job market has been terrible. At least for me Most of my work experience has been office related work or customer service. I've had a terrible time finding anything that I can actually call a career. And at being over the age of 30 still without a solid career I don't know what to do with myself. I really need to consider my options. So I was wondering if I should consider making a change. Would I have a better life somewhere else in Canada?

I guess part of my problem is I spent all my time in a field that has way too many applicants, and these type of jobs never exactly had room to grow strongly with a company. I guess it's a field for the less educated person. But it's all I ever done, so not sure where to turn, maybe I should be doing something completely out of left field and change careers in toronto, and to what I'm not sure, or move to a new city and also change careers, but to what.....

Do you guys think I should pick up and leave to somewhere else, maybe Ottawa, Vancouver, Alberta? It's hard to leave because my family is here, but at this point I need to start thinking about myself.

Well, there's your problem. What's your education? Do you have a post-graduate degree? Have you thought about going back to school? Have you been bouncing from company to company over the past several years? I don't think you'll have better job prospects outside of Toronto unless you want to work in the energy or materials industry - then head West.

Sometimes it's not the environment but the individual. You need to look at yourself and ask whether or not it's YOU that's doing something wrong. Sorry to be blunt, but there is always opportunity out there. You just need to know how to grab it.

[at1212b]

Move. It'll either work better for you or you'll regret it and appreciate TO more and move back.

[NorthYorker]

Sorry for being blunt, but it does look to me that source of your problem is inside you, not outside. You still haven't figured out what to do with your life, and migration (within a country or from one country to another) rarely answers that question. So my advice is - don't expect that migration would magically solve all your problems. But it does not look like you've lose a lot by moving, so why don't you try? You can always come back.

[LaserEnvy]

I don't think the problem is the city. Unless you choose a field that is primarily located in another province, your best bet at finding an opportunity with good pay is in Toronto. Your main priority should be to choose a career, get training/education, then focusing on advancing. If you don't do that, what good is moving to another city? It will just be the same situation, different location.

[LostInTruth]

Maybe travel first, see what's out there? Do some in-depth research of possible locations, and find out if that is the right place for you?

Be selfish.

[Shaner]

I don't think the problem is the city. Unless you choose a field that is primarily located in another province, your best bet at finding an opportunity with good pay is in Toronto. Your main priority should be to choose a career, get training/education, then focusing on advancing. If you don't do that, what good is moving to another city? It will just be the same situation, different location.

I disagree. In Toronto, and all large cities, the employment field is very cut throat. Everyone is constantly working as hard and as much as possible to advance. It seems like people in large cities live to work.

The further away you get from the city, the less it's like that. Out here you work to live, not the other way around. It's not such a competitive, cut throat environment. It's easier to get a good paying job out here, although I'll admit that if you want to advance high up in a company and make big money, Toronto is the place for that. In Toronto it's harder to break into that 40-50k bracket, while out here it's much easier. The only difference is that out here, you don't go much higher than that unless your skills are very high in demand, whereas in Toronto you can move up quite quickly.

If your goal is to advance up the corporate ladder, stay in Toronto. If you want a good paying job that you don't have to even think about on your days off, and one that allows you to live comfortably compared to the cost of living, Kingston and Ottawa are great spots for that.

Plus if you can get a government job, you'll have job security that you won't find in the private sector.

[Varos]

Life in Toronto has gotten significantly worse over the last 2 decades. The city has sprawled out tremendously. Most of Canada's immigrants are settling here and that has pushed down wages. We have terrible traffic, and even worse public transport. Nothing ever gets done. Public servants are corrupt to the nines. The mob has its dirty fingers in a lot of things. Poverty is rampant. The province is in a mess, with huge debt and crazy deficits being run up. This means we will be paying much higher taxes while receiving less for it very soon. Good jobs are difficult to come by. Housing prices are insane. Quality of healthcare is awful. Everything is expensive. And it just seems that things will get worse, not better here. I've yet to meet a person that Is optimistic about the city's future. This COULD have been the world's greatest city but it's far from it.

I am currently looking to relocate. Life in this province will not be good. Especially after the housing bubble bursts. I give it till after the Pan Am Games.

[manmanny]

Ignore mrkap, he rarely has any idea what he's talking about. ...


LMAO. Truth at last.

OP, moving to another city is not exact solution. You might face same in other cities. May there will be tons of people, moved recently and looking for job. Your is not unique situation. So many new grads and so many people over 40-50 are in same boat. Its all about adjustment between what you want and what you have.

Note you might regret new job/city, once you leave the current situation.
Think, sleep on it for while and don't take decision the whole family might regret later.
Looking at you suffer, after the move, will hurt family members a lot. For a single person it might be easy.

The grass is always better on other side.

[xvizardx]

Alberta :)

I'm actually thinking of moving there in the near future.....

[slowtyper]

This is pretty generic advice but I would think your job having no real "career path" might be more to do with the jobs you choose and search for rather than the city. moving to a new city may not magically present you with career worthy job opportunities. Plus there are a lot of costs associated with moving, so IMO its a risky time to choose to move when you don't have a job lined up.

One suggestion, maybe talk to your supervisors in your current job and see if there are any career tracks you can concentrate on. Maybe suggest you'd be willing to take additional training, relocate, whatever....I don't work in office culture so I don't know if you'd talk to HR or talk to your boss or another company.....I'm sure you know which is proper.

[/generic advice]

[gomyone]

..as others have said - moving to another city is not the solution to your job problem. Its your skill level. You need to update, take courses, get certification etc - basically anything to make you wanted by an employer and get you into a more interesting/better paid field. Moving to another city, particularly without any job prospects sounds adventurous but can be wrought with difficulties - particularly when you no longer have a support group like family and old friends.

[LaserEnvy]

I disagree. In Toronto, and all large cities, the employment field is very cut throat. Everyone is constantly working as hard and as muhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/technology/draw-something-changes-the-game-quickly-for-omgpop.html?_r=1ch as possible to advance. It seems like people in large cities live to work.

The further away you get from the city, the less it's like that. Out here you work to live, not the other way around. It's not such a competitive, cut throat environment. It's easier to get a good paying job out here, although I'll admit that if you want to advance high up in a company and make big money, Toronto is the place for that. In Toronto it's harder to break into that 40-50k bracket, while out here it's much easier. The only difference is that out here, you don't go much higher than that unless your skills are very high in demand, whereas in Toronto you can move up quite quickly.

If your goal is to advance up the corporate ladder, stay in Toronto. If you want a good paying job that you don't have to even think about on your days off, and one that allows you to live comfortably compared to the cost of living, Kingston and Ottawa are great spots for that.

Plus if you can get a government job, you'll have job security that you won't find in the private sector.

I think you're right, but OP sounds like he is hungry for a successful career. If that is the case and like you said, opportunities to network, switch companies, get promotions would be in Toronto.

As for the salary part, 40-50k is very little and you can get that with an entry level job provided you're in a decent field.

To get his career started, I think he should stay in TO.

[92gsr]

Of course, it's only people from Ontario who have chimed in. Let's face it: Ontario is a province in decline. The only reason I would move there is if I worked in finance; then again, if I were really smart and ambitious I'd rather work in NYC or London.

To the OP: don't even think about Vancouver as an option unless you can bring a boatload of money here. There are no jobs here unless you want to work in customer service. If you can offer something to the mining and wealth management companies, then you might have a shot.

Calgary is where it's at. If you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty and being in the cold, you could always move to Fort Mac for a couple of years and do dirty work. They literally pay people to drive trucks 70K a year.

[Kuurgen]

Kingston looks like every other city.

Yes, there's fewer jobs, there's also fewer people competing for those jobs. Fact is, every dollar I earn gets me twice as much as a dollar a Torontonian earns. That alone is reason enough to move out of Toronto.


Outside of government jobs, how is it the job market in Kingston?

I've always been taken by how much house you can get for for paltry sums out on the east coast, but I know it's relative to the job market. (I know Newfoundland is starting to boom with drilling, which I think is great because those poor buggers have suffered enough)


OP -Just remember, no matter where you go there you are.

[tmkf_patryk]

are you happy with yourself? Do you have fun?

Like lets say money wasnt an issue, as you weren't using any. But hanging out with friends, playing sports, going to the beach/lakes or just outdoor bbq, do you have fun or do anything?

For me, I could have a crappy job and I would still have fun.

If you moved to another city, do you think everything would be 100% happy?

[MrKap]

Ignore mrkap, he rarely has any idea what he's talking about. ...


LMAO. Truth at last.

OP, moving to another city is not exact solution. You might face same in other cities.


Moving out of the city is no guarantee of a job, in fact the jobs could be potentially more limited where you move to.


The only difference is that out here, you don't go much higher than that unless your skills are very high in demand, whereas in Toronto you can move up quite quickly. In Toronto it's harder to break into that 40-50k bracket, while out here it's much easier.

???


I don't care, I'm just pointing it out.


I could have sworn getting a position in the public sector was cut throat due to the academic requirements, or having to get into a union.

Pay out in the middle of nowhere should technically be garbage compared to a place where if you don't get paid enough, you're simply not showing up for a job which people need you to fill.

Sure maybe some entrepreneur type jobs don't always pay out the greatest, but there is still alot of opportunity, more than in the middle of nowhere, which makes the job market even more cut throat. jmo...

This is not exactly any sort of proof, but, it says Kingstons unemployment rate is going up, not down - http://www.983flyfm.com/theflyfm/kingston-unemployment-rate-rises/


Kingston’s unemployment rate is up and is now closer to the national average.

Statistics Canada released it’s latest unemployment figures this morning and they show Kingston’s rate jumped to 7.1% from 6.6% the month before.

The national unemployment rate was 7.4 % in February and in Ontario the jobless rate went down to 7.6% from 8.1% the month before.

Here is Toronto - http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-45813.pdf

So it has a slightly higher unemployment rate, but it also has way more jobs.

Feb 2012

City - 9.5%
905 - 7.5%
Ontario - 7.6%
Canada - 7.4%


Here is Alberta at 5%


The number of people working in Alberta was little changed in February, and the unemployment rate was 5.0%, one of the lowest in the country. Over the past 12 months, employment in the province was up 2.8% (+58,000), the highest growth rate of all provinces.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/labour-travail/lfs-epa/lfs-epa-eng.htm


I would go to Alberta with nothing more than a knapsack and feel confident that I could find work, I wouldn't try it in Kingston. That's just me though. I would only go to Kingston if I had the job first. Or if I had family there.


In any event, if we are talking about a better life... and you are through with the family life, go where you want... more money at a job isn't going to guarantee happiness, but you'll end up with more money.

[pacman101]

I think that as long as you have some transferable skills and/or an updated education, you should be fine in a significant number of places in Canada.

Toronto though it seems like there is a lot of competition in the job market. Just so many people with university degree's pushing and pulling each other over the same jobs (kinda like a barrel full of crabs trying to climb up and out to the top)

It pretty much is a rat race in Toronto for sure. You can see it on the faces of the people who commute to/from work.. particularly in the downtown core-financial district.

If you are going to focus solely on income before health and happiness, than perhaps working in the Toronto private sector is for you.
You can unwind and relax later on when you retire in you mid 60's. That is if you don't suffer from some form of depression, anxiety, heart stress, high blood pressure, etc etc first.

Just rush to work, put on a fake smile and carry on for the rest of the day.......
Business before self right??

I am not sure if you OP moving to another town or city will solve all your problems and woes.

What I can suggest is that you take a bit of time to ensure you have good transferable skills and an updated education so that;
any potential employer down the road will consider you in a positive light. Regardless of where you go.

[MrKap]

It pretty much is a rat race in Toronto for sure. You can see it on the faces of the people who commute to/from work.. particularly in the downtown core-financial district.

Yeah, if you aren't on lithium yet, and you have horrible spending habits. I know at least one banking manager type guy in his 40s/50s and he lost it. I can only recall one person in the banking industry in their 40s/50s anyways.

Anyone make the connection between the greyhound stabbing and the murderers former career as a software developer?

I won't tell you about the doctor I've known.

Some people can't deal with stress. That's the way it is. Probably depends on your age too. People will hire up a young kid in a snap, because they can burn them out at their pleasure, a mature person might be hired on for different reasons.

[Psubs]

Maybe travel first, see what's out there? Do some in-depth research of possible locations, and find out if that is the right place for you?

Be selfish.

Travel without funds? Perhaps be a tour guide to explore the world!

If OP has any sort of yellow fever maybe teach English in Japan or Korea?

[jesb]

My problem is I've worked in customer service/admin for so long that there isn't much other skills I have. I went to school and graduated with a diploma in computer graphics but I couldn't cut it in that field. I've tried getting into other fields here. Attempted to get an apprenticeship with painting contractors but nobody wants to hire anyone with no experience, tried to apply to all kinds of construction jobs but the no experience is a non starter for everyone.

I can no longer afford to go to school again as I have debts to pay off, and just need to work now, I guess this is my issue. Maybe the problem will still exist for me somewhere else like some of you say. I've been thinking about the 2nd career program and if this is for me, or if it's possible that the government has some kind of program to allow me to open my own business, I'm not sure.

[MrKap]

My problem is I've worked in customer service/admin for so long that there isn't much other skills I have. I went to school and graduated with a diploma in computer graphics but I couldn't cut it in that field. I've tried getting into other fields here. Attempted to get an apprenticeship with painting contractors but nobody wants to hire anyone with no experience, tried to apply to all kinds of construction jobs but the no experience is a non starter for everyone.

I can no longer afford to go to school again as I have debts to pay off, and just need to work now, I guess this is my issue. Maybe the problem will still exist for me somewhere else like some of you say. I've been thinking about the 2nd career program and if this is for me, or if it's possible that the government has some kind of program to allow me to open my own business, I'm not sure.

You are probably looking for ideas from something like this - http://www.actionplan.gc.ca

I wouldn't go in further debt for your business idea. Computer graphics and literacy isn't transferable to construction/manufacturing, until you get to things like CAD, right? You would be surprised at the talentless "artists" I've known with good paying jobs in the graphic related industries. At one point specialization on a certain type of software/hardware was considered enough to get you a job, talent was irrelevant, I am not sure if that is still the way it is. However, if your experience is pretty much in admin/support, why aren't you looking for sales jobs?

However if you really want to do construction and stuff, that action plan has a whole bunch of stuff on apprenticeship incentives - http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/eng/feature.asp?pageId=204 - not sure if that is relevant to your situation or not



Attempted to get an apprenticeship with painting contractors but nobody wants to hire anyone with no experience, tried to apply to all kinds of construction jobs but the no experience is a non starter for everyone.

I find that incredibly hard to believe that the painting industry is burning through wasted man hours, due to inexperienced workers.

You are probably panicking and just afraid to get rejected some more... don't take things personally, and if you just start looking, and keep in mind that your not desperate and can not take jobs which are crap, then after about 10 or so tries you should have a job. It's not that hard to find an entry level position. Finding a high paying good job takes longer though. jmo...

I looked for two seconds and found a job that you could probably apply to - http://www.brainhunter.com/frontoffice/seekerViewJobDetailAction.do?sitecode=pl389&jobId=1648598&page=search


People don't get jobs because of their skills, they keep jobs because of their skills, they are largely lucky when they score a job. This is just my opinion.

[webdoctors]

OK, first thing first, U need a good job that pays the bills. Toronto could be the greatest city in the world, but it'll be hell on earth if U can't afford it.

If U get a high paying job in Kingston, Ottawa or Nunavut, it'll be amazing cause U can import all the H&B U want.

Coming out of Engineering, I left Toronto long time ago, and so did a lot of my friends because the jobs just weren't there. It sucked leaving family and friends behind and moving South or West to Asia, but it beats sitting at home or getting paid peanuts for your worth.

You should seriously consider your strengths and go where they can be valued. Toronto is a very competitive and bright city. I've traveled the world, and consider the general population in Toronto to be one of the smartest groups I've encountered. Research other cities with lower cost of living but higher compensation relative to cost of living for your career sector.

In the 21st century, we're global, and changing cities or continents for a job isn't surprising.

[jesb]

What boggles my mind is I've applied like mad to sales jobs too/customer service. But nobody wants to hire me even though I have the experience. It's like here in Toronto for every 3 positions there's a million people applying, so I keep getting passed by for this reason I guess. I've gotten interviews, and those have gone good for the most part, but no job offers. I'm not employed and haven't worked since end of last year. But I really need to change this, I'm willing to do anything, leave the city of Toronto, start something new ect. I'm just thinking maybe a change of scenery could be the change I need. I'll miss my family, but I don't even have any friends here so there wont be any friends to miss. I still can visit my family often since I'd still be in Canada.

[MrKap]

What boggles my mind is I've applied like mad to sales jobs too/customer service. But nobody wants to hire me even though I have the experience. It's like here in Toronto for every 3 positions there's a million people applying, so I keep getting passed by for this reason I guess. I've gotten interviews, and those have gone good for the most part, but no job offers. I'm not employed and haven't worked since end of last year. But I really need to change this, I'm willing to do anything, leave the city of Toronto, start something new ect. I'm just thinking maybe a change of scenery could be the change I need. I'll miss my family, but I don't even have any friends here so there wont be any friends to miss. I still can visit my family often since I'd still be in Canada.

I know, it's always like that. I put up a job for a graphic designer once over 8 years ago, and I got over 200 applications in the first day or so. It's pretty tough to stand out from the crowd but if you try, eventually you will. jmo... In hindsight, after interviewing, the designer really didn't have a lot of talent, but they were highly outgoing, personable and they just made a good impression. Hope that helps.

What else do I know? One time during a college touring of a workplace, I asked the guy how he got his job. He just said he kept trying to the same place, until eventually something opened up. So basically they were persistent.

Why not Alberta? - http://www.google.ca/search?q=jobs+alberta - There is probably significantly more than just oil sand jobs. jmo...

[Shaner]

What boggles my mind is I've applied like mad to sales jobs too/customer service. But nobody wants to hire me even though I have the experience. It's like here in Toronto for every 3 positions there's a million people applying, so I keep getting passed by for this reason I guess. I've gotten interviews, and those have gone good for the most part, but no job offers. I'm not employed and haven't worked since end of last year. But I really need to change this, I'm willing to do anything, leave the city of Toronto, start something new ect. I'm just thinking maybe a change of scenery could be the change I need. I'll miss my family, but I don't even have any friends here so there wont be any friends to miss. I still can visit my family often since I'd still be in Canada.

There are plenty of jobs out here that I'm sure you could get. I know two places you could get a job at probably immediately, assuming you can complete an interview well. Both are call centers and are customer service jobs that pay $12-$15 per hour to start, which isn't great money by any means, but compared to the cost of living out here, it's more than enough to survive.

I also know several contractors and roofers desperately looking for generous labourers. I know a painter that was so desperate to find another painter that he hired someone with no experience and trained him. These are just people I know off the top of my head. A quick look on Kijiji shows that there are too many labour type jobs out here and not enough workers. Generally these jobs pay anywhere from $10-20 per hour. Many of the roofing jobs are straight cash too, you can choose to claim it or not, up to you. The thing is, if you want to get into trades, you often have to start as a labourer to develop some skills in that field.

If you've struggled to find a job and are getting down on life, get the hell away from the city. The best thing I ever did was to leave Toronto and choose never to return. Like someone else said, life in Toronto is a huge rat race. People in the city live to work and even their time off is spent thinking about work. Everything revolves around work. It's a different life here. You work your 40 hours and then you forget about work until your days off are done. You don't need $150k out here just to have a decent house. $50k out here is more than enough to have a nice car, nice house, go on the odd vacation, etc.

Seriously, consider leaving Toronto. I bet you won't regret it, and if you do, you can always go back. Consider Kingston, get a job in the $12-15 per hour range to start, then look for other options that would interest you. If you're serious about it, I could probably help you get a job lined up.

[jesb]

Shaner, I pm'ed you regarding your post.

[koalorka]

Why don't you get a real job? Go into the skilled trades. Customer service is for women and monkeys.

If all else fails, do what other people with no education or marketable skills resort to when they reach 30: join the government bureaucracy.

[LostInTruth]

Travel without funds? Perhaps be a tour guide to explore the world!

If OP has any sort of yellow fever maybe teach English in Japan or Korea?

Good point, but I thought OP would at least have some money saved up if he's looking to move right?