Alright, time to get my social insurance number, a bank account, cell phone minutes, visit employment agencies to discuss my options in Oil & Gas... Oh wait, today is Saturday! Great, that means everything is closed! So I decide to explore downtown on foot, in sunny nice weather (though not as hot as currently in Belgium).
Amazing how many Asians you see here (and other races). I even hear some Chinese. Imagine an American melting pot, replace the blacks with Asians and that's what it looks like down here. And even the whites look very different from your average Belgian guy. Making friends here will be a challenge!
I also see a lot of homeless people. Most of them have a shopping cart with a garbage bag in it (containing their belongings). I walk past two of them and then past some bushes that grow against a building. All of a sudden, a third guy steps from between the bushes. I realize I just got an inside peek in the bathroom of the homeless!
When I first told my mother about my Canada plans, she was concerned I might end up under a bridge. Mom (mama), you mean like this guy?
In the hostel I meet Bjorn, a young Belgian guy about my age. Turns out he wants to go work in Oil & Gas too, and I can tell he has good sources, so I flood him with questions. He wants to get $30-50,000 together as a "roughneck" (labourer) to start his own hostel in Brazil. Saving that kind of money takes a while in Belgium, but here things can go fast, if you're prepared to work hard. I'm interested because a job like this may improve my chances of being hired as an engineer - which will be difficult, given my lack of experience.
I never understand why people complain about the taxes here. Yes, at the highest income range, it's almost 40%, but in France, BF was telling me it was up to 70% in some cases...
ReplyDeleteGenerally people who earn $65,000 or less, tend to be taxed pretty fairly, but in Ontario/Quebec sales tax is at 13% which I find pretty high compared to the States.
If you ever came to Toronto you'd hear a lot more Chinese and a lot more other languages. Or if you hop over to Vancouver to the west of out. It's like Little China there :)
Of course, in Quebec and even in Ottawa, it's mostly French you'd hear.
People out West are a LOT friendlier than those of us who come from out East (Ontario/Quebec), so making friends won't be hard if you smile, say hello and strike up casual conversation.
Do they not have homeless people in Belgium? I don't even notice them any more, sad to say.
They love being out West because of the milder weather, and if I were a hobo, I'd be in Vancouver, myself. I think you'll do fine as an engineer here, if you can get your foot in the door and prove yourself.
FB,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insider tips from a Canadian! :-)
Belgium does have homeless people but there are so few of them that you rarely get to see them. Just recently beggars have begun to show up in Brussels around central station.
Belgian taxes: 50% marginal rate on $30k, 60% on $50k. We're world tax champions, together with maybe Denmark. In comparison, Canada (and even France) are a breath of fresh air! :-)