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From career aspect, I am a front-end web developer, received Permanent Residence status for both New Zealand and Saskatchewan (Canada). Currently a citizen of India.

I cannot move out of Saskatchewan province, for next 3 years, as per the PR norms.

New Zealand has better climate. Canada is a better place for IT jobs.

But, in the long term, which one is the better place to live as a family man?

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closed as primarily opinion-based by Mark Mayo♦ Nov 12 '15 at 13:56

Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

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    That's wonderful news! The largest cities in Saskatchewan are only 200k each, so pretty small. Have you found many job possibilities already? – mkennedy Oct 30 '15 at 17:51
  • @mkennedy No, am yet to try for a job in either NZ or CANADA? Am yet to go for VISA stamping. It will take 3-4 months from now, until I move. Am confused, on how to decide the destination? Which place do you belong to? I clearly know that, it is easy for me to get a job in Auckland(NZ). Am to do research on Saskatchewan IT market. But entering CANADA is more worthy for long term, because our communities can be found easily. – overexchange Oct 30 '15 at 17:57
  • I'm in the US, so I would be going on just general information. You might want to start checking the job sites for Regina and Saskatoon (newspaper want ads, monster.com, stack overflow careers) and for the various cities in NZ that look interesting. – mkennedy Oct 30 '15 at 18:00
  • @mkennedy I could not find a single job relevant to my background in Saskatoon and Regina. Unlike in Auckland/Wellington I find lot of relevant jobs. – overexchange Oct 30 '15 at 18:04
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    I just found out a colleague is from Regina. Given a choice, he recommended Saskatoon. There's more crime in Regina, but it's mainly theft, fights. Currently, the economy seems okay there, and still growing a bit compared to Canada overall. Oil&gas-related jobs are down now. He also said this winter is predicted to be the mildest in quite a while. – mkennedy Oct 30 '15 at 18:20
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Look at the Employment by major industry group, seasonally adjusted, by province. The main industries I know so far over there are agriculture and fishing. Since you are in IT, if you were to go in SK, the chances of getting a job in your field might be less.

Also the winters are brutal in SK. I have some friends over there but they are not in IT so they wouldn't know about the industry over there. (PS I am in Toronto). I have seen very early snowfall over there. And the weather is unpredictable (That stands for most of Canada by the way).

I don't know much about New Zealand, but I could find this about the employment diversities over there. Engineering is the fourth ranked industry over there. Also Auckland has some promising companies on their employment page.

For career, I would say SK is not the best option. I would recommend you to move to some other province like Ontario, Alberta, Quebec or British Columbia; but since you can't move outside for three years, that goes out of the picture.

For a family, the winters are going to be hard. You and your family will struggle adjusting to the weather here. Again this is from my personal experience.

Also there is not much difference between NZD and CAD if you're thinking about the finances too. So if you hopefully find a job in Auckland or any other major cities, you're off to having better chances over there than Canada.

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  • Am very clear that I can easily get my relevant job in NZ. But my family would like to be in touch with indian society/festival. Unlike Canada, NZ has such problem. Job in SK is risky. – overexchange Oct 31 '15 at 9:16
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    SK again has less Indian population compared to Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia or Winnipeg in that matter. If you're ready to give up your first three years and then move somewhere else then that's an option. For IT I would say Ontario or British Columbia are better. Quebec is good too but you should know French in Quebec. – Dipen Shah Oct 31 '15 at 10:26
  • How many exact days in first 3 years, do I need to stay in Saskatchewan to gain citizenship in CANADA? In NZ, I need to stay 184 days for first two years to get citizenship. – overexchange Oct 31 '15 at 15:32
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    Then you should choose another province. Consider Ontario or British Columbia. Lots of Indian and IT Jobs over these places. – Dipen Shah Oct 31 '15 at 22:37
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    I'm not sure how the rules of provincial permanent residence work here but I am fairly sure that some kind of provincial residences impose restrictions to you for not moving out of the particular province. Not sure if you fall in the category or not – Dipen Shah Nov 1 '15 at 13:18
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I'll try to address some of your specific points:

New Zealand has better climate. Canada is a better place for IT jobs.

Canada is a really big place. While Canada as a whole you might consider "better" for IT jobs, if you are restricted to Saskatchewan then you will find your options greatly limited. On the other hand, Auckland has a thriving software development community, and you could move anywhere in New Zealand if you wanted to.

But my family would like to be in touch with indian society/festival. Unlike Canada, NZ has such problem.

Auckland is a multicultural city and has a wide range of cultural influences from India. As an example, the recent Auckland Diwali Festival attracted thousands of people:

"It's a demonstration of our diverse and accepting culture that it is also a festival that many other New Zealanders of all ethnic groups eagerly await," Mr Lotu-Iiga [Minister for Ethnic Communities] says.

If connection with Indian culture is important to you and your family, and it sounds like it is, I would strongly suggest considering your options in Auckland (largest city in the country, ~1.3 million people), versus your choice of much smaller city in Saskatchewan (max. ~200k people).

Google tells me that the Indian population within Auckland is roughly 146,500 people. The South Asian population within the entire province of Saskatchewan is only 5,130. (Keep in mind that when you're looking up things like this, the term "Indian" in Canada has historically been used to refer to the indigenous peoples, but the terms "aboriginal" or "First Nations" are preferred for those people today. People from the country of India are often referred to as "East Indian" or "South Asian".)

Coming from a country with essentially no snow and warm climate (India), the Saskatoon winters are going to be shocking. From about November through March, the average daily maximum temperature is below freezing (below 0° C). Snow can fall anytime from October through about May, sometimes quite a lot (see news story from April 2015). Driving will be difficult or impossible on some winter days.

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  • One correction in my query isthat, I can move from Saskatchewan province to other province, after gaining PR card. Sorry for this correction. I clearly understand the climatic advantage in NZ. CANADA has old age pension benefits. – overexchange Nov 1 '15 at 21:21
  • Well, that totally changes the nature of your question, doesn't it? – Greg Hewgill Nov 1 '15 at 21:22
  • Shall I edit the question, that single line? Please read this comment – overexchange Nov 1 '15 at 21:23
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    No. Changing the question would make both answers appear irrelevant. If you have a more general question about New Zealand compared to Canada, ask a new question. This question is about New Zealand compared to Saskatchewan. – Greg Hewgill Nov 1 '15 at 21:24
  • In the circumstance of moving out of SK province in first 3-4 months, How would you see the situation? Is CANADA better for me?CANADA also has pension benefits – overexchange Nov 1 '15 at 21:25

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