Long time!

Wow...I know it's been a long time since I updated my blog....but I've been crazy busy with work and it has been hard squeezing in the time.

Summer and Autumn feel long gone, with temperatures already hitting the minus. So far we've reached -2 degrees here in the Toronto area. So boots, coats, gloves and hats are already out...and some people love it while others don't!

Kids are trying to play outside when they can, Tuesday is supposed to be a sunny 11 degrees, so I'm sure a lot of people will be out for that 'one more day of warmish sun'. Work goes on as usual. We've met quite a lot of people who have come in from India recently, all highly educated but still finding it hard to get good jobs. The main catch is not having any Canadian work experience. So many of them are finding themselves in restaurants and gas stations, working those night hours and weekends to get some 'Canadian Experience', that will pave the way for better jobs.

The joke here is that the best place to have a heart attack is in a taxi cab, because there is a very high chance that the driver had been a Doctor in another Country until recently!

Diwali was great! We saw the Indian stores full of people buying sweets and crackers. The night sky was full of colour and the temples were thronged with families celebrating the festival of lights.

Housing prices are still sky high here, and there have been recent articles in the newspapers about the ridiculously high prices and why this is not good for the economy. We have a friend who bought a home in the U.S, on a one acre plot with a 4000sq.ft house, and paid 275000/- US dollars. In the GTA region, that same house would be easily 800,000 to a million dollars! There is just NO comparison. In the 340,000 region, you are looking at a 1800sq.ft plus home, three bedroom with one or two garage parking in Brampton. This will give you some idea of prices here. Of course you get 30 year loans and pay installments of about 1300/- a month with a minimum down payment (you'll have to check different banks for exact numbers) and of course everything depends on your credit history. Hopefully this story changes soon, and housing becomes more affordable.