Saskatoon SK Canada Saskatoon DON'T MOVE TO Saskatoon HORRIBLE CITY HIGH RENT HIGH CRIME LACK OF SERVICE Saskatoon Saskatchewan

Moved to Saskatoon with my family in 2012. We moved from Alberta to SK for on a job offer. We lived in BC most of our life, but left do to the lack of construction work.

We thought SK it's not that far from Alberta it's shouldn't be that bad!! we liked that it had a river and tree's but his didn't matter you can swim in the river based of a very old by-law from people bathing in the river.

We learned very quickly how expensive it is to live in this province and realized how badly we disliked it. I can't wait to leave and learned this from many other people that have come here for work. They never say because of how this province lacks in so many things.

Let me share what this province and city is all about so others don't make the mistake we did.

Ok you have more tax here and will notice it right away. Gas would be 95 cents a litter in Alberta and 125 in Saskatoon
Propertly tax in Alberta for an average home is 1800 to 2400, Saskatoon your looking at 2800 to 3500 a year. In BC your looking at 1700 to 2400 and you get a home owners grant that cuts that by half.

Saskatoon has several property managers that have over 80 homes and rent substandard homes for 1200 to 3500 a month. You will not find a full house to rent for under 1800 a month unless it's in the 11th or 22nd st area of the city. This part of the city is run by gangs (natives) and is not safe. You will get jumped mugged and if your a girl raped if you walk anywhere after dark.
Suites rent on average for 1200 to 1800 per floor.  There is a shortage of  homes for rent and it's not a pet friendly city. Very hard to get a home to rent with a pet or a house at all. Landlords ask for a full month security deposit in SK and a full months rent for a security deposit for a pet that they are intitled to keep. 1800 for rent, 1800 for security deposit, 1800 for pet deposit. $5400 in one month to rent. In BC they can only ask for half a months rent for a security deposit and this will include pet deposit in it. Alberta they can ask for one month rent for security deposit.

Saskatoon is a city of By-laws you are expected to know all 100 pages of it. I have heard of people leaving off leash dog parks and have their dog walking beside them for by-law officers waiting to give people $250 tickets. If you have a trailer and get a flat tire unhook the trailer to go get the tire fixed expect a fine. You can not leave a unhooked trailer on the side of the st. You can not have any signs on your lawn eg. garage sale or you will get a fine. You can do way more for home businesses in Alberta and BC it's way more home owner business friendly.

You can not park any car over 18 feet on the street or get a fine. that would be any long truck or even a truck and small trailer. You have to have permits for everything even putting up a trampoline baby swimming pool etc. You can't groom your dog frienlds dog at your home but can cut her hair.  You are forced to take your pet to the heavy industrail area to get a hair cut.

Lack of trails for walking is huge. BC has endless trails and Alberta the same. SK has three fenced off little parks for walking your pets. It's like 6 to 9 city parcels very small. You can walk the river but it's crowded and not safe. Expect to pay for parking while you walk NO FREE PARKING IN THE CITY 

You get a farmer like attitude here about animals everyone wants cheap pets $200 or less and they are disposable left outside in -15 to -30.  I have heard and have witnessed so many people dumping kittens and dogs here they just don't care about them like Alberta and BC and won't support anything other than cheap.

Flights suck here it's very hard to get flights to anywhere. You pretty well have to go to Alberta 7 to 8 hr drive one way, and if you drive to Calgary it's a single lane farmers road it's horrible. To Edmonton it's a double lane road that is bad until you hit Alberta where there is no pot holes etc. You can't ship dogs from Oct to April Air Canada shuts down. Also cargo closes very early so you can't get any connections that work if you need to ship anything here. So if you need to ship  your  pet here good luck with that. NOT PET FRIENDLY

There is lot's of work here but min. wage jobs or labour jobs if you want to work in - 15 to -30 weather. Mines hire but you have to work in unpleasent conditions and  have to get rides out of town.

The city has horrible roads, you can drive to Alberta and the roads are perfect, as soon as you enter SK you hit patches and pot holes. Expect your wheel alignment to be out for sure and hub caps ripped off. Also the city very rarely salts or sands roads. expect to drive on packed snow and ice and slide all over the place every winter. The road to our school was not salted or plowed all last winter. I saw cars loosing control in deep frozen snow groves heading right towards kids standing by the school waiting to get picked up.

Kids are expected to go out side in -25 weather every day for 45 min. You do not have a choice your children have to huddle or hide in the boot room or bathroom if they are cold. Teachers do not have anyone to cover looking after kids for lunchs so they have to go outside. Schools here are left wide open no staff members in the office over lunches. Schools are not safe in SK. SK rated the lowest for tested scores for children in all of Canada. I can see this BC was the hardest for education, Alberta second, Sk was like going back two grades. (our kids feed back). SK has no home school program you have to just make up the schooling, Alberta has a well organized home school program with materical and on line testing.

Children do not have to wear helmets while riding bikes in SK. It has been the Law in BC FOR ALMOST 10 years. SK people say it gives a bad image that riding a bike is unsafe!!

This city has the highest crime rate in all of Canada
Highest distracted driving accidents (texting and talking on cell phones is a problem) claims in all of Canada
Highest Drunk driving offenses in all of Canada
Highest obiese people in all of Canada (this does not surprise me as you have to pay to park at any rec-centre. expect to pay $5 to $7 per work out plus $4 for parking. Add that up $200 per person per month. If you have a family $800 a month. if you wanted to go swimming or work out 4 days a week.

The city just put in recycling, you can expect to pay 100 per bill for that. Everyone you will pay $300 to $500 for Gargage gas recycling and heat every couple months.

Car insurance SGI

It's a joke you can only get up to 20% off here, BC you can get 40% as well if you have multiple cars you get another 15% off fleat discount and get 10% off if you have house and car insurance together. Alberta the same thing you can get up to 40% off and 10 to 15% if you have a house and more than once car insured. Deductable in BC and Alberta is $300 to $500 it's about the same per year in each province BC you will  pay about 200 less per month.

SGI charges you more if you have a combo package you have to pay for extra coverage in a combo package. Deductable in SK is $700

If you need a Dr. this is not the province to live. Their is a huge shortage in Specialists and Drs.

I was in the hospital one night with a very sick child, and saw a young man come in that had been in a fight. He had a bleed in his eye. He was referred to a eye Dr in Calgary as Saskatoon didn't have one.

Pain clinic all shut down.

No programs for small business grants to get started. (BC is known for Grants for small business to help them get started for people with disabilites they have so many grants to help people get ahead. SK has nothing)

No home less shelters in SK, if your homeless in SK and it's -30 SO SAD TO BAD!! go apply at salvation army but you can't stay unless you apply and get approved.

This City and province is very greedy it has done nothing to promote people to stay or help people get a head it just cuts programs left right and centre and increaseing everything. More and more by-laws to where you have to apply for an application. MONEY MONEY MONEY get your wallet out and pay. If you come to SK with money you will leave with out it.  

I have talked to Dr's nurses and the general public alot over this, the lack of services and high expenses in this province and I have had 100% feed back that people are disappointed moving here. One dr said he is leaving back to Alberta he can not help people here no one to refer people to for help, can't keep stay no one stays.

The city has poisioned drinking water. Take your water to Pet Land they do free water tests it is full of fecal matter and waste from run off from all the farms. Women are loosing their hair and going bald in alarming numbers. thyroids are being distroyed from the chemicals in the water.

The province shut down the laundry mat for the hospitals and trucks bedding etc to Calgary every day. The province as also hired a private company to look after roads, they do not want to pay for anything but just sell it off for others to deal with it. You get a lot of this avoidance in this province things are shut down left right and center. This is normal for Saskatoon. Power comes from the USA, not even supplied in SK. Expect many power failures and failures to community systems as they have not build or planned ahead for a growing city.

DRIVERS! the show canada's worst drivers you could make the entire show on how people drive here. Expect people to drive through red lights, turn in front of you, don't look and side swipe you, speed, and back out or into you. As 50% of this province is made up of immigrants they drive like it was in India or Africa. Or if they just drove off the little farm they do not know how to drive in volume and get so scared they stop in the middle of the roads or intercections. People do not know how what they right way is at stop signs expect people to get to a four way stop first and sit there and let all three people go.  They think they are being kind but they just can't drive they are scared of cars and very submissive. If you do not have a drivers liceance from USA or Canada you should have to take a test that you understand signs and how to drive in Canada.

Police have a hard time here, they do not have any devices on the lights that change them from red to green if they have their sirons on. BC has this and Alberta. People can drive in Alberta as they have camera every where. If you run a light like you will see here all the time you would get a ticket. Camera's everywhere to stop bad drivers. SK is full of bad drivers that never get caught.  

We have witnesses several accidents with emerg cars going through intercetions. People don't merge to emerg. cars. In BC you can get a fine if you dont' do this so everyone does. People don't care here

If you need a ride in an ambulace expect to pay in BC it's $80 which just went up from $50. SK expect to pay a woping $350 and it's billed to the person that makes the call. So don't call the ambulance here unless the person wants to go in it for sure.

Do not trust people hear with in one year of being here we have had our house broken into a person steal over 75 thousand dollars of business suppies, no lawyers do any probono here. Everyone is about money. GREAD is a huge problem in SK.

THIS CITY AND PROVINCE IS FULL OF DISHONEST CHEAP and BAD PEOPLE. THIS EXTENDS RIGHT FROM GOVERNMENT TO THE CITY TO MANY OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC.  I WOULD RECOMMEND AS A FAMILY MYSELF THAT MOVED HERE, DO NOT MOVE YOUR CHILDREN TO THIS PROVINCE. FIND WORK SOME WHERE ELSE IT'S NOT WORTH IT.

This is a city that brings people in for the university or colleges but after driving to Alberta and seeing their facilities and seeing ones in BC, SK is really in the dark ages for space equipment and space. It's easy to get inrollment as no one wants to come here, it's harder to get into BC and Alberta facilities because more people want to go to them as they are better.

Also something we noticed in BC they are very welcoming to new comers. Alberta the same other than they don't like people from SK.

We noticed a lot of angry in SK. People that have always lived here hate the growth, they hate people from Alberta. They want to stay small and have the farm town feel and are not willing or very accepting of new comers.

I noticed that after living her, you get judged OR your from SK. when your in Alberta is' cool Alberta, or I love BC.

SK Saskatoon is really just a pi** stop between Alberta and Ontario. Don't be fooled by the rumors that's it's the best place to move. Yes you can get work but you will pay so much to live here in fee's in rent it will bring your wage back down to just a regular wage so dont' waste your time and money to move here.

MY TWO BITS