just a few things im wondering...

1. does it rain alot in canada

2. can u get pay as you go phones or just monthly.. annnd whos the best service provider?

3. when its cold is it really really cold i mean... lol this is gonna sound so stupid but like.. i dont even wanna say it it sounds so stupid!! lol.. when its snowing.. what kind of shoes do u wear? lol oo and does it only snow a wee bit or does it snow loads?

ok im done lol

Originally Posted by homeskillet

just a few things im wondering...

1. does it rain alot in canada

this is relative to where you are coming from... and depends on which part of the country. i find Hamilton rainy during late spring/early summer, but not so much during mid-late summer. The rain that we do get usually comes in short downpours, not drizzle. During the winter, it barely rains because its cold enough for snow. That being said, I have been to MUCH rainier countries before.

2. can u get pay as you go phones or just monthly.. annnd whos the best service provider?

yes you can get pay as you go phones here, however, I am not sure who the best service provider is.

3. when its cold is it really really cold i mean... lol this is gonna sound so stupid but like.. i dont even wanna say it it sounds so stupid!! lol.. when its snowing.. what kind of shoes do u wear? lol oo and does it only snow a wee bit or does it snow loads?

Haha. Thats not a stupid question! I understand your concern. During winters, it is quite cold for the average foreigner. It doesn't bother me as much because I am used to it by now, but if you are from a hotter climate, you definitely will feel cold. I would say the average temperature during the winter is probably anywhere between -5 to -10. However, there is sometimes wind chill, and on weather stations it will usually tell you that it is for example, -10, but it may "feel" like -15 due to the wind. We also get odd days where it gets REALLY cold (<-20), but those kinds of days are infrequent. As for the snow situation, it snows only a little bit during early winter, but then there are periodic storms during January and Febuary that bring LOADS (20-30cm) of snow. About shoes, I just wear my normal shoes because streets and roads are usually cleared by the city unless you live in a rural area. I never end up using my boots, but that's just me. However, I suggest you dress warmly though. A winter coat is a must!!

ok im done lol

Hope that helped!!! However, this information only applies to Hamilton... other parts of Canada are different!

I'll try my best to answer this as well as I can.. I assume when you say "Canada" you're talking about Hamilton, and the surrounding area around McMaster.

Firstly, there isn't excessive rain in the area, however it depends. There are some periods of time where you can expect rain 2 to 3 days in a row. Sometimes the rain is a torrential downpour, other times its just a nice trickle. There are times, you won't get rain for a couple of weeks in a row. For the most part, most of the time isn't rainy.

Secondly, you can get both pay as you go and plans which you pay monthly. The perks for the monthly ones however are that with certain phone plans get you nice phones with good features at cheap prices (or even free!), however, you're stuck with the phone company for anywhere between 1 to 3 years. As for the best service provider, I find it completely depends. I've been with rogers, telus, and virgin. Rogers and Virgin were pay as you go, and it was a complete toss-up. I had almost no problems with my Rogers phone, but when I did, the Rogers people were completely horrible, and no help what-so-ever. With Virgin, it was the other way around, I had a few more problems with Virgin than I did Rogers, but they were fixed in a matter of minutes. I'm currently on a 3 year plan with Telus, and I have a pretty sweet phone which I got for free from them. This is my favourite plan, I've had NO problems with the phone, but I've had a billion questions which they had a lot of patience with me. It really depends.

Lastly, a couple of times a winter, it snows a lot, where you're basically knee-high in snow. The rest of the times are completely manageable, and it's actually quite nice. As for shoes, the girls usually wear boots, as for the guys, most people just wear running shoes, and extra warm socks.

I hope that was some help to you

Unless your from the Mediterranean or Caribbean it's not that much rainier or colder than anywhere else that is located in a reasonable place (i.e. NOT Siberia).

I'm Macedonian and the summer's here are enjoyable, but the winter sucks (too cold and with not much snow).

Where are you from if you don't mine me asking?

im from northern ireland, it rains here all the time summer or winter lol so i was just curious if it was gonna be the same! thanks for the help from u all aswell!

Originally Posted by homeskillet

im from northern ireland, it rains here all the time summer or winter lol so i was just curious if it was gonna be the same! thanks for the help from u all aswell!

the weathers alot drier here i bet. =)

i'd say it's a lot drier then. Also, I'd say cell phones are a lot more expensive as well But I may be wrong.

you have nothing to worry about really, you will like Canada. The actual city, Hamilton, we'll that will be interesting to hear.

Because I'm from farther north in Ontario than Hamilton, I actually laugh when everyone complains about all the snow here. The City of Hamilton freaks out if there is more than 30cm of snow that is supposed to fall in a 24 hour period, and school gets cancelled due to the weather (SNOW DAY!). It's also a lot warmer here than in most places in Ontario, due to how far south Hamilton is, as well as because it is a very urban city. I find there is a lot more rain here than I am used to, as I don't live near a lake, and that contributes to the amount of rain Hamiton recieves.

Last winter was the coldest and the snowiest in Hamilton in over four years. The most amount of snow was perhaps 40cm, and the coldest it got with the windchill (and this was at night) was about -25C.

In terms of shoes...I wear running shoes because the campus has all of the snow removed, and most of the sidewalks around campus are more or less taken care of. A lot of girls wear Uggs and the like.

You're not from anywhere tropical or really hot so you're not in for a shock really. I just looked up the climate of Northern Ireland and it sounds like you'll be a bit drier here but won't be shocked by the tempuratures.

It's pretty cold in the winter but not totally unbarable except for the few days with major wind chill I find. I'm pretty used to it though since I've always lived in Canada, and I don't live that far from Hamilton to begin with so same weather.

The snow isn't too bad, I survived with just regular shoes most of the days last year. Some days I'd wear boots if there was a fresh larger snow fall.

As for the rain as someone mentioned I found in Hamilton that it would rain for 2 to 3 days straight on occasion and then other times nothing. It wasn't like constant rain or anyting.

I'm from Malaysia, am I in for a shock? :p

Since term starts in fall, I'll be only needing a light jacket right?

Originally Posted by frhnh

I'm from Malaysia, am I in for a shock? :p

Since term starts in fall, I'll be only needing a light jacket right?

yep. fall is isnt all that cold. A light jacket should be fine! september is actually quite warm but it cools down during october/november. december is somewhat cold, but not too bad... anywhere between 2 ~ -5. You're in for a shock when January arrives though. =p Make sure you buy a warm winter coat!

Perhaps you could tell us a little about where you are from? This is a big part of why I love McMaster, so diverse and interesting.

See our MacInsiders articles about Hamilton here:

Things To Do in Hamilton On Campus

Hamilton: More than the Steel City

In Hamilton for the Summer? Need Stuff to Do?

Downtown Hamilton: A culinary diamond in the rough