[Leeoku]

the first step is to pass...

[Sabid]

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Kinda funny considering 99% of the people don't even bother going outside of campus yet still manage to acquire a super horrible impression.

And 3/4 are clearly just ignorant and/or over-privileged and think they can just waltz in to some dream job at some dream town and demand for a job and have it handed it to them.

As someone who has extensively ventured out've the bubble, I wouldn't say those 99% are missing out on much.

also: lol u mad bro?

Edit: This poll was conducted earlier this year and it seems findings haven't changed: http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...ts-not-staying

[jamescw1234]

I definitely want to work in Hamilton. After being in a program where I do a lot of work in the community I can see the potential in this city. There is a booming arts scene, great places to eat, and a lot of great little shops and whatnot. No, it's not Toronto, but there are places that are much worse. Also, Hamilton has a strong social service sector.

[micadjems]

I feel like people from Mac don't know that the mountain, dundas, and ancaster exist. All very nice places, if you're not too fond of the downtown scene.

For me, a very large portion of the GTA steel industry is here, so as a metallurgy specialized student, I don't have much of a choice, and Hamilton is better than the Sault, Saskatchewan, or a rural town out east!! Plus I'm into the growth and potential of the downtown core. Hamilton is a very progressive city!

[Lois]

I'm definitely applying for residency positions in Hamilton. I miss it a lot actually.

[aya017]

Personally, any city that offers me a great job will (pretty much) do.

[RyanC]

Toronto, etc is interesting, but Hamilton is an overall 'better' place to live for me (by comparison)

[akikokoyoki]

I would work in Hamilton if there are some job offers. I mean I've live in this city for almost 10 years and I know my way around here, but I wouldn't mind working in another city as well if there are other job offers available

[lux]

I know this is far down the road for most people but consider that where you spend your 20s and 30s working is likely to be the place you will meet your significant other and possibly raise a family. More or less the general surrounding area if you plan on commuting. I think Hamilton and the surrounding area is a great city. Great trails and nature parks.

[huzaifa47]

Originally Posted by herBs

lawleypop is clearly just ignorant and/or over-privileged and thinks they can just make baseless assumptions without evidence for such strongly opinionated claims.

EDIT:

Chad, can you provide the link for the recent survey?

Hey Hamza,

I was the convener/creator for this project this February/March so feel free to ask any follow up questions in this thread after reading the more detailed report here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/60674099/H...Saeed-YourCity (Question 6 &7 specifically) and just to elaborate the figures for the following questions were as follows:

Q6: Would you consider living in Hamilton and commuting to study or work after graduation

Yes: 21% Maybe: 39% No: 40%

Q7: Upon graduation, would you consider applying for job opportunities in Hamilton?

yes absolutely: 25%
Yes, but it wouldn't be the first place I look: 34%
Maybe: 17%
No, I would much rather look someplace else: 24%

We only got around 10 Minutes with the City Council today hence weren't able to elaborate in detail but essentially my theory is that a large part of the stigma associated with Hamilton as some users have said in this thread might be due to a misperception created by not having explored Hamilton. I've met many students for whom it took uptil their 4th/5th year to properly explore all that Hamilton has to offer, It doesn't inherently mean that upon experiencing Hamilton they will be automatically converted into not being enticed by their Hometowns or anywhere down the 403 towards Toronto but it's better than nothing.

But our asks from the city will have numerous direct and indirect benefits for McMaster Students in the upcoming years. For example Shuttle busses to Websters/Albion Falls, better promotion and deals for recreational activities within Hamilton will improve student experience away from our pockets.

Summer Jobs are also very integral to ensuring students experience Hamilton, if people work downtown or say Engineering Students in the Industrial Area then through commuting in the various areas of the city they will start to build that connection that doesn't exist if they have summer jobs in other cities. Both the Provincial and Federal Governments have funding allocated for summer job programs and other year round internship but the Municipal Government should be doing more to lobby for more funding.

At the end of the day, this city is in Transition away from an Industrial base towards a Knowledge Economy, however an active link with the University is Integral and the City hasn't taken much initiative to directly work with the MSU or for the large part University to entice students.
Among other rationales, A better Hamilton in a decade will mean a better student experience for future Students; interaction and satisfaction with the community has proven via research to exponentially improve student success at Universities(Somethin g our President Dr Patrick Deane outlined in his letter outlining a focus towards outside the classroom learning during his tenure)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Twente in Netherlands for example were a similar situation with the collapse of their industry, however they leveraged their Universities towards building a better city. (They had some amazing programs where they purposely rezoned residential districts into say a dual creative/arts neighborhood and this other one where the Government Allocated space, funding and support for Startup technology firms which blossomed into their own industry)

I could probably go on for pages since this stuff is the topic of my honours thesis but I think I'm getting into the tl;dr area so I'll stop.

[anon491]

Considering the negative attitudes so many of you "nope, never" people have, I'm glad you won't be sticking around.

[TroubleStorm]

Hamilton is not Westdale/Downtown. Before you post in this thread stop and think, do you even know what Hamilton is?

No, you don't. You know what your friends, whom have never left Westdale either, have told you.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

Where would you get a job in Hamilton, unless you graduated from nursing or Health Science?igh.
I'm from Hamilton, I love the city and I'd like to stay here, but realistically, there's not many jobs for people outside the health profession.

(Of course there are jobs, but not many like the kind that would be offered in a city like Toronto)

Probably become much easier once you stop making sweeping generalizations about everything. Just because you've heard (via word of mouth I'm sure) that Hamilton is becoming a more health-service oriented city does not in the slightest mean thats all it is. How could a city operate without having everything any other city has? We are not living in some sort of 3rd world country there are a plethora of available jobs in every single sector in Hamilton because by definition that is the only way it can operate.

[Kathy2]

Originally Posted by TroubleStorm

Probably become much easier once you stop making sweeping generalizations about everything. Just because you've heard (via word of mouth I'm sure) that Hamilton is becoming a more health-service oriented city does not in the slightest mean thats all it is. How could a city operate without having everything any other city has? We are not living in some sort of 3rd world country there are a plethora of available jobs in every single sector in Hamilton because by definition that is the only way it can operate.

It's not a sweeping generalization. Look at the top employers in Hamiton - it's mostly the hospitals. I'm not saying it like it's a bad thing. Most cities are known for being key employers in certain areas. That's not bad - it's just not great for non Health Science people. Of course Hamilton has all the programs/services that other cities have (hence my "Obviously there are jobs" in my original post). But most of the jobs and most of the employers are in Health Sciences.

Again, it's not a bad thing and it's not a sweeping generalization. If I went to Fort McMurray in Alberta, it wouldn't be bad to say "Wow, there are a lot of engineering and trades jobs here". Some cities are just more focussed on certain industries.

[mattatmac]

I think that we should try and restrain from making polarizing statements like "Hamilton is the worst" or "Hamilton is the best city, people just haven't experienced it". The truth often lies somewhere in the middle.

I think that Hamilton does have a lot of "hidden" opportunities, but no one can deny that the aesthetic of Hamilton does not always coincide with someones idealcity that is somewhat unrealistic. I think that the attitude is simply that because we've spent so much time in Hamilton we want to go out and explore other opportunities elsewhere, which is reasonable.

[anonanon987]

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

Hey Hamza,

I was the convener/creator for this project this February/March so feel free to ask any follow up questions in this thread after reading the more detailed report here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/60674099/H...Saeed-YourCity (Question 6 &7 specifically) and just to elaborate the figures for the following questions were as follows:

Q6: Would you consider living in Hamilton and commuting to study or work after graduation

Yes: 21% Maybe: 39% No: 40%

Q7: Upon graduation, would you consider applying for job opportunities in Hamilton?

yes absolutely: 25%
Yes, but it wouldn't be the first place I look: 34%
Maybe: 17%
No, I would much rather look someplace else: 24%

We only got around 10 Minutes with the City Council today hence weren't able to elaborate in detail but essentially my theory is that a large part of the stigma associated with Hamilton as some users have said in this thread might be due to a misperception created by not having explored Hamilton. I've met many students for whom it took uptil their 4th/5th year to properly explore all that Hamilton has to offer, It doesn't inherently mean that upon experiencing Hamilton they will be automatically converted into not being enticed by their Hometowns or anywhere down the 403 towards Toronto but it's better than nothing.

But our asks from the city will have numerous direct and indirect benefits for McMaster Students in the upcoming years. For example Shuttle busses to Websters/Albion Falls, better promotion and deals for recreational activities within Hamilton will improve student experience away from our pockets.

Summer Jobs are also very integral to ensuring students experience Hamilton, if people work downtown or say Engineering Students in the Industrial Area then through commuting in the various areas of the city they will start to build that connection that doesn't exist if they have summer jobs in other cities. Both the Provincial and Federal Governments have funding allocated for summer job programs and other year round internship but the Municipal Government should be doing more to lobby for more funding.

At the end of the day, this city is in Transition away from an Industrial base towards a Knowledge Economy, however an active link with the University is Integral and the City hasn't taken much initiative to directly work with the MSU or for the large part University to entice students.
Among other rationales, A better Hamilton in a decade will mean a better student experience for future Students; interaction and satisfaction with the community has proven via research to exponentially improve student success at Universities(Somethin g our President Dr Patrick Deane outlined in his letter outlining a focus towards outside the classroom learning during his tenure)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Twente in Netherlands for example were a similar situation with the collapse of their industry, however they leveraged their Universities towards building a better city. (They had some amazing programs where they purposely rezoned residential districts into say a dual creative/arts neighborhood and this other one where the Government Allocated space, funding and support for Startup technology firms which blossomed into their own industry)

I could probably go on for pages since this stuff is the topic of my honours thesis but I think I'm getting into the tl;dr area so I'll stop.

My name is spelled Humza but thanks for the link!