Compared to other Canadian cities rent is affordable but it's unfortunately such a depressive place to live, due to the harsh and long winters. You get about 2-3 months of fantastic weather, and between 5-8 months of absolutely oppressive cold. It has some decent local culture for its size, but a distinct lack of fun nightlife. Public transit is absolutely horrendous. People can be a bit close-minded. Quality of life is otherwise comparable to other big NA cities. Taxes are on the low side. It's very out of the way - there's no real reason to come here as a tourist because Calgary is closer to everything interesting.
Pros and Cons of Living in Busan, South Korea
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Pros of Living in Busan
Very safe
Fast internet
Lots of fun stuff to do
Warm in the spring
Good air quality on average
Nomad List members liked going here a lot
Many Nomad List members have been
Spacious and not crowded
Very easy to do business
High quality of education
Great hospitals
Roads are pretty safe
Freedom of speech
Democratic
Very safe for women
Family friendly
Cons of Living in Busan
Gets cold in the winter
Not many Nomad List members right now
Very difficult to make friends
People don't speak English well
Hostile towards LGBTQ+
People smoking tobacco a lot -
Great place if you like Korean cuisine and fresh fish in general. Haedong Yonggungsa seaside temple is the absolute highlight. Locals are helpful too bad 8/10 won't speak english. Young people included! Remember: Uber, Grab, Google Maps won't work in Korea, in favour of Kakao app which is pure garbage and all in Korean. And by the way pornography is illegal.
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Korea's second biggest city after Seoul. Busan is a nice place to go if you want to see another part of Korea that's still pretty comfortable. It's in the south of South Korea on the ocean, and that makes it a great place to eat fish. In fact that's where all the fish in Seoul comes from, so you can eat it fresh in Busan! In many ways Busan feels like Seoul but 10 or 20 years ago. It's a bit more grimy and broken down and less futuristic than Seoul, but still very nice. I'd suggest staying in Seomyeon, which is kinda like Seoul's Hongdae. It's a student area with some hipster vibes to it. But take hipster vibes with a grain of salt, this is Busan after all. People are very friendly, even more friendly than Seoul. Where in Seoul as a foreigner they don't really care anymore, in Busan you're still hailed as a curiosity which can be fun! If you want to see the beach, take a taxi to Haeundae Beach. It's especially nice in the evening if you'd like to party. Korean beach culture is a bit different than in the West, so you'll probably see less swimming and sunbathing that you're used to. More like people walking on the beach boulevard. Also nice is to see the Jagalchi fish market, pick some fish you like in the big building and you can ask them to prepare it for you upstairs and cook it. Fish as fresh as you can get in Korea.
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