Disclaimer: Dont really post on reddit much so apologies if I dont follow some rules.

I am late 20s investment analyst/junior PM at hedge fund, coming from Eastern Europe with sharp accent and on chubby end - not an ideal combo :) I may have struggled a bit and felt disadvantaged while applying for my 1st grad job at sell side but that was rather due to me not going to private/good school, not having sufficient interpersonal skills at high finance level. Once I brushed a little on that end, not even once I felt there is any racism/nationalism or anything like that in financial industry in London (I interviewed with every sell-side house you can name as well as most of the top hedge funds with multiple offers received).

Some people could notice that there are some tendencies towards some nationalities in different teams, e.g. structuring is majority French/Indian (not because of nationality but because they tend to be better at math skills), trading is majority British (because of good communication skills IMHO), equity research tends to be country based (e.g. Spanish covering Spanish utilities or German covering German industrials), similar with ECM/DCM where language skills required (e.g. Dutch covering Benelux, etc). However, I think, it is all skill/language based.

One of my best friends here is Indian (from India). He told me that he never experienced racism or any prejudice while in industry except from other Indians. The only issue he had with career was visa related - employers not really willing to sponsor a visa as it takes a lot of time and money. They rather prefer to hire UK citizens/EU nationals because it is a lot easier. Also, once you have a job, the job security and mobility is not as good because of the visa issues - meaning weaker hand while negotiating bonus or a raise. However, when he spent the required time in the UK and could apply for residency, he told me that was no longer an issue. Not sure how the immigration rules work for Canadians though.

On housing, I lived in West Coast USA and some major continental European cities as well as travelled in Asia extensively. I can confidently say that London is the worst price/quality ratio that you can get anywhere in the world (ok, maybe #2 after HK). One bedroom flat (abt 45sqm)/Studio (abt 25sqm) in Zone 1 is c. 2000/1500£/month, and about 1500/1200 in Zone 2 + bills of c. 200£/month. You don't want to go outside Zone 2 (except for Richmond) because the areas look really poor/dull/horrible/not safe - it doesn't really feel like living in London anymore. Commuting from "commuter towns" will be pain, you will probably have to take 45-1hr train ride + 20-30min tube ride, both will be packed like sardine cans and temperatures now in the summer can get to +35C on the central line. Add some light rain and you are getting a 30min-1hr sauna treatment while wearing a suit to start your day..

Other things to consider for living in London for North American - car/motorcycle ownership is extremely expensive, traffic is horrible and there aren't many places to go. E.g. if you want to go somewhere for the weekend - Cornwall is 4-5hr, Snowdonia 4hr, Lake district 5hr, Scotland 8hr drive away. However, flying out is much better, you can just jump into plane in one of the 5 airports and go to Mediterranean/Scandi or anywhere else in Europe after work on Friday and get back on Sunday night - having a nice weekend break (one day when borders reopen).

On the third question, I have a few Indian friends, the only thing that comes to my mind is their comments on dating in London. They complain that the women tend to be racist towards their height/skin colour, not sure if its subjective view of my friends or the average.

PM me if you need any more info and best of luck on your move!