My experience of immigrating to Canada

Well I am from India and I came to Canada in 2015.

My spouse and I initially wanted to live in Vancouver, but after reading about the high cost of living and even higher competition with regards to jobs, we chickened out and decided to land in Toronto.

How was the initial experience you ask?

Well right from landing at the Pearson airport to getting a taxi and settling in our hotel room, we felt right at home. Searching for rental units, applying for jobs, learning to use the transit systems and breathing in clean air took up most of our time over the next few weeks. With each loonie that we spent, we were loosing 50 times the value in Indian currency. It demanded utmost mental strength not to think much of that. :)

At that point of time, both of us had more than six years of work experience and were in highly skilled professions. Our resumes received fair amount of responses. However, the moment the prospective employers realized that we have “zero Canadian experience”, they just vanished into thin air.

Finally after three months, both of us got relevant job offers and haven’t looked back ever since.

What we learnt from this experience?

The Canadian economy is not as shining as it is perceived from the outside. Unless you are highly skilled, it is going to be a “not-so-easy” journey.

What we hope you learn from our experience?

• Be prepared for the worst.
• Save as much as you can before moving to Canada.
• Add new skill sets.
• Learn French (many jobs need bilingual candidates).
• Consider entrepreneurship (in the long run). It is definitely not a cakewalk, but do not limit yourself to the odds of finding a relevant job.

Treat the time before you get a job as a well deserved vacation. Try to spend it wisely with family and friends. Do not get frustrated. Use it to learn and acclimatize yourself to your new “home”. :)

Attend all the food festivals around the city, see all the good places, visit Niagara Falls, live the life that you immigrated for.