Moving is, by its nature, a huge life change and challenging experience to undertake. There are a lot of elements that go into uprooting your life and moving in search of job, comfort, studies or wanderlust. However, moving to Canada, the second biggest country on Earth presents its own set of challenges. Let’s have a look at them, shall we?
The challenges of moving to Canada
- Eligibility: Can you get residence status after moving to Canada?
- Jobs: Do you have one waiting for you at our kind northern neighbors or are you in search of one
- Cities: Canada is a big place, which means you have a lot of choice in your new country of residence.
- Culture: Just like the US, even though the whole of the country has common elements, it will also depend on the province you move into.
Eligibility – are you going for a residency or citizenship?
So, before going into what kind of legal position you may have when moving to Canada, we should see what kind of country Canada is. So, little basic information.
Things to know about your new home
Canada is our only neighbor to the north. It has 10 provinces and 3 territories and its motto “A mari usque a mare” (“from sea to sea”) is fitting as it, just like the US, covers the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Its truly huge land area is sparsely populated. Only around 35 million people are living on its 3,855,100 square miles. This means most Canadians find themselves living in cities, and it is fairly urban population (more about cities and life in them down in this article).
Interesting fact about Canada is that they never completely left old Great Britain behind. Their head of state is still the queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, and you will find her on a 20 Canadian dollar bill. Of course, for all practical matters, Canada is a parliamentary democracy.
It has very high scores on quality of living and human rights, as well as other perks such as universal healthcare for its citizens.
Now, speaking of citizens.
Citizenship or residency
So, first things first, not everyone can get moving to Canada. No matter how welcoming the nation is, there are some limitations. This includes:
- persons with a criminal record
- those moving to Canada solely for healthcare or financial reason
- those that have committed human or international rights violations
- people guilty of misrepresentation
- those with a not-admissible family member
- anyone non-compliance with the Immigration Refugee Protection Act
With those out of the way (and hopefully you do not fall in any of these categories), you can find a good moving company and get moving to Canada… right? Well, there is a pretty big thing to consider. Out there, you are no longer in the states, and your legal status is different.
According to the Canadavisa website, you apply for a move to Canada as a temporary entry or try to become a citizen. Thanks to many agreements (such as NAFTA) US citizens can easily move, work and study in Canada. However, to become a citizen, you need a spouse/partner option, to be considered a skilled worker or a business entrepreneur ready to invest.
All in all, Canada is a welcoming place for US citizens, and you and your partner if you are moving to Canada as a couple, should have a rather easy time, relatively speaking.
Jobs – are there any jobs waiting for you after you move to Canada?
Are you moving to Canada for a job or you plan to search for one over there? In any case, you should know that Canada has a pretty high standard of living and wage. So even though you are moving into an economy which is, naturally, comparatively smaller than one of the US, it is developed and thriving.
Unlike many other countries, you can move to Canada without a job offer. All you need is to be recognized as a skilled worker (Ph.D. in your field, though there is a limitation on yearly admittance of skilled workers to any given occupation). So, what is the state of the Canadian jobs market? Very well. Canada has about 5% unemployment (compared to the US 4% it is technically worse). But, it has a diverse, high paying job offering for immigrants, such as engineering, marketing, IT, etc.
We suggest you make a strong CV, have patience and make a network of people in your field. Moving to Canada might mean moving to your dream job, but it might take some effort when you get there.
All in all, if you had a thought like trying to find a job here, maybe its time to consider all kinds of different storage solutions at your disposal, find a moving company and go North!
Cities and Culture- what great cities to consider when moving to Canada and what is a culture like?
Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver are usually considered the most livable in Canada. They all share similarities with urban, metro-area culture in the US. But just like here, every city has its own culture worth exploring.
And just like California, Florida, Texas and New York will have a different understanding of what constitutes entertainment, different political views, educational opportunities, etc, same goes for Canadian provinces. Moving to Canada means moving into a diverse country. And your experience might go a lot different if you are moving in Vancouver opposed to, for example, Quebec.
Of course, it would be imposable to cover all the provinces (and 3 territories) in a blog post such as this, but you can find information online.
Canada, a place for me?
Well, you can never be sure just from what you read. While moving companies offer insurance, life won’t. However, that shouldn’t scare you. Canada is famously kind and welcoming. Once you go there, you can expect to find things you might have not even know you were looking for. You might end up doing something completely different from what you first intended. While the USA is the land of opportunity, Canada is just close enough to possess that same sense of adventure.. but with its own flavor.
