[V.Narayan]

Dear @Sangwan, Congratulations on fulfilling your dream of migrating to Canada. I wish you all the very best with full sincerity. I’m sure your thread will serve as a useful practical guide to other would be aspirants. Your candour and open mindedness is a reflection of your inner maturity and a quality of not fooling yourself.

Quoted below are four points from your thread which make me wonder why people wish to immigrate to Canada. Maybe USA has more job opportunity and savings potential but Canada and the UK simply do not. If an immigrant cannot save more than in a similar situation in India, cannot hope to buy a reasonable house in a reasonable time, cannot access the healthcare system when needed and {in Canada} is not in the middle of a booming job market then what are the advantages of immigrating other than the hope things will get better or the fact that one gets to impress the folks back home. And I’m not even bringing in family support as you grow your family. I can understand the benefits of a cleaner environment, superior municipal services, citizens with far better civic sense – all very important. But economically doing averagely well in India is IMHO more attractive than Canada or UK. I cannot speak for Australia or NZ. Maybe I’m out of touch with the views of the young now.

Some of my and my wife’s batchmates migrated to USA/Canada in the 1980s and a few in the 1990s. With 2 exceptions none are doing economically better than those of us who stayed back in India. For a young Indian opportunity in India has never been better given where our economy has reached and where it aims to go over the next 30 years.

Just sharing my nationalistic views. My very best to you and your young family.

6. You're going to miss a lot of social events in your life.

7. My wife and I pray more often now that we don't get a call in the middle of the night from India with something untoward happening to our loved ones as everyone is ageing.

...and we save some too each month but yes taking into consideration work life in India and Canada, we believe we were saving more in India.

13. There is health crisis, there are shortage of doctors and nurses. They are overworked, depressed and this is leading to longer waits in the Emergency Rooms.

14. There is a housing crisis.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

...points from your thread which make me wonder why people wish to immigrate to Canada.

Thank you for the wishes Narayan Sir. I don't feel I am the expert but I would like to share my view as to why people move to Canada when US is right there. I feel the strongest reason is getting the permanent resident status, and citizenship in an expedited manner in Canada (although now it is hard here compared to how things were few years ago). It take years to get green card in US and with how the environment is in USA nowadays one can't be sure, on top of that the difference between USD and CAD in INR is another major factor, and the US Immigration system is even worse then Canada. Even the visitor visa is having almost 2 years waiting period before you can get your visa interview. If you're a citizen of this country then what many people do here is that they go and work in USA and return back to Canada. I think Canada gives you the assurance that if US doesn't work then at least you have Canada to work with. Don't know what you make of it.


I feel no matter what the country is, if you're outside your home country you'll miss the social connect. There are flights to India everyday, so if anything untoward happens and we need to rush back then it will take longer time instead of few hours if we had to move from someplace in India.


The housing crisis is real but slowly and steadily the government is taking decisions in the right direction. It will definitely take time but the prices will stabilize someday. It wasn't all bad as far as I have understood, during Covid the prices started soaring really high and since then it has become such a bigger issue.

As for health crisis, the government is taking decisions to accept foreign degrees (don't remember the exact Bill number) but what it aims to do is that they will start accepting your foreign credentials and that will take care of the skill deficit the country is currently facing including the medical services.

Here in Canada, you can make a lot of money. I have seen myself when people are making tons of money, there is opportunity in everything, one just needs to start somewhere. No one is stopping me but the more I age everyday I feel there will be time to make money but right now I should spend time with my kid. What will be the use of money if my kid turns in to a headache when he grows up? I am already trying for better jobs, and have started looking into learning trades as well to have my own business, it is going to take some time. If I came here alone or came here just after getting married then trust me, I/we would have saved a lot. Having a kid around changes your priority but you already know this fact better than me

You're too kind sir. I have read your other threads and have read your views on emigration thread but may be majority of us young people in India (including myself) doesn't have the financial/running a business acumen and all we do is try to secure jobs and the jobs are limited while our competition is not which then leads to try for other places. I believe you treat your employees really well but I somehow haven't seen this kindness in other places. All I have seen is exploitation, depressed work environments, sadness/frustration and may be it might be a one off incident but I or my friends or friends of my friends, we haven't seen the growth till now. I can give you detailed accounts of conditions people are in and I am sure you'll counter them with me with valid responses. And so, I feel this is a never ending topic because I can't convince you and you can't convince me.

I feel a sense of satisfaction with my decisions and not for once I have a second guess. Yes these decisions have led me to back to square one in terms of settling/building assets but as I live here, witness the day to day life, I feel happy and I think that is enough.

I don't know all this made sense or not as my son is jumping on/around me while I write this response.

[Samurai]

Amazing thread... I am truly impressed by your discipline, tenacity and grit. However, I can't get over a lingering feeling. If you apply the same effort in India in the private sector, won't you do better than in Canada?

I see so many folks in India collecting mindboggling salary working for IT while expending lots less effort than you.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

. Maybe I’m out of touch with the views of the young now.

I think you missed the start of the thread - a lot of people prefer having a peaceful life than a high income/savings. This is especially true if you're employed and have very little incentive to do the hard grind.

Thanks to the inherent belief among the private sector management that young people should spend a considerable amount of time working for them and sacrifice their personal lives under the guise of national progress without any personal tangible benefits in return, you'll continue to see more threads like this. It's Maslow's hierarchy of needs (dignity of labour) playing out for all of us to see.

[kiku007]

Hello @Sangwan

Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. I especially appreciate the honesty and humility. IMHO these are two qualities that are in short supply online.

I wish you the very best. Take care.

Originally Posted by Sangwan

4. Making a permanent memory on the Internet, to remind my self that "I did this too" in my life.

So true. I hope one day your son gets to read this blog of yours, so he understands his family's journey.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Thank you for the wishes Narayan Sir. I don't feel I am the expert but I would like to share my view as to why people move to Canada when US is right there....

Thank you for your balanced and thoughtful answer. On emotional topics like this most people get carried away but not you. I am sure your inner maturity and ability to introspect will take you far. My very best wishes to you and your family for success and peace in your new homeland.

[sirius]

Wishing you all the best for your Canada Journey. Hope at least for our kids the situation might change in our country.

[targaryen]

Thanks for the detailed thread! I can relate with your situation as someone who comes from a similar background. While I have no near plans to move abroad and I am certainly saving more of my income while living in India compared to any other place (I did the math!), it is also a fact that I am quite poor on the personal time front. I have been doing 70 hour work weeks years before Mr. Murthy made it a headline and I am typing this before I begin work (when I am actually on sanctioned leave today). As someone pointed out earlier, the respect for labour, white collar or blue collar, is one of the lowest in South Asian countries. I have worked with clients from across nationalities and cultures and I hate to admit but Indian clients have been the worst when it comes to respecting your space and time (I am referring to calls/meetings/new tasks on Sundays and late hours). This competitive spirit and never rest attitude will certainly do wonders for our economy and individual wealth creation but I am not sure at what cost! Once my family grows, I fully intend to take a step back and spend more time home, irrespective of what my excel sheets say. Hope your new life allows you to do the same as well.

[docsr]

Dear Sangwan,

A brilliant and detailed post. The fact that you have covered both- the personal as well as the procedural side of migrating to Canada is excellent and very useful guide for those looking to follow this path. You have also covered a fair bit of ground related to the various rules and regulations about immigrating to Canada.

There have been horror stories about people being exploited and even loosing their lives - so the drive to immigrate must be very profound.
On a more personal note, a close relative has moved there to do her Masters and the "to-stay or not-to-stay" debate is very really for me.

As a country and a people, it is really nice. However, I agree, housing and health care is a BIG BIG problem. Health care , especially , is scarce and is severely rationed- there is no better word for it. Though they have excellent hospitals and do great work, from the population's perspective, it is definitely not good.

All the very best. I am sure that you will reach whatever goals that you set for yourself. Thanks for taking the time and penning this very high quality and information post.

[Imran.Syed]

What an amazing and detailed post!

I landed in Canada (GTA) as a PR, which I processed myself, and I personally went to a great length to learn every detail that involved the thing, so I must say you have covered the steps very well. I will refer people to your thread when I am inquired about filing and processing PRs in Canada.

You may have seen my posts in the Emigration thread and my opinion about Canada. (Spoiler: Leaving the country next month after a year of being here) But I was pleased to read a happy story from a new immigrant. That is a rare and hard find, in my circle at least haha. At a C$110k family income, you are a true representation of the average Canadian worker, so your facts and situation paint a very realistic picture of the ground reality, especially for post-2020 people.

And I also appreciate the maturity and understanding you have shown in answering people who question the worth of the hard work you have put in to be in Canada. I have seen people being bashed for wanting to leave and for not wanting to leave. You and your hard work will be ridiculed either way so I hope you continue doing you!

I used to have a negative opinion of the (majority of) international students here, but I spend some time with them, which has really humbled me a lot. I have nothing but respect for your grit and honesty. You made all the right and logical moves, like avoiding the debt traps of a new phone or new car, and as common sense as it sounds, it's so easy to cave in and make unwise financial decisions within the first few weeks of being here.


My only advice to you is to be very, very, very cautious of the housing market. It's not a small bubble, its one of the largest, if not the largest in the world and still growing in Alberta. 2019-23 buyers fail to sell even at often huge losses in the GTA.


And please understand the full cost of a house, especially if it's a Condo, before buying one. Variable vs. 5-year fixed mortgage rates, Major-Minor-Monthly Maintenance fees, strata fees, and property taxes can give people a rude awakening. Get a proper inspection whenever you decide to buy, and do not use the seller's company. And be wary of a realtor who tries to create FOMO to cut a deal quickly and make their commission. In the ocean of realtors in Canada, the very few good ones are worth the price you pay.

As things stand, financially, I do not see how one can afford to retire in the country. So I would advise you to consider that too before making a housing purchase.

About starting a business here, I have friends who own retail businesses in almost all the GTA malls, and they are starting to feel the pain of high leasing costs. I can only suggest being careful or having deep pockets if getting into retail in the GVA/GTA.

Friends who started in cheaper cities and provinces like London, ON or Quebec City, QC, are making the same profit in the same businesses while doing 2 to 3 times less revenue. Construction contracting and maintenance businesses like Landscaping, etc., seem to do well almost anywhere but especially in Alberta due to the influx of people they are getting from ON and BC.

Overall, trade is definitely the way to go.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

If you apply the same effort in India in the private sector, won't you do better than in Canada?

True, I could have but in my last semester in college I tried few placements, couldn’t get in and at that time the goal was military or govt job, so I never tried really hard. If I knew that someday I would be moving overseas back then, then I would have given my best because the transition would have been so simple. But now this is the way how it all happened and I am content with the results

Originally Posted by Imran.Syed

My only advice to you is to be very very very cautious of the housing market.

Thanks for the warning(s). I agree with your input and believe me I have read so much about the housing market. Inspection will be done no matter what, I am taking note of every single expense I would need to keep in mind. Realtor isn’t an issue as my realtor works for me at my company, we know each other for over a year now and he is never pushing, he is asking me to take as much time as I want.

When he sends me a listing we( wife and I) already know more than him about it ( if only we had license ). So, rest assured I am cautious.

As for retirement , we already started depositing in RRSP account and will further take decisions in this direction once we are done with buying place of our own.

It will take time to get everything sorted out and we need to show patience.

P.S: I have read your inputs on emigration and saw how heated things got but to each of its own. All we are doing is to help someone not make the mistakes we made and people don’t take it really well because all they hear is “he/she doesn’t want us to be here while they are already settled”. Again thank you for input.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Sangwan

When he sends me a listing we( wife and I) already know more than him about it (if only we had license). So, rest assured I am cautious.

It's a great and handy thread. Some things are cherished when you work hard to achieve them. My brother sponsored me, and it was an easy way for us, way back in 2012, but I decided to relinquish my PR as I feel more connected here.

Victoria is a lovely place to live and even better to retire There are a lot of government jobs that one can get pretty quickly, though salaries are not much. Housing is a big problem on the island, as in most BC or elsewhere in Canada.

My son works in Central Saanich but rents out in Downtown Victoria. Rents are crazy, so if you can find something on the island, it will be a better option. I personally like something closer to the sea and think of retiring someday in similar settings, but for you, the distance to work and school for your kid will be more important at this stage.

Good luck, and I hope we can catch up sometime over a coffee at any of the lovely places on the island

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Victoria is a lovely place to live and even better to retire There are a lot of government jobs that one can get pretty quickly, though salaries are not much. Housing is a big problem on the island, as in most BC or elsewhere in Canada.

Good luck, and I hope we can catch up sometime over a coffee at any of the lovely places on the island

Once you live in Victoria, you're spoiled for good. I am applying in BC Public services (it takes a lot of time though). The benefits are good and yes the salary is less in the beginning but the benefits are good and there are ample opportunities to move forward within different Ministries. I live in Surrey currently but always hoping to move back to the Islands.

It will be my pleasure to meet you Sir!

[Kkumar]

Congratulations on getting PR and wishing you all the best for all your future adventures. It was a great thread with frank details. Generally one tends to paint only the rosy picture but you didn’t. It will be a ready reckoner for all those nurturing the Canadian dream. Thank you.

[sagarpadaki]

What an informative thread @Sangwan! Wish you all the best for your new life in Canada.

I did not understand one aspect or maybe I missed it from your writing. You mentioned you applied for sabbatical at your bank in India and it was rejected. So, Did you resign from your Bank before you took the flight to Cananda? If not, how did you handle the resignation and exit formalities from your Indian employment while in Canada?