How hard would it be to start a fresh life in Canada?

[LocNess]

Have a friend and we both have interest in possibly starting afresh in Canada from the United States. We do know some people there as well. We are attending college in the US, but are willing to just get a job up there, and go to college up there as well. Being young however we probably do have tons of oversights and I was wondering if you guys had any pointers or things to look out for and such?

EDIT: And to add, we both have had jobs and work experience, we have no issues living on our own, and our mature and intelligent so we are not the type to just waste away all of our cash and stuff. We can both budget well.

[Omertocracy]

It takes over 6 months to get a work visa. A cousin of mine moved up there and was a year before he had a job. Do you have a years worth of Cash saved up?

[Palmatum]

It really doesn't seem that difficult at all if you have a degree. If you have a degree and about 10 grand which they consider to be a reasonable amount to settle, then that seems to be the majority of the equation.

[Agoonga]

Just get a flannel and an axe, you will be set for life.

[Outcry]

Also, do you have family in Canada? I had a friend who tried to immigrate here and he was deported. To immigrate successfully you need one of 3 things; Money, a college degree, or family already with landed immigrant status. This isn't a "me and a buddy of mine" thing, it's a me, my immigration lawyer, and this pile of money thing. Good Luck.

[mvaliz]

Have a friend and we both have interest in possibly starting afresh in Canada from the United States. We do know some people there as well. We are attending college in the US, but are willing to just get a job up there, and go to college up there as well. Being young however we probably do have tons of oversights and I was wondering if you guys had any pointers or things to look out for and such?

EDIT: And to add, we both have had jobs and work experience, we have no issues living on our own, and our mature and intelligent so we are not the type to just waste away all of our cash and stuff. We can both budget well.

I smell disgruntled Republicans.

If you are - why on earth do you believe you'll find Canada better? Especially when Obama is trying to implement the VERY same policies from Canada that the Republicans are so against? >_<

If not... then, my apologies for assuming so. :P

[Palmatum]

I smell disgruntled Republicans.

If you are - why on earth do you believe you'll find Canada better? Especially when Obama is trying to implement the VERY same policies from Canada that the Republicans are so against? >_<

If not... then, my apologies for assuming so. :P

Doubt it. Canada is probably the anti-christ to Republicans lol

[Outcry]

Doubt it. Canada is probably the anti-christ to Republicans lol

Makes me proud to live in the greatest country in the world.

[mvaliz]

Doubt it. Canada is probably the anti-christ to Republicans lol

Dude, never underestimate the stupidity of Americans.

I've got a hardcore republican friend saying he wanted to move to Canada now. I asked him why - since they have universal healthcare, and he responded "They don't have any death panels"...

<Infracted>

[KCguy]

Like many Countries, it's very hard to get in and stay in. You can go to school for example, but of course it would only be temporary. You could also get a work vista, but there are a lot of restrictions to what actually qualifies. You can't just be working at Mcdonald's and then decide to want to work in Canada. It doesn't work that way. It would only be high quality jobs.

As well if you're under a certain age you can apply for a citizenship if you have family living in Canada, but I believe the age is only up to 16 or something like that. If you're, let's say in your 20's, with no family here, like I said, the only way to get in would be either temp work or school. And I am sure a work vista would be out of the question, so the only other way is to go to school.

[Sunseeker]

Immigrating to any country is difficult.

As people have mentioned, the best start is family. Not "some dudes you know", if you don't have family already there, you're on the short track to not getting in.
Second: work experience, as much as the US claims want your poor, your huddled masses, like Canada and everyone else, we really just want your smart rich people. Flipping burgers is not immigration work experience, we're talking paid professionals, high-end degrees or careers. Lastly is of course, money. Moving costs money, immigration costs money, having no job while trying to find one costs money.

So, do you have family?
Do you have good work experience?
Do you have money?

If you said no to at least two of these questions, and you're answer to the last wasn't "assloads", then don't bet on it.

[amarristo]

Your best bet is the oil fields in alberta, they hire anyone and everyone because theres a shortage of workers for the amount of work going on in Ft. McMurray. Companies like Flint Energy etc who are north american would be your best bet as the workload increases its not uncommon for the big companies to get work visas, from there, knock up a canadian girl and get married or something.

[Barbariangreataxe]

The grass isn't always greener. I've heard good things about Canada and Canadians, but.. people are people everywhere you go. By that I mean some nice, some mean, some apathetic, some overzealous.

I, though, think it would be worth the effort just to laugh at their accents all day.

[Tradewind]

The grass isn't always greener. I've heard good things about Canada and Canadians, but.. people are people everywhere you go. By that I mean some nice, some mean, some apathetic, some overzealous.

I, though, think it would be worth the effort just to laugh at their accents all day.

We have accents now? Despite what South Park has taught you, we in fact don't all sound like Bob and Doug McKenzie.

Getting a job offer from a Canadian company is probably the quickest way to do it. Canada actively promotes the immigration of skilled labour. Generally speaking a university graduate with arranged employment will almost be guaranteed immigrant status. If you don't have employment arranged, you're likely going to need family living here on a permanent basis or be bi-lingual (English/French).

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...sess/index.asp

good place to check if you would "qualify."

If your goal is to go to school up here, apply at the university of your choosing as an international student. Most Universities have on-campus work as well which doesn't require a work visa and can assist in permanent residence long term. International studies cost more than if you were a Citizen, but still likely half of what you would pay in the US.

[LocNess]

I smell disgruntled Republicans.

If you are - why on earth do you believe you'll find Canada better? Especially when Obama is trying to implement the VERY same policies from Canada that the Republicans are so against? >_<

If not... then, my apologies for assuming so. :P

Yeah um no.

And thank you for the responses. It is a plan just starting to develop, and there is a lot of good insight here. Thank you for being helpful as always MMO-champ.

[RohanV]

Why Canada as opposed to another state in the US? You could go to Michigan or Wisconsin, or Oregon, or one of those small NE states and it would be very similar to living in Canada. Only you wouldn't have to deal with all the immigration hassles.

[insmek]

My wife and I are only in our 20s, but we're already making plans to retire to Canada--hopefully sooner, rather than later. It's a lovely country, and we both feel that it would be a better fit for us in the long run.

[Silversorrow]

Canada is a great place to live, and there are tons of jobs here so you will find no shortage of places to work. If you love the mountains and the ocean then British Columbia is a great place to live out on the west coast. Alberta is also very good as it has some of the lowest taxes in Canada, mountains on its western border but mostly plains and forest with tons of Oil related jobs all over.The east coast (Maritime's) has very cheap housing and is beautiful as well but jobs are harder to find there. The major city centers like Toronto/Ottawa/Vancouver/Montreal are very expensive but if you like the big city life those are the places to be. I am in the military and have lived all over Canada, I currently live on Vancouver Island in a town called Courtenay, 10 minute drive to the ocean and 45 minute drive to the top of a mountain ski resort, this place is heaven to me and I want to retire here, it is the nicest place to live in all of Canada IMO. There is a college here called "North Island College". If you google it you can check it out.

[Collegeguy]

I smell disgruntled Republicans.

If you are - why on earth do you believe you'll find Canada better? Especially when Obama is trying to implement the VERY same policies from Canada that the Republicans are so against? >_<

If not... then, my apologies for assuming so. :P

Where did you get this? Presuming to what you highlighted, are Republicans the only demographic in your mind that have jobs or something?

[FathomFear]

Have a friend and we both have interest in possibly starting afresh in Canada from the United States. We do know some people there as well. We are attending college in the US, but are willing to just get a job up there, and go to college up there as well. Being young however we probably do have tons of oversights and I was wondering if you guys had any pointers or things to look out for and such?

EDIT: And to add, we both have had jobs and work experience, we have no issues living on our own, and our mature and intelligent so we are not the type to just waste away all of our cash and stuff. We can both budget well.

I would recommend looking up threads on Reddit. Around election time in the U.S. there were some long threads on this topic. It's not exactly an easy process, but it certainly helps if you're skilled and can prove that you have the resources to make it happen.

May I ask what in particular draws you to Canada?