Is it really worth it?

[DEEPCUR]

okay, so i packed and moved to Canada. Had a job interview didn't pan out. Now I am living in Brampton, ON and boy I cannot adjust to Canada at all. The place I live is basically a nicer India. Which I should love. But I guess I am just way too used to USA after living there for 9 years. I think about going back everyday. And I am being told by people who moved from USA to never compare the two countries if you want to live in Canada. That just adds to your frustration I guess.

Anyways, I am looking for job. There are no opportunities as of now since IT market as we all know is tiny compared to US.

Will see how this goes.

In what sense are terming it as nicer version of India ? Bad roads or too much crowds there too ?

 

[mshaikh]

What is your domain? Can you elaborate more on the reason's for lack of jobs - is it just there are lesser jobs in the market or is the hiring process different, are you getting calls from recruiters?

I am database admin- SQL Server.
Both, hiring in Canada is done by HR people and I believe your manager has little say. They take multiple interviews not related to your skills.

Jobs opportunities are scarce but if you wait you will get calls may be once every two weeks.

 

[fr72]

okay, so i packed and moved to Canada. Had a job interview didn't pan out. Now I am living in Brampton, ON and boy I cannot adjust to Canada at all. The place I live is basically a nicer India. Which I should love. But I guess I am just way too used to USA after living there for 9 years. I think about going back everyday. And I am being told by people who moved from USA to never compare the two countries if you want to live in Canada. That just adds to your frustration I guess.

Anyways, I am looking for job. There are no opportunities as of now since IT market as we all know is tiny compared to US.

Will see how this goes.

Why Brampton? That place is mini India like Edison, NJ. What else do you expect there except mini India?

If you are in mobile/web dev or big data, it is super hot right now in Toronto. I get recruiter emails for these 2 fields almost every week.

 

[fr72]

I am database admin- SQL Server.
Both, hiring in Canada is done by HR people and I believe your manager has little say. They take multiple interviews not related to your skills.

Jobs opportunities are scarce but if you wait you will get calls may be once every two weeks.

Pick up big data skills. You already know SQL, learn some Python or Spark, plenty of openings.

 

[mshaikh]

I do see more opportunities if you diversify. Especially if you are good with programming. I see more programmer jobs as well.

Can you suggest any places please? I am also thinking Brampton might not be the best place to live. I have no choice right now since I know only one person in Canada who lives in Brampton. I am not about to sign a one year lease without a job. And I am saving some money on rent for now as well.

 

[fr72]

I do see more opportunities if you diversify. Especially if you are good with programming. I see more programmer jobs as well.

Can you suggest any places please? I am also thinking Brampton might not be the best place to live. I have no choice right now since I know only one person in Canada who lives in Brampton. I am not about to sign a one year lease without a job. And I am saving some money on rent for now as well.

Focus on job first. You are right to wait until then to sign lease especially because commutes can be long depending on job location.

Dont worry, whole of GTA is not like Brampton. Unlike US, Canada has a lot of segregation in terms of geography. There are many places which will make you feel you are in India, Russia and of course, the US.

I can suggest places once you get a job, a lot will depend on your workplace location. One thing I can say though - prefer living near TTC subway or Go train station. Car insurance is crazy crazy expensive and cars are also expensive relative to salary. A 2-3 yr old used car can easily end up costing 700 dollars a month. You also need winter tires, etc...

 

[DEEPCUR]

//Car insurance is crazy crazy expensive and cars are alsoexpensive relative to salary. A 2-3 yr old used car can easily end up costing 700 dollars a month. You also need winter tires, etc...//

$700 including emi or just insurance?

 

[fr72]

//Car insurance is crazy crazy expensive and cars are alsoexpensive relative to salary. A 2-3 yr old used car can easily end up costing 700 dollars a month. You also need winter tires, etc...//

$700 including emi or just insurance?

incl EMI.

 

[dks2323]

I am database admin- SQL Server.
Both, hiring in Canada is done by HR people and I believe your manager has little say. They take multiple interviews not related to your skills.

Jobs opportunities are scarce but if you wait you will get calls may be once every two weeks.

That's true job opportunities are lesser...but wait for some time, am pretty sure you'll end up somewhere good..There are opportunities for DBAs for sure...

And yes they take multiple interviews and not much related to your skills...its mostly behavioral...I noticed that too....but I am assuming if you have certain number of years of experience they expect you to know the technical stuff so they try to find a better fit in the team...just my thought....

I am not sure where were you in US but if you were not in a South East Asian dominated neighborhood then, O Boy, you are at a wrong place in Canada..
Brampton is a BIG city of South East Asians not just the neighborhood.....so its pretty obvious that you might not like it if you were not in a place like, lets say, Edison, NJ in US.....Stay away from west of Toronto if you don't like this neighborhood....Move up North or the East...or go to Downtown...I used to stay at Yonge-Eglinton....love that place...That's actually midtown but nice place to live...rent is cheaper as compared to downtown and has whole good feel of downtown...

The feeling of moving back to US would eventually go away within couple of months once few of your decisions get right....no its not that you have to settle for less or compromise or force yourself to like the place....but it'll happen...that's my personal experience.......

And for the Car insurance, you are at the worst place in GTA...Insurance is the highest in Brampton...I moved from North to West....my insurance went up from 150 to 230 a month...So basically insurance is high in the Peel region....

But yes, lesser number of opportunities and lesser money as compared to US is mostly true...

 

[dks2323]

And I am not sure about the cars being more expensive in Canada...I recently bought a certified Infiniti QX60 (2014 premium package)...The cost in CAD was 34K + taxes.....I checked the KBB and the similar car in US is costing around 29K + taxes USD and if you go for a certified one its around 33K+ taxes USD...

So if you take the conversion (CAD to USD), it seems cars are cheaper in Canada ( or atleast the car that I bought)....I compared it with zip code 02903 (RI) because this is where I was in US....

May be you should compare it yourself....go to autotrader.ca for Canada and kbb.com for US and see for yourself for the car you are planning to buy...

 

[fr72]

And I am not sure about the cars being more expensive in Canada...I recently bought a certified Infiniti QX60 (2014 premium package)...The cost in CAD was 34K + taxes.....I checked the KBB and the similar car in US is costing around 29K + taxes USD and if you go for a certified one its around 33K+ taxes USD...

So if you take the conversion (CAD to USD), it seems cars are cheaper in Canada ( or atleast the car that I bought)....I compared it with zip code 02903 (RI) because this is where I was in US....

May be you should compare it yourself....go to autotrader.ca for Canada and kbb.com for US and see for yourself for the car you are planning to buy...

May not be in absolute terms. But my salary is not US salary * conversion rate, it is much lower than that. I was full time in US in a decent product company. Maybe if you were a consultant, you might be better off with Canadian full time and wont feel the pinch.

So cars feel expensive to me in relative terms. Also, don't neglect the tax. GST in Ontario is 13%! Insurance is more than double of what I paid in US even after converting everything to one currency. Gas is double of some states in US, maybe comparable to California. Unlike California, it snows here. So your vehicle corrodes faster thanks to the salt on roads. Then if you care at all about safety, you need winter tires ($500 at least).

 

[boatyyo]

As a fellow H1b visa worker planning to move to Canada, i feel we will be much more mentally satisfied if we don't compare things to US and also take it one step at a time, stay for 3 years get citizenship and then decide. 3-4 years is a very small amount of time and if I continue living in US it will literally do nothing to my status whereas in Canada i can get become a citizen. Just think no more postponing trips outside the country due to visa paperwork, you can take a month off and stay at home if you want to without losing status, spend time with young kids if you have any, change your job profile. All of that peace of mind is worth much more than a few thousand $. Its a new start!

 

[DEEPCUR]

As a fellow H1b visa worker planning to move to Canada, i feel we will be much more mentally satisfied if we don't compare things to US and also take it one step at a time, stay for 3 years get citizenship and then decide. 3-4 years is a very small amount of time and if I continue living in US it will literally do nothing to my status whereas in Canada i can get become a citizen. Just think no more postponing trips outside the country due to visa paperwork, you can take a month off and stay at home if you want to without losing status, spend time with young kids if you have any, change your job profile. All of that peace of mind is worth much more than a few thousand $. Its a new start!

Yeah overall 40% lesser savings plus small risk of being unemployed for a while are the price. Rationed healthcare is another headache, but god forbid, we always have India as a great backup for anything major.

I too feel 3 years is equal to one h1b extension period. By the time one is due for another extension, we are guaranteed a first world country's citizenship.

I have seen plenty of old threads in Trackitt asking for opinion on moving to Canada on the verge of not being able to meet RO, but eventually ended up being in US to get GC after 7 or 8 year wait. But for our group it is very clear that GC is never going to come give the huge backlog, and that should help making a clear decision sooner.

 

[dks2323]

May not be in absolute terms. But my salary is not US salary * conversion rate, it is much lower than that. I was full time in US in a decent product company. Maybe if you were a consultant, you might be better off with Canadian full time and wont feel the pinch.

So cars feel expensive to me in relative terms. Also, don't neglect the tax. GST in Ontario is 13%! Insurance is more than double of what I paid in US even after converting everything to one currency. Gas is double of some states in US, maybe comparable to California. Unlike California, it snows here. So your vehicle corrodes faster thanks to the salt on roads. Then if you care at all about safety, you need winter tires ($500 at least).

Well if you compare it this way then yes, Canada is expensive....Car and gas is nothing as compared to buying a house....housing is expensive here...way more expensive than US.....and you have to live in a big city to get a better job and good money....so if this is how we compare things then yes, one would want to go back to US as soon as he/she lands here...

 

[mshaikh]

Thanks you huya for all youe imputs. Everything you guys said is correct.
One new thing I learned recently is TN is non-immigrant visa. So your approved I140 may not do you any good unless your employer is ready for consular processing.
I also heard approved I140 may hurt your chances to get TN. Not a 100% sure on that though. But for sure TN is not like H1 as in dual intent.

I also noticed apartments are not easy to get. There seems to be waitg list for good ones.

A question for people who have some experience, how is southern Ontario like Cambridge, kitchener, burlington etc? I have been to Pickering- I liked that place .

I heard some sections of scarborough has crime and thefts?

Will explore northern Ontario. Ohh one morr thing I have so many friends back in US in most states, here it seems to be hard to make friends