How I got three job offers while being outside Canada

[Canada_Immigration_Tips]

I'd recommend reading https://immigrationcanadatips.com/2018/11/09/how-to-secure-a-job-in-canada-as-an-immigrant-or-foreigner/
We've just made a topic about this.

 

[tobs]

I've read every post on this thread @axolotl and I've enjoyed every single one. It's been 9 months since your last post. Any updates? How's the baby doing? Did you eventually move to NS? What else have you done recently regarding your finances?
Looking forward to your responses.

 

[tobs]

There are lot of nuances to financial independence planning and there's a huge online community of folks who actively discuss such strategies in great detail. You will find that most folks are not opposed to carrying debt such as a mortgage during the accumulation phase of their retirement nest because their job acts as a hedge against the risk of defaulting. However, post-FI nearly everyone chooses to be debt free since the cognitive burden of carrying debt is not worth the loss of quality of life. Some even choose to sell their house and rent instead, since it's less headache and offers more freedom of movement.

Super interesting point about lifespan enhancement. I've never heard it being mentioned in the context of financial independence. From what I know about the state of research in that area (work by Calico and talks by Aubrey De Gray), it still seems a ways off; though probably not impossible in a 30 year time frame. I guess my strategy would be to come out of retirement and head to one of the finance companies/hedge funds if the research seemed promising enough to earn money for it. My view on retirement is that once you're freed from the yokel of working for someone, you actually have time and the energy to work on individual projects that add a lot of value to society. In my case, I plan to do that in the domain of artificial intelligence and open-source my work. I am sure that such a skillset will be valuable monetarily in the financial sector should such a situation arise.

Hi @deadbird, @trumprefugee Can you please share links to a few of the online communities on Financial independence planning that you're a part of?

 

[navinball]

a wharton MBA and a data scientist at twitter can get a job offer on mars. how about a thread for normal folks.

 

[axolotl]

I've read every post on this thread @axolotl and I've enjoyed every single one. It's been 9 months since your last post. Any updates? How's the baby doing? Did you eventually move to NS? What else have you done recently regarding your finances?
Looking forward to your responses.

Indeed it has been a while since my last update.

Here's a brief summary of what happened since then.

• I became less and less happy with my then employer and I left in April 2018.
• I started with another company in Montreal as a Lead Data Scientist in July. Now I live in Saint Bruno, a small town half an hour away from Montreal.
• My baby arrived in October and I named him Célestin Axolotl. A French name for a baby born in Quebec seemed more fitting.
• I was on parental leave in November. December was effectively a free month any way

Life is great now. I work on average about two hours a day and it sometimes feels as if I were already retired. People here are very welcoming. So far all those negative stereotypes about the Québecois seem completely inaccurate.

Canada has treated me really well and I am very content.

Let me know which part of my life interests you the most and I will provide more details.

 

[trumprefugee]

Indeed it has been a while since my last update.

Here's a brief summary of what happened since then.

• I became less and less happy with my then employer and I left in April 2018.
• I started with another company in Montreal as a Lead Data Scientist in July. Now I live in Saint Bruno, a small town half an hour away from Montreal.
• My baby arrived in October and I named him Célestin Axolotl. A French name for a baby born in Quebec seemed more fitting.
• I was on parental leave in November. December was effectively a free month any way

Life is great now. I work on average about two hours a day and it sometimes feels as if I were already retired. People here are very welcoming. So far all those negative stereotypes about the Québecois seem completely inaccurate.

Canada has treated me really well and I am very content.

Let me know which part of my life interests you the most and I will provide more details.

Thanks for the update, and congrats on the new job, move and baby! All of the parts you mentioned interest me, but at this time I'm most interested in hearing about your financial arrangement, especially your real estate strategy (you mentioned a rental in Windsor before - did you buy another? what are your thoughts on real estate in the Montreal area and other places you considered? how do you manage your properties? You mentioned a manager before - how did you find them, and are they doing a good job? And what's your living situation now - are you airbnb-ing rooms and how is it working with your baby?)

And what's your work situation? Are you working part time or are you still partially on parental leave?

Oh and about the Quebecois being welcoming - I heard that they are pretty nice to those who are not obviously English speaking whites, as there has been a lot of historic conflict between the English and French speaking Canadians. And it's best if you can speak French reasonably well, but even if you don't, if you are not obviously a white Anglophone, you can still be fine. But if you are a non-French speaking white Anglophone who reminds them of the oppressive English speaking Canadians they have had conflict with - and many Americans fit this description - then you will be discriminated against. Have you noticed this to be the case?

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for the update, and congrats on the new job, move and baby! All of the parts you mentioned interest me, but at this time I'm most interested in hearing about your financial arrangement, especially your real estate strategy (you mentioned a rental in Windsor before - did you buy another? what are your thoughts on real estate in the Montreal area and other places you considered? how do you manage your properties? You mentioned a manager before - how did you find them, and are they doing a good job? And what's your living situation now - are you airbnb-ing rooms and how is it working with your baby?)

And what's your work situation? Are you working part time or are you still partially on parental leave?

Oh and about the Quebecois being welcoming - I heard that they are pretty nice to those who are not obviously English speaking whites, as there has been a lot of historic conflict between the English and French speaking Canadians. And it's best if you can speak French reasonably well, but even if you don't, if you are not obviously a white Anglophone, you can still be fine. But if you are a non-French speaking white Anglophone who reminds them of the oppressive English speaking Canadians they have had conflict with - and many Americans fit this description - then you will be discriminated against. Have you noticed this to be the case?

Would imagine many are not as fortunate as this woman an her wife. She had considerable savings already and seems like she can live off the money generated by investments. Not sure if she is just super efficient at work but 2 hours is not a typical work day for most and the commute can be brutal to get into Montreal. Believe her and her wife are both European and speak French and Mpontreal is definitely the most European of all the Canadian cities. Cost of housing is also very reasonable and has been depressed for a long time although has been increasing for the past few years. Sounds like you have created a lovely life for yourself. Congratulations!

 

[tobs]

Indeed it has been a while since my last update.

Here's a brief summary of what happened since then.

• I became less and less happy with my then employer and I left in April 2018.
• I started with another company in Montreal as a Lead Data Scientist in July. Now I live in Saint Bruno, a small town half an hour away from Montreal.
• My baby arrived in October and I named him Célestin Axolotl. A French name for a baby born in Quebec seemed more fitting.
• I was on parental leave in November. December was effectively a free month any way

Life is great now. I work on average about two hours a day and it sometimes feels as if I were already retired. People here are very welcoming. So far all those negative stereotypes about the Québecois seem completely inaccurate.

Canada has treated me really well and I am very content.

Let me know which part of my life interests you the most and I will provide more details.

I'll like to know more about your investments. How's it been? Did the real estate plans pan out?

 

[axolotl]

Thanks for the update, and congrats on the new job, move and baby! All of the parts you mentioned interest me, but at this time I'm most interested in hearing about your financial arrangement, especially your real estate strategy (you mentioned a rental in Windsor before - did you buy another? what are your thoughts on real estate in the Montreal area and other places you considered? how do you manage your properties? You mentioned a manager before - how did you find them, and are they doing a good job? And what's your living situation now - are you airbnb-ing rooms and how is it working with your baby?)

And what's your work situation? Are you working part time or are you still partially on parental leave?

Oh and about the Quebecois being welcoming - I heard that they are pretty nice to those who are not obviously English speaking whites, as there has been a lot of historic conflict between the English and French speaking Canadians. And it's best if you can speak French reasonably well, but even if you don't, if you are not obviously a white Anglophone, you can still be fine. But if you are a non-French speaking white Anglophone who reminds them of the oppressive English speaking Canadians they have had conflict with - and many Americans fit this description - then you will be discriminated against. Have you noticed this to be the case?

I haven't bought any other property since then. The move to Quebec has made it less easy to look actively for properties in the Windsor region.

I tried, but could not find anything as interesting in the Montreal area. The market here is less crazy than in Toronto. But it is still hard to justify buying instead of renting. Let me use my current dwelling as an example.

• Twin house with three bedroom, a full basement, and a decent backyard.
• Rent: 1,300.
• Purchase price: about 250,000.
• Property tax: 200 a month.
• Insurance: ? (Let's assume it's 100 per month.)
• Airbnb income from the basement: between 150 (winter) and 700 (summer) a month.

If you use a cost of capital of 8% on a 20% down payment and assume a mortgage rate of 3%, your monthly cost to own is around 50000*8%/12+200+100+200000*3%/12=1133. Less than the rent. But you are not counting a) maintenance costs, b) a lower return on the principle repayment (which is equal to the mortgage rate). It is okay if you plan to live there for a few years yourself. But if you plan to rent it out and use a management firm, it seems hardly worth it. (Now you also need to take vacancy into account.)

For properties in Windsor, you can try RAM Property Management.

I can still do airbnb even with a baby because the basement is relatively sound proof. It has a separate entrance.

I am officially working full time.

I speak French with people here. They notice immediately it's not my first language. But it's okay. Their accent can be challenging though. It is actually okay to speak only English if you live in the western part of Montreal, where English is the most spoken language. But if you live elsewhere, it is strongly advised to learn French. Since the arrival of the baby, I had to do deal a lot with the government for things like parental leave, birth registration, nurse home visits, etc. Many of the people to whom I had to talk spoke very little English.

My partner, on the other hand, does not speak French. But most people were very friendly to her, possibly because they saw she's pregnant. She took a government-financed French course for a while. Not only was the course free, but also she received about 150 dollars a week from the government, just for taking the course!

 

[axolotl]

Not sure if she is just super efficient at work but 2 hours is not a typical work day for most and the commute can be brutal to get into Montreal.

The secret of two-hour working days is to have your boss in a different city (e.g. Toronto).

Commute is not bad at all. I used to take the train to Montreal and the train itself took 30 minutes. Now I drive (25 minutes) to Costco, where I can park for free, and then walk to the office in downtown (another 25 minutes).

The most European city in North America is probably Quebec city instead of Montreal

 

[axolotl]

I'll like to know more about your investments. How's it been? Did the real estate plans pan out?

I am now focusing on paying off my mortgage in the Netherlands at 4.7%.

It is partly because I feel an economic/financial winter is coming. If it does come, I will have cash/income to buy whatever at a more attractive price. If it does not, it's also okay.

Recently I read Antifragile. It has changed my attitude towards debt a bit. It seems a good idea to get rid of most of my debt before my retirement.

 

[zabrodov]

I really liked the story and I am very happy for the OP but I found this experience rather discouraging. What I mean by that is the fact that even with such an outstanding background, Ms. Axoloti did struggle with finding a job. If I use this profile as a benchmark, it makes me question my own chances of success. I am completing my MBA from one of the world's top 100 business schools, which is in the US, but looking at an alum from the world's top 10 who had a hard time finding proper employment, I am not sure how it's going to work out for me.

 

[navinball]

I really liked the story and I am very happy for the OP but I found this experience rather discouraging. What I mean by that is the fact that even with such an outstanding background, Ms. Axoloti did struggle with finding a job. If I use this profile as a benchmark, it makes me question my own chances of success. I am completing my MBA from one of the world's top 100 business schools, which is in the US, but looking at an alum from the world's top 10 who had a hard time finding proper employment, I am not sure how it's going to work out for me.

I got 4 interviews in one week and landed an offer in 2 months just by spraying indeed.ca with my resume and a cover letter. my profile is a common IT profile. Times have changed and a lot more companies are setting shop in toronto.

 

[emamabd]

,

I really liked the story and I am very happy for the OP but I found this experience rather discouraging. What I mean by that is the fact that even with such an outstanding background, Ms. Axoloti did struggle with finding a job. If I use this profile as a benchmark, it makes me question my own chances of success. I am completing my MBA from one of the world's top 100 business schools, which is in the US, but looking at an alum from the world's top 10 who had a hard time finding proper employment, I am not sure how it's going to work out for me.

I've moved here permanently about 5 years ago - never judged my chances based on the experiences of others - if someone with a great profile finds a great job or didn't find one - either way that doesn't guarantee that you will find/or not find meaningful employment.

My advice - while you are abroad - when reading other people's stories (both successes and failures)...extract the strategies/approaches which make sense to you and apply it once you are here.

With that said - i think the OP shared numerous useful tips in this thread which could be applied when looking for your first job, second job...etc

 

[FreshLife]

Indeed it has been a while since my last update.

Here's a brief summary of what happened since then.

• I became less and less happy with my then employer and I left in April 2018.
• I started with another company in Montreal as a Lead Data Scientist in July. Now I live in Saint Bruno, a small town half an hour away from Montreal.
• My baby arrived in October and I named him Célestin Axolotl. A French name for a baby born in Quebec seemed more fitting.
• I was on parental leave in November. December was effectively a free month any way

Life is great now. I work on average about two hours a day and it sometimes feels as if I were already retired. People here are very welcoming. So far all those negative stereotypes about the Québecois seem completely inaccurate.

Canada has treated me really well and I am very content.

Let me know which part of my life interests you the most and I will provide more details.

Congrats! Nice to hear from you. It's been a while.