Hello dear friends,
I am writing this post about my experiences in Canada and I hope that you all (especially Indians and other south Asians) can benefit from a female perspective.
I am in Canada since Sep 2012. I came on a visitor visa and then got myself an open work permit. I have also applied for PR in 2010 and recently received medicals.
Expectations before application/immigration:
Let me put it bluntly Canada is not dreamland. If you dream of earning millions and millions, just by being in a foreign location (even by working hard) or if you dream of getting a job with salary in 6 figures than this is not the place for you. Per capita income of Canada is in approx. $40,000 and GINI index being lower most of the people earn something in that range.
So the question comes, what exactly is good in Canada, financially (and let's be frank, we all are in it for the money or at least it is our first motivator).
1. Job stability: Once you land a good job you can practically stick with it till you retire(just like the old Indian government jobs)
2. Benefits: Even though salary is low there will be other perks and benefits like medical insurance(basic is covered by state, but dental, optical, medicine) or car insurance or home insurance ,etc.
3. Loans for businesses(for those with the entrepreneur spirit): Once you have a good credit history you can take a loan for business
So in a nutshell, if your expectations are to have a good middle class lifestyle Canada can be the place for you.
Packing(what to bring and what to leave):
As space is limited you may need to leave lot of things so below is a summary of some important things. Make appropriate changes
1. Clothes: Leave maximum of your ethnic/traditional Indian clothes(unless you are orthodox and insist on wearing them), the reason being most of them are not practical for the weather here. Bring most of your jeans, pants, shirts, t-shirts, vests, undergarments. Even though fashion here is different, you don't want to invest much initially when you don't even have a job
2. Shoes & other accessories: Leave open sandals home and bring you sport shoes/formal office shoes/pumps/ballet flats with you. Shoes here are very different as they are designed for snow/rains and extreme cold weather. Similar shoes in India will be very costly. Bring all your belts, wallets, purses if possible.
3. Food: If you plan to stay in Toronto or Vancouver, all Indian spices and food is available there, but you can bring some basic spices like chillies, turmeric, as you may need to start cooking for asap to save money. If you plan to settle somewhere other than any major city pack as many as you can. More important than spices is to pack Indian Tea(for the tea addicts and there would be a lot of them here I guess). Indian tea is available in Toronto, but not much in other areas of Ontario. So pack as many as you can. One thing to bring especially for single people is ready made Indian food packets(by MTR of any other brand) for those nights when u don't want to cook.
4. Cooking Utensils: Bring a pressure cooker if you want. All other things are good here though a bit costly.
5. Electronics: Don't be over generous and give away your laptops or cell phones or costly earphones/headphones to your relatives thinking you will get new one there. Remember you are a struggling immigrant and not some millionaire (more about cell phones later). Other gadgets like refrigerator, TV, microwave, small appliances from kitchen probably won't work in Canada so leave them in India(probably with some relative or locked in a storage)
6. Makeup and toiletries: Even though they are cheaper in Canada bring small sized shampoos, soaps, creams and lotions with you. You don't want to run to a drugstore on landing.
7. Medicines: If you are on prescription than pack enough to last you at least 6 months (along with doctor's prescription). Also carry normal cough, cold, fever, pain medications and vitamins etc. if you take them. Also pack spare spectacles, contact lenses & contact lens cleaning solution.
Flying and Landing:
If you are like me and have never travelled outside the country, this will be a very exciting time for you.
1. Make sure all your documentation is perfect and you do not have extra luggage.
2. Reach airport at least 3 to 4 hours before flight.
3. If you are travelling alone always keep your luggage with you at the airport.
4. Do not agree to carry anyone's luggage while travelling.
5. You will be asked to fill a form before take-off at the airport and in plane before landing.
6. Keep a pen with you.
7. You are allowed to carry liquid in small quantity. So put all you lotions, medicines, contact lense solutions, contact lense case in a transparent zip lock bag. Make sure that all the liquids you carry have labels and ingredients marked properly.
8. Do the same thing for baby food. Do not carry local/ayurvedic medicines for infants in your carry bag, especially things which have non English labels, eg gripe water/massage oil. You can put them in your main luggage.
9. You can bring food items like chocolates, protein bars, biscuits, with you for munching especially if you have kids.
First few Days:
On landing you will notice that the air quality is just too good, roads are good. Everything will feel organized.
You'll notice that there are women everywhere (I am serious, guys). It is a good time to get your PR card/ SIN no, after that open a bank account, getting a driving license (but not a car), maybe start job hunting and house hunting. I am not getting into details about how to get PR card and driving license, as I have neither of those.
Getting a bank account:
Select your bank wisely. As banks are not centralized (like Indian banks) everything has a price. You want a cheque book-you have to pay, you want a statement-you have to pay, you want more transactions-you have to pay. In short banks here are into profit making(I am not saying it is good or bad, but that's how it is)
In my opinion TD Canada has more branches in Ontario. So it is a good option for Ontario bound immigrants. RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, are good too.
Opening a bank account can require a SIN No, permanent address, salary slip(in some cases), so do your homework and go.
Getting a cell phone:
Your cell phone is your friend in a job hunt, so get one ASAP. Services are available as pay-before or pay-after. Most of us new immigrants being jobless won't have a good credit history or no credit history so getting a pay-after account(and getting that iphone or S-III on cheap) is not feasible. With pay before account you will have to purchase your cell phone and then a sim card and then pay monthly charges(similar to India). Initially you can go with a cheap service provider like wind mobile, mobilicity, public mobile, chat-r rather than going with Rogers or Bell. Do not get into contract with them any of them which will tie you up for 3 years, even if you get qualified as you don't know where your job hunt may take you. P.S. Get a service with voicemail.
Job Hunting:
Minimum Wage Jobs: Also known as survival jobs. Most of jobs in Canada are through reference or word of mouth. So use it as an advantage and ask your relatives or friends, in Canada for a job reference. Network through facebook, linkedin, twitter, email, phone, or any other means possible. Std job wages are 10 to 10.50 in Ontario(maybe Canada) After tax cut it may be 9 or 8.50. Now these wages are not so bad if you maintain a modest lifestyle, but the problem with these jobs are that you need to work at least 35 to 40 hours get min $1500/month to live a decent lifestyle, and therein lies the problem. These jobs are not available for full time work. Most of the time you may have to start with 10 to 20 hours and work multiple jobs. Since I have not transitioned into a proper job, I can't speak about it much, but the best way to get into a job is through college diplomas or certificate. For eg, one of my husband's friend did engineering in India, than some MBA type course in University, but couldn't get his hand on a job, so he joined a certificate course regarding engineering drawings, and got a job from campus itself. The job was not high paying, but as he had a bachelor's degree he was considered for promotion and now he earns decent wages.
House Hunting:
Housing is the costliest thing in Canada(ok in India or elsewhere too) If possible stay with your relative in your initial 15 day period and get your things in order and at least a min wage job.
Rent for single person on shared basis starts from $350 to $450, a 1 bedroom apartment starts from $550. Rental home comes with a fridge and stove and sometimes microwave.
While renting consider utility cost too. The cost can be divided into
Rent: it's obvious
Hydro (electricity): Generally Included if it is shared basis and not included in apartments
Heat (through gas or oil): Most of the time it is included in shard basis and apartments, You may need to pay if you are renting the whole house.
Water: It is same as heat mostly
Laundry: generally included in shared basis, but not in apartment, may be included in houses.
Word of Advice: Do not run to the latest Ikea, walmart to buy your furniture as soon as you get a home. You may be changing homes soon, and you need to remember that you are the one who is gonna carry it(no manual labourers in Canada)
In general you may need to pay 1st and last months rent and need to sign a lease of 1 year.
Transportation:
Cars are cheaper than India.
Insurance are high-expect something in the range of $150 to $300 a month if you have a decent car
Petrol is approx the same price as it is in India.
Public transportation is good. It is cheaper than getting a car initially, plus you get a tax benefit if you are in Ontario. Monthly bus pass will cost you around $80 per person. So make sure you live nearby your work.
P.S. Learn to use maps for driving and transit on your smart phones or computers.
Eating out, Groceries etc:
From what I have noticed that things are more or less the same cost as India with CAD to INR conversion. Most of the people here buy stuff when its on a sale. And anything can be on sale in a store from milk to butter to milk to meat to grains. So you need to look out for deals. Consider more than $6 for everytime you eat at a fast food restaurant. Eating out in a restaurant can be costly and can start from a min of $25 for 2 person.
General Culture:
Canadians are generally peace loving and laid back. As I mentioned earlier you will find lot of women. First of all there are more women in Canada than there are men and they form a major part of the workforce. It is a pretty safe place so women here work till late especially in drugstores or supermarkets. Canadians love small talks(nonsense talk about weather, sports nothing in particular just to be polite) so use it to your advantage.
Try not to be judgmental(big problem with us Indians) on other people's life choices.
I hope this post will help you all in your initial transition period.
