Brutal Winter and a Jobless Immigrant family

[GARJ]

Not ALL immigrants. Personally, I prefer the winter to the summer. Now that the snow is beginning to melt, it looks untidy.

You got that right, late winter when the snow is melting and the sidewalk is covered in black, dirt, smelly snow has got to be the worst part of it. It snowed this morning in Toronto for example, when just last week we almost reached double digit temperatures. "I prefer winter to summer" said NO ONE ever in the history of the world, except for you my friend lol. Winter is brutal here most of the time, like the winter of 2014 with the freezing rain for example... I went outside the day after it happened and EVERY single thing was covered in 10mm of ice, not snow, ice. People who lived in Toronto all there lives hadn't experienced anything like that either. Some trees down my street still have branches that were warped from having to be frozen like that for 2 months. But then summer hits and you forget all of it 8) ... until October that is.

 

[fkl]

All of that holds and is practically true. But i would second Zardoz that there are people who actually like winter more May be they are fewer - but they certainly do exist. For instance an Italian immigrant friend sits next to me at work who loves winter and in general is wearing a shirt when i am wearing a sweater. He practically is irritated in summers due to heat although the beauty of country over all in summers is certainly breath taking.

It's a joke around my fellows that we visited two countries - Canada in winter AND Canada in summers

 

[mf4361]

All of that holds and is practically true. But i would second Zardoz that there are people who actually like winter more May be they are fewer - but they certainly do exist. For instance an Italian immigrant friend sits next to me at work who loves winter and in general is wearing a shirt when i am wearing a sweater. He practically is irritated in summers due to heat although the beauty of country over all in summers is certainly breath taking.

It's a joke around my fellows that we visited two countries - Canada in winter AND Canada in summers

Sorry if you are in Toronto, where there is only 2 seasons: Winter season, and Construction season.

 

[canacit]

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/unfortunate-but-true-t270952.90.html


http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/discrimination-against-visible-minorities-in-canada-t275537.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/fake-dreams-worthless-canada-t271768.0.html

 

[Jaxon911]

I won't say Quebec is out of equation. It is actually better IF YOU KNOW FRENCH. Because cost of living is lower. Pays are too. But again if you are really skilled, you would ultimately negotiate your way up.

My opinion might be biased because i came already employed to Quebec. But after having worked here for a while, i routinely get contacted for jobs even when i am not interested. And this is still when i know zero french. English is not my first language either, but lets just say that i am fluent. But my area of experience is pretty specialized in IT. Embedded / C / Protocols / multicore network processors. So i won't try generalizing things.

But if quebec pays less in terms of salaries, it is the cheapest to live in Canada as well.

But in general the best IT markets in Canada are Ottawa, Waterloo region and Vancouver BC area.

Thanks for all the info. I took Quebec out of equation because I (like most people in this forum) do not speak French. I know Montreal is a probably the best city to live in for those with French skills. You're lucky that you got a transfer from your employer, otherwise I think for non-French speakers, it'd be tough to find job in Quebec.

Good to know about places with best IT opportunities. I'll certainly focus on those places when I start applying!

Thanks again.

 

[Jaxon911]

It's called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. The poster clearly has a bad case of it, hoping now that Spring has sprung his mood is lifted. Cheer up buddy, Winter is over. Every immigrant hates Canada during Winter (For every potential immigrant out there, Winter here is terrible and lasts a long time, no exaggeration), but once the weather gets warmer, we all fall in love with Canada again Can't wait for summer here in Toronto.

Most people I know in the UK also suffer from SAD during winter too albeit at varying degree. It starts getting cold in early November (around 3 C). It starts getting warmer from March (around 10 C) stays like this until mid May. But our summers usually are around 20 C daytime high, lows are rarely above 15 C even in summer. Winters lows are usually around -2 C, with a couple of weeks below -5 C and bit of snow in a year.

Though problem is different here, in the UK (and in most of Western Europe in general just like @Marlee said) we don't even have decent Summers. Though SAD is most widespread during winter months, which causes a rise in crime and suicide rates, it's not just because of temperature. Problem is that we don't get much if at all sunshine during those 4 winter months. And unfortunately, it also keeps raining during Summer on most days. British people who've visited Canada said like Toronto's weather much more. Winter snow allows for winter activities. Because here it weather is cold but it keeps drizzling we have to travel to European countries for snow activities. Summers are beautiful and sunny in Toronto.

I like Toronto's weather due to the variety. Proper winter, proper summer. Key difference is sunshine. I suffer from SAD due to lack of sunshine, in the UK we get only 1450 hours of sunshine every year. Toronto gets 2100 hours of sunshine annually, that is 150% sunshine hours per year compared to those in London, those who haven't lived in this kind all around the year of dull weather wouldn't understand the depression it causes.

Of course Canada is huge, weather vary widely from region to region. As far as I know Toronto has about 4 - 5 months of winter, but cities up in Northern parts are far more cooler with much longer winter.

Of course there are other problems in the UK which encourages many Brits to move to Canada. Especially property prices and crime rate in London. There were 4 shooting incidents in four different areas of London yesterday. Stabbing is a major problem. In London, if you leave your GPS in your car for during night, you'll be very lucky if your car doesn't get broken into before you wake next morning. If you leave your bicycle (even locked) outside your house, pretty much anywhere in London, it'll be gone in hours.

I remember this funny incident when now British PM David Cameron's bicycle was stolen outside Tesco grocery store back in 2008. He locked the bike to a pole, he went in there only for few minutes, on a busy London street during day time and his bike was gone when he came out. (He was a PM candidate for conservatives back then). That's why nobody trusts nobody in London. Strangers don't talk to each other. This of course doesn't mean that everything is bad here. UK has it's own pros and cons.

From what I've heard, situation is at least little bit different even in major Canadian cities like Toronto or Montreal. One of my Brit friend who lived in Montreal for about 7 years before returning to the UK for family reasons gave a very good answer to my query about Canada:

I asked him if Canada is worth moving to? He said he would never have returned if his parents were happy to move to Canada. He would love to go back to Canada when possible.

Then I asked him, is standard of living better in Canada? He said no. There isn't much difference in standard of living. But if you're asking about quality of life then yes, quality of life is much better there. People are much friendly and attitude of people in the country is much positive!

That was quiet encouraging. Otherwise when I came to the UK everyone told me that nobody gives us job because of racism and also because we don't have UK experience, plus I didn't have UK work visa so the task was double hard because I needed a job in which employer is willing to sponsor me a visa. They were right about UK experience up to an extent. Without UK experience it would be difficult to find a job in this country but I'd disagree with their argument that racial discrimination is a hurdle here.

 

[mehtab007]

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/unfortunate-but-true-t270952.90.html


http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/discrimination-against-visible-minorities-in-canada-t275537.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/fake-dreams-worthless-canada-t271768.0.html

Going by the posts.. if this is the real scenario with most of the visible minority immigrants in Canada... it has really got me thinking on whether I should immigrate or not.. pretty depressing.... huh? ??? :-\

 

[fkl]

Going by the posts.. if this is the real scenario with most of the visible minority immigrants in Canada... it has really got me thinking on whether I should immigrate or not.. pretty depressing.... huh? ??? :-\

I believe it is an individual experience. It might be true in some places and not in others.

In terms of rumors - Quebec has the worst reputation (all across Canada) at least before i came along with french being there the most fundamental issue.

I work for a company whose clients are all US based. We have people from all over the world here. Many parts of Europe and Asia.

But work place is great. Apart from work place even in Montreal, i never felt any thing similar - even in banks or any other public dealing any where else. The only issue is that often i run into people who can't speak English or are a little irritated that i don't know french.

But that is all.

Going by appearance, i have a beard, wheat-ish complexion (south asian) and being from software industry, don't care too much about dressing either. Some days i wear khakis and collared shirts to work, at others just jeans and t shirts.

But discrimination - no way. I routine get contacted by whites - some times recruiters, other times managers / execs for jobs.

May be it is because of a specialized experience not very common here. But again most of IT companies don't need precisely that experience although it must be some thing in which that seems useful.

And it is not just Quebec, i travel often for work to Ottawa in particular and occasionally other cities. And they always seemed more welcoming.

I can't say much about Toronto since i only went there as a visitor several times. But there is far bigger population of immigrants there. So i am not sure if they should be termed as minority.

Still experiences can vary based upon industry, place and type of company of people one is in. We shouldn't generalize. That's all i would say.

 

[mehtab007]

We shouldn't generalize. That's all i would say.

+1

Very True.

 

[baykus]

the best thread i have ever seen! this is a discussion about real meaning of immigration.

my summary: take a risk for a better life but with a back up plan.

 

[praneet87]

Now what I am saying is by personal experience only. Racism in Canada is very subtle and varied. You will never see any person call you out or yell a racial slur at you. You are never ever stereotyped. Canadians don't do that in general. They might think it, but aren't raised to say that aloud. Can't talk about other countries, haven't seen that first hand.

Racism at work is very subtle. You get passed up for high end opportunities. Jobs at Consulting Firms and Banks. Another funny kind of racism you see here is racism by other visible minorities. An Indian house owner will outright say no to a white tenant. If you go to the colleges in North York and Markham (Asian dominated suburbs of GTA) you will see rental advertisements in the college printed out in Mandarin. Yes, Mandarin ads for apartments and basements on Kijiji, Craigslist given in Mandarin. If this isn't racism then what is it?

Apart from that Quality of Life is still the greatest here. Don't know what people expect when they get here, but you have to work hard and go through hardships.

 

[mehtab007]

the best thread i have ever seen! this is a discussion about real meaning of immigration.

my summary: take a risk for a better life but with a back up plan.

YES, very true. one of the best threads regarding possible real issues faced by the landed immigrants (mainly the visible minority).

 

[Jaxon911]

Now what I am saying is by personal experience only. Racism in Canada is very subtle and varied. You will never see any person call you out or yell a racial slur at you. You are never ever stereotyped. Canadians don't do that in general. They might think it, but aren't raised to say that aloud. Can't talk about other countries, haven't seen that first hand.

Racism at work is very subtle. You get passed up for high end opportunities. Jobs at Consulting Firms and Banks. Another funny kind of racism you see here is racism by other visible minorities. An Indian house owner will outright say no to a white tenant. If you go to the colleges in North York and Markham (Asian dominated suburbs of GTA) you will see rental advertisements in the college printed out in Mandarin. Yes, Mandarin ads for apartments and basements on Kijiji, Craigslist given in Mandarin. If this isn't racism then what is it?

Apart from that Quality of Life is still the greatest here. Don't know what people expect when they get here, but you have to work hard and go through hardships.

I agree with you about subtle racism because I've seen that in the UK. But you know what I've seen worst of subtle racism in India! I know being a Gujarati who lived in Mumbai that in Gujarati dominated building it'd be nearly impossible for a Marathi, Punjabi or Muslim to buy a flat. That's of course is because of dietary reasons, i.e. most Gujaratis living in Mumbai are vegetarians and cannot even tolerate smell of non-veg food not because of religion or racial reasons.

Sometimes there is a thin line between preference vs racial discrimination. If a brown guy and a white Canadian guy have applied for a job in a western country like Canada, and there is not much to differentiate between them may be brown guy has bit better technical skills, I would still probably hire a white guy, not because he is a white guy but because from experience I know that because their first language is English, I know that they more likely to mix well with other team members. I can be confident that they are aware of western style of functioning. After all as a manager, I would want best possible fit for my team!

However whenever there is a difference, I am sure there is no discrimination. I was lucky to get the job I currently have in the UK. I recently came to know that white British guy and I made it to the final (4rd) stage of the interview process. The white guy had a UK passport, on the other hand I had an Indian one and needed a visa sponsorship. The white guy probably had bit better communication skills. My manager is white American who works from Philadelphia office, his manager, a white British guy, who was also in the interview works from London office. Still they hired me!

 

[pranaEE2015]

I wonder about what OP is going through now.

Would like to see a positive update from him/her.

 

[TECC_Seneca]

i think this man is trying to discourage people to apply for unknown reason!!!! he did not mention anything about his work history or what kind of qualification he has!!! here is a clear message,, if u don't like it there , you would not stay for one single day .. i lived in Australia before and i know what kind of life standard difference people can find in those new countries.. people r ready to cross the ocean in boats just to get there...play another game dude coz discouraging people here would not give you that much advantage in your application processing for PR u did not obtain yet as i guess

Mister White Knight, I am not sure if you are one. But this is the story of lot of immigrants in Canada. Well yes, you gotto keep at it and do your research before you move to a new country. You have to learn and unlearn things back home. Having said that; never dismiss someone's issues. You just might have been the lucky one to have had things your way. But it is indeed tough here. You have to learn to break the system. Things change but depends on lot of factors. Networking is the key. That's what has been working for me personally. But what about those who lack those skills or a tad bit weak it at. And hence, I really feel the system needs to get out of it's archaic ways and hire people based on skills rather than on Canadian experience. That's the whole point of immigration right?! And that's how a country's economic, social and technological growth is possible. I am sure that is how some other countries which are more successful did to get to where they are right now.!

deerestlovelybear:
Things will come through. Build your network, use linkedIn. Try free lancing. And if feasible see if you can send your family back and give things a new approach and shot! And for the winter, what can I say, stay warm with positive thoughts. Things ought to change!
All the very best! But in the end, nothing is more important than your self respect, modjo and your skills! Not any country!