Friends, i'm damn impressed with this Indian immigrant settled in Vancouver, BC. A MUST READ!!!
"Hear is my story... take the time to read it, if nothing you might at least save a few pennies and a couple of sleepless nights.
I have been a silent viewer on this forum, I have read a lot of arguments and I appreciate the zeal of most people. The positive approach some people have displayed in spite of all the negative and discouraging information is really inspiring.
I have been in Canada for over 25 months now, migrated from India, to quickly answer some of the biting questions in your head....
1, Am I doing well---Yes I am, maybe not as good as I would have liked it but I am happy.
2, Was I doing well back in India--- Very well.
3, Am I happy to have made the switch----No doubt about that.
4, Did I have to struggle and go through hard times----- Very very hard times, I've had to hang on by my tooth and claws.
5, Would I do it again---Damn sure I would.
BUT
6, Would I go about it in the same way that I did----NO, This post is to help you guys avoid the same mistake that I made and to give something back to people like me 25 months ago, I would have NEVER been able to do it without the help of many good hearted people, God bless em.
So here is my story......
But before that I just want to mention that I have met a lot of immigrants, some who have done well some not so well and others worse. The common line among all the immigrants were certain qualifications and these are a must according to me and my experience if you have to succeed, if you don't have these qualifications then you will be putting yourself in deep trouble.
At the risk of sounding dreadfully dull and at a horrible effort at instigating motivation here are the qualification you need to have:
a, Determination... If you are not absolutely determined its a waste of time.
b, Perseverance...The heart to go on in spite of all odds, never failing to loose the strength to take another step, NEVER NEVER give up, its your life and you cant give up on it.
c, Hard work....Try to be the best in whatever you do, don't work hard because you have to or because you are being watched just work hard coz you WANT to. Even if you are polishing shoes and if you are the best in doing that you will achieve glory someday. NOT BORN TO BE A MEDIOCRE attitude.
d, Good Heart.... A good heart to help people in need, may not just be financially (if that is not possible) but a kind word, a passionate hug, an encouraging line to any fellow in need. A genuine good wish and prayer from someone thankful can even move the Heart of GOD.
So, my story then, My God, its just starting, even I am tired already. I'll make it short.
Got my visa after a long and painful wait...Quit our jobs, my wife and me (first mistake, will explain later) scooped up all our savings, got our children out of school with appropriate planning so that they don't miss out a year. Did our lil research, said our prayers and got on the plane. Landed in Vancouver, some website told us that this was the worlds best place to live and raise a family (mistake number two). Checked into the hotel and began house hunting, looked at all the nice neighbourhoods and selected a house based on our budget (third mistake) so far so good, we thought. Put our kids to school and began the mammoth task of job hunting ( 25-30 days and 2000 dollars down).
Me wife and me are well qualified and based on our experiences we made absolutely wonderful resumes and started applying ( fourth mistake). Amazing responses, calls every day but that was that, stopped at calls after realising we don't have any Canadian qualification or experience. We were not too worried initially but as time passed it started to get a little uncomfortable( down by 3 months and 4000 dollars). We then started trying to get help and advise from the locals, mixed responses, very conflicting as everyone were from different circumstances. We then had to downgrade our resumes (as one of the refusal feedback was that we were over qualified) and start applying, still luck eluded us. Every dollar spent was like fire in the belly growing hotter. Five-six months later we were desperate and ready to take any job that was available to us. A month later, my wife got a job and few weeks later it was my turn to get lucky to get a job.
These were not nearly ideal jobs that we were hoping for but some income was better than nothing. It killed me to see my wife doing data entry who was working for ICICI bank back in India and managing a whole branch and had won many awards for being the best run branch , just typing away 8 hours a day. I never really had the courage to ask how she felt seeing me flip burgers when I had 120 employees working for me at Hewlett Packard back in India.
Though both of us were earning still we were not able to make enough money to stop digging away from our savings. The house rent, bills, travel to & fro to work, food and the most expensive of the lot, child minders for our kids, to pick them up from school and take care until my wife gets back home. I was working over time, nearly 12 hours a day but could not sustain ourselves, we then switched our plan and I took up night shift and weekends while my wife worked in the day, I would wake up cook and get the kids back home and put them in front of the telly and pass out on the couch. I was ready to leave for work and would be waiting at the door to rush out to get the train, sometimes I must admit, with wet eyes while walking to the train station.At all time, I tried real hard to put a brave face for my wife and my two little angels, one kiss at the door everyday was all the interaction I had with my wife. That and kisses from my two little angels is what kept me going.
Even though we had figured out a way to save the child minders costs we were just making enough to live a very limited life. My children deserved more time from us, at least from one of us. I dint want them to grow up without that. I forced my wife to work only part time, moved to a smaller house, took up work for 12 hours every night, 6 days a week. I could not miss a single days work, no work no money. Life seemed a little better for a while, at least for my wife and kids.
When all seemed in control ( at least better than a few months ago ) another blow (forgive me for saying that but that's what it seemed like at that time), I was hardly with my wife a few times since we started working and she was pregnant for the second time ( we had twins the first time) in spite of all the caution we had taken. The irony was, we had to try for almost a year the first time around to get pregnant. If that was not all, it was twins AGAIN. The odds of that happening, twins twice, was 10 million to one or so I was told. This was about the time when I could sense my wife giving up. I could not imagine how we could afford the expenses of additional two babies in our present circumstances.
To cut it short, we had to go through more hardships, we had to move again and again until we were in what one would call a single room apartment.
Was this what we left everything and came here? Was this the life in Canada?
How could we have been so wrong in our assessment?
Are we losers and should go back home crawling like one?
BUT WAIT NO, I thought,
If I we had the luck of having two twins which is very very rare then we surely should be blessed. And I will not let all the sacrifices my family and I have made go for a waste, I did not want my kids to see their father give up when I have always told them never to give up. I was even more determined to move on.
Things turned around, of all the mistakes that I made I had done one thing right, I had really put in my best at work, nobody could do stuff in the kitchen like I could. For most people out there this was just a job, for me it was food in my kids bellies and the last straw of hope in keeping my dreams alive.
I got so many appreciations and management started noticing me, My work was perfect no matter there was someone watching over me or not. As a matter of fact I used to perform even better when I was not supervised. the management quickly saw this and moved the night shift supervisor to another branch to save costs. There was no impact on the business even though I was all alone in the kitchen all night. It was barely any time I was made a supervisor and I had enough money now and did not have to work 12 hours and 6 days. But I did, as my wife had stopped working coz of her pregnancy, we took this opportunity to get her to study and get some certifications in her line of work which were recognised in Canada. She came out with flying colours as she was twice as smart than any certification she sat for. She scored 100% in every damn thing.
We had two healthy little angels again, within four months she started applying with the Canadian certifications and she got a decent job, within a very short time her employers realised her potential and moved her to a different role with more responsibilities and more salary as well.
She did not eat for two days until I agreed to quit my job and stay home with my kids and take up some kind of studying myself. The first few days after I quit I slept for 15 hours every day, it seemed like heaven as I had not had so much sleep in many months. I then started studying at home and taking care of the babies while my wife worked. She was getting paid more than what we had earned collectively so it was fine.
I finished a few certifications and also got decent job. We both feel that we can grow in the companies that we are currently in because of our experience and knowledge and also the effort we have put in to get so far.
We have now moved a good two bed apartment and got ourselves a second-had Ford Mondeo, and now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and any hope of realising our dreams.
Now let me talk about the mistakes I think I made and what I would have done differently if I had to do this all over again.
1st Mistake -, Quitting both our jobs. My wife was working for an Indian Company( ICICI) but I was working for a global company (HEWLETT PACKARD). I should have tried to get a internal transfer, Global companies do hire from within. I agree that it would not have been easy but I am sure not as difficult as what I went through. I might have had to go down several levels and wait for maybe a year or two which is still a worthwhile thing to do.
If that was absolutely not possible I would then quit my job leave my wife and kids behind and go to Canada myself.
2, Mistake - Trying to settle down with out first getting a job. If I am alone I can get a temporary accommodation and be more flexible to move where ever there is opportunity, even move to different cities, with family it is not possible. this will also keep my costs very very low.
3,Mistake - Unless you related to tourism and hospitality industry don't go to Vancouver. Calgary is good for people in oil industry but as a
general rule of thumb there are much more jobs in Toronto that any other place. There are many immigrants there , right, but this is not entirely bad as the employers in Toronto are more used to the Immigrants and are less biased compared to other places.
4, Mistake - I expected to get a great job, like the one I had back in India right away. This does not happen with 99% of the people. You cant just pick up from where you left unless you have some kind of Canadian qualification or internally transferred from within your company.
As soon as you land get yourself some/any job that you can land yourself in and ensure that your monthly expenditure is less that what you earn. Yes you might have to compromise a great deal on where you live and stuff. Make sure you spend as little money as possible from your savings. Immediately get into some kind of course/certification in your line that is recognised in Canada, use your savings for that. Don't waste even one day.
Make sure once you have secured some certifications and you are looking for a job that is in your line of work. You would already have a job, however bad but a job nevertheless. All your focus should be to get a job in your line of work and not towards getting a little more money, this is because if you get to do something in your line of work you will naturally do well.
Once you have set your foot in and fairly confident its time to get your wife..... NOT KIDS, just wife. I know it can be very difficult to leave kids behind but you will have to make some sacrifices to ensure that you do it the right way.
Now that your wife is there, just get her to do some part time work focus entirely on getting Canadian qualification in her line of work.
Always remember there will be totally unexpected things that will come up ( my wife's pregnancy for example ) and make sure you have put away some money for emergencies, however little, something is better than nothing.
Only get a permanent family home when you and your wife are working, in your respective line of work and the get your kids. Things would have been a lot easier if I had done it this way rather than the way I adopted.
THE SATISFACTION YOU GET AND THE WAY YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE IS BOOSTED WILL BE WORTH ALL THE EFFORT. ONCE YOU HAVE SETTLED IN YOU WILL HAVE VERY FEW AND JUST MUNDANE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT, LIFE IN CANADA WILL SEEM VERY ENJOYABLE THEN."
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