Oh come on, I summon you!
Both you and I know it and this is the test of your honesty and integrity! Coming to Canada, as a foreigner, from a different continent, emerged in a different language and culture, and with JUST 12k (one person) or 15k (a couple) in a pocket is a suicidal mission. Please, admit it! I am not even mentioning all race/ethnicity issues which should not be playing any role, but unfortunately they may, you never know.
You may be a friendly back-patter here, but there is no chance in hell you would do what many people here plan to do, and you would see things overly bright as many people here do. I know too many Americans to be positive of my claims.
P.S. Subletting is illegal in many countries/states and it should not be encouraged.
Of course it is always better to come with more money than less when you are immigrating, but many committed immigrants are very resourceful and frugal. I have seen this among immigrants in the US as well. I'm not claiming that it is easy to immigrate to Canada or the US with just 12k, but it's very possible if you really are committed to it and are willing to be frugal and resourceful.
I shared my story about establishing a frugal life in New York and saving up a lot of money because people also discouraged me from moving to New York because it's soooo expensive. And my startup expenses here in New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world, were pretty low. I only spent about $1500 on rent and deposits and moving expenses. I did come with a job offer, but I saved most of what I made, which is why I was able to build wealth.
Good point about checking whether subletting is legal, but there are many roommate situations that are not sublets, especially in larger and more expensive cities like New York and Toronto. The landlord of the apartment I took when I first moved to New York rented individual rooms out with individual leases.
This is the Ray of Hope thread, where we show people what's possible, not what's impossible. There are other places to go to read depressing stories. I agree you have to be frugal if you immigrate to Canada with just 12k and no job offer lined up, but if you don't have a lot of funds or a well paying job lined up, aren't willing to be frugal, and want to live a luxurious life right off the bat, then yes, you should not be immigrating to Canada (or the US). But many immigrants, especially the Asian ones I would add, are very frugal, determined, resourceful, and diligent, and I believe they would do fine coming to Canada with 12k.
