AfriExpat Forum

I moved to Canada in 2015. I have now gotten my citizenship and I’m proud of it.

But it was not an easy journey by any means.

There was a lot of differences that I had to adapt to, physically, emotionally, socially, politically, anything-ally.

But in the end, it was all worth it. Today, I’m a proud Canadian citizen.

But let me breakdown my experience for you:

On Finances

As you can probably imagine for someone coming from the middle east, I took a significant financial hit moving to Canada. Dubai is a tax-free country when I was there. So to be paying an average of 20–30% incomes taxes feels like a punch in the gut.

Today, my position is 2 levels higher than what I had in Dubai. And even without taxes and making more than the industry average for my job title, I’m stil not earning the same in Canadian dollars than I was back in Dubai. And I’m comparing to my Dubai salary 7 years ago!

To make matters even more challenging, my wife decided to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of our first Canadian-born son. No nannies (which we could easily afford in Dubai) meant this was the only viable option for us.

So yes, every dollar counts. Budget is tight. Spending is tight.

Back in Dubai, I purchased a brand new Nissan Pathfinder as an impulse buy. Here, I drive a Nissan Sentra.

Back in Dubai, everything from eating out to buying cars was on impulse.

Now, I think back as to how much money I wasted on junk I didn’t need, and how I could have used that money now to finance my home. This has been my biggest life lesson to date.

If you’re planning to immigrate to Canada, start saving those dollars!

On Weather

From the boiling heat of Dubai to the freezing cold in Canada.

It’s so funny how things are the complete opposite over here.

In Dubai, look for shade. In Canada, pray for the sun.

In Dubai, condensation on the outside. In Canada, condensation on the inside (this is super annoying)

In Dubai, relish the breeze. In Canada, take cover by a house or building.

However, at least in Ontario, I think people over-exaggerate how bad the weather gets. We have amazing weather from Easter to Halloween, give or take a couple of weeks. That’s a good 5–6 months in the year.

The rest of the time, yes, it gets cold. But I personally found it’s not the cold that’s the issue, but the snow. It’s like any country that has to deal with monsoon weather, like India.

Snow disrupts life here, not the cold.

Eventually, you get used to it. In principle I do the same thing as I did in Dubai to avoid the heat. Stay indoors!

I would say one of the most annoying things is the unpredictability of the weather. I mean, it just snowed in the middle of April!

On the Job

For me, this was the biggest change in my world.

Back in Dubai, I worked for several multi-national companies. The head office was always either in Europe or North America.

For these types of companies, it was a paradise for only one type of role - Sales and Marketing.

Because that was the point of setting up base in Dubai to a foreign company - sell to the Middle East, East Europe and Africa.

For someone like me in a support function, it was a go nowhere job. All decisions were made at the head office, and all we had to do was copy-paste.

Racism was in your face.

For multi-national companies, top positions were reserved for white folks, or the dominant nationality of the head office.

But in Canada, many companies have their home base here. You can work for startups, medium-sized businesses, and the most popular to immigrants are large enterprise organizations.

As such, your career can flourish. Everyone is Canadian, and the only thing stopping you from getting to the top are your (soft) skills, drive and passion. Not your skin tone, gender, tribe or nationality!

On Community

For me, the biggest relief coming to Canada was language. I speak English. That’s the only language I know.

Back in Dubai, you also need to know Arabic, Hindi, Tagalog, Malayalam, Afrikaans and Russian.

OK, I’m exaggerating when I say you “need” to know it. But you get the idea.

Everybody speaks their own language. While it’s great to see such a diverse culture in Dubai, it was frustrating for me to not be able to communicate comfortably with everyone.

In Canada, if you know English, you’re set. French for Quebecers.

The Canadian politeness is a well-deserved stereotype. People are super-friendly over here.

However! There is something to be said about assimilation. I’ve observed that those that are able to communicate well in English and mingle with different cultures, are much more likely to be treated with that Canadian courtesy than those who stick to their native languages and communities.

On Politics

For the first time in my life, I voted.

It was proud moment for me, knowing I had the power to choose my own government.

Out here, if Justin Trudeau posts something on LinkedIn, watch the hate comments spewing out from his critics. Someone even threw tiny stones at him when he made a public appearance.

I’m not going to share my political views here. But this was one of the biggest cultural shock to me coming from Dubai, where the government is on a permanent pedestal — even whispering the slightest insult to the Sheikh will get you in trouble.

People can be very verbal with their political views in Canada, because they enjoy the freedom to do so.

Health

This for me is the most frustrating experience in Canada.

I know right? Everyone talks about the “free” health services in Canada. Well, there’s a good side and bad side to it as well.

If I have the sniffles, sure, my family doctor will immediately sort me out.

If I need to see a specialist, this is where things get frustrating.

Depending on what you need, you are subject to availability of the specialist.

And herein lies the problem.

I hear stories of people who get what they need immediately, and those who don’t.

Someone on my team needed to do a back surgery. No doctor in Canada would see him. He ended up going back to home country to get his surgery done.

Personally, my family doctor has now tried to schedule me for an endoscopy twice! And I’ve still not heard anything. This was 6 months ago!

Maybe it’s COVID? But these stories go back pre-COVID days.

In Dubai, if you need a specialist - Boom! You get them within the week, if not sooner. A friend of mine just went to the hospital in Dubai, and got her back surgery scheduled in 2 days!

The main upside of course to all this, is that you don’t have to worry about cost. Sure in Dubai, the working-class have their company-sponsored private health insurance for themselves and their families.

But the day will come when one retires, and they don’t have an income or company-sponsored private insurance. This is when Canada’s health system will really kick in.

It’s about pros and cons. While Canada’s health system gives you peace of mind financially, it’s tarnished by wait times.

So what do I do? I stay healthy. I guzzle down vitamins every day, I do yoga, I go to the gym, and I (try) to watch what I eat. Best way to beat Canada’s fragile healthcare system is to do the work to (hopefully) never need it!

Overall

Yes, Canada has been a struggle for me in many way as an immigrant.

Do I miss Dubai? Yes! Do I miss my family back home? Most definitely.

But through those struggles, I’ve become a better person. I’ve learned to do things on my own. Heck, I didn’t even know how to fill fuel in my car because Dubai had attendants to do that too!

Where I have struggled financially, I’ve made up for in personal knowledge, health (physical and mental) and creating better relationships with the people around me.

In the end, isn’t that more important? After all, what’s the point in having a big bank account if you don’t have the knowledge, health and people to spend it with?

That’s what it’s like to be an immigrant coming to Canada.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-good-to-imm ... da-in-2024