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Orginally posted by NorthYorkDesi

Atif , DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB. Come here with your family , get your PR card , enjoy a Canadian vaction , get yourself an address in Canada (friend , etc.) , file for and get your CCTB , NCBS benefits start being deposited in your bank account and GO BACK TO LAHORE. Wait for 3 years , come back again , get your citizenship and go back again.

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Diogenes
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The Cynic

"Are you asking him to cheat the givernment and the system? "

Wow! You got the point!

DiogenestheCynic

My Alias is a valid alias. I believe other ID I saw was mercury6 and I am not the same. I do not check existing ID/alias before I decide mine. Ido leave it on to the system and I cannot keep changing ID's as well.

Please focus on the content of the mail rather then commenting on ID's.

I hope you will understand.

If you are prepared to come to Canada & slog it out in odd jobs, then come here.

You might have to do some educational courses here before expecting jobs at a junior level in your field. If you are lucky, you might get a job relevant to your field & position.

It would be atleast 3-4 years before you can expect to settle down. Or else come here, start driving taxi, work as security guard or do jobs like electrician, plumbing, etc. These jobs can really earn you a lot of money. Plumbers charge like around $75 per hour & they give you an appointment as to when they can come.

If you are going to be happy & able to adjust yourself to this kind of life, then only make a decision to come.

If you have money to spare, you can do a part-time job & study simultaneously. Since you have kids, I don't know whether your wife will be able to work or not. Keeping kids in day-care is an expensive affair. You may get subsidy if you earn below a certain level & if your wife is looking for a job but that is nominal.

Ofcourse you would also get govt. allowance for kids which depending on the province you settle down in & the age of the kids could be around $200 per kid.

Be prepared to stop going to hotels, movies, etc. for a long time. You might not be able to make enough money in the initial phase. I have been here for 1 year now, haven't been to see any movie or been to any hotel.

If you are willing to struggle & study to update your qualifications, then after 2-3 years you can expect to get a comfortable life. The best thing you can do is if you can invest in some small business here & be on your own.

There are people who have become successful & are extremely happy here. But most of those guys also have had to struggle a lot.

Thanks & regards.

Rajan.

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Let's make India a better place !

"If you are willing to struggle & study to update your qualifications, then after 2-3 years you can expect to get a comfortable life."

You are telling that to a person who already has a comfortable life in Lahore. The person is coming over here to get a BETTER life , not a comfortable one.

I personally know three families who immigrated to Canada leaving very good jobs behind. Only one family is still staying in Canada. The other two have left with nothing but bitter memories.

Family 1: Husband was a senior manager at an Indian public sector unit. Wife was a homemaker. They had their own house in India. No mortgage. Two kids. Their life in Canada started off well. Husband got his first contract job 3 months after they landed here. Contract went on for 18 months. After that contract got over he was unemployed for over 6 months. Wife had to take up a checkout job at Price Chopper. Husband went to work for small firm at half the previous hourly rate. He got kicked out 3 months later. He was unemployed for 12 months after that except for small jobs paying very little money. He had sent out literally thousands of resumes. His wife had to quit her job because of chronic back pain that the idiots here were not able to cure. Their savings were running out. He just waited for 3 more months , got citizenship for his family and moved to Bangalore. He got a job in 15 days , his wife's back pain is gone , he has got himself a nice flat on mortgage.

Family 2: Husband was a Java programmer , wife was a homemaker. One kid. No house in India. They were unlucky to land here right when the internet bubble burst. Husband was very flexible. So was the wife. Husband took odd jobs , sold financial products , learned Oracle , but wasn't lucky , got stagnated in 10 dollar an hour jobs. Wife became telemarketer , moved to customer service and in two years had a very good job paying her CAD 30,000 + benefits. No homeloans were available to them , they were staying in a crummy apartment. A very tense life at home. Kid got affected by the tension at home. Her grades started slipping. Meanwhile the IT job market in India started improving. Husband decided to call it quits. They went back to India immediately after getting their citizenship here. Husband has got a job in Mumbai. Wife and kid are still enjoying their vacation in Kerala until the husband arranges accomodation.

Family 3: Husband worked in Dubai for 20 years. Wife homemaker. Two kids , no house in India. Bought a condo in Mississauga. Initially got bad jobs in GTA. Then husband decided to move to Alberta. He's got a good job. They have bought ANOTHER house in Edmonton. Son is studying in York University. So he is staying in the condo.

Think twice before quitting your job. You may become like Family 1 or 2!

NorthYorkDesi,

Many people do settle down & adjust their mindset. It is upto an individual's thinking as to situation he can adjust to. For some people, money is important & they are willing to let go other things. I know of taxi-drivers who have big, luxurious houses here, 2-3 cars. Some people I know have joined the govt. transit company & drive buses & trains. They earn lot more than what we do in sales jobs or other labour jobs.

I am trying to give him both sides of the coin. If you see my other posts on this website, you will come to know.

I myself am not happy here. I also had referred to Canadian Desi before I came here & took the decision to come inspite of what many people on this site & my own friends settled in Canada had to say.

Your suggestion of coming down to Canada for a vacation would mean that he still has to pay PR fees, tickets plus expenses here. On a vacation, you tend to look at the better things of life & might not get a clear idea. It is only when you actually stay that you realise the situation.

I totally agree with the scenario that you have given for different families & conveys the situation here for a majority of immigrants. However, advising him to come here & start getting benefits & go back is not the right suggestion. He might get into problems with the govt. since they would definitely come to know about it as he does have to leave the country & records are there.

Just because I am not able to adjust, I would not give a totally negative view of Canada. It is upto Mr. Atee to take his own decision based on our experiences & how much he & his family can adjust & are willing to sacrifice. I have told him the situation as I see it.

I have met people who are happy here & do not think of going anywhere else.

As for myself, I do plan to go back sometime next year after I pay off my loans back home, the money I borrowed from my friend for coming here & saving enough money to buy tickets for me & my family. For doing that, my wife works from 6 to 2 & I now work 3 to 9. Earlier, my wife was not working to take care of my kids. This way I do not have to pay $600 per month for my son's day-care. Earlier we kept him in day-care but he kept on falling sick so my wife could not start a job which she had already got.

I work a $9 per hour job & my wife works at the rate of $8 per hour.

I know some people might say that he is planning to go back & still advising people to consider coming here. It also has to do with things back home in India as my brother expired last year & my parents are alone now.

Not even the most optimistic person can guarantee that Mr. Atee would be able to lead a better life after coming here. At the same time nobody can guarantee that he will lead a life which is more bad.

Thanks & regards.

Rajan.

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Let's make India a better place !

Rajan,
Reading your story moved me to tears.
i earn $14 an hour and my wife earns $20 an hour and yet we are barely able to make our ends meet. I was shocked when i heard that you both earn only $17 an hour and that you had borrowed to come here. I ahve nort been able to go and visit my dying mother for 3 years now since i donot have the money to go to india.
I can only pray to the Almighty God that your situation will change soon and that you will be finacially well off soon.

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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.