A couple questions: please answer or provide input

[ham86]

Hi

I'm a college student in the USA studying for my BA in Sociology. I'm thinking about studying,working, and eventually living in Canada. If I go I plan on going to Univ. of Toronto for graduate school. However, I don't want to make a mistake in moving somewhere that ends up being identical to life in the states (capitalist way of thinking,segregation,ignorance,racism etc). So I have a couple questions regarding life in Canada for someone from the US.

1. Would it be worth it to move to Canada from the US, or would I be moving into pretty much the same aside from the fact that it is a separate country?

2.Would it be better to go to Canada on a Study/Work Permit before applying for permanent residence?

3. I have heard that Canadian employers don't trust immigrants, does this also apply to US immigrants who can speak both French and English? I hope to find a job with my Soc degree at Statistics Canada at some point if I go.

4. What is a good city to start off in? Preferebly in Quebec,Ontario or BC.

If anyone can give some input I would be much appreciated.

 

[Leon]

I have really not spent enough time in the states to have a feeling for if there is less capitalism or less racism in Canada but it seems to me that people here get along better. Canadians are more laid back. If you seek a hippy lifestyle, you can live around Vancouver. I have a friend who lives in a community like that. Otherwise you will be as subject to capitalism as anywhere else. Most people want to have nice things and not worry about money.

Toronto is very diverse, you have all kinds of people there. Vancouver is diverse but mostly by Asian immigrants. Quebec is a nation of their own.

1. Impossible to say. If you live in a border town in the US and jump across the border to Canada, there is probably not much difference. It all depends on where you are in Canada. Same with the US.

2. You have a better chance of trying it out if you apply for a work permit or student visa. If you apply for PR as a skilled worker, you invest $1000 and a year and a half of your life for the wait. Then maybe find out when you get there it was all for nothing. If you come on a work permit or student visa, as a skilled person, you still have the option to apply for PR from within.

3. Canadian employers like to ask for Canadian education and experience. When you are from the US, it's way less of a problem than when you are from somewhere further away with more cultural differences. They know the standard of education in the US.

4. I have some friends in Montreal. I have been there a couple of times to visit them. It has a different cultural atmosphere than most. More French of course. I have lived in Toronto. It's a big city, huge number of people. Now I live in Edmonton. When I was moving here from Toronto, a lot of my friends told me I was crazy, they are all rednecks and hillbillies there, they said but I have found that the people here are quite friendly and it's very easy to find a job. Maybe you should vacation in Canada before you decide. You can also check job search websites to find out where it looks like the most jobs in your field.

 

[ham86]

Thanks for the reply. Your answered pretty much confirmed my thouhgts, and what I've learned so far. Only slight bump would be going on a work/student permit instead of applying for PR right away, which does sound like a better idea. Thats great regarding how Canadian employers deal with American immigrants so I have no worries there.

I think I might have to apply for a student visa/work permit prior to getting my BA so that way I can be in Canada the following semester to start grad, and if I'm going after a Ph.D then I that should give me a long enough stay in Canada to apply for PR.