Costa D please accept my sincere condolences. God is on your side even in times like this.
Dear All,
This is a debrief of my landing/settlement experience. Please read on.
I landed with my family in Toronto at 11:58pm on 7th Sept following a long and drawn out journey lasting 31hrs which was meant to last 18hrs thanks to United Airlines, first advise don't connect through the U.S., please connect through the European hubs (London, Paris, etc), and this is targeted especially to those who travel to the U.S. a lot like myself and feel it will be easier, transiting through the U.S. is terrible, period. Case in point; my bags where set aside when they arrived in the U.S. for extra checks resulting in further delay and litany of questioning, this doesn't happen in Europe.
We were checked by immigration, this lasted 15mins and we were given our landing papers to sign and the immigration officer shook my hand and said "Welcome to Canada" (Kodak moment). We were ushered to customs who asked questions about funds we had and contents of our bags and goods to follow, please have a list of goods to follow as this will be documented. All in all we were done in 25mins as we were the only passengers in the airport! We got a minivan and negotiated (naija style) a fixed tariff to our destination, please avoid meters, it costs more.
Now here's where reality starts. We were shocked to discover that Canada's public transit system is stuck in the 19th century, meaning you need a horse or car pronto. Getting around even in a major metropolis like GTA can be really tough without a car, as the public transit system network isn't particularly sufficient. Here's my advice, sort out your driving license before coming, please. The quicker you can get a full license and get a car, the better for your physical well being. And please don't bring a fake license to Canada, they will catch you and you may get arrested.
We were also amazed to discover how clueless Canadian bankers were, and they charge for everything even holding your money. My advice, buy bank draft in Canadian dollars at the best rate before you leave and withdraw CAD cash at a local ATM using Naira on your naija mastercard, and please get a naija mastercard before you leave to cover your immediate purchases.
Now to the all important two cents:
1. Find a host before coming to Canada
2. Prepare, Plan, Prepare, Plan, Prepare, Plan and start early
The first one is high priority, even if you claim to know no-one, please I'm sure you know someone who knows someone in Canada, make friends. This requirement is paramount as Canada is no man's land, you will get in and get lost without someone to help out in your first few weeks.
The second is important because you need a backup plan for your back up plan. You will arrive and realize some stuff on the forum is really personal and doesn't apply to you, so please take time by yourself to plan the first 12 months to religious zealousness. I can't overstate the importance of your first few months, it will determine whether you will make it in Canada or not, I've seen this first hand, so prepare and plan.
Canada is a beautiful country with far more opportunities to succeed than Nigeria if you intend to do it lawfully. It's one of the best decisions you can make, I've seen how lives improved dramatically with the decision, but, I say this with caution, don't be too optimistic, just be prepared to work hard to achieve your dreams.
Hope it helps someone out there.
