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I know this question has been asked a lot, and honestly I can find plenty of information online, but I was not able to find answers to what I wanted to ask-and it doesn't hurt to be hear some opinions either. So, I'll start with a bit about myself and situation and then to the questions that I have.
I'm in my late 20's, was born and raised in Europe and have been living in the U.S for many years. I am single and have been working as self employed all my life (I do not have a profession). I have not obtained a U.S citizenship yet, even though I am eligible. As much as I like living here (and of course there's things I don't like), Canada seems to be a major improvement in quality of life and from what I can tell, life there seems to fit my personality a lot better. I do have a degree in business, which I never utilized and honestly not a field I want to get into anymore. I am thinking of becoming an EMT for a couple years and then either a Paramedic or something else in the medical field that will not require going to a 4-yr university.
My questions are:
1. Will obtaining my U.S citizenship help me move to Canada-in other words, are the doors more open to an American vs. someone with a EU citizenship?
2. I have read that there are certain occupations in demand in Canada, are EMTs/Paramedics one of them and will my training from the U.S "transfer" to Canada? If not, what will be the process to be eligible to get hired there? Will I have to become a Canadian citizen if I wanted to make my move permanent?
3. Are people really nicer there? The one thing that "bugs" me here is that everything seems to be about the $ and people mind their own business-which is fine, but I'm looking for a place where people value friendships/marriages more and when they 're nice they 're genuinely nice-if that makes sense.
4. How welcoming are Canadians of Americans/Europeans and will it be easier to make new friends and connections there compared to how it is here when someone first moves here.
5. What are the best places/provinces to move to taking into account job opportunities, cost of living and weather?
There are huge differences depending on where you live. Within the US living in the big cities you will see it all about the money and the rat race of life. The further out you get from those the less of a rat race there is.
Canada is similar. Toronto can be very fast paced while Wawa is not..
3. Canadians are more reserved initially, but GENERALLY more open minded once you get past the perceived cold exterior
4. Golden rule - you be nice, people are generally nice back
5. It's cold everywhere except the Niagara Peninsula and the BC Lower Mainland. Both are expensive. The four/five major cities of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa are expensive. The cost of living, regardless of what people on the board here may have you believe is significantly higher than the U.S. outside of cities like New York/San Francisco once costs/tax burden is realized. Job opportunities depend on your background.
Canada has a Immigration policy that is based on YOUR education and actual employment skills, NOT your citizenship. We expect Immigrants to be educated, motivated, and fully able to support themselves when they are approved to work here.
In Canada, being a Paramedic is considered to be a profession, that requires a two year Community College course, and then writing and passing the Provincial examinations where you intend to work. In Canada there are no EMT positions.
If you apply for the Permanent Resident class of visa, and are approved, you can live and work here for a long as you like. Applying to become a citizen of Canada is a choice that you make. It is not a requirement, but about 80 percent of Immigrants to Canada become citizens within the first 5 years that they are in Canada. That indicates their commitment to staying in Canada, right ?
Here is the main link to the Canadian Immigration information website. READ it and make notes as you go along. Save it in your computer as you will be re-reading it in the future. You have two choices, apply for a work permit, that is time limited, OR apply for PR status, which is harder to get, but is not time limited.
Socially, Canada is similar to the USA, but there are some differences in laws ( such as fire arms restrictions and the way in which taxes are levied ) and the electoral system is a Parliamentary one, with a strong central Government, and 10 Provinces and 3 Territories, each of which has it's own Legislature. Social programs tend to be national in scope.
Is it perfect ? No, but having the USA right next door, and watching how they do things, makes us more sensible about what we do with our laws.
2. The rules of recognizing foreign credentials depends on a province. You would be better off narrowing down which province you would like to live in (visit! Easier done from America than from Europe) and then see what the recognition/accreditation process is there like, not the other way around. Paramedic Association of Canada – FAQs
I appreciate all the replies. Moving to Canada is not something I will be doing anytime soon but it's "fun to think about" and the idea sounds very appealing.
I read something the other day about the points system and I came across a chart where you get a certain amount of points for having a post secondary type education (I think that was 10pts) and more points for having experience working. What is considered post secondary according to Canada, is it any degree obtained after high school (will a certificate or Associate's count) or is this at Bachelor's level and higher?
Good advice this far. Read my other recent post for my perspective). If you feel there's something you like about Canada you may also find a similar place in the US (eg Pacific Northwest rather than BC). Places like Toronto have many European immigrant communities and is cosmopolitan, so depending on your background you may like it there, then again if looking for a slower pace of life maybe not. All in all, I'd echo that unless there is a reason to really be in Canada (e.g. you love a particular place, want to speak French, have a job opportunity, for a partner etc.), going thru immigration is a lot more work than finding a place you like in the US. You may want to talk directly to paramesics about the certification and transferability.
One piece of advice I'd suggest is to get US citizenship - if you move to Canada, it is useful to have the right to hop over the border, and you don't have to worry about losing your PR status. Most Canadians live near the border and should you have the need (life circumstances, loss of a job, educational opportunities etc) its nice to have. I live in BC and as I love the northwest, I'd much rather look for my next opportunity close by in Washington or Oregon than in say the Canadian prairies, or the east, which is too far.
In Canada, we don't have AA degrees. So, yes "post secondary " means that you have a completed either a Bachelor's degree, or have a 2 or 3 year diploma from a Community College, such as the Paramedic program.
The points system requires a minimum score of 69 points, but the higher the score the better the person's chances to be approved. Scores below the minimum are dumped out of the approval process.
Come and visit to see things for yourself. Do as much on-line research as you can.
Here is my situation: I'm approaching 30, and most of my life I have been working with family. I have worked once, and for a couple of years, for another-small-business and just recently started my own business (it is a mini market/produce stand). I'll admit that business is not going so well, and often times I think that I should get a side job until business picks up or just in case my business doesn't stay afloat. Long story short, I don't feel "qualified" and confident to go out and seek employment since there's not much on my resume. I feel that I'm wasting my time applying for a job since my resume is not that impressive and there are probably people with longer work history and in various positions (assuming most people start work at 18) that I'm competing with. My only advantage is that I have been a small business owner, for a short time, but I don't know if that really means anything without a degree and since it hasn't been successful thus far. I have not finished college, even though I could go back and finish with my AA in marketing within a year-but an AA is not that impressive either and I'm the type of person that feels experience is more important than a degree, especially an AA.
My goal is to find a part time job as soon as possible, and preferably something that pays more than the minimum wage. In order to strengthen my resume, I have been thinking of going back to school to obtain a certificate (I have taken most of the classes for the ones I'm interested in which is small business management and online business and I will literally only have to take a class or two in order to complete), my 2nd option is to go back for my AA which will take longer to complete and still will not guarantee anything and option 3 is to simply keep looking for a job in my current situation.
I would like some advice on how to go about this. Am I really not qualified for any job (something descent) like I feel? Is getting a certificate a good idea and will it help? At least I could include in my resume that I have a college degree (certificates do count, right?)
I'll appreciate any feedback
I would suggest to sort out your life/education in USA first, before starting to think of moving to another country.
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