Canada skilled worker points reduced

[sab34]

An_Immigrant:

Now you can try in Canada as well, who is your Attorney.

[An_Immigrant]

Yes, I am going to try Canada. I don't have an attorney and I think I am going to submit the application myself. I can easily pass with my education and work experience in the US that not counted by US INS. But I don't expect to get everything done within 2 years. Literally, I am just stuck in the US living under fears.

So in short, is Canada a good place to immigrate to? Why are Canadians like ARQU coming to America? Is the difference between the 2 countries that big?

For the reasons I stated above... There is not a lot of work and what there is does not pay as well... Very high taxes and lots of Gov't involvement... There are around 25-30 million people in Canada (90% of which live within 200 miles of the US border) while there are what - 300 Million people in the US... If you have a strong work ethic and some good ideas you can make a lot of money in the US (and keep more of it...).

But if your perference is nature and the outdoors (and the cold), then there is no country better in the world than Canada (in my opinion...)

ARQU

How is the cost of living?
Sometimes high or low salary is only relative. For example someone who earns $60k in Texas will probably live as good as someone who earns $80k in California. The person in Texas pays $1.59 for a gallon of premium gasoline, while the person in CA pays $2.09 for the same grade. The person in TX pays $700 for a two bedroom apartment and the person in CA pays $1200 for the same size of apartment. You get me?

[An_Immigrant]

US is not that great for jobs at this moment either. I have friends with master degrees from famous school who have been looking for job for almost a year. No good jobs in CA especially in computer industry. Government is slashing H1B cap big time..Just hoping to get a new president elected in 2004 and fire John Ashcroft.

So you people trashing Canada, is that place that bad?

[Aguila]

The only thing I know about CANADA is that it has been ranked NUMBER ONE in QUALITY OF LIFE for a long time, while the US is somewhere on between the TENTH OR THIRTEENTH SPOT.

I guess people don't make as much, but the cost of living is a lot cheaper, and education is cheaper

JOSTO: No - Don't misread what I am saying. Canada is a great place to live! It leans a lot more to the left politically which may or not be what you are looking for. You just need to be aware that it is not the US - it is similar but in ways very different... If you move there, you better like Taxes... They are on EVERYTHING! In some provinces you are paying over 15% sales tax...

JOE2: Cost of living - When I first came down here in 1997, it was about the same (real estate is cheaper in Canada). In other words it would cost around $8.00 Cdn to see a movie and about the same here in US... Mcdonalds and stuff like that are along the same lines... Recently, I have noticed that the cost of living is going up substantially up there... Just try buying a pair of kids jeans for less than $35.00 Cdn while down here you can go to Walmart and buy the same ones for $5 to $10.

Real Estate is CRAZY here (try buying a house in NJ - They start around $300k for the little ones) wheras you can get a good house in Canada for $150k (not including Vancouver and Toronto...)

A Computer professional who may make around $70k here can expect to make around $50k Cdn there... (Plus you will be giving a lot more to the gov't in taxes). Oh yeah - forget about TAX deductions - they are few and far between...

I was paying $0.80 / Litre for gas there last month (In Alberta where the gas comes from) - That works out to about $2.50 / US Gal (in US$).... You can get an Apartment for less than $1k (Cdn)/month (as opposed to the $1500/month they cost here...).

Unemployement is much higher there (I am not aware of the current stats) but it will be at least double (in percent) the level here...

Night life? While the bars are certainly fun and the girls are VERY nice (and friendly) it does cost a lot to go out (not like NYC though) and it all closes down around 2:00 or 3:00 am on the weekends - On a weeknight (especially in the winter) things aren't happening much at all... Oh yes - winter... where I was born and raised, it is not uncommon for the temperature to be -40 degrees during the winter - and it usually only gets into the 70s during the summer... And it is dark most of the time in winter (and light during the summer... Great for playing golf at 10:00 pm...)

So take that all in to consideration - that is all... I chose to move to the NYC area from Canada for the opportunities that are here. I have been very successful with my decision and have opportunities that just do not exist in Canada...

Oh yeah - the BEER is the best in the world...

ARQU

ARQU

Aguila:

Cost of living is higher... Except housing...

Education is cheaper (and better)...

BTW - You do pay for Health Care but if you are low income it does not cost anything (it tiers up as you make more)... It takes a long time for health care service but at least it is available...

ARQU

[An_Immigrant]

For ARQU,

It makes sense that you move to NYC since you can live here (in US) without worries. You have a chance to pick your option. But we don't. For us is in different situations. We came from the other countries and try to settle in the US but sometime its misunfortunate with all the stricter INS regulations in the US and so hard to get the job done. Of course, if everything work out in the US, Canada won't be the choice..may be..but who know!

An_Immgigrant:

Read some of my other posts.... Who says I am here without any worries...

And don't kid yourself - Canada's immigration policies are not real loose either...

ARQU

[apache]

Hi Fellas,

Good to be back after a long time. I see a forum with made up of reasonable people who seek real information. I quit a while when the forum was been used mainly by anti-immigrant far-right wing groups. Good to be back.

About the Canada issue, I am here on H1B and immediately after Sept. 11, I looked long and hard about my future in the country and it never looked so bleak. I didn't know what the future held, whether the congress would stop the H1B proogram among other things are send everyone back to their home countries, my dot.com employer/petitioner in my opinion wouldn't around much longer (my other colleagues USC were all oblivious to this fact and were still complaining about the aborted pay raises etc.) and knowing the difficulty of getting another sponsor in 10 days or going home, I applied to Canada and was only approved within the past one year. My biggest fear then was that here I was in US with all these valuable skills that have no demand or value back home,If i went back home how will I make a living except to take less paying jobs etc when I was already used to US living standards. Suicide may be considered an easy way out (just a joke).

Anyhow, I have since landed and come back to the US to continue my H1 based employment. My opinion of Canada? It is a lovely place, and people are genuinely more friendly. It is a mix of london and US. The trains and building make you think you are in London but the roads are as wide as US roads (I mean California's roads) etc. As a Tech. professional in the US earning more than $50K, the opportunity look less promising in Canada than the US. But you know, money is not everything. I love the US but since the advent of Ashcroft and these rabid ultra-right wing xenophobic bunch of Republican conservatives, I fear for the continued progress of the US where Diversity and openness was a strength and contributing factor of the present day success. These guys are almost Fascists. I know the quest for dictatorial powers when I see one. I hope the US electorate really open their eyes and see that after the immigrants and non-immigrants are randomly violated and victimized, it will be their turn to be victims.

Living with daily fear of terror is ruining the economy where Billions of dollars are spent of Ghost anti-terror related projects and no meaningful plan for revitalizing the economy has surfaced. Everyone still depends on Dead-fish Wall street analysts who tell you everthing is well in the Tech and other sectors and talk up no earning Tech companies etc. EVERY THING IS NOT WELL IN TECH SECTOR where I work hence the current unemployment numbers. I am blessed to be currently employed, and you know what? When you cling on to a job for survival because there are no other jobs other then your career has reached a stagnant point. Creativity is dead and monotony creeps in slowly.

I apologize for the Digression, Due to canada's policy of bringing in only educated applicants, there are many graduates like yourself competing for the same jobs so the competing edge that your education gives you that helps you get a great salary is blunt. So I guess the summary is, if you want money, stay here and grow hypertensive with the constant fear of uncertainty, if you want peace of mind, consider Canada. Afterall, Lean freedom they say is better than fat slavery.

Me? I have fortunately made good fortunes in the US via real Estate (based on the time I arrived and God's wisdom), so in the next few months, I will quit my job here and move myself and funds permanently to Canada and face a new life, and set of opportunities. I will always be grateful for the opportunity working in the US as a H1-B holder has afforded me and the opportunity of being a Canadian Permanent Resident. However, living with uncertainty ****s and often makes me depressed. Unless you are a US permanent Resident, you will always live in the US with uncertainty.

My 2 cents

[CourtneyEM]

In order to get a better sense of where you would like to live, there's plenty of information out there about Canada - Canadian economy, politics, education, health care, etc. The above link also has province-specific information - for example, about British Columbia.