anarid

Hi all,

New here and wanted to say thanks , there is so much valuable info on this forum!
Was just wondering if there is anyone here who has made a permanent move on their own - as in, as a single person, to start a new life in Canada?
I've been in UK for over 11 years and felt like I wanted a change and hence my PR application (which has just been approved a few days ago). I am also a nurse, so in process of transferring my licence.
Really just wanted to hear from people who have done this on their own - how has it been for you? It is obviously financially and emotionally harder, etc.. but would be really interested in sincere thought and experiences..

Thanks in advance !

Phaedru5

Not in response to your main question im afraid but please read other posts about transferring nursing qualifications. It will be a long hard and expensive road, especially alone without someone else to assist funding, as you wont be able to work for quite a while, make sure you factor that in carefully to your plans. Sorry to be a bore

anarid

Hey, yes, i know very well, been on NNAS business for over a year now.. estimating that won't hear from Ontario board for another year too.. hence doing the soft landing.. for now (have to land until Feb 2020). So I have no pink glasses, rather asking myself - do I really need this lol... but since so much time and effort already put in this.. I will give it a go, once I have more clarity what bridging they want me to do. I am slightly more hopeful in terms of compatibility as I am not UK, but EU trained and our nursing education is more like canadian - its general and involves all parts of nursing rather than being specialised in paed or psych etc... So here is hoping.. But who knows ...
p.s. one of those moment when you think it'd be nice to have a partner lol

CanadaJimmy

Yes I moved to Canada alone at 22 after I completed my university studies. I was fortunate that I had a contact in Vancouver already who let me stay at their house for a couple of months until I was able to find a place to rent and secure a job - I think without that it would have been quite a bit more difficult. The hardest part I found was making friends, and also the fact I had to work at a low paying job for the first few years before I could move on to something better. With your qualifications however you might be able to get a good nursing job from day 1 so that might make things easier.

Lots of people come to Canada by themselves, international students are the best example, so it's not unheard of. It's very exciting to have the chance to build a brand new life - I'm very satisfied with mine!

christmasoompa

I'd have said the opposite, much easier for a single person that somebody with a family and kids to worry about and pay for! You've got nobody else to worry about, just have fun and enjoy it, even the stressful bits. Go for it.

anarid

Sounds good and glad you had a +ve experience! I am 35 though

Danny B

With your accent you'll be fighting the men off with a stick when you arrive.

scilly

It might be harder to get a permanent job in nursing at first though, as nursing is like teaching, heavily unionised. Many nurses and teachers have to work their way into being eligible for a permanent position by working as temporaries.

JGK

I was 37 when i moved over. It helped that i had a job to move to. There was a group of us working in the same field that also moved at a similar time so had a support system if i needed it.

beckiwoo

sun burnt in aus

I've done it twice. The first time I think I did it wrong in that I rented on my own and found it very isolating. I was very lonely and became kinda bit desperate to get to know people and as a result I took a job that I shouldn't have and was willing to befriend people I shouldn't have. And it set me on a very difficult path that ultimately ruined my time there. Second went much better. Rented a room in a share house and got hooked into a bunch of locals and immigrants within hours of getting there. I thankfully learned from the first experience and pushed myself to be far more out going than I am usually and broke the ice with the others in the complex and it worked out well. Really set a nice tone and support network and really loved my time there.

I live near a university in Australia at the moment and have taken in many international students and see them struggle with loneliness and find it difficult to break into a local friendship group for a variety of reasons. I often tell them to seek out others from their country to help fill the void. At least then they have a some sort of a support network to help them adjust to their new surroundings.

bairn7

I'm moving on my own in January. I really will be on my own as I know no-one in Calgary. But I actually think that makes the move a whole lot easier as you only have yourself to look out for. The chance to completely start over is also very exciting. I've lived abroad on my own before though so I guess a lot of the natural apprehension of such things was suffered during previous moves!

sun burnt in aus

Yes, when you go solo it's always easier - you only have yourself to satisfy. And it seems that people become more insular when they get married. Singles are always on the hunt for interesting people to hang and drink with. The only draw back is the loneliness that can creep in if you're not careful and push yourself to put yourself out there.

dominiqueincanada

I moved on an IEC to Vancouver by myself back in 2012 when I was 26. I had little difficulty finding an apartment (although I know that has changed) or friends but I have to say you need to put in the effort when you first arrive. I used meetup a lot and was out three or four times a week meeting people; I now have a great circle of friends. I was always of the opinion that if it didn't work out here, I could always move back to the UK but that I would give it a good go.

sharkus

I moved over as intra-company transferee in 2003. Initially there were only a few of us that came over at the same time, but more followed later, so I wasn't completely alone.
We were very lucky as it had been agreed upon that if we did not like it over here, for whatever reason, we could simply go back to the UK and resume our job there. Having that kind of safety net was great, and a couple of people did use it, however I stayed, got PR, and then citizenship.