I think there is a certain amount of canada bashing going on in this thread, and thats OK as its based on the personal experience of those posting. Its important to remember though that many of those who come here do get an OK job and move off to enjoy life in canada and all that it offers, witohut stopping back here to report on the positives.

My attitude here (as a happy canadian expat) is now one of advise people to prepare for the worst, because it can happen, but hope for the best, as that can happen too. Better to come with eyes open and be pleasantly surprised if things fall into place. Just look at the case of Julius, he landed a good job, but still ended up heading back early on, as it just wasnt what his family was really looking for. You can plan all you like from the sidelines, but sometimes things dont work out as expected for one reason or another, and its not always Canadas fault, thats just life.

Do you think those who are going to move here, are really listening? I doubt it! They are leaving a job/house/family/friends etc etc to get more than that. Failure is for others not us. And when we move and face it, then all of this "bash this or that" begins!

Hey guys .... LISTEN UP.... BE PREPARED! IT'S DEAD SERIOUS!

A positive.....today the weather in the Fraser Valley has been just exquisite, around 20 degrees and blue skies everywhere. I walked my dog along the river, met some horses, watched my hound demolish a border collie as I scurried away...then I spent the last few hours with a teenager and another social worker in one of the saddest places in the world (where children removed from their parents are taken initially) painting cartoon murals all over the walls. As I watched this teenager volunteering her whole day in a horrible place to make it better for kids she didn't know, I did wonder if that type of "community spirit" is still alive back home.

It's not all bad here....just be very realistic about your needs and wants and you will cope better with the knocks if and when they come.

i doff my hat to you all, and by that i mean dingbat, wcitizen and iaink!! yes, sir, guys, putting all you have said together, i found all the things that i have been talking about, come up one after another! canada is NOT bad at all, but you have to be prepared to accept whatever is thrown at you here, and to do that if you are qualified and had a very good stable job elsewhere in the world, is very very difficult! and canadian experience--what absolute bull!! you dont get people in uk saying to interviewees "you dont have uk experience"! i dont know what to think--it may be that canada is a new country thats developing, so they are maybe going thru teething problems with their systems etc? thats why i said earlier, and you guys have also hinted at that, if you dont have a solid reason to come here, DONT do it--stay where you are, cos there are inumerable problems here, that you cant damn well see when you are sitting in your home in the uk or europe for example, surfing the net about canada. you HAVE to be here to know. example? sure! i met a surgeon from eastern europe who said he was so confident of his experience that he even said to an interviewer in a canadian hospital " let me perform a simple operation under your supervision and if you think i am wrong, you have my full permission to amputate my right hand" , who has been here for 2 years and cant get accepted here cos his qualifications are non-canadian and until he gets canadian certification, he cannot get work in his field. so what is he doing presently? working in a bottling factory, looking after machines that put lables on bottles!!!!! and then they say they havent got any medical staff in canada!!! i say again---canada is NOT for EVERYONE!!!!

You obviously missed my posting in this thread then.... http://www.britishexpats.com/forum/s...74&page=6&pp=5 The UK is no different! And I think you too are only prepared to hear what you want to believe.

Might be boring but here is some data for the UK

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=766

I hope some of those leaving the UK ended up with a decent job. Good reasons for leaving the UK can be as simple as I want to. But leaving with the minimum funds and with family in tow could be a recipe for trouble if you don't get that needed job - no matter what country. And in life landing on your feet, coming up with the money for that bill, bumping into the right person at the right time, making the right decision for the right reason without knowing you are doing it is a matter of luck to some degree. But I also believe you can make your own luck.

And if you are thinking of leaving you will see from the figures you are not alone. But there are more heading to the UK than away so it will get even more comfy.

I was at a local senior staff meeting just this week, and morale is low because they are constantly making new "teams", each requiring their own therapists, and drawing on the same pool of people basically with the result that all the teams end up short-staffed and unable to cover their workload in the case of absence etc

..... the point I wanted to make was, when talking about advertising these posts, we now have to advertise on the wordwide NHS site, which means they are apparently open to anyone in the world.

However, one comment was made that when they recently advertised a post "they had about 80 applicants from india, most of whom could not speak fluent English! Yes they were qualified and registered to work in the UK.....but!"

The senior person there present then told us categorically that of course candididates would not even be considered unless they had "NHS experience". I had to wonder HOW these people would get this experience?????

So anyway, you can't say it doesn't happen here. *shrugs*

What a global career boils down to:
1) Stay at home ... your qualifications & experience will be accepted.
2) Move to another country ... chances are you'll have to requalify.

Doesn't matter what you do for a living ... the risk will be the same.

CIC tends to misrepresent how welcome Brits are in Canada ... Canada Post and the Emigration Show paint a picture of happy, smiling Canadians welcoming their new friends from the mother country ... most people are actually friendly and welcoming, but some aren't ... unfortunately, sometimes the people who aren't are between you and the job you want to get.

Like Iain said ... prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

If you want a global career the best way is to join a multinational corporation (and be well thought of). It helps to pick one with a HQ in your country of choice. However be prepared to move at the company's convenience until you get to the stage of being able to pick your own destination. Getting PR, or staying long enough to convert that to citizenship, can be problematic when working for a multinational unless you're quite assertive and/or prepared to pursue independent visa options alongside your work permit.

Another way (especially for younger people) is to join a firm like KPMG or PWC and look for a secondment that way.

If you really want to emigrate - usually it's a lot easier in your 20s rather than 30s/40s but there will still usually be a career price unless you do so within the same company.

Jeremy

I wouldnt go so far as to say that..I didnt have any solid reason to come here, other than someone had offered me a job. If I felt that way i would not have left the UK, and I would be a miserable bugger still saving for my first house. If I hadnt have come I would have missed out on so many wonderfull improvements in my life, but on the other hand there are a significant number of people who come and find only problems and impediments at every turn, some eventually overcome them and are happy, some are stuck in limbo, and some return to the UK. People need to be aware of the dangers and assess the risks for themselves and there own circumstances is all Im saying, come expecting the worst and then everything else is a bonus.

My advice to people thinking of emigrating to Canada would be, don't, unless it's for a very, very good reason or you have a very well paid job waiting
for you here.
If you own your own home, have a good job and a family, stay in Britain.
Don't give that up thinking you'll walk into a great job in Canada, because you won't.
Britain is positively awash with jobs compared to Canada. Be warned.

It's taken me 3 and a half years to get into a job I actually like ... sometimes you have to grind along for a bit.

Having a decent job to come to makes the whole process much easier ... bearing in mind that all things are relative

I know, and I expect most do, many many people who do a job they do not like - it just pays the bills. Having a job you like and geting paid at the same time is often many peoples dreams .... where ever you are.

Many I know do a job that do not like so they can enjoy the time spent outside of the workplace. Each has its virtues and drawbacks.

But good luck nevertheless. Always try to enjoy it while its there. Most can only look back and say 'I enjoyed that period in my life' and did not see it while they were there.

If you had a good paid job and all the prospects in the world at your feet in a country you want to be in you might be advocating the opposite. It is a possiblity.