Zeppo595

I've been living abroad for around 10 years now.

I spent most of my time out in Asia, and I moved to Toronto, Canada last year. I've been living here for 1 year and teaching English. But covid has mostly cancelled my work. I am currently 1.5 years into my IEC and have a PR application 95% complete, though not sent yet.

I am thinking about going back to the UK. What do you think?

UK: pros

Closer to family

Where I'm from/feeling of 'home'

Could do PGCE in future and get better teaching prospects

UK: cons

Lack of job prospects/inability to teach ESL likely

Would have to live with family/not feel independent.

Would have to face enormous student loan debt which I've been somewhat avoiding

Return of old anxieties/psychodrama associated with UK I may have forgotten

Canada

Pros:

Have a job I enjoy here (though only part time)

Feeling of being an expat/having an adventure

Cons:

Living alone during pandemic

No friends here/isolated

Cost of living v.high for shabby places

christmasoompa

If you haven't sent your PR app yet, then you may not have much choice in the matter! I'd recommend you send that off asap, in case you do decide you want to stay.

And if you've been avoiding paying your student loan, I'd contact them and set up a payment plan, you're still liable for it even in Canada. So get that off the con list.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Twitcher1958

There’s a Facebook group called Brits in Toronto which may allow you to connect with others. Usually they have get togethers, pub quizzes etc - although obviously on hold currently but things are starting to reopen.

Zeppo595

Thanks. Yeah, I know I should finish the application. Waiting for fingerprint check from Japan!

Right, one problem I have is I can't tell how much I'm going covid crazy...OR if covid has given me time to think about things more clearly.

Last year, I was working 12 hour days 6 days a week. I had NO TIME to think, which was good in a way. But I was completely exhausted and to be honest, miserable.

But living at home unemployed? That's another kind of misery.

I guess I feel like if I am going to have these growing pains about going back to the UK, why delay them? And if it does not work out, I can always go back abroad again at some point and accept I at least tried.

But I already completely ****ed up my life once when I moved to Canada (my life in Japan was way better) so I cannot tell if all of this stuff is weird self-sabotage. Maybe I'm just always thinking somewhere else is better.

But the UK, home country, family, hoping to settle down. These are legitimate things. But are they also daydreams? How likely is it really for me to be settling down in the UK with my skill set? I have slid the idea across to family and they are excited about it. But won't they kind of look down on me as this loser once I'm there and jobless and sponging off them for months? I don't know. I'd almost rather be a pathetic failure abroad than at home!

scilly

No-one can tell you what you can do or what is best for you, only you can do that.

We are just strangers at the other end of an internet forum. All of us have our own visions of what we want/wanted, many of us have achieved a great life here in Canada, others have not.

I know I wouldn't like to live in Toronto, but that is MY vision of where I want to live.

christmasoompa

On that's a pain. How are you applying for PR, is it via EE, if so have you actually got an invite to apply? If not then you don't need the fingerprint check yet, so could at least apply now and get in the pool to give yourself as much chance as possible of being able to stay/keep working once your IEC runs out.

That's a common problem for an expat! Could you not move back to Japan if that's where you were happiest, rather than the UK?

Zeppo595

Yeah, I'm on EE.

I'm actually barely working and mostly living on benefits now.

I was not happy in Japan either, but I did not value what I had at the time.

I guess I think if I don't at least try to move back once, I might regret it/continue to romanticise no matter where I go.

christmasoompa

But are you just applying to enter the pool, or are you already in the pool and you've received an invite to apply for PR? Just that if it's the former, you don't need the fingerprints sorted yet anyway.

I'd carry on with the application even if you do decide to return to the UK anyway personally. Better to have the option there if you decide that after 6 months in the UK that you made a mistake and want to go back to Canada.

DigitalGhost

That's a Toronto problem rather than a Canada problem and isn't helped by you only working in a part-time and (I'm guessing) not an especially highly paid line of work.

You'd certainly face the same issues in London, if not worse, and probably also in the likes of Manchester, Glasgow and elsewhere these days.

DigitalGhost

You need fingerprints for a Japanese police cert unfortunately. Nobody in the UK is allowed to complain about ACRO after seeing what a lot of other countries have to go through and Japan has one of the most awkward police certificate processes.It can take months to secure one as well and that's without any potential Covid-related delays atm.

https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_...ex_000078.html

christmasoompa

I know, but police certs aren't needed to enter the EE pool, hence my suggestion of him cracking on now if he's only applying for that rather than PR yet. It's not clear at what stage of the process he's at though.

DigitalGhost

Also the Japanese police certificate is irrelevant for now. It would actually be towards the end of the process because it needs to be formally requested by the IRCC.

Tumbling_Dice

I guess my question would be whether you have revalued what you had in Japan and whether that would be better to go back to? What about your career plan? Where would it be better served?

Zeppo595

I have revalued it, but at the same time I think if I went back I would just be going back to the same entry level jobs I had when I was 20! Of course, I could climb out of that quicker, but it's not super motivating and I also can't tell clearly how much it's influenced by romantic nostalgic thinking.

I feel like I at the very least have to make a NEW mistake. Go back to the UK, get my PGCE and then perhaps go back abroad after that. Then at least I could say that I gave the UK a try and hopefully would be more qualified to get better jobs in other countries.

scot47

Having a career in teaching outside the UK can lead to difficulties when it come to retirement time. A career spent mainly in EFL outside my native Scotland let me experience other cultures, learn other languages, and travel more than most. Come 64 and retirement,, not so easy. I made it and 9 years later I have a life, but it was not easy.

I wish you luck, but YOU have to make the decisions !