Mikeypm

Id say the move depends on your outlook, your province the job your going to do extra. There are a lot of factors and Canada will be like any new place, it will be like marmite you will either love it or hate.

For some people it works and some it does not. I think if your are determined to make the move you should give it a try. If it doesnt work out then the US and UK will still be there.

MarylandNed

Where in New York state? Anywhere beyond the Walden Galleria in Buffalo? Much of upstate New York doesn't have much going for it. Judging an entire country on one state (or part of one state) isn't going to give you an accurate assessment. I've split my adult life living and working in various parts of the UK, Canada and the US. The country that feels the most different out of the 3 is definitely the UK. Sure - I'd place Canada somewhere between the US and UK. That's only natural given that, for example, Canada's political, legal and healthcare systems are more like the UK's systems. But in terms of lifestyle and "look and feel", Canada is much more like the US than the UK in my opinion. So I would say Canada and the US are more similar to each other than either are to the UK.

Steve_

No you can't, not in the situation he was in. He was in construction and at the time he wouldn't have qualified for SW1 because he wasn't in one of the narrow NOC categories nor SW2 because the quota was full. It's not like the guy was stupid, he had looked into his options.

People getting bogged down in being pedantic about the immigration system, the point I was making is that he was screwed over by his employer. Which certainly is possible.

Steve_

I don't necessarily disagree with what he said, but he sounds very career orientated. Yes Canada can be dull, but dull is underrated imo. Dull often indicates that the place hasn't got any overt problems. Just look at the banking crisis, Canada's banking system was old-fashioned but that turned out to be a positive.

One thing I've said on here many times and I've had people say it to me many times is that the job situation in Canada is more "settled", i.e. they want immigrants and employers need immigrants but there's a middle tier of unions and professional associations who make life difficult for immigrants because they don't want their cart upended. Do a search of the web, you'll find loads of stories like that. Not recognizing foreign qualifications for spurious reasons or telling people to learn Canadian "best practice" even though it is inferior to where you came from, etc.

It's especially idiotic in IT fields. Okay yes there are differences, e.g. privacy laws but it's not that huge of a deal.

ExKiwilass

me too, OMG, twinsies!

MarylandNed

I wouldn't say that Canada's banking system was "old-fashioned". I'd say it was stable, solid and well-regulated against some pretty modern and stupid practices. Canada's banking system is regarded by many as the best in the world. There's a reason that the previous Governor of the Bank of Canada is now the current Governor of the Bank of England (the first foreigner to be appointed to that job).

orly

Been to Buffalo and NYC and numerous places in between.

As a whole Canada is closer to the UK than US for me. Except Quebec...it's a weird place.

Jerseygirl

My husband was an IT partner with one of the big 4...he transferred to the US because he had the opportunity to do so. He has now taken early retirement and we would love to return to the UK...but are settling for Toronto for family reasons. We are now UK and US citizens...neither helps us to move to Canada.

We came to the US for a year or two...but somehow we got sucked into things and are still here 17 years later. Most days we wished we'd stayed in the UK.

In the US there is no NHS, no employees' rights, the banking system is like stepping back into the dark ages, it is very superficial, I hate US politics more every day, I hate how the US interferes with the politics of other countries, I hate how everything in the US has religion undertones, I hate the right to own firearms...I could go on....

MarylandNed

Maybe doesn't help you but USC's can take advantage of NAFTA.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/special-business.asp

Many Canadians have used it to go the other way and start on the path to PR and US citizenship.


The health insurance system is a disaster....no doubt about that.

Banks are annoying everywhere...not just in the US.

The US political system is just sickening at the moment. Just total partisan gridlock. We can't even get increased background checks after what happened at Newtown.

The UK has interfered in the politics of many countries too over the years.

I hate the religious undertones in the US. The sickening thing is that the people who use it as a weapon aren't really religious at all...they are just twisting it for their own ends. However, religion is also an issue in the UK and "God Save The Queen" is the national anthem.

The whole gun thing is a sick joke. I have no idea how the 2nd amendment can be used to allow people to own automatic and semi-automatic weapons capable of killing many people in a short space of time.

orly

Interested to know how this balances with your assessment of the US and Canada being more similar?

dbd33

Religion is a problem in Canada too. In rural areas very many people attend churches and in urban areas significant numbers attend mosques or temples. The Prime Minister is an admitted religionist.

Jerseygirl

It seems every time a US politician is on TV or makes a speech...god comes into it somewhere. Same with many TV political analysts and interviewers. Don't get me started about how politically biased TV journalists are and they give their opinions on TV.

orly

Or race. Look at how Zimmerman is being treated when it would appear, based on the evidence, he did nothing against the law.

Jerseygirl

High profile court cases seem to be a game played by the lawyers on TV. By the time it gets to trial almost everyone and his dog has already formed an opinion...how can the jury be unbiased?

orly

The lawyers are expected to be like that depending on who they are representing.

The CNN coverage of the trial, though, has been little short of a disgrace. As a somewhat interested outsider it appeared to be heavily biased. Almost becoming a witch hunt.