Hi Carlos.

Coming from South Africa, I have adapted just fine to Canada. Been in 
Canada for 10 years now. I also spent a few years in England before I 
came here...

Just some observations... based on my experience, and what I have 
observed in numerous friends and acquaintances in the past.

1. Going to any country will have unique problems to overcome, whether 
it is language, culture, climate, legal, etc.
2. Wherever you go you will experience some 'common' problems - no 
'local' work experience will always be a problem
3. Some people 'cut it', and some fail - I have seen people I thought 
were well settled suddenly decide they can't keep it up any more, and leave.
4. Luck can have more of an impact than good management - a friend came 
to Canada 2 years ago, well qualified, great experience, and took 18 
months to get a job with the recession. His wife, with similar 
qualifications, was working in a great job within a few weeks.

I have friends here in Canada, and 'old' friends from South Africa who 
have immigrated to other places in the world, and the above holds true 
for any immigration destination out there, including Australia. In fact, 
South Africa and Australia seem to have so many similarities (climate, 
culture (colonial past), rugby, cricket, etc...) that it seems a 
'natural' place for South Africans to go, but a lot of South Africans 
return from Australia (at least it seems that way...). I get the 
impression that South African's think it will be easy in Aus because it 
is so similar, but then hit the issues above, and it is tougher than it 
was expected... making South Africa seem like a nicer place and silly to 
leave....

Your 'success' in a foreign land is almost certainly related to your 
attitude though. How hard you're willing to try, etc. Basically, your 
personal '?' factor.

Canada in particular....

As for me, I am not a 'typical' immigrant to Canada... when living in 
the UK I met a Canadian girl, got engaged, I immigrated to Canada to be 
with her, and arrived in Canada in 2000, when times were economically 
very good, got married, had children, etc. I arrived here with welcoming 
'in-laws', and my brother was living here already. These things made for 
a 'soft' landing. I am in the IT world (banking/insurance), and I have 
had no issues with work except for the 'typical' recession issues where 
promotions are hard to come by, etc... though I did survive numerous 
rounds of lay-offs, etc. Basically I am content with work.

The weather in Canada is nothing to be scared of (at least in my 
experience).... sure, it gets cold, but that's just cold. If you learn 
to 'embrace' it, the cold is great. I have taken to cross-country, and 
down-hill skiing, which are both fantastic activities. The kids toboggan 
all the time, and out-door winter activity is easy to do, and great fun. 
Snow is actually dry (at least until it melts), and well-managed, it is 
a lot of fun. I actually find that Toronto is uncomfortably hot at 
times, but that seldom lasts for a week at a stretch, so it is also 
manageable.

The health-care is remarkable in Canada. The most expensive part of 
having both our children was the parking.... same is true for having my 
gall-bladder out, etc. (OK, it's paid for from taxes). People complain 
about the system, and it does have some issues, but people complain 
about anything, and show me a system that is without issue...

I have made my peace here, and it is now home. I can't say the same 
about England though... i was never 'at home' there, and I never would 
have lasted much longer there (I did not 'cut it' in England), so the 
'?' factor is not only related to the person, but the circumstances as well.

I still miss South Africa, but I can't see myself ever living there 
again. I have been back a few times to see my parents, and do some 
'touristy' things. It's a great holiday destination.

Finally, I have close friends from South Africa who met when they lived 
in Holland. After a few years they moved to Quebec in Canada, then later 
to Toronto. Now they live in Sydney, Australia. They claim to be doing 
really well there (been there a year), and settling in nicely. He moved 
with his employer (Research in Motion) so getting work in Sydney was not 
an issue. I get the impression though that they worry all the time about 
flies, snakes, and spiders.... In Canada we have only the flies to worry 
about ... ;-)

As a casual observation, my major motivations for leaving South Africa 
were crime and opportunity... For Canada, and Australia, you can get a 
feel for each of those by reading up on the news:

http://www.thestar.com/  <-- the Toronto star - note that there is no 
violent crime in the major headlines...
http://www.smh.com.au/ <-- Sydney morning herald - 3 of top 5 stories 
are murder (or attempted)....

Rolf


Carlos Marcano wrote:
> Hi list.
>
> This is a message mostly intended for those of you living in that
> giant island known as Australia, or to anyone else which considers
> that his thoughts on the matter might worth the hassle of posting
> back.
>
> I live in a beautiful and graceful piece of land in South America
> called Venezuela.......

> Regards,
>
> Carlos.
>   

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