Hi all!
I am a northern American gal (I know that sounds cheesy) but I visited Canada 5 months ago and I just can’t stop thinking about it!! Fun fact I actually have distant relatives that are from Canada (prior to settling there were from Norway and Sweden) . I am actually very interested in the prospect of moving and settling in Canada. I am in the medical field (in the process of becoming a doctor) and really want to know the honest truths and feelings of Americans moving to Canada. It’s no secret that we are a shit show. But I resent visited (only for 1 week) but I couldn’t find a damn thing to dislike about the place!
If there anything to consider or opinions that I should be aware of? As much as I would like to migrate, I wouldn’t want to move to a place where I would be unwanted.
BTW one of my fav bands is Fion and I CANT WAIT for them to have a concert in America so I can go.
Thank you for the honesty in advance!
Um, did you have a question? Because, I’m pretty sure this is a questions-based instance.
I have a lot more respect for an American getting out of there and coming here than I have for one staying, but not fighting – really fighting – to fix the US. And Canadians in general like people who choose Canada. And every province and territory in the country would welcome a doctor.
Canadians are more than sick of being the butt of jokes by Americans who haven’t left their home county, the self-congratulatory back-patting from people whose greatest achievement was being born on US soil, and of a government that’s an international bully. Most people could not care less about where you came from once you’re here.
Am Canadian and living in Canada. Physicians are needed, see other comments about the process about moving here being a physician and maybe having to do some extra stuff.
My sister-in-law did hers in Ireland and came back here, I’ll ask her and edit this when I hear back.
Canada is great, but obviously not without problems. Mainly with indigenous rights and past atrocities done to them. But generally everyone is very welcoming.
Alberta though…it’s the Texas of Canada. They’ll be accepting of people from the US, but that would not be my province of choice.
Feel free to ask any further questions.
Please come! There is a doctor shortage here and many provinces are actively recruiting American doctors to alleviate it. So no matter where you go you’ll find a job no problem. Canadians are known for being welcoming people but if you’re a doctor people well be especially welcoming. Canada would be very happy to have you.
And just out of curiosity, which part of Canada did you visit?
Hi,
I am Canadian. I want to warn you that our healthcare system is under attack by conservatives who want us to abandon public healthcare and transition to an American model. We are fighting it, but the conservatives are financed by american groups with deep pockets.
Warning aside, welcome! Good luck with your studies.
One thing I would warn you about is that Canada is not really keen to accept medical credentials without some degree of retraining. I don’t know exactly how much, probably depends a lot on what you were certified/licensed in, but it’s enough that it’s contributing to a shortage of medical personnel because a lot of professionals don’t want to deal with all the retraining after they move.
OP is American tho so the retraining should be negligible. OP should look into it of course but I don’t want to give her the wrong impression and make it seem more difficult than it is.
Agreed. I believe it’s mainly for non-USA doctors. My sister-in-law did hers in Ireland, and she just had to take some course which seemed pretty minimal. Coming from the US, you may not have to take that.
I moved to Canada once, did the permanent residency stuff, got a job and had a life setup. Lived there for around 5 years before moving back to the states.
IMO, its a very similar experience. Healthcare is less of a problem than in the US. Something I noticed was that the hours sunlight throughout the years were noticeably different than what I was used to in the northeast: winters are long and dark. In summer though, id have light until like 1130pm which was neat.
I moved back to the states BC thats where my family is, not a problem with Canada.
oooh. im going to be reading this. im to old to move there really and to be honest Im a city boy so its really some of the cities that entice me. it will be interesting to see the replies.
No city in Canada can really compete with cities like New York and L.A. for size, but we have comparable cities below those sizes. Toronto and Vancouver would probably have the right feel for you if you’re looking for the big city feel. Montreal is also pretty vibrant from what I hear, but I’m not sure how good a fit it would be if you don’t speak French.
Yeah toronto is basically a lot like my city but you can bring your dog on the train. I had to put a muzzle on my dog when she was a pup because while walking everything would go in the mouth. She hated it. I guarantee though that if I put one on and went on a train then the next time I pulled it out she would be sticking her snout in to go to the people tube. Montreal is also really neat but I don’t speak french. One of my do over life things would be to take french in high school and maybe in two years of community college and then see if I could get any scholarships in toronto/montreal. Honestly though when it came to grades foreign language was my lowest grades and english classes were my second lowest.
Lived in Montreal for ten years. You can get by without it, but it’s way more enjoyable if you learn it. The food is amazing and there’s always events going on.
French is definitely a learnable language! Bonne chance!
You can get by without it but it’s generally considered bad manners to not at least try to speak French in Montreal.
Depends which part of town you’re in, but I agree. Even making a token effort is generally warmly received.
yeah its more of an in the spirit of going to school there from a if I had to do over again thing. Also though I took spanish because it was kinda the default in the us and looked at as the easiest to learn because so many words were close to ours. I found the sentence structure really killed me. The other language I wish I had maybe took is german but that was because many german words on used in science. In particular chemistry and then I also did a fair amount of choral stuff and there are many german classical works.
Yeah, I grew up in Canada and know almost no French. Outside of some government and service-side jobs, it isn’t really a requirement. This might be different in Toronto. As for English fluency, most Americans would do okay here, and if they were struggling we would give them a pass like with most English as a second language people. It might cause issues for your immigration application, but I haven’t seen anything striking in your texts. I get that being older would make it harder, both from an application and a change perspective.
yeah its more to do better if I found something in montreal. Im basically in my last decade of my career and have a wife with medical issues. Its just not feasible at this point. Im a native english speaker just a bad speller and with writing along the lines of official english rules you get graded on. My best english grades were like creative writing.
Yeah, those would all make it harder, for sure. Life is hard enough, I just don’t understand all these people who want to make it harder for others.
oh I feel this sentiment. I feel so many bad things in the world are people just making life harder when it could be so much better.
Be aware that a degree in the medical field will need to be recognized in the province you’ll move to before you can use it. Depending on many factors, that could take quite some time to get all the qualifications back. It’s probably a good idea to investigate now
Canada is aggressively recruiting American doctors atm to compensate for a doctor shortage, so I can’t imagine the process would be that demanding. Of course it would still be a good idea for OP to look into it though.
I have no idea who Fion is.
But to your question, no, Canadians don’t hate folks from the US. You are our cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and spouses, but that guy you brought around, I thin Donny is his name, yeah, he’s total shit! And I think he clogged the toilet.
Totally agree. That shit head is a stain on us and nobody should forget it. Least of all us. IDK if he’s the worst President but he’s close. Jackson and the trail of tears is probably what really keeps shit head from the top spot.
Jackson, whilst a bad human and caused a genocide against indigenous Americans, was very much an internal problem.
Trump is bad for the US too, supports a genocide and has financially hurt the US too whilst making them a pariah on the world stage too.
I’d argue Trump is worse due to the global consequences. Jackson was a bigot and awful but he wasn’t an idiot too.
Canada is great, but don’t fall for all the glamor. There’s still issues and there’s still struggles. That being said, it is a wonderful place on the whole. Each province definitely has its own thing going on, but they’re all generally nice.
It isn’t the most difficult to immigrate, but definitely start doing some homework if you want to. The official .gov sites have a ton of info. And there is a subreddit that’s also helpful.
The official .gov sites have a ton of info
Small quibble, but the government of Canada typically uses a .ca domain name
NYC -> Toronto, absolutely love it. I miss everyone back home but I’m also very happy to be here. My partner and I have felt nothing but welcomed and right at home.
Not to say that Canada doesn’t have problems, but what country doesn’t st this point?
Canada has a dire need for more medics too so you have an advantage there
I am an immigrant in Norway. Not everybody is happy with the United States government, but aside from generally thinking its people are loud and uneducated, there isn’t a ton of hate for individuals. Quite the opposite in many cases.
I just try to remember to think of myself as an immigrant not an expat, and to be a good ambassador.
Now I realize Norway and Canada are different, but I suspect it can be looked at the same. As long as you are introspective and gracious, I’d bet you will be welcome. And even if not, do what you want for your reasons. As long as you don’t hurt people, one should do as one pleases.
Big change, for me, is what makes life worth living. Forces me to question my biases and improve every time.
I think you’ll find the vast majority of Canadians will be very welcoming. In fact, BC has already welcomed a number of Americans in the medical field.
Probably depends on where you’re moving but I live a couple hours from Eastern BC and Canadians have always been welcoming. The town of Nelson has a memorial for the people who left the US during the Vietnam war. It always seemed to me that it’s an individual thing. They don’t judge us all based on their disgust for the US people who they don’t like.
