5 things I wish I knew before immigrating to Canada

This is what I’ve learned the hard way & no, this is not a rant about the cold. Or, maybe it is?

Cold but beautiful, taken by the author

The past ‘almost 5-years’ has been amazing — the good and the bad,

I wouldn’t change a thing for the world — but I wish I was a little more prepared for this experience, more open & aware of what to expect.

Most newcomers to Canada, immigrate and land in a big city like Toronto or Vancouver, but not this one. I landed in Toronto for a few hours and took off for my final stop — a rural town in Northern Ontario.

Here are the things I wish I knew:

1. How to pronounce the name of the town:

I moved to a Franco-Canadian town called Sault Ste. Marie. Embarrassingly enough for the first few weeks or even months, I called it ‘Salt Stey Marie’, salty.

Should’ve done my research.

Later I learned it was Soo Sainte Marie aka the soo. With a sister soo on the American side in Michigan, and together they were the twin soo’s, pretty cool.