Finding Home in Canada: The Journey and Challenges

It’s been 5 days since I moved to Canada. It has always been a dream of mine. I studied in Canada for half a year on a student exchange programme. Back then I saw Canada as a dream country. Did something change here or I just faced adulthood and real life problems? Let’s find out.

Oh Canada..

My great-grandma moved to Canada to work when my grandma was little. She didn’t speak the language but managed to get a job, travel and make a lot of friendships. Imagine being a kid and listening to all her stories. She went to Canada when the world was pretty closed and traveling was not as popular as it is now. From her perspective it was a dream coming true. She wanted to stay longer but she had her whole family in Poland and it was expensive and difficult to move everyone. As a kid I was kind of programmed to admire this country as it gave my great grandma such opportunities and an adventure of a lifetime. As a young adult when I was presented with the opportunity to move to Canada, I was very curious to try. That’s how I ended up living in the best country in the world.

First time

In May 2018, 4 months before my first big move, I didn’t have an apartment in Ottawa yet. I got invited to my boyfriend’s workplace for a barbecue party. Someone in the crowd said “oh you’re going to Canada, there is a Canadian guy here at this party, you should talk”. We got introduced. Turned out that Michael’s family has Polish roots and he even has a family in Poland that he is visiting at this moment. What’s more, he lives in Ottawa. We had a great chat and he invited me to his friends on Facebook. Two months after multiple failed attempts to find a place in Ottawa, I reached out to him. He helped me to find a room in his aunt’s place (she was also Polish). I was a student of Carleton University in Ottawa. Thanks to Michał and Lawrence (my flatmate) who introduced me to their friends and were taking me out to meet people, I had one of the best times in my life and made friends for life (even attended Michael’s wedding last year). School courses were very ambitious. People everywhere were open and nice. It was hard not to fall in love with this place. I went back to Poland with a feeling that Canada is my place on Earth.

Big plan, big fail

I made a big plan to come back. At first, I thought I wanted to leave Poland and never come back. Moving back to Canada was my number one priority and biggest dream I had. Everything I did (especially career-wise) was focused on making sure that finding a job outside of Poland won’t be an issue. I had a plan, all steps I needed to take to make my dream come true. I began fulfilling all items from my to do list. It was that close but… COVID happened. Canada closed all immigration programs for almost a year. Everything was uncertain and we stuck at home.

New hope

In January 2022 Canada opened up for immigrants and I could start applying for a visa (the process will be described in a separate blogspot). It was a ton of paperwork and my first reality check. In the European Union everything is so simple. You want to go and work in Spain? Fine. Find a job and move. In Canada it’s different. Not only it took us 3 months to get an acceptance letter but also there was no guarantee that we’ll get the work permit or even enter the country (it’s a decision an immigration officer makes). The process was time consuming and expensive but I took a risk because I really wanted to check if this is the place I wanted to live in. I moved out of my apartment in Warsaw, left my staff at grandma’s house and now I’m living my dream.

It’s about the journey, not about the goal

This is my fourth time in Canada. I came here and it feels like home. Something’s changed though. I can feel it. I see many addicts walking down the street and many homeless people. I don’t feel safe on the streets anymore. I feel dissonance, sad and privileged at the same time. Everything’s way more expensive (even though it was always expensive for most Poles that came here). The recession and earlier COVID crisis hit some people pretty hard here.

When I moved here I was planning to open a business or have international work experience. I didn’t know the details but I’ve always dreamt of owning a catering company. Now that I dug into the paperwork and regulations, I see that it won’t be easy and will require a lot of time, energy and money. Bureaucracy is killing my vibe. I’m not giving up though. I will find a way to live my Canadian dream, my way.