Pros and cons of spending a year in Canada
August 16, 2019 7:45 AM   Subscribe

I have the opportunity to spend a year in Canada with the working holiday visa program they have. What pros and cons should I consider?

Bit of background: From UK. I'm 30 and applied more than anything because it's the last year I am eligible. I didn't really expect it to be granted, but it was. Now I'm not totally convinced if it's the right choice for me. I'm a bit worried I might be too old, that it will be bad for me career-wise, and that it will be very expensive. On the other hand, it could be an awesome experience and I might always think 'what if?' if I don't go.

I am quite interested in moving to Quebec to improve my French (I speak enough French to have worked in a French-speaking workplace before, but that was France French, which I am now a bit rusty in).

I currently work as a moderately successful freelancer, so I guess I could continue that. I think finding a job there that would fit my skills would be very difficult. I suppose the working holiday visa is really designed for younger people looking to work in hotels/restaurants/bars, but I'm a bit been there, done that about working in that sort of job - done it a lot in my younger days, didn't particularly enjoy it and wasn't really good at it.

Pros: a cool international experience, country with lots of cool things to visit, possibility of improving my French if I go to a French-speaking part, I'm fine with harsh winters, possibility of meeting some cool people.

Cons: unlikely to advance my career, expensive (not so much cost of living maybe, but getting set up there)

Anything else I'm not considering?
posted by iamsuper to Work & Money (14 answers total)
 
Canada's so big! So much to explore within the country - if you'll have the opportunity to do that kind of travel, it's a huge pro.

When would you arrive? We're going to have an election this fall that may or may not go well. It won't be, like, revolution if it goes badly, but it may not be the most fun.

Not knowing what kind of freelancer you are, it's hard for me to understand what work might be like.
posted by wellred at 7:51 AM on August 16, 2019


Pros: could be not in Britain during Brexit.

But yeah, most people who come on the working holiday visa end up working in bars or restaurants -- Toronto has a lot of servers with accents from the UK, Ireland, Australia, etc.

You've already been accepted in the Working Holiday category rather than the Young Professionals category, but maybe one of the recognized organizations that does Young Professionals placements would still be able to work with you to find you something a little more white collar? I don't know if this is possible, just suggesting it as an avenue of inquiry.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:57 AM on August 16, 2019


Canada has year long maternity leave, so there are lots of year-long contract jobs out there. You might be able to find something in your field this way.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 8:04 AM on August 16, 2019 [7 favorites]


It would be helpful to know what kind of freelancer you are.

As for the French, you will find that Quebecois is difficult to understand if you learned Parisian French in school. You may want to consider listening to some Quebecois news programs on RadioCanada to get a sense of what the very clearest Quebecois sounds like, and then try a talk show like Tout Le Monde En Parle, to get a sense of clear conversational French is like. It's all harder to understand from there.

I moved to Quebec City from Toronto for a year to take an intensive French course. (I have a killer Quebecois accent when I speak the little of the language I remember now.) It was great and I would recommend it, if you want to learn Quebecois French.
posted by girlpublisher at 8:08 AM on August 16, 2019


As for the French, you will find that Quebecois is difficult to understand if you learned Parisian French in school.

This is true, but people are very forgiving of language 'mistakes' when they see that you're making an effort. It's not a barrier, but an opportunity.

If you go to Montreal, your difficulty level will be even lower.

(Montreal is The Best.)
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:22 AM on August 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Couple of people have said it would be good for me to specify what field I work in: translating and writing and editing (involving Spanish and English but not French). So something not particularly helped or hindered by being in Canada, I would say.
posted by iamsuper at 8:23 AM on August 16, 2019


You'll need to get health insurance as you won't be eligible for the provincial plans for months (or possibly ever if you end up moving around).

While most of the work visa people see are in hospitality there are plenty of work visa visitors working in other areas. For example I've worked with several work visa Electricians. Even in hospitality I've worked with plenty of worker visa holders in their late 20s.

Canada is big. Like it's two days of solid driving to visit Banff from Montreal. If you want to see even a fraction of the things Canada is known for you'll want to be at least somewhat mobile so locking into a 1 year contract somewhere might not be what you want.

Unless you are trans or something even a big win by the conservative party in the next election won't effect you much. There isn't going to be any serious civil unrest or anything.

Finally, and this is pretty obvious, you don't have to stay for the full year and you can re-entry. Many people come for a few months, go home for while and then come again for a few months.
posted by Mitheral at 8:48 AM on August 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


You will learn a great deal even from a short stint working in another country. If you think you can pick up again reasonably easily when you get back then go for it. Being a freelancer probably helps in the regard.

Do you have any networks that can help? Know anyone who might no someone working in your field in North America?
posted by plonkee at 9:19 AM on August 16, 2019


Do it.

Sorry, but your ‘cons’ are bullshit. You will not always be translating Spanish, and time in another country can be brilliant CV material.
posted by pompomtom at 9:43 AM on August 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


I'm Canadian, and therefore biased. That said, I've lived in the UK at a similar age, so I have a good sense of the comparison.

PROS

Cost of living: probably lower in Canada, especially if you're making Canadian money and don't care what the pound is doing
- Rent in Canada is generally less than in the UK (except for maybe Vancouver and Toronto, both are getting more like London, rent-wise, but I believe that Montreal may be one of the cheaper large cities)
- Food - about the same, but Canada is cheaper for fresh fruit and vegetables
- Eating out - much, much cheaper

Language development: working in French would obviously help you improve your language, and maybe even (eventually) add French to one of your translation/editing languages.

CON

how do you like the cold? and the heat? Canada is both hotter in summer and colder in the winter than the UK - except for Vancouver (which has London-style rents). I miss the English weather.

DON'T KNOW

For your career: it really depends on the nature of your career and your own plans. My friend who moved here on a working holiday visa intended to stay, so he found a full-time position with a firm here and is doing quite well.

If you're concerned about going back to the UK, you could look at working with firms that have connections to the UK or even working for a UK firm here. Another friend from France was essentially stationed overseas, in that she was moved here by her French company and eventually was transferred back.

Also, is there any reason you couldn't continue to freelance while in Canada, even with the same clients? If you work primarily online, we do have internet. (Not everywhere - there are rural connectivity issues, but definitely in most centres).
posted by jb at 11:41 AM on August 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


I've known a few people who have come over from the UK for a limited period and unless they have work already set up ahead of time they all had a hard time breaking into "professional" industries. Apparently Canada is more clique-ish than we realize when it comes to international experience?
I seem to recall they were also surprised at how car-centric life is outside of the big cities... many people live in suburbs where the idea of a "high street" (such as I think of as typical in UK cities and towns) is non-existent.
And as others have mentioned the sheer vastness is something that's difficult to get one's head around. Our fifth largest province, Ontario, is 8x bigger than England.
posted by dotparker at 12:30 PM on August 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm British-Canadian.

As someone has already mentioned health insurance which has a waiting period of 90 days (in Ontario and Quebec).

There's no universal pharamcare in Canada like there is in the UK and since you are self-employed you will likely end up paying out of pocket for any drugs you need. Prices are much higher here for drugs but not US high.

I would do it all over again. An IEC visa can lead to staying here permanently if you have skills.
posted by asharchist at 3:42 PM on August 16, 2019


Half my colleagues are on either holiday or working visas from the UK, Australia, NZ, or Czech Republic. I don’t think any of them regret it, most are working on their permanent residency now. Just do it! If you can keep one low key contract at home while
You’re gone you won’t even have a gap in your resume.
posted by furtive at 9:21 PM on August 16, 2019


This is the kind of thing that is relatively easy to do when you are young and not bogged down with family or career responsibilities. I'd say go for it if for no other reason than to not have any regrets later on.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:30 AM on August 18, 2019


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