Raaju Bhai,

You ahd mentioned that your main aim is your kids' education, then why do you need to leave everything in India and migrate....that too at the age of 44 when you have a non-working wife ??????

It would be absolute blunder........

Why dont you send your son to University directly to Canada? The whole world runs around money..so does Canada. There was a time when I used to think that we have low standard of education in India and sending abroad was sort of 'BIG THING'........

Those days are gone.......your son..92% holder will have better academic skills than average Canadian born student......but the world now respects only Canadian/US Degrees..hence go with the flow.........your son can improve his Language and Interpersonsl skills...........by studying in Canada........and a Canadian Degree is a passport to "SUCCESS"

You had mentioned that you want to retire in India.........Then moving to Canada with family now will be the biggest blunder..........Canada is only good if you decide to settle down there..buy a house.. make it your home for life.........

My sincere advise is that.......dont waste your 100k...save it....utilize properly for sons education.........Do you know that 4 years Engg. education in Canada for your son will cost you that much..........

At 44 , I dont see much of chance for you regarding "high" end jobs.........

If you are doing a field job like Electrician, Plumber, Trailer driver etc. then you are highly advised to go....

Re certifying and getting into a profession seems a Tough Task.......

Nothing is impossible in this world........try it to beleive it.......


Deep

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U win some...lose some...everything is not justified in this world.

S'apen Rajuu?
Please note that the 12 month residency requirement for an OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program)loan has now been lifted ie your son can apply for it immediately upon arrival. Anyway- I just saw your post- will draft up something by giving it some thought and post it here.
Jes don't turn into a smurf!
Bambai ka babu
Another quick thought if your eldest child is 17 and has passed 12th he might have to repeat it here. I know of many such cases where the child had to repeat the 12th grade then go to university at 18.The normal age to enter university here is 18. Also since the 12th grade here in a community school is a cakewalk compared to the 12th standard in India, your son can attend school, finish his homework in a jiffy and do a job and bring in some moolah into the family. I know of a lot of families who have followed this route.
Anyway, more later.

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Get what you want by helping others get what they want

Howdy Rajuu,

Ok Pal, here comes my bullet!

Here’s a li’l background on myself. I came here at 45+ for the sole purpose of making money to fulfill my dream of sending my child to an Ivy League School. Both my wife and I were working in India and we have our nest egg and home for retirement in India already. We have one child who is now 13 but was 11 when we migrated here.

Since the premise is that you wish to be all together, your wife, your children and yourself and you have already decided to come here so be it!
When you land here, bring only the very minimum that is demanded of you ie $10,000 plus 2,000 per dependent. Rent a basement or the top floor of a home, or if you wish take a condo. Prices range from $650 - $$950 plus utilities ( about $150 per month). Do not get bogged into the dumb desi mentality of finding a survival job . There are enough who have come here and have done customer service representative jobs and built themselves from there. If your English is good, as it seems it is, a lot of companies will hire you as a CSR for $12-15 per hour. Do not fall into the trap of doing a $7-10 job. The same for your wife and your 17 year old son. Your 15 year old child can go to community school. It is gratis here but the level is very low compared to a good school in India.
Alongside, look for a job in your own field.( with a chemistry background- sounds kinda tough- mais qui sait?) Your wife having a BA can also do a CSR job at the outset. If she likes teaching she can take on an OSAP ( as explained before the 12 month residency is no longer required) and do a B.Ed to become a teacher.in a community school. Since there is a shortage of teachers now and private schools are not bound by this restriction of only hiring B.Eds maybe she can pound the doors of private schools here and get herself ensconced in a nice comfy job immediately. Their only requirement is a Bachelor’s degree. Many women I know have scored such positions in the last 2 years. THe latest one scored a Math teacher’s position since she had a BSc.
Re your 17 yr old. Read my last post. However my wife says he can also go straight to univ if he wishes and will be eligible immediately for an OSAP. But you are coming end of the year and colleges start now.
Also upon landing apply for a credit card and build up your credit so that within a year’s time you can buy your own home with zero down -payment. I am told ICICI is issuing credit cards in India for those planning to migrate to Canada. Please check with them.
PLEASE note that the outset may be tough. Some did not have it tough. I definitely didn’t. Deep from Dubai says he scored a job earning $55,000 within three weeks of landing here, yet he tells you to beware. Personally reading all his posts I think he is all washed up, but then again that is my opinion. I advocate coming out West to everybody. The stats speak for themselves. People will keep coming no matter what.
A word of caution- do not bring in all your cash. Having worked with Birla( a Marwari firm- need I say more) and also having saved quite a bit of cash and having investments in the UAE and India, I came here with the min requirement and then built my credit and made money and am using the credit to make more money. I have gone the entrepreneur route as that is the best way to hit $100,000 per year. Maybe you would like to study that once you are here. But like the Marwaris say “ apla paisa se kyun dao lagaana, jab public bethi hai” ( why use your own money when you can use the public’s). It is very easy to get a loan here to start staple time tested businesses once you have built up a credit history ( usually one year). However I have heard ICICI arranges cross border credit immediately. I will check tomorrow and let you know as it is Labor day holiday here today.
If you need more info do lemme know. I will do my best. For OSAP info go to
http://osap.gov.on.ca/

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Get what you want by helping others get what they want

Rajuu and other CD's
If you want a job in your field perhaps you should do what this guy did. Volunteer to work on an MP's team. This letter is copied and pasted form The Voice- a well regarded English language South asian Newspaper here in Canada.(www.weeklyvoice.com). I personally believe that these MP's can definitely place a lot of professionals but are for some reason reluctant to do so unless you scratch their back.


Favouritism Rampant In Canada Too!

A few weeks ago, your paper printed my letter where I stated that I had worked on the team of an MP who got elected to parliament and had urged them to do something about getting people placed in jobs in their field. I had also commented that whenever they said 'desi' they actually only meant Punjabi, and that they didn't care at all about the Pakistanis, Portuguese, Italians, Vietnamese and all other nationalities are also OK, but not non-Punjabi Indians, nor Pakistanis, nor Bangaldeshis nor Sri Lankans.

The same weekend I got a phone call from one of the permanent members on the team who told me that he had arranged for four (count them 1,2,3,4) interviews for me. I went for all 4 interviews and was accepted at all 4 companies without a second interview! I was shocked but at the same time very happy. I had previously applied to one of the companies and had been refused. I called my benefactor and thanked him profusely and asked him if he could also place one of my friends. His reply was very blunt. He said he helped me because I had worked to help elect his leader. He couldn't do anything for my friends! This time I was doubly shocked!

It is now slightly over a month since I started my new job and perhaps I should keep quiet, but my conscience is eating me badly. Despite having a job in my field with more than double the salary I was getting at a giant chain store of electronics, I cannot properly sleep at night. I had come here over a year ago thinking this was a land where one could get ahead with one's own merit! Instead, I find that the right connections are also needed here like in India. This is terrible. I left India to escape all the favoritism nonsense that is there only to find it prevalent here as well.

Is this what all professional immigrants are supposed to do? Come here and waste away doing low profile jobs until an election comes along, work on a team to elect the aspirant to the House of Commons and wait for him or her to reward us with a job in our field? Will the MPs we elected not fight for us just to help us and the Canadian economy or is it that they are also super selfish like the politicians in India?

I don't know if the same forces that helped me get a job will turn dark once they read this letter and strip me of my job, I don't think they will, but at least I have got what I wanted to say off my chest. Even if they helped one poor soul like me to find a job in my field, the whole method stinks and is totally unjust!

Kanishka Puttarama

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Get what you want by helping others get what they want

Raaju,
While you weigh in the posts here , i found this case very similat to your . Only things is it happenned 15 yrs ago.

http://www.canadiandesi.com/read.php?TID=4851

Whatever you decide, Good luck!!

Samir

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

If you are already working in the Gulf or anywhere, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CURRENT JOB. Take a Long holiday or whatever you can.

AGAIN DO NOT LEAVE YOUR JOB.

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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.