Any orbinauts in Vancouver? Just got life back on track!

[Moach]

I've just moved to town


I also wanted to thank everybody that responded to my "what to do with my life" thread I posted some months ago - your advice was hugely valuable in deciding for a practical course of action!

for now, I'm in a downtown hotel trying to find a more definitive place to rent - My adorable french bulldog flew with me and now we're both ready to start life anew!

Come october, I got a course in visual and games programming that should cover all those things I should have had in college but ended up having to teach myself over google and wikipedia

then I plan to get a work permit, so I can get a job, and while i'm at it, I'll apply for the federal skilled workers immigration program that will allow me to stay permanently. Then after the minimum time of residence is achieved, I'll file for canadian citizenship!

things are finally back on track! these were by far the most extreme times I've ever been faced with in my 28 years - having gotten a handle on it does indeed make me feel like anything is possible!

And so far, I do feel like my hand-picked choice of a new place to live has paid off quite amazingly! People here are very friendly and there's so much green things everywhere! My dog is also enjoying greatly how pleasantly she can be walked outside! (can't do that in Brazil - you'd risk many evil ways of crime and death)

and yep - I do not have any relatives, friends or previous acquaintances whatsoever here - but that's not only OK, I'm really having a blast!



so that's that - this was my most major life event to date! :thumbup:

tomorrow I got my first viewing of a place to rent already - that's great considering the hotel's gonna get mighty costly if this takes too long to resolve :lol:

 

[dbeachy1]

Congrats, Moach! Great to see it all working out! :tiphat:

 

[Codz]

Congratulations, and welcome to North America!

 

[RacerX]

grab a jacket dude and welcome to north america.

 

[Linguofreak]

I don't live in Vancouver (or anywhere in Canada), but I have relatives on Vancouver island, so I end up in BC once a decade or so.

 

[Cras]

That is great to hear Moach, it really is. The arrow clearly is point up for you, and wish you all the best in the coming years.

:thumbup:

 

[Hielor]

I'm not too far away, in Seattle. The whole area is fantastic, I know you'll love it up here.

 

[Fabri91]

When you have some spare time, make sure to visit Vancouver Island!

 

[Interceptor]

Glad to hear you are doing well so far,enjoy Canada.:yes:

 

[Kendo]

Well done Moach, that takes guts. in 1976, I was 30, I went to Vancouver for 6 weeks, to see my sister, and I cried on the plane coming home. It was as though I had lived there all my life. I wanted so much to stay there, unfortunately, I didn,t have the guts.

 

[statickid]

Congratulations and welcome to the pacific north west! I live in Washington but we like to spend weekends in Victoria or Vancouver a few times a year.

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Places hand over heart, begins singing O Canada :lol:

Welcome home Moach!

 

[Moach]

Ok I've been here officially for week now - gotta say: I feel more Canadian already than I had ever felt Brazilian

And so far, I've been finding it interesting how people don't seem to notice I'm not originally from here until I go and tell them. Guess that's to be expected when you spend the last 15 years in elective alienation from your native culture in favor of whatever you can get from the net and cable TV... :lol:

Still don't have an apartment, but I did move to a cheaper hotel... I got another place to look at today that I got a good feeling about. Let's see how it goes


I'll let you know when I finally unpack myself free of this unusually suitcase-based lifestyle

 

[RisingFury]

Hey, congrats on your move! It can't be easy just picking up and leaving like that. You certainly seem like you did your research. Good luck with the rest

 

[Moach]

Alrighty then!

So finally, after a week of hotels and suitcases, I've now concluded the first and most massive step in my "ultimate life reboot" masterplan - I've come to Canada and got me a place to stay!

As fury said above, it did involve a huge deal of "homework" in order to pull off such a major move on my own efforts alone, mostly...

I don't think I have yet been able to fully take in the full meaning of what I've just accomplished. That may take a few days to sink in... But it's nothing less than the sum of everything I have been pushing for since last xmas

somehow all those dark, grievous months that followed my job's spontaneous extinction and subsequent total marriage failure seem like a far off memory of lifetimes ago... but damn, it's just past a week! :blink:


and now, I finally have a street address to call my own (albeit a shared rent deal)

next up in line, to get a new mobile (or face unthinkable roaming fees with my old one), then I can go and order the hardware needed to put my big rig PC back to work. Then, you know, there's getting a job and all that... but it's gonna get a lot easier from now on (those boxes and bags were really heavy)

Yep! now we're home! :thumbup:

- by "we" I mean me and my dog (yep, I brought her with me) - but she's got a lot less on her to-do list than me it seems... :hmm:

 

[kamaz]

Hi Moach,

As someone who had a dubious pleasure of legalizing an employee coming from low latitudes in the EU, I'll just say this:

Keep you immigration paperwork in order.

Which means:

(1) Read the laws. At least in your case they are in a language you can understand. This is a huge advantage, trust me on that.

(2) File everything in time and include all requested attachments. Don't give them any reasons to reject your application on formal grounds.

(3) Respond to their letters on time. See above.

(4) If there are any specific laws applying to you (skilled worker etc.) -- write that down explicitly quoting article numbers when filling relevant paperwork. Don't count on them to figure it out for you. They are not there to help you, they are there to make sure that the law is followed.

(5) If you run into any problems, get yourself a lawyer specializing in immigration. That may be expensive, but the alternative is either getting deported or becoming an illegal immigrant -- which usually confines you to low-paying jobs for the rest of your life.

Congratulations on your decision and good luck. I've heard that Pacific Northwest is really beautiful.

 

[Capt_hensley]

Great to hear(read) that things are working out for you. Congrats and good luck. I'll be in Washington in November, I'll give ya wave.:thumbup: