Ask HN: Moving to Canada, any advice?
Hello,
I am 26 years old, I currently live in Poland and I would like to move to Canada with my wife and 2 years old son. All my life I have lived in Poland but recently I felt a great need for change. While my son is 2 years this is a good time to move. I am currently in the process of selling a house and I'm going to move to a different country. I chose Canada because it is far away and would give me the opportunity to learn about other cultures.
I am a full-stack PHP developer. I have 4 years of experience at work mainly in small startups.
I would like to ask a few things about moving to Canada:
- What is the job market for developers in Canada, and will be easy to find a job in not big, friendly company?
- The best places to start looking for a job in Canada?
- Maybe you have any advice on moving to Canada?
I will appreciate your advice.
My email: vojant at gmail.com
9 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 40.2 ms ] threadIts cold in winter, learn to ski or snowboard, take advantage of the cheaper tuition here even if your done with school
Ottawa, Calgary, and Montreal have pretty cold winters but the living costs are much higher in Toronto and Vancouver. There's a few other smaller cities in the southern Ontario area (London, Windsor, St Catherines) where there should be some job opportunities as well.
Canadian companies are a bit strange when it comes to "Canadian experience". I strongly suggest taking a continuing ed course at a local university (especially if that lets you access the career center at the university).
As the other poster said, salaries are lower but livable. Recent immigrants in Toronto/Mississauga often rent parts of houses (e.g. a floor or a basement). It lets you save on rent. Some places have weird restrictions with respect to getting a drivers license. You will find out.
Canada is a wonderful country overall. Like any place, it has some issues. I wish you and your family the best of luck!
Job market for developers is good. There are a lot of hot startups in Toronto (500px, Wave, Wattpad), Waterloo (Vidyard, Thalmic), Vancouver (Unbounce), etc.
Check this list out of the top 100 Canadian startups by TechVibes http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-canadian-startup-index-201.... Also try all your standard job boards (GitHub, Indeed, Mashable, Craigslist) and Canadian ones like StartupNorth.
When you move to your new city, use Meetup.com to find local tech meetups. It's a great place to meet people and find work.
I'd be happy to answer more questions via email.