Do you want to return to Canada?

wpgjets
New Member



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 7
Location: from Ottawa, working in California

Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 3:55 pm

 

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I came down to California in August of 2001 to work for a year. I really liked it and my job and stayed up until the present. The past few years have been hard though. It just isn't the same down here as it is in Canada. I think it has a lot to do with the health care system here. Of course I knew this before I applied for my first TN Visa. My experience renewing has been stressful at times.my worst experience was at the Edmonton Airport about 4 years ago.I had an officer who was very suspicious of my job and employer.he was training two other officers and was pacing around the room and venting that i wasn't a Sci. Tech. I just kept saying "yes sir, or no sir, to his questions.and trying to be respectful. He was simply showing off his authority and being an ass. I've had good experiences at the airport in Ottawa, and Vancouver. Being close to the ocean is awesome though, especially in the winter months. and.the wages here are far superior to what i'd earn doing the same job in Canada. It is difficult sometimes to think about where my tax dollars are being spent here.

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Deus
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 16 Sep 2004
Posts: 227
Location: Wrecsam

Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 11:32 pm

 

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There is a lovely beach in Laprairie.


Good luck with the move back!
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perkyj
CanuckAbroad Regular


CDN in Illinois

Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Posts: 74
Location: Illinois

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 5:36 am

 

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I often think about going back to Canada, but my husband's skill set is now an American skill set and we're just one year shy of being eligible for Social Security.

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1637
Location: Calgary

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 8:53 am

 

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What's the difference between American and Canadian skills? You can claim social security wherever you live, although it might hurt the payment amount if you stop contributing at a particular point and you claim at a particular age, depends on the calculation.
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Steve.

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Mooky
New Member



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 2
Location: US

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 7:48 am

 

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Hi Gang! I think I need a nudge in the right direction, or perhaps just a bit of clarification.

I'm a Canuck and have been living in the US for 12 years. I have a US green card (married a US citizen whom I eventually divorced). I decided to stay in the US afer the divorce since my job was going well. Well, years have passed and I am feeling a heart tug to return to Canada to be with my family. I miss that crazy bunch!

My fiance is a US citizen who has a really good job, although he spends about 9 to 10 months of the year traveling the north eastern US. He's usually laid off during the winter months.

He will be really hard pressed to find employment in his line of work in Canada. How difficult would it be for him to continue to work in the US, but spend his lay off time (3 to 4 months per year) with me in Canada? Is this even feasible?

He did optain a visitors visa (whatever the heck that was) a few years ago, but he has let that expire. I can't believe it's $200 a year for that thing! That's another story altogether though.

I'm assuming that if he worked in the US and I worked in Canada, we could eventually buy a home in Canada even though he's not a Canadian resident. How far off base am I? Can this be done?

Looking forward to hearing some ideas.

Thanks!

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1637
Location: Calgary

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 10:29 am

 

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You can sponsor him for permanent residency, he won't lose it while you are married. But it will be difficult for him to qualify for Canadian citizenship if he only spends a few months a year there.

Also if you move back to Canada you will eventually lose permanent residency in the US.

You also need to bear in mind the tax issues, US citizens and US permanent residents must always file a tax return in the US, and married couples can only have one "principal residence" under US and Canadian law. If the principal residence is Canada, you must file tax returns in Canada as well obviously.

That's just paperwork, but to avoid dual taxation you must claim the foreign tax credit (form 2555) in the US, and at the moment it's limited to the first $80,000 or so of income (not sure what the limit is for married couples, probably $160,000 or so). That means anything you earn over $80k or so is subject to dual taxation.

There's a Bill in Congress at the moment to remove that limit, I reckon it will pass, but probably not in this session of Congress. It was a Republican idea to put that limit on, back in 2006.

Basically to cut a long story short, it's easier for Canadians to live in the US from a tax standpoint, but not an immigration standpoint. For US citizens it's the other way around, immigration into Canada is relatively straightforward but the tax side of it is more complicated for them.
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Steve.

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EC82
New Member



Joined: 08 Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Location: Ontario

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:50 am

 

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It's been a long time since anyone has written on here and who knows if anyone will read this.
Anyway, I just returned from living abroad for 3 years in France. I returned to Canada because my contract ended therefore ending my paperwork. I wish I was still abroad. I have been back just over a week and having a really hard time readjusting. All I want to do is hop on a plane and go somewhere else.
I am Canadian and am very proud of it, but I just love living overseas. I feel more alive there. I always thought I would return at some point, though not this soon. And now that I am back, I would like to go overseas permenantly.
Just wondering if there is anyone who has been in this situation or if there is anyone that can give me some tips on readjusting to life in Canada.
Thanks

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Jausman
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 07 Jun 2008
Posts: 50
Location: Ottawa

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:47 am

 

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I spent 27 years of my life abroad - mostly in short stints of 2-4 years - and 36 years in Canada, so I have had lots of experience with readjustment and what is called "reverse culture shock." I think the trick to readjusting is partly just patience and partly applying the same degree of tolerance to Canadians and Canadian society as one applies to foreign people and places.

Travellers often show great understanding and empathy towards foreign cultures, largely because they know in advance that there will be challenges and are prepared to understand, accept and live with the differences. It involves a certain humility in accepting that others can do things differently and be equally right.

But when we return home, we have difficulty applying the same generosity or tolerance or humility. We want things to be the way we remembered them, and after years of idealizing Canada as a fantastic place to be from, it simply cannot live up to our unrealistic expectations.

I also quickly learned that my Canadian friends and family expressed great interest in my overseas adventures but their attention span was extremely short; after a few minutes they simply lost interest and any attempt on my part to pursue the story was interpreted as conceit or arrogance. Again, one has to exercise restraint and humility about one's travels - however meaningful those experiences are to you. Eventually you will get the chance to tell your stories, but it takes time.

Meanwhile, it is worth focussing on being "just an ordinary Canadian" again, rather than being the somewhat exotic expatriate from a country everyone instinctively loves - at least until the day comes that you get another chance to travel and then the cycle begins again.

I always admired the British colonial types who could be pro-consuls or military adventurers in the tropics, but once back in London put on their three-piece suits, bowler hats and black unbrellas and blended into the crowd. It wasn't their imperialist beliefs or practices I admired but rather their understanding that they lived in two different worlds and that they had to adapt perfectly to both.
Cheers, John

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