Have you moved back to Canada? Please share your experience

Hi all I am moving back to Toronto Canada in a year or so after living in Taiwan for the past 18 years and I am looking for others that would like to share their experiences of moving back.Thanks

I hope you weren’t just teaching that whole time and doing something else otherwise you will have a very tough time going home and starting a decent career. I got back to Canada 2 years ago after teaching for 6 years but I also have pretty decent Chinese, came back by 31 and got into a business grad program in business and walked into a great job before graduating. I think you can do well depending on what you did in Taiwan and how you spin it, many others in my situation struggled for several years after coming back. If you can tell us more about how you spent your time here I think people could give some solid feedback.

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Hi swevetech69 thanks for your input! I have a few jobs lined up back home so Im not that worried about finding employment back in Canada but thanks for your concern all the same. I am more interested in how your enjoying living back in Canada and some of the pros and cons compared to here like living costs and the boredom factor? You also mention your Chinese is decent and I am curious how often you use it and is it a benefit? Thanks again for your insight!

If you’re bored its probably because you live in a boring place. Im in Toronto so its far from boring, yeah its expensive but that’s life and you make 4 times what you did in Taiwan. Overall its a better quality of life here ,unless you’re really raking it in in Taiwan. No pension there, low salary for almost all jobs and very limited employment opportunities. Id like to go back there someday to work when im close to retirement but have a way better future here. I had to speak to my current boss in Chinese for my interview and it gave him a wow factor, I take Chinese clients out from time to time but its just how I market myself and I very seldom use it. My wife also got work within a year and has better work prospects than she did in Taiwan so coming home was a win.

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Great that answered lots of questions. I’m from Toronto as well and I was there in July and found it full of energy and spark. Thanks again for taking the time to reply maybe we can take you and your wife out for drinks and a meal when we return next summer. All the best Stafford :slight_smile:

I found Toronto to be quite boring compared to anywhere in Taiwan. I missed it so much, I returned to Taiwan.
Yes the salary is higher than Taiwan but the pace of life is more boring IMO. Be prepared for a serious reverse culture shock.

That said, Taiwan seems to be a career graveyard since they don’t seem to be international enough for foreigners to get high paying jobs here, some scattered expat packages notwithstanding. In addition, the companies I talked to in Taipei said they just keep the foreigner here for a short period of time, and their own people take over and the foreigner goes home so it seems most companies here don’t want to have any foreigner interference or pay the higher salary.
I think eventually I will go home for this reason, even though I like Taiwan a lot more. Either that or try out Hong Kong or Mainland China first.

Well id agree Taipei is more fun than Toronto mainly because I had money to burn in Taiwan. It basically comes down to this for me, I need a great career to have a good life that im happy with. Not everyone needs this and are happy to “teach” in Taiwan and soak up the easy lifestyle. While I do miss this and all my friends and experiences there id rather die than end up middle aged and teaching in Taiwan with no real challenges, promotions ect. When I do get ahead id love to come back to Taiwan at some point to semi retire, open a business and enjoy the lifestyle. Good thing is that if im in the top 5% of my profession and don’t mind taking a pay cut it wouldn’t be that hard to return at somepoint considering im married to a Taiwanese girl and wouldn’t have to jump through so many hoops.

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Well said swervetech69!

Moved back in 2008 to Vancouver Island. For the first few months, I was extremely bored. Couldn’t believe how slow the pace of life was, how “regional” lots of people were, and really missed the shopping/night market culture/international flavor of Asia. Then I started to enjoy the very moderate weather, the slower pace of life, as well as appreciating the education options for the kids.

The pluses? You’re back in the system. In the years away, you soon realize that you haven’t been paying into RRSPs, TFSAs, employer pensions, Canada Pension Plan etc. We were lucky to come back with a nice nest egg (to pay a significant chunk for a West-coast priced house), but it’s good to have both. And coming back at the age I did (early 30s at the time), it’s not too late to still benefit from being back in the system. Started to really appreciate the good quality public education system if you have kids (we have three). An hours drive to visit parents was a plus, especially now that they are in their late 60s (although they live half the year in the US). When I get homesick for Asian food/culture, Richmond is very close. There are Taiwan noodle restaurants (including the one that won some Taipei awards recently), T&T supermarkets (Richmond is over 50% Asian), Tea stores, and anything you would need. Family has benefited by becoming PRs and then Canadian citizens.

The negative: In Asia, if you’re ambitious, the sky is the limit. It’s where the growth and where the action is. Here the economic growth is not nearly as good (like 1% or so) and the market is over-saturated with uni grads. It’s hard to get your foot in the door. You can be content to make a really good salary if you are a professional, but there is a lot more competition and and a lot more politics. :laughing: Like with Asia, you have to realize you’re not going to change the system here either. It’s risk adverse and quite the opposite of Asian risk taking, but people are content with that.

The verdict: Mixed, but I realize I came back at the right time for the older kids. They have taken advantage of the system here and will get a good education and, later, good North American professional jobs. Am happy that I’ve fed into the system here, at least for a few years, so that if I take risks in the private sector overseas within an international job at a later date, I have a combination of public/private investments/pensions.

My advice though: come back with at least $200 K CDN. Will pay for over 25% of a house and help you get settled in.

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Hi ChewDawg thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us but I think the climate here has changed dramatically since you left in 2008 and for the worse and many of my friends have left for that exact reason. I as well as my wife feel that Taiwan has lost its spark and the opportunities have dried up unless teaching is what you are after and that’s not really my gig. On our return this summer to Toronto to visit friends and family we were completely bowled over by how international and forward thinking Toronto has become since our last visit some 4 years ago (mind you we had only been back in the winter so it was really hard to gauge the scene). All the things you mentioned like a slower lifestyle and getting back into the system are all bonuses for us plus the shopping and restaurants were much better in Toronto. The night markets here seem to be selling the same things they were selling when I arrived here in 95 and the pushing and shoving has lost its charm. I find trying to shop at Welcome or other so called supermarkets to cook at home is just sad for lack of a better term. As for international type restaurants here they are few and far between but the nightlife here is wonderful if you are in your 20s but sadly I’m not. As for the nest egg I couldn’t agree more. Again thanks so much for taking the time to respond!!

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My family members from Taiwan are finally getting Canadian citizenship in the next few weeks. For all the foreigners in Taiwan that complain about all the hoops needed to get citizenship or PR in Taiwan, it is just as time-consuming a process most anywhere in the world. They arrived in 2008, filled the 3-year residency requirement in 2011, and it has taken 3 years to get the application for citizenship processed, to write the test, and now to attend the ceremony.

These things take a lot of time. In most European countries, you now need like 5 to 7 years of residence before you can apply. Taiwan is pretty liberal in its requirements and pretty quick in its processing. :2cents:

Not for the first time you are wrong on this, but don’t let it stop you :slight_smile:.

Wrong on what? You think citizenship/naturalization procedures are quicker in Europe? That Taiwan’s requirements on citizenship and PR are burdensome? Basically, my point above is that they are long and burdensome in a lot of developed countries. In reality, the procedures in Taiwan are pretty short/easy. European countries often require renunciation of one citizenship (as does Taiwan) and some countries require 5 to 7 year of residency and hard language tests before they’ll accept naturalization application.

[quote=“ChewDawg”]My family members from Taiwan are finally getting Canadian citizenship in the next few weeks. For all the foreigners in Taiwan that complain about all the hoops needed to get citizenship or PR in Taiwan, it is just as time-consuming a process most anywhere in the world. They arrived in 2008, filled the 3-year residency requirement in 2011, and it has taken 3 years to get the application for citizenship processed, to write the test, and now to attend the ceremony.

These things take a lot of time. In most European countries, you now need like 5 to 7 years of residence before you can apply. Taiwan is pretty liberal in its requirements and pretty quick in its processing. :2cents:[/quote]

Ha, but your family can keep their Taiwanese citizenship. Not so in Taiwan.

Responses to dumb posts were sent from my Nexus 7, I hate Apple BTW, with Tapatalk 8

Not so in a great many places in the developed world:

In Europe, it may be legal in most, but it is still very, very hard in some:
dw.de/new-hope-for-dual-citi … a-16951467
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_nationality_law
immihelp.com/citizenship/dua … tries.html

:bravo:
Right on! Let us know how silly the ceremony seems. Do they have to utter any words in French? After all, out on the Best Coast, Mandarin should be our second language.
Tabernac!

[quote=“ChewDawg”][quote=“Belgian Pie”]

Ha, but your family can keep their Taiwanese citizenship. Not so in Taiwan.

[/quote]

Not so in a great many places in the developed world:

In Europe, it may be legal in most, but it is still very, very hard in some:
dw.de/new-hope-for-dual-citi … a-16951467
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_nationality_law
immihelp.com/citizenship/dua … tries.html[/quote]

You are reaching badly there…,

[quote=“headhonchoII”][quote=“ChewDawg”][quote=“Belgian Pie”]

Ha, but your family can keep their Taiwanese citizenship. Not so in Taiwan.

[/quote]

Not so in a great many places in the developed world:

In Europe, it may be legal in most, but it is still very, very hard in some:
dw.de/new-hope-for-dual-citi … a-16951467
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_nationality_law
immihelp.com/citizenship/dua … tries.html[/quote]

You are reaching badly there…,[/quote]

Anything intelligent to say? :laughing: Didn’t think so

You’ve made me point out the obvious flaw in your reasoning (once) again, that you need to abandon your original citizenship to get Taiwanese citizenship AND you need to serve in the army if a male of a certain age. Therefore getting Taiwanese citizenship is next to impossible for most long term residents here.

Well do carry on :slight_smile:.

Just heard from a friend that moved to Calgary last week and to quote him “the people are great the economy is a rock star and it’s a 40 min drive from Banf”. He is painting a very nice picture indeed.