Has anyone moved to Canada from the US?

[DisGirlAllie]

I know it's rare, and I hope you don't mind me poking my head over here, but I'm just curious if there's any DISers who have any advice about this. I'm hoping to move to Canada one day and am doing college tours of UBC, U of A, McMaster, and UdeM next summer.

A few more questions, sorry.
1) What was the biggest adjustment you had to make moving from the US to Canada?
2) How homesick did you feel when you first got there?
3) Do you regret it?

 

[Gigi22]

Currently Disneyjamie has a thread about this. If you are looking at Canadian universities, you should also look at: Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario; McGill University in Montreal, Quebec; and, University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. They are among the top 5 Canadian universities.
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Finally, does the OP intend to remain in Canada after graduation, or return to the U.S.? I ask this because DSis, who lived temporarily in Cambridge, Mass. while her DH completed his Ph.D at one of the universities in the area, found that even large employers in that area had no knowledge of any Canadian university, with the sole exception of McGill. And that was due to McGill's athletics teams. Go figure.

 

[photomama]

I did with my Canadian husband.

 

[Gigi22]

For the OP--just checked the website for the the U. de M. and was able to confirm that all that university's courses are taught in the French language. Foreign students are required to pass a proficiency test in French prior to admission.
McGill is the largest English language university in Montreal. Since you were planning to visit Montreal anyhow, you should probably visit McGill.

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

We did too, almost 2 years ago, when DH took a job with the UN (we are both US citizens) and our sitter (did not know her in the US, but also a US citizen) moved at the same time to go to McGill.

We love it up here, I just wish there were more non-stop flights to MCO (and that they were affordable) from YUL!

Good luck with the future move!

 

[glendalais]

I know it's rare, and I hope you don't mind me poking my head over here, but I'm just curious if there's any DISers who have any advice about this. I'm hoping to move to Canada one day and am doing college tours of UBC, U of A, McMaster, and UdeM next summer.

Just a note. Université de Montréal, while a very good school, is also very, very big. I have family who went there, and they all say the same thing: they like it, but you're very much on your own there. The same can be said for McGill, but to a bit lesser extent.

You might also be interested in the other two universities in Montreal, Concordia University is the second Anglophone university in the city. It has a more urban feel than McGill. Université du Québec à Montréal is the second Francophone unversity. Like Concordia, it has a urban feel, but is slightly more spread out.

For the OP--just checked the website for the the U. de M. and was able to confirm that all that university's courses are taught in the French language. Foreign students are required to pass a proficiency test in French prior to admission.
McGill is the largest English language university in Montreal. Since you were planning to visit Montreal anyhow, you should probably visit McGill.

UdeM does offer some programmes in English, mostly at the Master or Doctorate level, though. For example, HEC Montréal (UdeM's Business School) offers a Trilingual BA in French, English and Spanish; as well as a MBA in English or French.

In addition, assuming that the OP can already speak French (which I assume since she wants to look there), the school does offer linguistic support for Anglophone students who want to attend (language classes, aid in accessing student services, etc.)

 

[DisGirlAllie]

You all have been amazing, thank you so much! I'll be sure to check out some of the other schools you suggested!
Just curious, are there any schools that you would recommend for its nursing program?

 

[bankr63]

I work in healthcare in Ontario - but in an admin capacity. Asked a couple of collegues "in the know" and their suggestions for nursing were Queens University in Kingston ON (best university in Canada IMO!), and McMaster in Hamilton, ON (but has a somewhat different teaching philosophy - check it out first!).

If you pursue nursing, we'd love to have you stay! Lots of demand for skilled medical professionals in Canada.

M Ross.

 

[damo]

You all have been amazing, thank you so much! I'll be sure to check out some of the other schools you suggested!
Just curious, are there any schools that you would recommend for its nursing program?

There are lots of good nursing schools. Western in London and Humber College and George Brown College in Toronto are another couple not mentioned above.

 

[restful urchin]

I moved up to Edmonton in 99. I was on a student visa so I could work on my masters in nursing at the U of Alberta.
Then I got a work permit so I could work and stay a bit longer.
Then my employer offered to sponser their foreign employees as "provincial nominees" so we could become landed immigrants and stay for good! (That process only took about 6 weeks!). They had a nursing shortage at the time so it made it pretty easy to get a job. There is still a nursing shortage but it's a bit harder to get a job.
Good luck and enjoy your experience!

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
Liz

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I am Canadian but I spent all my high school years in the States and then moved back up here for university at Queen's so of course I am giving another vote for Queen's University! It has a great Nursing program and is an amazing school all around. It is consistently ranked as one of the top schools in Canada. It is in a smaller town but still lots of fun for the college crowd. It is also in a great location for experiencing the bigger cities. Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal are all 2-3 hours away and the American border is only a 45 minute drive away with Syracuse, New York being about 2 hours away. Syracuse has great shopping and a good airport.

I am Queen's alumnus and I still work here so if you should want to come up for a tour send me a PM, I would be happy to show you around.

 

[autumnpalm]

I would recommend taking a look at McMaster's nursing program. I was at Mac for my first year of university (ended up transferring but loved the school) and their health science programs are very highly regarded. Also the campus is gorgeous and I really enjoyed the school community. Feel free to PM me if you have an questions about the school.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

WOW thank you!
I may definitely take some of you up on your offers!

Thanks for all the wonderful help you have given!

 

[Sue M]

You all have been amazing, thank you so much! I'll be sure to check out some of the other schools you suggested!
Just curious, are there any schools that you would recommend for its nursing program?

UBC

 

[TLPL]

My US born husband just got his Canadian citizenship.

 

[Alderbrook]

Mac is a wonderful school. The location is awesome too. West Hamilton is highly sought after. Rent in larger cities (Toronto or Montreal) is crazy! The hospital there is great as well! My mom's boss moved from Montreal (she went to McGill to become a dentist) to pursue becoming a Dr at Mac & loved it.

 

[1tricky1]

i think ubc okanagan does nursing
in beautiful kelowna bc
city of sunshine lakes and wine
vicky

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Currently Disneyjamie has a thread about this. If you are looking at Canadian universities, you should also look at: Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario; McGill University in Montreal, Quebec; and, University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. They are among the top 5 Canadian universities.
----------------------
Finally, does the OP intend to remain in Canada after graduation, or return to the U.S.? I ask this because DSis, who lived temporarily in Cambridge, Mass. while her DH completed his Ph.D at one of the universities in the area, found that even large employers in that area had no knowledge of any Canadian university, with the sole exception of McGill. And that was due to McGill's athletics teams. Go figure.

Hopefully remain, but my parents say that they won't pay for a university with a worthless degree

UBC

UBC was definitely one of my top picks.

My US born husband just got his Canadian citizenship.

Congratulations!

Mac is a wonderful school. The location is awesome too. West Hamilton is highly sought after. Rent in larger cities (Toronto or Montreal) is crazy! The hospital there is great as well! My mom's boss moved from Montreal (she went to McGill to become a dentist) to pursue becoming a Dr at Mac & loved it.

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

 

[Gigi22]

"Hopefully remain, but my parents say that they won't pay for a university with a worthless degree."

OP, my DSis found that even major US employers in Cambridge, Mass. were not familiar with Canadian universities, with the sole exception of McGill, due to their athletics teams. In fact, the problem was that the Canadian universities with which the US employers were completely unfamiliar, were the very top tier Canadian universities. The degrees are of huge worth to us in Canada, but the universities do not have the name recognition that even comparatively obscure American universities appear to have in the US.

The OP should bear in mind that her decision to study at a Canadian university, even at a top tier Canadian university, will mean that she may find herself having to explain her course of study to a prospective American employer at some future point. "This too is reality."

 

[DisGirlAllie]

"Hopefully remain, but my parents say that they won't pay for a university with a worthless degree."

OP, my DSis found that even major US employers in Cambridge, Mass. were not familiar with Canadian universities, with the sole exception of McGill, due to their athletics teams. In fact, the problem was that the Canadian universities with which the US employers were completely unfamiliar, were the very top tier Canadian universities. The degrees are of huge worth to us in Canada, but the universities do not have the name recognition that even comparatively obscure American universities appear to have in the US.

The OP should bear in mind that her decision to study at a Canadian university, even at a top tier Canadian university, will mean that she may find herself having to explain her course of study to a prospective American employer at some future point. "This too is reality."

That's a good point. I would like to stay in Canada but, just incase, it'd be nice to also have the freedom that, should I need to, I can work in the US.