Tips and Advice for moving from CA to Canada?

Obtaining Canadian Citizenship is quite a challenge, and by no means necessary to live in Canada. A friend of my mother's has lived in Canada for about 20 years and is still just an American resident. You just need to get a permanent resident card (equivalent to the "green card"). You can do this either as a skilled worker, investor, entrepreneur or student. See http://cic.gc.ca/ under "immigrate" to see what your options are, or http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/ if you want to move to Quebec. You don't necessarily have to speak French! The Quebec Government offers free French classes to any new residents.

Even if you eventually decide to become a Canadian Citizen, you can keep your American Citizenship and be a dual-citizen.

I think you'll find that Canada is more liberal in some respects, and more strict in others. It's definitely a much more left-wing country. In Canada you have less "rights", and more "freedoms." For example, you don't have the right to own a gun, but you have the freedom to travel wherever you want. In terms of free speech, I would say you actually have more freedom in Canada, but we don't really use it as a defence for everything like they do in the US.

Canadians, the spectrum of attitudes, fall somewhere between Americans and Brits. We're more reserved than Americans, but are more open than Brits...we have maybe a more subdued sense of humour than Americans, but are more prone to laugh openly than Brits...and so on.

As a quiet person who loves the outdoors, I think you'll love it in Canada. Canada is so huge and so sparsely populated, that there are millions of square kilometres of unexplored land that no human has laid eyes on. It's quite exciting to go hiking and boating in the beautiful untouched nature of the Canadian North.

As for laws, for the most part, you can assume that it's going to be less strict in Canada, except for a few specific things like gun-ownership, hunting, fishing, and drunk driving. If you're concerned about the legalities of immigration, I'd suggest you contact an immigration lawyer. Consultations are usually free.

I would recommend that you start thinking about which area you want to live in specifically, since Canada is so big. Perhaps the tranquil and traditional lifestyle of the east coast, the exciting urban vibe of central Canada, the great forests of northern Canada, the farmlands and prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan, or the sunny west coast. Keep in mind that if you want to live in Quebec, it's a separate immigration process from the RoC (Rest of Canada). This can work to your advantage or to your disadvantage, depending on what kind of industry you work in. If you're a teacher, for example, Quebec has lots of opportunities for English-speakers, but if you're a businessperson, then it's probably best to have some French knowledge first.

Immigrating to Canada is not an easy process.

You need either a specific degree (i.e. doctor) or you need to secure a job offer from a Canadian company... before you can even submit an application. You then submit financial statements, medical exams, criminal background checks, English or French proficiency tests, etc. You then compete against two to three million other applicants for one of 20,000 positions using a point-based system which includes your ages, occupations, financial status, familiarity with Canada, where you have friends or family in Canada, letters of reference, charity work, if you have attended school in Canada, whether you own property in Canada, etc. Less than one in a thousand applicants makes it in the country and he process can take up to six years.

There are a few exceptions for inventors (you have willing to start a business in Canada), provincial nominees (you are willing to teach disabled children in the North West Territories or are a world famous ballerina), those completing degrees at a Canadian university, refugees, and those with immediate family who are already Canadians.

Canada allows dual citizenship with certain other countries -- including the US -- so you can keep your US citizenship. Generally, no reason not to keep your US citizenship.

Most general laws which exist in the United States have similar laws in Canada. No stealing, no murdering, no loud music at 2am, you need a license to drive, etc. The only laws I would recommend looking up would be those related to the immigration process.

By all means consider immigrating to Canada. However, it is not an easy place to immigrate to.

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If you are interested in immigrating to Canada go to cic.gc.ca for information on qualifying.You can have dual American/Canadian citizenship, that's no problem. You have to live in Canada for a certain amount of time before you can apply for citizenship.

Canada has lots to offer. Large cities, beautiful coastal towns, mountains, prairies...just decide what you want for your surroundings.

Have you considered Washington State? Its very similar to Canada in that we have almost identical outdoor possibilities plus all the perks of living in the USA. Mountainous regions, forests, volcanoes, and beautiful cities are abundant. Many jobs are available too. Seattle is home to leading companies in the industries of computing (microsoft) and airplane engineering (boeing) as well as a number of jobs in the medical field.

But be aware: Washington is divided by the Cascade Mountains which causes the west side and the east side differ completely. In the east you will find landmasses filled with farms reminiscent of California but on the West the area is filled with forests. These forests are made possible by the constant rain that falls 9 out of 12 months of the year so it might take getting used too. (The rain is also common in Canada, I hear) The rain, however, is only a drizzle, and hard rain and thunderstorms are rare.

Good luck.

yup, good info from above, if you wanna stay on the west coast but wanna live the quiet life, i highly suggest victoria BC, on southern vancouver island. ferries leave here multiply times a day for washington if u r homesick!

Good information from most of the answerers. The only thing I have to add is: bring long underwear!

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