I’ve been in Canada since July on a Working Holiday Visa.
In our media, Canada is always portrayed as a dream country. Yes of course, it’s beautiful here (Rockies, nature) but it also has a lot of downsides.
The quality of food is incomparable to my home country and the food prices are even higher here.
I thought rent prices back home were high, but here (except for small towns on the prairie), you have to share an apartment with 3 people and still pay the same amount as getting a 2-bedroom apartment alone back home.
Then 5 weeks of paid vacation + 11 paid holidays (weekends are generally free, there is no business open at Sundays), when you’re sick, you’re sick, but you still get paid.
Canadians are polite that is true, but what I’ve noticed is that people often make false promises just to be nice.
Making friends here as a foreigner is challenging and perhaps I’m homesick being on the other side of the world.
I’m considering abandoning everything and flying back home. While at first it was really nice here (especially the traveling in the summer), the drawbacks are becoming apparent.
Additionally, my education isn’t recognized here and honestly I don’t want to work at Tim Hortons or Walmart just to „survive“ and with much lower QOL than in Europe.
But on the other hand, I’m afraid of missing out if I fly back home now.
Idk what i should do :(
Any suggestions?
Firstly can you answer these questions for context and comparison: What is your native country? How old are you? What type of education do you have? Do you have a financial safety net and are financially ‘comfortable’ for your age?
Which city are you in, in Canada? And also what do you mean by “QOL”?
If your young (assuming you are as your on a WHV), I would recommend finishing out the 1 (or 2) year/s you get. Especially if it’s only 1 year. (For Australians we get 2)
You probably would regret it more if you left early rather than staying longer.
If it’s in your budget, try and get a nicer place or room so you can feel more comfortable. Or just travel the rest of the time within Canada (if your financially comfortable and it’s only a year- then maybe possible)
Have you thought about working on a ski resort? That is a really popular option for a lot of young people coming to Canada on WHV.
I hated my first year in Vancouver but stayed on for my second year. Then I became a PR and stayed on for 5 years and recently became a citizen. While I don’t live in Canada/Vancouver anymore, I do long for it and have a desire to come back. Very slowly, it grew on me.
The moral here is, if you make fast irrational choices, you deplete the chance of slowly falling in love with a place.