Surrounded by vast oceans and beautiful mountains, Vancouver is a city where green grass flourishes and trees are lush throughout the year. Under the blue sky and white clouds, snow-capped mountains are in sight. The scenery of Vancouver not only captivates tourists but is also recognized worldwide as one of the most livable cities, attracting a large number of overseas individuals to immigrate to Canada. However, if one romanticizes the beauty condensed during a visit as the norm of life, the daily life of any immigrant in Canada, with its repetitive and mundane nature, can quickly extinguish enthusiasm and reveal the hard and realistic side of life. Many people will then ask, "Is it really good to immigrate to Canada?" I can only answer based on my nearly ten years of experiences, observations, insights, and personal experiences:
1. The initial period of being a new immigrant in Canada is quite "challenging"
Local Chinese media in Canada once put forth a notion that some people use their limited knowledge to tarnish the image of new immigrants, portraying their lives as difficult and unbearable. In fact, whether new immigrants live well or struggle does not need to be blackened or glossed over; it should be something that each person knows in their heart. Based on my own situation, when I first immigrated to Vancouver, I truly found it quite challenging.
As a new immigrant in Canada, I could not afford to live off my savings, so finding a job was an urgent priority as soon as I set foot in Vancouver, even if it meant taking a part-time job. However, the physical demands of such jobs often drained my energy, ambition, and courage to continue studying and seeking professional work, while compressing the space for a person to face family and life with calmness and tolerance to the limit, leading to a period of severe imbalance in my mindset. Additionally, the awkwardness of language made me feel clumsy and inept in communication, causing my confidence to plummet. One undeniable fact after another made the halo of my past dreams land harshly in the center of reality, and this shock often turned my expectations before immigrating to Canada into shattered pieces.
2. Adapting to life as an immigrant in Canada requires "letting go"
So how did I pick up the pieces and regain my composure to continue pursuing the life I wanted in this beautiful and livable land of Vancouver? The answer is: let go! Adapting to life in Vancouver as an immigrant in Canada is a process of learning to let go. What needs to be let go are past statuses, former advantages, previous prosperity, and even the noise, allowing the heart to quiet down and re-examine life and redefine oneself. In this process, some have found new ways of living, like me, some have returned home, and others are still struggling.
Many immigrants in Canada find it difficult to adapt for a long time and feel depressed largely because they cannot bear the significant psychological gap during this process of letting go. Especially for those who are middle-aged and have achieved success in their careers, it is challenging to complete the transition of their careers in Canada in a short time. Those without survival pressure can still seek professional work through learning, but reaching the same level as they had in their home country is generally quite difficult.
3. Whether immigrating to Canada is good or not depends on the "individual"
I believe that for new immigrants in Canada, adapting to life in Vancouver and letting go of past prosperity is not merely a passive and enduring experience; it is also a process of seeking hope and striving to reshape oneself. A friend of mine, who initially could hardly speak English when she immigrated to Canada, would have her son, who was in high school, write notes for her when taking the bus, saying, "My mother will get off at a certain stop, please remind her." Starting from such a basic level, she progressed from ELSA Level 1 to Level 6 in one go. Now, she has no barriers when dealing with government departments and running errands. When she walks freely on this land with newly arrived friends, that composure and confidence is a rare gain in life. There are others who, in order to continue their medical profession from their home country, bravely started from scratch in mid-life, studying hard for eight years to finally obtain a medical license. Some have completely changed careers after arriving, transitioning from being a doctor to becoming an accountant, successfully securing a stable job after passing the certification.
"What is life really like in Canada?" "Is it good to immigrate to Canada?" In fact, this answer should not come from me but should be experienced by the immigrants themselves. Each person's mindset and abilities differ greatly, and these differences will continue into their immigrant lives. If I must provide an answer, my response is, "Life as an immigrant in Canada is good for my family, but many others find it quite challenging."