The colloquialisms bit within the test sounds interesting (curious whether actual B.C. colloquialisms were used). But, hey, it's a starting point since Metro Vancouver is a "cultural mosaic".
The colloquialisms were more British than Canadian. This was a general test for people trying to qualify for all sorts of places. It's an "English" test, not a Canada test.
@GottaLaff
Wow! Congrats on seeing your dream materialized. Especially after all those hoops you jumped thru. BC and especially Vancouver, is one of, no, it is the #1 favorite place we've loved the memories of, after 20+ years. Beautiful.
@GottaLaff And BC needs as many bleeding heart libtards as it can get. One side of my family hails from those parts and we... have different value systems.
@alan@GottaLaff We get good Americans after every crappy leadership. I know refugees from Vietnam, Bush, Spanky...they are people who just want peace. We aren't perfect, but we walk out of our homes without thinking worrying about armed people having a bad day and we have hate speech laws.
@GottaLaff oh, we can tell. And I get it. I was a military training instructor for a while.
(note: NOT the kind with the Smokey the Bear hat. I was never that cool)
@GottaLaff It was a thing 20 years ago. When a new article would get posted there was a race to be the first to post a reply, kinda became a meme, before we used that term.
@GottaLaff I live close to Ontario. Have considered a move. My perusal of the immigration websites for Commonwealth Countries reflected no availability status for me. Of course, a professional might get it done, but...
@GottaLaff All countries want workers of various kinds. I am going to retire at the end of the year. I have 31y of law practice in Michigan, skills which don't precisely transfer even if I wanted to work. Not to mention that my grandparents bought the land my house sits on, in 1924.
@GottaLaff I have a friend who moved to Canada 20 or so years ago- her husband got a job there and I know it was pretty hard for them even though he went there with a job (the place that hired him had to prove there wasn’t another Canadian candidate who could do the job as well as he could 😵💫). She couldn’t work for a year… you don’t just move to Canada. And you don’t just move here. We are completely illiterate about the process.
@northernlights@GottaLaff Yes, Poilievre (PP) is attempting to harness the very same fear ignorance and prejudice (FIP) that brought Trump success. PP has abandoned ordinary Canadians with good sense that value sound judgment. He's hitched his success to FIP. Perhaps the "monetized ignorance" that brought Trump success won't be nearly as effective in Canada. The cons won a recent bye-election, but voter turnout was very low in a con stronghold https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-victory-durham-federal-byelection-1.7134301
@northernlights@GottaLaff PP has adapted a "platform of noise": Inaccuracies, misinformation, dishonest prejudiced ideas supported by their "Vehicles" <- right-wing press & social media. These create "circles of noise" where criticism is quickly & easily dismissed & FIP reinforced.
He's positioned himself to take advantage of the hollowing out of Canadian critical media. He must constantly convince the pathetically naive, the willfully ignorant, and the miscreant, this his noise is a miracle
@GottaLaff I’m a 65 year old who spent most of his youth and teenage years skating on ponds and in rinks for hours and hours at a time. I get cold super easy these days. And I’ve had enough. If Canada were warmer, I would consider ex-pat there. It’s on to narco-republic land for me (I know, I know).
@WmShakesp3are I'm older than you and thrived in hot weather in L.A. my whole life. Now I don't like it, can't tolerate it well. I used to get super cold too, but for some reason, it doesn't faze me in BC, at all.
@WmShakesp3are Because of climate change various areas of Canada that previously were extremely cold in winter are now quite warm and rarely have any measurable snowfall. The interior of BC for example, as a child I remember snowfall so heavy it was up to the middle of our windows. This year? They are golfing in January!@GottaLaff
@Snowshadow@WmShakesp3are BC seems to be varying a little so far, but the fire season is worse. The snowfall amounts seem about on par with what I've always read.
Less rain? I don't know. Higher temps? Yes, probably.
@GottaLaff@WmShakesp3are
I am old and I remember severe winters inland, not so on the coast.
Now? completely different. We always had a few forest fires, but nothing like what has been happening over the past decade or so. Canada is literally burning...in the middle of winter!!!
@GottaLaff And keep your Landing Papers in a safe place. Those are not reissued and they are a requirement. Start creating your files now (check the website for what documents you will need) and that will save you a lot of time, stress and hair.
@GottaLaff You will also (if you pursue citizenship) have to pass yet another test (Canadian history, Fluency in French (If you are under 67 yrs old. If you are over, you can skip both those tests).
Keep documentation on every trip you take— outside of your province. After your Perm Residency (PR) (5yrs) you can begin to apply for Citizenship.
Highly recommend you not change residences more than 1x in 5 years if you can help it. If you must, document the reasons (keep a diary)
@GottaLaff@Subumbral When I last looked into it, I think French proficiency is included in the points system, so if one falls short in some other area, getting that polished up can boost the score.
This may or may not be part of why I have a 665-day streak on Duolingo. (Though I still need some experience with Québécois French.)
@GottaLaff that’s an amazing effort you went through. I had a colleague/friend get permanent residency in Japan a while back, also an involved process; and he was relatively young and had a masters in a high demand field. Too many of the “if X I’m moving to [other country]” folks really have no clue.
@GottaLaff I hope the actual moving goes smoothly for you! Even a move in the same town is stressful, and I can only imagine international is way more so.
@mwyman Thank you! It has been relatively easy because we've planned so far ahead, we're VERY organized, we're more than halfway packed (only what needed to stay is out of boxes), and I even figured out an easy way to take inventory of all belongings for the border.
So, so far, not much stress. BUT, selling the house is stressful. We need asking price or very close.
Since we already have a townhouse leased in BC, as I said earlier, no rush to buy quickly up there.
@GottaLaff@mwyman the inventory of your possessions at the border is key. Ask your atty what to claim if they try to tax you on th value of your belongings. Pretty sure that “I’ve been accepted at permanent resident and this is my home/personal belongings” will do. But they will ask you if you plan to sell any of your stuff. I only ran into one snotty agent when I moved. Questioned the box that had my dog bed. Demanding to know WHY I was shipping it. I finally said: “You keep it.”
@mwyman And it's so bizarre to feel this way. All our other moves (we've had several) have been traumatic like that, but this one, because of the long time frame, is easier.
@GottaLaff Thank you so much for the story of your moving-to-Canada saga. Such courage! For how many decades have we said, “if…..I’m moving to Canada”? Who knew how actually difficult that is to do? I want to go with you. We’re too old. Our children and grandchildren are close by here. I am looking forward to following your chronicling of your great adventure.
@GottaLaff Congratulations, and thanks so much for sharing your blog posts and informational links. I just sent them to an ex who lives in TX (we’ve stayed good friends) because she is one of those “I might move to Canada if Trump wins” people. I’ve told her it’s not easy but I had no idea just how incredibly difficult it is. I found the medley of English proficiency tests especially amusing. 😂
@Fenix BC isn't cold. I live in So Calif. BC is sort of like San Francisco or parts of Washington. It's in my blog in more detail, so you missed that part, unless you didn't read it.
@GottaLaff@krypt3ia Huzzah for Canada! Glad you’ll be living somewhere you feel safe.
How does the absentee ballot system work for USian people with no US place of residence to assign local / municipal/ state elections? Is it just tied to last place of US residence?
@GottaLaff
I'm glad that it is working out for you after all the work. It would have really sucked if it hadn't. We are considering something similar, possibly to Uruguay, but haven't gotten beyond the considering stage.
@GottaLaff this is great, thanks! When you say the lawyer is a lot of money, can you be any more specific? I know every situation will be different but if you have any data points to help people budget, that would help
@aprrrl Also, keep in mind, he really had to work for us. You can go the "Express Application" route, not use a lawyer.
But because we're older, we needed a lot of help figuring out which application type was best for us, then help with fulfilling all the obligations, forms, etc.
@GottaLaff Hey, good on you for saying a thing and then actually doing said thing. I think you are literally the one single person I've encountered that really has moved to Canada after saying so. While I wouldn't go to that extreme personally, you gotta do what's best for you and your own sanity.
I know, it was a HUGE decision. We have gay twins (adults now) that we also considered. They're up there now. We wanted them to have a better life too, and the way things are going here, not sure they'd be as safe.
No place is perfect, but it's a little better up there for lots of reasons. And we can always move back.
@GottaLaff folks, if the Conservatives win in our upcoming 2025 federal election, you are not going to like it much better here. We have our own difficult racist, transphobes, climate deniers here too, at all levels of government. The far right has spread far and wide.
@TheresaReason I'm more than aware. No place on earth is safe.
It is much safer in BC than in US, with guns everywhere, violence, voter suppression, etc. Your horrible PP conservatives aren't in control yet. That at least gives us a reprieve.
And way more Canadians have told me it would still be better there than here in the US.