# A few questions about moving to Canada



## emporsteigend (Sep 23, 2011)

I live in the USA, right now on Canada's doorstep in western NY. I sort of feel it's somehow "dangerous" in America and was thinking about looking for a job in Canada.

Right now, I don't have a passport and I would only want to move there if I found a job first. So, if any of you could be so kind, just give me a brief rundown of what I would do next if my job offer were accepted. (For what it's worth, my first city of choice would be Toronto and I'm looking to go into software engineering or teaching English and I am graduating with a BA in linguistics this year.)

One other _very_ important thing: I take risperidone to control schizophrenic symptoms. Can I have my script transferred to the health system there or can I have my pills mailed to me or what? What should I do there? I obviously can't be withdrawing from an important medication while I'm moving to a new country.

Thanks in advance


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## lifeintoronto (Sep 25, 2011)

Hi,

I do not want to shatter your dreams, but this is nearly impossible to find a job FIRST in your profession. Why would they hire a recent graduate with a BA in linguistics as a software engineer if there are plenty of local software engineers with degrees in software engineering? Toronto is a great place to live in, even awesome place, but you do need to immigrate first, AND to get some job experience (at least a year or two) before you immigrate. Also check which professions are currently in demand before making a decision what to do professionally. Another alternative would be to come study in Canada.


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## lifeintoronto (Sep 25, 2011)

Sorry i can't answer your question about medication, I can only guesstimate that you could be eligible to some sort of discount after you get your health card (3 months after you land). You will need a 3 month's worth supply of your pills, and you should get a medical insurance for the 3 months waiting period.


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## emporsteigend (Sep 23, 2011)

^^^ pharmacy tips ... super



lifeintoronto said:


> Hi,
> 
> I do not want to shatter your dreams, but this is nearly impossible to find a job FIRST in your profession. Why would they hire a recent graduate with a BA in linguistics as a software engineer if there are plenty of local software engineers with degrees in software engineering?


Because I'm really good at what I do and that's generally what matters when it comes to software engineering. As far as I know, there aren't many BSc programs for software engineering as such, only computer science, which is considerably abstracted from the practice of actually writing software. (As Edsger Dijkstra put it: "The computer is an embarrassment to computer science.")

In fact, _my_ curriculum considerably overlaps with computer science (syntax, automata theory, logic, etc.).



lifeintoronto said:


> Toronto is a great place to live in, even awesome place, but you do need to immigrate first, AND to get some job experience (at least a year or two) before you immigrate.


Probably a good idea on balance.



lifeintoronto said:


> Also check which professions are currently in demand before making a decision what to do professionally.


I was looking on craigslist and my stuff is in demand, deffo.



lifeintoronto said:


> Another alternative would be to come study in Canada.


Depends on whether grad school will pay me.


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## lifeintoronto (Sep 25, 2011)

Good to see your optimism. Craiglist, however, is the last place to look for professions in demand. AND for a job, in general. By "demand" I meant your eligibility criteria for federal skilled worker. 

My newbie status does not allow me yet, but I'll try to give you a link, if it doesn't go through due to my status, sorry. Maybe copy and paste

cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp


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## lifeintoronto (Sep 25, 2011)

by the way, im still not sure about the meds discount. I only know of someone having MS and getting meds with a discount because they are so expensive. Maybe same applies to any expensive medication. In any case, some employers offer benefits, which might cover the cost of medication.


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## SnappyG (May 27, 2011)

You will not be able to transfer your medical prescription issued by a US doctor to Canada to get filled. I ran into this when I got here. Had to visit a Canadian doctor to get a new prescription.


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## stprdi (Sep 26, 2011)

I think I heard that you have a wait of about 3-6 months to be accepted on medical coverage. My bro is looking to move back here from the UK. He has MS and he was told this. So you would be best to see if you could get a big supply of Risperadone as possible to carry you through.


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