When planning their future, some decide to stay at home, where, as you know, the walls help, while others choose to emigrate. Our heroine shared the story of her move to Canada and talked about the pitfalls that you may encounter when starting to build a life in another country.
“The mistake is to find an unpretentious job and stay at this level”
Elena, 63 of the year:
“In Canada, where my husband and I have been living for 20 years, we had to start all over again for the second time. I was born in Tajikistan, where after perestroika, together with my husband, I mastered a new sphere not only for us, but for the whole country — private entrepreneurship. We set up the production and sale of cotton. However, in 1992, a civil war broke out in the republic, because of which ethnic Russians had to flee. We left home and our favorite business. Our plane could not take off until the morning because of the threat of being shot down.
In Moscow, where no one was waiting for us, we started almost from scratch
Already existing experience of own business helped. And a year later, together with Western partners, we organized the production of equipment for the food industry. In 1998, there was a financial crisis, in which we survived, but my husband offered to move to Canada. It might seem that this is a retreat in the face of difficulties at home, but we both soberly understood that we were in many ways complicating the conditions of the game for ourselves.
It was a new country, with different laws and regulations. I was 42 years old at that time. For many, this is the age when you already want to slow down, but I had the excitement of trying to start everything from scratch. It probably helps that I love challenges in life. And now I still treat any crisis as a move forward.
The first year I studied the language intensively and was engaged in driving, without which one cannot survive in Toronto. A year later, I decided to try myself in a completely new business — in real estate. She completed training and began working as an agent in one of the largest companies. I worked seven days a week, from nine in the morning until late at night. For 10 years has become one of the most successful dealers in terms of the number of transactions. And four years ago I realized that I already had enough experience, and opened my own company for the selection and sale of real estate.
I know that now in Russia someone is thinking about emigration, but it is very important not to make rash decisions in haste
The criterion by which I would choose a place of residence is how close you are to the country culturally and whether its laws can be called democratic. For example, many IT professionals are now looking towards Turkey or the United Arab Emirates. It is important not to fall into a trap here. Because if there are elements of authoritarianism in the country, and the ideals of freedom are easily sacrificed to religious orders, it is possible that after a while you will have to move again.
If you managed to get help from the state, you should not bet on this the main bet. Start from the first day to work or study. I see how the fate of immigrants develops depending on what decisions they made at the very beginning of the journey. The mistake is to find a simple job and stay at this level.
I was recently in a beauty salon and met a girl from Mexico — a student who was entrusted with washing clients’ hair. She said that she first went to study at a business school, but it seemed too burdensome. As a result, she never received an education and works in various places for little pay out of fear of hardship and an unwillingness to study.
It is psychologically more comfortable to stay in your circle — to find compatriots and communicate only with them. However, in this way, not only will you not improve your knowledge of the language, but you will not advance in understanding the nuances of local life. At some point, it is better to separate from the familiar environment and try to create a circle of acquaintances among local residents.
Be proactive: it can be charitable activities, participation in interest clubs, interaction with neighbors — anything that brings you closer to people from the environment of which you become a part. In Russian-language chats, local orders, medicine or education are often criticized. This is largely due to the fact that it is easier and more convenient for us to hold on to the familiar, and something new and unknown seems unfriendly.
If you come with savings, be prepared for «helpers» who will help you lose your money through a joint business or dubious insurance. Never do anything without the advice of a lawyer.
Those who were born here, of course, have a huge plus — knowledge of the life of the country from childhood. However our erudition and cultural baggage often distinguishes us from locals with comparable education. This gives us an open mind, the ability to see many things in more volume and becomes an advantage that should not be discounted.