Working 9 to 5
… but more like 8:30 to 4:30, but that doesn’t sound nearly as fun as Dolly Parton’s song.
I find it really interesting how quickly my new working life began to feel “normal”. There was a transition period, of course, where I was just still being trained in something new every day and had questions every step of the way. After two months into the job, however, I had a pretty good idea of the regular day-to-day.
How Hard Can It Be?
Previously, I wrote about searching for a job and not yet knowing how difficult it would be. I knew no one would just give me an offer without me working for it, but I was hopeful that it wouldn’t take me too long to find one.
Well, maybe - and this doesn’t happen very often - I was a bit too optimistic.
Some Bureaucracy
So my Permanent Residence (PR) application was approved - what next? Although the bulk of it is done, there were (and are) some things that I had and have to take care of now that I’m officially a landed immigrant.
Settling In - The Diary
Before my application was approved, I’d been in Canada for a few months already. While this particular collection of entries isn’t entirely up to date, I still decided I wanted to share some of the thoughts I had throughout the whole process. And I answer people’s most burning question: Have I settled in yet?!
Get ready, Canada!
“Your application for permanent residence has been approved.” I guess you can never plan when you’re going to get approval, but I certainly didn’t expect to read that email on a random Thursday night in January. Especially not only 8 months after submitting our application and 3 months after we were told my application was being processed.
Small Town Living
I didn’t always enjoy growing up in a smaller city, how everything cool always seemed to be elsewhere. I wanted everything right in front of my door or only one short subway ride away. So naturally, I am moving to a town of roughly 8,000 people with no access to any public transit.
Normal Life
As much excitement as it brings with it, planning a move across the Atlantic is shockingly unspectacular in the earlier stages. We realized quite soon that getting PR is not a fast or easy process. The reality is that the current average processing time for Permanent Residence (PR) is over 12 months, a lot longer in other cases and only rarely shorter. In June 2022, the Canadian immigration office (IRCC) had a backlog of 2.4 million applications.
One Door Closes
Completing all the steps for a move abroad can take a long time. While we were gathering the documents to apply for my permanent residence, we were also about to leave Munich, our home for the previous 13 months.
Fast and Furious
Is moving to a foreign country brave? Even if you know people there? If you’ve lived abroad before? Moving to Canada is a big step, sure, but for me, maybe it’ll be easy - or not.
Moving Continents
I am moving to Canada.
Over the past couple of weeks, since my Canadian boyfriend and I made the decision mid-January 2022, I have repeated that sentence a lot in my head. And to other people. Maybe because I still haven’t quite realized what’s happening. Maybe because I expect it to feel more real if I say it often enough.