Immigrate to Canada| the local Hong Kong principal to share the experience of food, clothing, housing and travel, how many years to buy a mortgage?
The following is written by Principal Tang Jingkang, who holds a Master of Education and is certified as a teacher in Hong Kong and Ontario, Canada. Principal of Canaan Global Academy, a Canadian private school accredited by Canada. Over the past 30 years, we have been committed to cultivating students in emotional spirituality, social, academic, etc.:
In this article, I will discuss the practical considerations that should be made before and after immigration, especially the four aspects of personal "food, clothing, shelter and transportation", which is to provide some simple references for friends who are thinking or preparing for immigration, and you can use these principles to prepare for the future adaptation period.
"Thoughtful planning" is a cliché, but it does avoid many troubles, especially without carrying too many unnecessary items. Taking clothes, shoes and socks as an example, because Hong Kong people immigrate to other places, they often take Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, etc., which are far from the local climate, as the destination, so remember that in addition to the souvenir value or suitable for all seasons, there is no need to pack and ship them all.
In addition, the climate of new places of residence often has its own characteristics, such as the cold and windy winter in Canada, and the need for warm and wind-resistant clothes and shoes, which do not need to be purchased in Hong Kong, and there are more cheap options after settling down. At that time, it was gradually added, which not only saved the freight, but also avoided the situation of time-consuming packing and packing, and waiting for a long time to receive the goods after arriving. In the cold of Canada, the "bottle collar" sweater commonly used in Hong Kong is not useful, and only one or two thin shirts, a windproof and waterproof jacket, gloves, scarf and cold hat and snowshoes can cope with daily life. The wisdom of life is left in daily life to accumulate, and it can also be regarded as the joy of life! Later, you can sublimate from coping with life to enjoying life!
In terms of diet, it is also advisable to keep everything simple when packing up the food utensils. In addition to the tablespoons, chopsticks, Chinese pots and other kitchens and utensils that are difficult to find for a time, other utensils can generally be purchased at a time in department stores or home goods stores after arriving in Po, and if the Chinatown where the place of relocation has a certain scale, the Chinese kitchenware is also quite easy to start.
On the other hand, foreign land is sparsely populated, and Hong Kong people will find few restaurants on the street after settling down, and food options are scarce. Therefore, after immigrating, many families have changed from "no-meal families" to "self-cooked families" that handle all three meals at home, but remember that the responsibility for cooking should be shared equally, especially with the awareness of "eating your own food and cooking", otherwise it is easy to argue with your other half or other family members about trivial matters such as cooking and taste, affecting feelings.
I have just visited a friend who has been adding one or two years, and in Hong Kong, the domestic helper often takes care of the daily living and eating, and in just one or two years, the friend has been very good at cooking, and cooked a good job!
Regardless of the immigration, the problem of residence has troubled many Hong Kong people. As a person who has come over, I recommend that those who are able, especially friends with stable occupations and incomes in Hong Kong, first consider applying for a bank mortgage in the place of immigration with their income in Hong Kong.
This is because once you resign and leave Hong Kong, unless your existing savings can be purchased without borrowing, even if the savings are relatively rich, but in the absence of a job, local banks generally do not talk about borrowing lightly, let alone foreign countries generally attach great importance to personal credit scores , and it usually takes several years for newcomers to save a good record to obtain a mortgage. Moreover, the immigration put a lot of cash in the "real estate" as soon as they arrived, which really made the property impossible to move!
As for the primary selection of residence, there is no need to say much, parents and friends must take the school network as the primary consideration, the size of the residence or the environment can be slightly compromised, and when the children are slightly older or need to move, because the first property is in hand, the bank approval loan procedures will become more convenient.
In addition, after immigration, we should also pay attention to the need to repair and maintain the residence: in Hong Kong, decoration, maintenance, water and electricity projects and other services are available, and the price is generally rich and frugal; foreign countries are completely different, even if there are related services to provide, one is waiting for time, and the other is scary.
After I moved to Canada, I not only co-organized the oil process and garden tidying up of the residence with my wife, but also took a lot of effort and time to kill the rats without scaring my wife and young children when there were local voles and skunks in the home. Living in a foreign country, even if you can have a mansion of thousands of feet that is difficult to find in Hong Kong, you must be prepared for "one kick" to take care of the housework and tidy up. Looking back, as my life skills improved, I just felt that life was more solid and more quality.
Finally, it is necessary to discuss the travel situation in foreign countries. As the premise goes, unless you live in a big city such as London, driving skills can be described as a must in a sparsely populated foreign country. I also have a lot of driving experience in Hong Kong, but when I first took the transfer license plate test after coming to Canada, I was also a "fat guy".
The reason is that the driving habits of Hong Kong and Canada are different, and they are accustomed to the busy and crowded streets in Hong Kong, and it is easy to ignore the way to give way and overdo it. Therefore, if there is a need to change the license plate in the place of relocation, it is important not to save the tuition fee of finding a local instructor to "make up the clock" in order to familiarize yourself with the local road conditions and rules. On the other hand, couples should have license plates at the same time to facilitate the needs of living and living, and if they need long-distance driving, they can also take turns to replace.
In terms of driving habits at work, driving to work in a foreign country is a trivial matter, but also to get used to commuting distances of tens of kilometers, so when looking for a job, in addition to considering wages and prospects, it is also necessary to budget the time to arrive at the work place (Estimated Travelling Time) in advance, especially to anticipate whether the proposed route will be congested with traffic, and accurately estimate it in a point-to-point manner.
Hong Kong's geographical concept, which usually takes you from home to office within an hour, cannot be copied.
