Here are some of the things those selling Canada (Student recruiters, Canadian High Commission and the glossy Ads) will not tell you

Potential problems:
• There is Brain Waste, i.e. doing jobs that are way below your worth.
• Life is difficult everywhere. The west have their own problems.
• If your experience is in an area such as Management, finance, etc, that is not considered a skills shortage area (e.g. select high tech, some select engineering areas, some select healthcare), you are greatly at a disadvantage when competing with Caucasian for jobs.
  The generally agreed but unspoken rule is:
  you have to be twice as good as a white on a skill to be picked over the white!
• If you are in your middle ages (late 30s and above) and have a family, or holding a senior position in Kenya, expect the possibility of a disrupted career growth and lost networking. Consider lost friendships. Forming close friendships with Westerners is very difficult
• Racism is not dead.
• Fortunes can change just as fast. Remember that the Tech boom was just a couple os years back. Think about this: if things changed and employers had to suddenly carry out layoffs, who do you think would be the first to go?
• Culture shock is real. Fitting in can be a real problem to many foreigners. Westerners have a high sense of individualism. Forming close lasting relationships is very difficult.
• Your kids may find difficulty fitting in: If you are a parent and have school going kids, and they have to attend schools that are mostly white, think about the pressure to fit that your kid is suddenly presented with.
• Too late to move back: If you moved after abandoning your Kenyan job, and realise that things are not working out for you, its normally too late to go back. Possible reasons: fear of being labelled a “failure”, starting again in Kenya can be difficult, tasting the western lifestyle has an addictive effect, etc .

Do you know of other problems that face Kenyan immigrants in Canada that you would like to share with others?

SO, SHOULD I GO?

Despite the potential problems, IF YOU
• are young and/or
• have nothing to loose and/or
• have HIGH risk tolerance AND
• do not care much for your country

GO FOR IT!