Emigration Q & A

Q:  Why Canada?

A:  I sometimes find this a bit hard to answer... probably because there isn't one straight answer.  There are 5 main countries that most South Africans emigrate to:  the UK, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.  The UK is out - as much as I loved visiting England, and am quite proud of my English/Irish heritage, we wouldn't like to live there or raise our children there.  Australia is probably the most popular country to go to, but it leaves us cold.  We don't like the accent and have no real interest in it.  NZ is too small for us, and the accent even worse ;-)  which leaves the US and Canada.  We thought for many years about the US and almost went in 2000, but it isn't that easy to get in, and there are things we don't like about it.  Mainly the political scene lately (Barack Obama... ) and, well, we just prefer the sound of Canada - it's not that populated, quiet, stable, seem to just get on with their lives and all the South Africans we know there are very happy.  A lot of prayer went into our decision, and we've had confirmation about it.

Q:  Where in Canada will you be going?

A:  That will depend on where Malcolm gets work.  Vancouver will be our first choice - we know several families there, and there is a church there that we would be very happy to attend.  Calgary would probably be our second choice, and Toronto third.  We are praying very hard and asking the Lord to guide our path.  He knows where He wants us, and where we will be happy. 

(If we do go to Vancouver... Julie G - I hope we'll be able to visit!!  And EMichelle - don't you also live close by??)

Q:  How do the children feel about the move?

A:  They are excited!!  They can't wait to see snow, not to mention try snowboarding and toboganning and all the other things we only dream of here...  They are a bit concerned about leaving family behind, as well as the friends they have here, but would rather move than stay.

Q:  What about your families??

A:  This is very hard!!  It comes down to making a decision for our chidren's future.  Leaving our families behind here makes us very sad, especially for my parents who will have both children overseas.  This is our last chance to emigrate though, because of Malcolm's age, and we feel we have to take it.  Also, if things here ever got really bad, at least our families would be able to flee the country and come to us.  If we were all here, where would we go??  We hope they will come and visit us.  Canada has made it harder for new immigrants to bring their parents over.  I also don't know if my parents would want to make the move...

Q:  Have we always lived in South Africa?

A:  Yes, we're 2nd/3rd/4th generation South Africans by birth.  My mother's father was born in England and my mother has a British Passport.  My father's father was born in India when it was a British Colony.  The other grandparents and great-grandparents were all born here.  I did write a post about this about two years ago, but can't seem to find it to link it in. :-/


Any more questions?