As an Immigrant

With so many people in the world migrating to different countries because of wars, political prosecutions and famines, it might be informative to understand how it feels to be an immigrant.

In 2007, I returned to Canada after being 22 years in the United Kingdom. Fortunately, I had someone to come back to (having reconnected with Susan during the final six months away). Instinctively, I knew I would have an uphill battle getting back into the work force, but I never expected to be treated like a foreigner. That was a shock to my Canadian ego.

I suppose it’s slightly similar to the effect of moving to England in 1985. Fortunately, my second wife, Suzann, went 5 months in advance of my arrival, with our two girls in tow, and found us a lovely home to rent in Wokingham, Berkshire. So, I wasn’t having to find us a safe place to live. Also, British banks weren’t interested in hiring a middle-aged banker from Canada, so I had to reinvent myself as a bookkeeper/accounts clerk, by getting hired on as a temp from a temping agency. Fortunately, my banking experience was recognized early on and by autumn of that year, I started full-time employment with a construction company in Bracknell. I stayed with that company until 1989, when the construction industry took a downturn. In the meantime, Suzann and the girls had moved to Torquay and I commuted for three years back and forth to work (home on the weekends, back to Ascot during the week).

After my four year stint, I moved to Torquay to be with the family full time. I then tried my hand at Hypnotherapy, Astrology and whatever else came my way. Then I returned to full-time employment with a construction company in Torquay, in 1993, when I found that the bills weren’t being paid.

I’m going to stop the narrative at this point, because what happened next has been discussed in other posts. Suffice it to say that the highest point of my employment history was the salary I was making in 1989: GBP25,000 per year. I never earned that much again in the UK, and I never came even close to that figure when I returned to Canada. I muddled on through until I retired in 2015. Now I take home more in OAP and CPP than I was earning through those last few years of Canadian employment.

We now live in Midland, Ontario in our own home, which we purchased in 2015.

Who says you can never go back home again?