In this week's episode of Audio Alumni, we introduce you to Stephen Tadgh from Ireland and Jack Strange from the UK. Stephen is a digital content producer with over a decade of experience in broadcast and commercial television projects for a global audience. Jack is a writer and travel content creator. Hear their experiences navigating the nuances of living and working in Vancouver.
CBIE - Jack and Stephen D3 230413
Host: First of all, I wanna say thank you both for joining us today. I think this is a really cool experience that we get to all be in this virtual room together. I've had an incredible opportunity to, like I said, do a bit of a deep dive on both of your backgrounds and how you came to live in Canada and on the beautiful west coast of bc.
Nonetheless. So I'd love to take a minute for each of you to kind of tell us a little bit what inspired you to move to Canada.
Stephen: First of all, Steven, do you wanna go
Jack: first? That is a very good question. So I was working in. Production, uh, and theater in Ireland back from 2013 to about 2016. And I, around 2016, decided that I might be interested in moving to North America, not specifically Canada, and ultimately found myself up, uh, in Los Angeles.
So I was living in Santa Monica for about two years. It was at a time in US history where there was a little bit of, a little bit more conflict than usual politically, and things like visas and things like, uh, green cards and, uh, applications to stay in the country were a little bit more complex than they might have been in the years prior.
So around 2018, I made the decision that, uh, it's not really worth it anymore. The, uh, Money sunk into the two immigration lawyers and visas for the states. The ever-changing nature of what immigration was during those years led me just say, okay, I'm gonna come pack it in and move back to Ireland. Got back to Ireland.
I think within the second day. I was like, oh no, I need to, I need to leave here. Love the country. It will always be my home country, but it's uh, it's just not the place I needed to be right now. So, um, luckily I managed to. Book a job in London. So I found myself over there for a couple of months and upon returning from London then was like, okay, Canada, Canada's where to go.
Had done no research on it whatsoever. I just knew I was one of the lucky few countries that are eligible for the I E C. So the process wasn't gonna be exceptionally difficult, thankfully. And I just decided, let's do it. Let's make Canda happen. Didn't know where I was gonna move to. Didn't know anything about the country really at that point other than, uh, There's maple syrup and you say sorry a lot, and that was all the knowledge I I took with me into this journey at the start.
But very happy that I have actually made the move over since.
Stephen: Yeah, similar sort of thing. So obviously I work in film and TV and that was something I had done since I was 18 years old. And I guess as well, if it sounds bad to say it, but I always kind of pictured myself living that sort of LA lifestyle of here I am in la, I'm a big movie producer, I'm gonna be famous.
Like, that was my like dream when I was much younger and still kind of is my dream. I'm not gonna lie. So I grew up like watching like American television, like Disney Channel and that sort of stuff, and it just always looks so idyllic. And then as you get older and you are looking towards America and very similar looking in the years of that formative period of political, like kind of what Stephen went through, you're kind of looking at it and thinking, Hmm, maybe that isn't where I should be or want to be.
But I knew I wanted to move abroad. I knew I wanted to move to this part of the world. I had never been to Canada before. And then I found out that Vancouver has a thriving film industry and it just kind of felt like a, a no-brainer. It was like, great, you know, there's gonna be work there and there's gonna be a lot of career progress there.
Watched a couple of videos on it. Watch, move into Canada, watch Steven even. And um, it was very much like, great, this feels like a great experience. So very privileged to be. From the uk, from Wales and the UK where we have the I E C Visa for two years and it was a much easier process visa wise. We had looked into the states and it really was not an easy process at all.
It looked impossible. So that's how we, me and my partner, that's how we settled on Vancouver, Canada, cuz it just seemed like a great place to kind of come to and, and work in film and tv, which is great.
Host: Oh, that's wonderful. Now, have you two ever had the opportunity to connect, like Jack, as you mentioned, that you were able to watch part of Steven's journey in some of his videos in coming to Canada.
Since you're both in the same part of Canada, have you been able to connect since
Stephen: you've been here? Yes. We did actually
Jack: we're about two blocks away from each other, right? We are,
Stephen: yeah, yeah, yeah. We're really, really close together. Um, and then, yeah, we met literally like probably two weeks before this podcast.
Yeah.
Host: So absolutely fascinating cuz you both came from. Similar parts of the world, both ended up in Vancouver, you're in similar industries, and both took this fantastic journey to document the whole process of coming to Canada and the process of moving and the visas and everything.
Jack: Well, I think for me, uh, Emily, I was coming with the same idea that Jack had.
Like, I was like, I'm gonna get back into production, film, tv, and the digital content journey started with, uh, who can pay me just to get my sin number and get, get find an apartment? What can I do to make someone pay me while I do all this really boring stuff? And then, You know, we just found there was a bit of a, a bit of a gap in the market as I think Jack, you found as well.
And then next thing you know, I'm making a video once or twice a week about what it's like to live and and move to Canada.
Stephen: Yeah, absolutely. And um, the thing that I found is when I was watching loads of videos of people who have moved over here on an I E C, the videos were great, but every now and again you would want an answer to something.
I just remember thinking I. Well, the way I would do it is I would literally just include everything I can for people like me, cuz I, I just like to know all the details. So coming up with, uh, a YouTube kind of again, felt like a natural progression to do because I wanted to document the fun of it, but I also wanted to help other people.
Move over in some way as well, which is the thing cuz there's so much useful information out there. But sometimes somebody will like, touch upon something and they don't say quite enough. So I wanted, I wanted to be that paranoid person who was like, let's talk about everything that we can talk about. So that's why I set mine up basically.
Host: No, that's fantastic. Now, question for the both of you. What was the most challenging part in that prep process to come over here? Do you
Stephen: know what? Like my I E C Visa process went so, so, so smoothly. It couldn't have gone better. I booked with a immigration officer on the Moving to Canada website recommended from the moving to Canada website.
I'm gonna talk about the moving to Canada website a lot cause I use that a lot. Um, but um, they recommended a great immigration officer or a consultant and I booked with them and she gave me great advice. Um, it was at the end of 2021 and she said, The pools are closed, but you want to get in as soon as possible.
You wanna get in really early. So literally, they opened when I came back from, I'd been in New York when Omicron was raging, the pools opened. I had Covid and the pools opened and I was like, oh, I'm really ill, but I will apply. So I applied, um, for the thing and, and literally, Not even like two weeks later, I had been invited to apply for my Visa, apply for the Visa, and then again the process from applying to the Visa to actually getting my biometrics and getting my police certificate back.
That was January, and I, I was here in March, so it, it went so fast. And you read online all the time about like, sometimes people are waiting in the pool forever and my partner didn't get an invite. Applied at the same time, but didn't get invited until end of March. So I was just really lucky and it, it was such a, a smooth process to get over here on the I E C Visa, which was really good.
Jack: Yeah. And then, uh, my story, a lot of similarities. The obtaining of the, the work permit, the IEC work permit, um, Was very, very a smooth process. Life was what got in the way. So while I was in the pool waiting to get pulled, I met my now current partner. So I had to tell her that we were planning on, well, I was planning on going to Canada two or three weeks into starting a relationship and, uh, you know, what did she want to do?
So that was an interesting one. But, uh, this all happened back in 2019. So, uh, there was a processing time to get out. Yeah, pull from the pool, which was relatively quick, but then my partner entered the pool, said, should come to, and then we're like, okay, well we will go to Canada in April, 2020, which, uh, as we all know now, Was not the best time to go anywhere and, uh, we ended up having to, I think we had to book flights three or four different times.
Uh, we had to request p oe extensions port of entry letter extensions for our I E C permit four or five times. So the actual process of getting the permit, very simple, very easy, very lucky for that side. Covid really made it a very stressful process for. The guts of two years nearly. Yeah. So I think in terms of stressful things or in terms of things that we weren't expecting, that was certainly the big one.
That's
Host: huge. So, okay. There is a lot to unpack here with both of you. Jack, let's start with you cuz there is a lot to unpack with all of these statements. Let's talk about how. Your experience and being separated from your partner while you got settled in, in a brand new country, adjusting the, what the heck you're doing in a new city you've never been in before, and trying to navigate the complexities that come with helping him get over here and then getting settled and the experience of, you know, finding jobs and things like that.
Stephen: Yeah, so, um, like I say, it, it all happened so quickly to the point where you couldn't really stop to think about it, you know, cuz we had to plan so much. We had had our, um, I guess I'm quite an impulsive person and so, you know, I had my visa come through and then I was like, great, let's apply for a job.
And we were so excited about moving here. And um, yeah, I applied for a job basically on a whim, you know, kind of thinking, okay, well. Nothing's gonna happen. And they called me to an interview and then I got the job. And then they said to me, great, can you start in two weeks? And I was a bit like, what? Like you want me to start in two weeks?
And like I tried to go back and kinda say, you know, is there any flexibility? And there wasn't. They needed somebody to start straight away. So my researcher told me, if you move into Vancouver, ideally move with a job because it's. A pricey place to live. And so I was like, well, I'm not gonna give up. I'm not gonna like push that job aside.
Who knows when I'm gonna get one again. So me and my partner spoke about it and, and we knew he would get a visa. It was, there was just something inside us that was like, he's obviously gonna get a visa because our researchers turn this. Yeah. He's gonna get pulled for a visa. So we were just like, it's not ideal that we have to, that I have to move without you, but we know you'll be here in no time at all.
But don't get me wrong, I mean, it was, it was hard to. To leave. I didn't think I would be as emotional as I was when I left, but it was really hard to leave, you know, for him, but for friends and family as well. It was a, that week of like saying goodbye to people was, Really hard. And I remember, um, when he took me to the airport, we were just stood outside.
He threw airport just sobbing because, um, I was about to like just embark on this journey on my own. And he was, I was leaving him behind. I remember I got on the plane at one point and flew and I saw London. I just burst out into tears and Paul girl sat next to me, was probably wondering who the hell she was sitting next to.
Cause I was just sobbing on the plane. So it was hard. It was hard, hard to leave him. But like I said, I couldn't. I couldn't give up on work and you know, I, I booked an Airbnb for two months so I could get on my feet and the idea was great. I'm over there, I can get everything sorted whilst you wait and sort things out back home.
Cause we still had things to ship over, but we still had our cats to bring with us. So it kind of worked out in that sense because he could finish off the loose ends back home. Whilst I could start the process here for us both, so. In hindsight, it was a, it was a good thing, a blessing in disguise. Maybe
Host: watching your videos, first of all, and you can actually see just how much is going on in those videos in that early days of moving of, oh my goodness, I am here and we're trying to get settled and, but I'm doing this by myself and there's so many things still to come to Canada and it's, you really do a fantastic job of capturing the rawness of that whole experience.
One thing that I am curious about is, How was it to be able to bring your animals over with
Stephen: you? Yeah, it was a really easy process actually to bring the cats over with us. Um, and this was the thing as well. There was no option. I literally would not have come if I couldn't have brought the cats. And that was a conversation we had.
Uh, my partner was kind of ready to be like, well, you know, they're cats. And I was like, no, there's no question. So, I couldn't obviously travel with them. We've got three of them and I, I couldn't travel with them on my own and he wouldn't have been able to travel with them either. So in the end, we, um, had to use a shipping company, basically, I think they were called PETA uk.
And it was all basically, we paid for them to do it, put ourselves in debt to do it. We paid for that. And, um, we got them shipped over and they, they dealt with everything, which was. The thing that was great about it, which is why we went for it, because we couldn't be dealing with move into a new country and also doing all the paperwork for getting the cats over here.
So we. We had a credit card and we paid for them to do that for us. And then just thought about the debt later. But the main thing was the cats got here, so,
Host: and the cats have adjusted well to Canadian
Stephen: life. The cats got here and literally I thought they were gonna be like traumatized from the plane. I thought they were gonna be like upset and not talked to us.
They came out with the cages and like, it was like they had always lived here. They didn't care. They were house cats as well. So they're like, oh great. So this is where we are now. Is it? I'm like,
Host: now Steven, let's switch gears into your story a little bit cuz your story's so different that you had this conversation about moving halfway across the world.
You said only a few weeks into dating. And that I think speaks volumes to not only your determination about coming to Canada, but to the strength of your relationship and your
Jack: commitment. I think you might be giving me a little bit more credit, Emily, and not enough credit to my partner who have to put up with me three weeks in saying, Hey, I'm moving.
But it, it was a, a scary time or certainly an overwhelming time to just be kind of what it was. It, the phrase that low will always find you when you're not looking for it. And, uh, certainly wasn't expecting anything to happen. And all of a sudden I met this wonderful person and, uh, I realized fairly quickly that, um, I still wanted to move regardless that the life that I was looking for couldn't be had in my home country at this particular time of my life.
So I said, well, I have to be upfront cuz there's no point stringing someone along for weeks or months on end and then being like, Hey, I'm gonna go. So I just, I said, Hey, um, this is a plan. You know, I have an application in the pool and I hadn't been pulled at that point, but, I had assumed that it was going to be fairly shortly, and she kind of took in the information and, uh, didn't see anything for a long time.
Uh, I think like two or three days. She didn't really talk about it. She kinda just processed it and then came back and said, you know, I've always wondered what Canda. I was like, I was like, all right, cool. We're in. So since then, it's been, uh, since that point then it was like a whirlwind of trying to, uh, find out everything we could about Canada, what we wanted to do.
Because I had said that I wanted to move to Canada. I had forfeited my rice to decide which part of Canada we'd actually move to. So she said Vancouver. I. Googled Vancouver and I saw it looked very pretty and I said, great. Vancouver sounds perfect. So we'll do that. And uh, yeah, we were all, we were all set to go April, 2020.
And, uh, then plans, plans change pretty quickly. She sounds
Host: like an absolutely incredible person for agreeing on after such a short window of time, since both of you navigated this whole process throughout various stages of pandemic. I know. Things have obviously mellowed out at this point, but I mean, who knows what the future holds and what stipulations are gonna be like going forward.
What's your best advice for navigating that aspect of moving during the pandemic and the lockdowns and.
Jack: Oof, all of these wild changes. Advice, advice, I hesitate to give any, uh, advice of value because I feel like Jack, you and I might be very similar in this. I like to be in control of my situation as much as possible and.
Realizing that I had no control over what was going on for that two year period was so frustrating and took so much of my energy and my time that I think sometimes processes and systems have to play out and there's things you can do, you can stay informed and you can know what's going on. I think that's always helpful, but uh, unfortunately, sometimes you just have to wait things out.
And in our situation, we are fortunate enough that Poe start to get extended. Anyone who was in the situation would've appreciated a little bit more information being fed from I r ccc. But, uh, ultimately the POEs were extended for a lot of us, and it allowed us to get here. Linking that need for control, I think was, uh, was the only advice I could really imagine to offer.
Stephen: Yeah, I guess for me, Covid again, I was very fortunate that Covid wasn't really too much of a problem when I, when I got my Visa and when I came over here, um, you know, it was just after the big wave of Omicron by the time I, I had moved here. We were very much kind of at the end of any sort of restrictions or the only thing I had to do really was arrive can, I had to use the Arrive Can app, you know, and put my vaccination records and that sort of stuff.
Uh, wear a mask. They had just literally probably about two weeks before I left, they had just dropped all like masks in the uk and then I had adapted to that in two weeks. And then when I came here we were still wearing masks, which was absolutely fine. So just, it was very little things I had to like readapt to by moving here, but I was just really lucky that.
By the time my visa came in, COVID wasn't really too restricting here. You know, we could meet up with landlords and without any restrictions and I could go into the building and work, and I was lucky with that and pretty much by the time I started like getting into things, I think BC. Pretty much dropped their restrictions around April, may time, maybe even June.
So it wasn't really that much of a, an impact on me, which was good. So, um,
Jack: yeah. Whereas, uh, the first, uh, video that I've done for moving to Canada the very first time, if you ever go back and watch it where I've a big wooden bookcase behind me, I am. Deathly Ill with Covid recording that video because, uh, I caught it two days before my flight was meant to go out.
Uh, my final flight that I was like, we are going on this date. It is happening in November. So I was, I go, well, I have nothing else to do. I may as well record this video now. And, uh, yeah, deathly, deathly Ill recording that one. And I think it was, uh, quite an experience. And then waiting two weeks so I could actually fly out and land in Canada.
Host: And your partner managed to make it on the flight. Okay. And got somewhat settled while you were.
Jack: Recovering. She did. She did. It was, uh, I think similar to, to what Jack was saying, kind of a blessing in disguise that someone was there to deal with some of the logistics of setting things up. We also had booked, uh, an Airbnb for the first two months of our stay.
It's a tough city to find accommodation in, and we didn't, we wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be, uh, left without somewhere to call home for a while. So she came over, she, uh, got to know the city. Got to know the grid system, the grid layout blocks, and uh, was very, very useful. When I landed two weeks later and she was like, we'll go to this coffee shop.
We're gonna go to this restaurant. I'm gonna take you here. It was great. I did not have to do anything. Absolutely wonderful. Send your partners ahead. That's the trick of this whole thing. Send a friend or partner ahead. Let them suss everything out and then. You just land in and just lap it all up?
Stephen: Yes. I would relate more to your girlfriend, I think than
Host: that. Sounds like all those tos you see where you've got, you know, the one person who's super organized has planned all the travel, has budgeted, has coordinated the itineraries, and the person who just shows up at the airport with the bag and says, take me anywhere. Yeah.
Stephen: Yeah, and it's funny cuz I never considered myself to be that much of an organized person, but moving across the country I realized that actually, yeah, I can be organized when I want to be.
Host: I love the way that you're both able to provide, like I said, such interesting perspectives on the whole experience. And it's so cool that you've landed. In the same place and in the same field as well. A bit of a fun question for both of you. What's the most Canadian thing you've done since you've been here?
Because you've both been here about a year or so now. So what's the most Canadian thing you've
Jack: done? Oh, what is the most Canadian thing I've done? I always say that, uh, my year and a bit thus far in Canada has been a lot of me screaming into a camera by myself and I always want to go and experience a bit more of Canada and Canadian culture.
But, um, Jack, you might have to jump in here, man, cause I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Yeah,
Stephen: but I'm, I'm drawing a blank as well because cuz that's the thing that's kind of part of like my experience here is that I've struggled to. Be able to afford and, uh, find the time to properly immerse myself in the culture.
So that's, it's kind of, that's part of my experience here. But I, I guess if you could say this, I mean, I, I got so excited when I saw a raccoon for the first time. I had never seen a raccoon before, and every time I see a raccoon, um, I've been blessed by seeing them more than once now, and every time I still act like I've never seen one before.
This is probably not a great thing to say, but I would, I would kind of like to see a bear, but like from a distance.
Jack: Have you haven't gone up ground smoking yet,
Stephen: have you? I haven't, no. No, I, I, I know I, I, I would wanna see like a, like a properly wild one, I think. Um, oh, okay. Yeah. I'd like to see that. The, the, sadly the only one I saw was when I came, was driving back down from, Whistler and it was, it was on the road.
It, I'd like to say it was sleeping, but I'm not sure. Oh, yeah. That's the only one I've ever seen.
Jack: I think Doc. Might have touched on an interesting point about, uh, barriers of entry of experiencing Canadian things. I also think Vancouver's an interesting cross section of Canadian cities, that it's such a melting pot here, that finding Canadians in itself can be a bit of a novelty at times.
There is so many Kiwis, there's so many British and Irish. The struggle to find a Canadian friend is real. And if anyone is watching this, I would like to be my friend. Please let me know. Uh, I'll accept anyone, but specifically Canadians. The most Canadian. I think I learned how to snowboard over here. That was pretty fun.
That, is that a Canadian thing, Emily? There
Host: you go. Well, anything outdoors in the winter? Yeah, I mean, I would, the first things that popped into my head is just, you know, getting your tongue stuck to a metal pole in the middle of winter, or, um, the maple syrup off of a stick. Um, oh, wow. But, I mean, Vancouver's also not quite as cold as Eastern Canada, so I don't think, I don't think anyone's getting their tongues.
As often
Jack: over there I had the, the, uh, pleasure of trying something called salmon jerky, which I think is quintessentially Canadian. Never had that before. It's an, it's a taste. Or bagged milk. I bought bagged milk, which sounds really, really silly. But I was in Montreal for a, a brief period for, uh, work and I went in and milk is in just plastic bags.
It's, it's wild. Loved it. That was actually a, highlighted my Montreal adventure.
Host: Oh, that's awesome. Now, kind of feeding off of that, what is a tip that you would give yourself or someone else as they get, you know, wound up in the hustle and bustle of living life in Canada, but being able to experience the culture and make Canadian friends like you're saying.
Stephen: I dunno if you can say it, but maybe don't move to Vancouver because it's so hard to find like Canadian friends. It is like you, you're, you're totally right Steven. It, it is like a novelty to actually meet Canadians in Vancouver and I don't know if that's just been because of where our jobs have taken us, but I mean, I don't think I met a Canadian.
For a couple of weeks. I don't know why I, cuz Vancouver's great for like, so much diversity and immigration and people move here all the time. So you see, you just see different walks of life, um, and speak to different types of people, uh, which is, which is fantastic. But yeah, and, and sometimes when I speak to, like when I have met Canadians and speak to them, some people like have literally said to me like, Vancouver is kind of its own sort of thing.
You know, you kind of get a more. Canadian feel when you, when you go out, and I don't know if that's true, but that, that's kind of what I've been told sometimes. So probably not the advice, don't move to Vancouver, like move to Vancouver, but you know what I mean?
Jack: I think mine is a slightly more. Optimistic, um, whether it's misplaced or not, I'm not sure Jack.
Uh, cause I've yet to make many Canadian friends. I do have a friend who ever, who is, uh, in Toronto. He's a Canadian from Toronto. And when I landed, I remember calling him up and his name is Cooper and I was like, Cooper. What is wrong? Like Canadians just, they're like leprechauns, they're not here. You can't find them anywhere in this very thick Toronto accent that I am not going to try and mimic right now.
Cause I'll get absolutely abused. He was like, well, do you, how do you make friends back home? Or how did you make friends as a kid? He's like, you just went to the same place again and again and again and got to know people that went to the same place as well. And eventually you start realizing whether you like each other or not.
And I think that's been, um, A little bit eye-opening for me that like, okay, well if I keep going to the same places and I keep seeing the same people and I'm a little bit more, uh, proactive in approaching people and saying hello without being weird, without being a creep, then there's a potential to, to have some kind of friendship.
And I think that's my biggest advice for anyone looking to move over. It can be tough to find your people over here. And I know my partner and I moved with the expectations that we wouldn't just stick with Irish people, that we would branch out. Uh, we haven't been very successful, but we keep trying.
We're, we're optimists, but book clubs, you know, uh, in Vancouver. Hiking clubs, uh, morning run clubs. There's so many different things. You can join a lot for free. Some you do have to pay for sure, and the cost might be prohibitive to you actually joining, but find the things you like to do or you think you might like to do, and give them a shot and be willing to meet some strange people.
But everyone's just trying to get to know each other and get along. I think that's kind of a, a weird. Dichotomy with living in Vancouver. Like everyone wants to have friends, everyone wants to have a group of people, but very few people seem to be reaching out to each other. Uh, and I think it makes for a potentially a very lonely city.
So if you're willing to be the one to reach out, I think you'll, you'll find a. A little bit in return. Wonderful
Host: advice in general in terms of trying to make friends as an adult. Yes. Because whether you're in a new country or not wanna make friends as an adult is a heck of a ride.
Jack: I think that's something that, um, when people move over to Canada or to anywhere, like, like we're saying, so usually they're moving over mid twenties, late twenties, usually.
That's kind of the demographic we're talking about, particularly through the IEC and, uh, When you think about the people that you went to college with, the people that you went to school with, or the people that you've, you've lived with your whole life and you're like, well, that's your people and that's, you have, and if you've imagined someone coming into your community who's just kind of in there and working and living, what is the onus to go and make friends with them straight away?
You can absolutely be polite and civil, but like to be a friend with someone is a different, uh, a different level of, uh, of relationship. And I think that's something that we've spoken about in our social circles quite a bit of like, well, You know, why would someone on the street casually just want to be your friend?
You're just meeting them for the first time you, there's a consistency that needs to be put in play.
Stephen: Yeah. I think advice that I might give to people moving here as well is, is to get to know, Canada get to know the area you're, you are in, you know, get to understand the history, um, people's history, people's stories.
Because I think, cuz then you're gonna come in with a completely different mindset. And I guess as well change your mindset to embrace the culture you'll go into. It's not going to be exactly the same culture that you've had back home. And so you need to immerse yourself in that culture so you Right. Go, go to book clubs or go to yoga classes and, you know, anything like that.
But just like speak to people you know, and, and, Maybe even go in with the mindset of, I'm just gonna speak to this person. It doesn't have to be long-term friendship. We don't have to be best friends, but let's just speak. And you never know. You, you will find common ground, but you'll also find a way of learning about people and learn about what people like and learn about what they don't like.
You know, I, I think that's important to remember as well that you'll, you'll come to a place, so respect the people that you've, You you're coming to live with. Cause they've been here a lot longer than you. No, that's
Host: absolutely fantastic advice from both of you. Um, my next question is, what's a piece of advice you'd give for someone who's trying to combat that loneliness and find those little reminders of home, especially in that first transition
Jack: year?
Yeah, I think, um, having gone through the pandemic, some of the. Pain points might be less painful because we've all grown accustomed to video calls and chats and other things. So I think that's taken a sting where the sting might not, might have been a bit harder beforehand. All that being said, and, and Jack and I have spoken about this before, I think loneliness in isolation can be some of the, the most surprising and most, uh, debilitating things that you, you can.
Meet in your first year, not to carry down a different direction, but I think you just have to understand that everyone's going through it. There is, if it ever gets serious or even if it's mildly serious, there's people you can talk to and resources there. Realistically, you're trying to build a whole new support network in a different country.
Uh, sometimes with time zones apart, people living different lives. It's one of the less talked about and less glamorous points of moving to a new country and. There's no real easy answer other than just keep trying to put yourself out there and find a new community that you can insert yourself in or, or build out of nowhere, I guess to be proactive.
I know it's tough, I know it's really scary, but you will be the better for it ultimately.
Stephen: Absolutely. Cuz that's the thing. You are coming to a place where you aren't gonna know anybody and you're not going to know what the place is like if you've never been here before. Like both of us, we, we hadn't been here before, so we, you know, weren't knowing what to expect.
And, and that's why I think it's so important. You are not gonna realize how tough it is until you're actually here. You have a preconception and then I, a preconceived idea of how. You're going to feel, and you know you're gonna miss people back home, but you think you're gonna be having the best life ever and you think everything's gonna be okay and the loneliness does set in.
You're absolutely right. That is something that just doesn't get talked about enough. When you're move to a brand new place, you know that loneliness will set in. You will miss people. You will have days, weeks, even of thinking, have I done the right thing? Should, why have I done this? You know, maybe I should just get on a plane and just go back home.
But the important thing about that is again, It's going to teach you so much about yourself. You are gonna learn so much about yourself, and it's gonna be a great experience for you. And I think as well, what's great about that, it's so important that when you're feeling like that, sit with those feelings, understand why you are feeling that way, but ultimately go out and, and embrace what's around you.
If you, if you, if you have that, you know that option to do it. Make sure you're doing that. Go and speak to people if you're feeling lonely, don't be afraid to just say to them, oh, it's, it's been a little bit lonely. You know? Cuz when I came over here, my job, a lot of people were working remotely and when I eventually met somebody, I was just honest with them.
She was planning to go out and do some friend friendships things and I said, I missed that. You know, I missed having that sort of, Support network and she was really great and she invited me to it. So it's, it's going to happen if you, if you, if you're just being honest and speaking and just sharing your experience, people will be there for you and they will, they'll help you in any way they can.
The Canadians really do fit that stereotype of being very kind.
Jack: I think also, just to jump off a little bit on what Jack's saying, sometimes Canda isn't for everyone. To be fair as well. Like sometimes people are just like, you know what? We've tried it. It's actually not, we thought and not what we want to keep.
And that's fine. And sometimes it's even simpler again that like the city you chose might not be the right place. Like it's the second biggest landmass in the world. There is so much variation in culture and people and identities across this country that to align the place you landed with Canada as a whole.
Might be detrimental to a potentially very enjoyable, very positive experience. So, you know, if you have the means, if you have the desire, maybe try somewhere else. You know, there's, there's nothing wrong and ultimately there's, there's nothing wrong moving home. If you're like, it's not for me. I think Jack and I can both attest you.
Try and put yourself out there. Try and, and go for it and immerse yourself in it. Thank you
Host: both for being so absolutely candid, because I think you both made a very valid point that. That loneliness in the transition isn't something that people talk about because you go into it with all this optimism and all this excitement and just the adrenaline rush of going through the motions that you forget.
There is this whole process of you've left your support network behind and. Video calls can only do so much.
Jack: Emily, I had an existential crisis when my, my nephew did not recognize me on a video call like last, last month. I was like, what have I done? Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, he was one when, when I, when I left, he's two now, and he doesn't realize who I am.
And you're kind of having these moments like, oh wow. Everyone I have known in that way throughout my life is still back home. So it's a strange feeling.
Host: I'm sorry that he didn't recognize you, but hopefully once you got on the call and he realized, you know, it clicked a little bit
Jack: after I, I think when he, uh, when he gets his, his toys for his, his birthday presents with, uh, my face over like blankets and socks and like I'll imprint it on him as he is not gonna forget.
Quickly, I'll be, I'll be a, I'll be some childhood trauma firm in the future.
Host: You know what? At least it's memorable.
Jack: Exactly. No, this
Host: is fantastic. I wanna say thank you both so much for being so vulnerable to actually share your experiences online, the way you have, like putting your emotions out in the YouTube channel and creating an avenue not only for other people who may be looking to do the same thing you're doing, but also kind of building a support network.
Network of other people that might come into Vancouver and say, Hey, I recognize this person I saw online. Let's figure out how to connect with them. I think that is so powerful to be able to do that for other people and to do that for yourself.
Jack: Well, ultimately that's how I, I ended up connecting with Jack was, uh, someone sent me an article and said, uh, Hey, this guy's in Vancouver.
And then I, Jack, did I reach out to your Instagram? I like, Hey, yeah, you did. Let's, let's have a coffee. Yeah. I, I was the weirdo who was like, Hey, let's, let's meet up. And Jack, Jack was very lovely and very kind and said yes. Uh,
Stephen: so yeah. Yeah, and that's the great thing by doing my YouTube channel. My, my hope to do that was just to help people moving over because there's a lot to consider, a lot to think about.
I also wanted to show a very authentic side of it. I wanted to show things that might have gone wrong, or things that didn't work out or worked out greatly. You know, I wanted to share that as well. And the best thing that I. That I've had from that is meeting people who have watched the videos and you know, like for example, I met up with somebody recently who they had been watching my videos from last year.
They moved over in January. I met up with them for a coffee and then like people on Instagram send me a little message just to ask a question about something. So if there's a way that I can speak to people or help them or just ease a bit of stress, that's why I'm glad that those videos are able to do.
Um, which is exactly why. Why I did them, because I was a very stressed person when I was moving over. So if I can help somebody else feel less stressed, that's the, that's the main thing.
Host: For anyone who's listening, who now wants to go and do a deep dive down these YouTube channels and Instagram accounts that we've been talking about for the last half hour or so, um, can you tell people what's the best avenue to connect with you?
Stephen: Yes. So, um, on YouTube, my name is just Under Jack Strange. Um, and you might find things like moving to Canada in three months or something like that. That was the title I went with. As for my Instagram, it's um, Jack in Vancouver, and my TikTok is Jack in Vancouver. Because it wouldn't allow, allow me to use anything longer.
Jack: Yeah. And, uh, I am now, uh, working with a company called Moving to Canada. So the main website is called Moving to canada.com. Uh, it provides a lot of resources for people looking to move anywhere in the country, as well as some personalized checklists that if you go on. It can give you like step by step guides about how you can access work permits or, uh, permanent residency, as well as other immigration programs.
If you want to see me, uh, in my silliest though, the YouTube channel is certainly the best place to find it. It's, uh, just moving to Canada, uh, to the number two. We'll bring up the page and, uh, we, we try and publish at least one video a week at the moment, going up to a, a two video week schedule very shortly.
And then same moving to Canada, you'll find it on, on Instagram, TikTok, it's always gonna be the same. Moving to number two. And Canada,
Stephen: honestly though, like for advice moving to Canada, like a hundred percent use that because I, I was, that was like my Bible moving over. They gave you resources on completely redoing your CV because that's something to consider.
You know, your CV is very different. A British CV is gonna be different from a Canadian one. You wouldn't even even thought about that. Um, so honestly, like, I'm not just saying this, but moving to Canada. Use it because it, it was, without that, I don't think I would've
Jack: moved. Here, I'll give you the 20 books.
Uh, thanks. Yeah, thanks. Thanks, thanks
Stephen: very much. Yeah.
Host: All right. So now that we have, you gave me that little snippet about how your CV had to be totally restructured to apply for jobs in Canada and. What did that look like? What did that process look like of transitioning your CV and being able to apply for jobs and how is the job application process
Stephen: different?
Yes, there's a lot of differences that you, you just wouldn't have considered. So for example, the, like a British CV is very much kind of like, at least for my cv, working in film and tv. It might be different depending on where, where you're at, but, For my British cv, it's a bit more kind of like, here are my skills, da da da da da.
Like, you know, and, and that, that sort of thing. You don't really need to give examples of how you've used those skills or talk through those skills or anything like that. And then you send it off and hopefully you get the job and you hear, hear something back. The difference that I've found here, uh, in Canada is that when you are doing that cbe.
You need to go into a bit more depth. And again, I don't know if this is totally the experience for everyone, but this is just my experience of that. You need to go a bit more in depth with your CV in the sense that you need to give examples of how you use those skills to apply to that job. So if I, if I think now back to, so video editing work.
Instead of saying, Hey, I use Premier Pro and I understand this codec or whatever, I'd be like, this scenario came up, been working. This is how I use the software to fix that scenario. Or, or something along those lines. It's kind of getting your mind around how you are going to apply yourself. Much differently to the jobs.
And if I can kind of speak for my partner here, when he's done his CV and he's been invited to interviews, a difference that we had back home to here is that there are, there are a couple more stages to the interview. You kind of, most of the time back home, In the uk you will get invited to an interview and you just have the one interview for him.
He had like two or three interviews a lot of the times and sometimes even being set like tasked to do. And those were little things that we didn't have to do back home. So there's a lot, lot more to it here, I find. But then for me, my experience was great cuz I, I applied for my CV just for one interview and off I went.
Um, so, so I really, it kind of depends on what you're going into,
Jack: I guess. Yeah. I'll, I'll add to that Jack as well that, uh, The biggest shock resumes aside and CVS aside, the amount of steps to secure a job in Canada is, it's absolutely baffling, you know, for jobs that I, I don't like to say the word unskilled cause I think that's a very subjective term and, and can be quite derogatory, but jobs that do not require a massive amount of knowledge of how to do them.
You learn on the job. That's what the jobs are. You go in, you can learn how to do them. In there, 4, 5, 6 rounds of interviews that can sometimes go on months and while you're landing and trying to get a job to pay rent and pay your groceries. It can be a very frustrating process. And I think, Jack, you did it a very clever way, uh, getting a job beforehand because I was, I was still freelance when I was doing my videos with moving to Canada to start and I was working freelance when I landed in Canada when I started 2022.
So, uh, It was always that kind of case of, of, for me, pitching, still working in that, that realm and, and seeing my partner go through the process of kind of more conventional job application and seeing her go through four or five rounds of interviews for office admin type roles that we would be more familiar with.
Maybe one or two Maxs, uh, back in Ireland, uh, proc, uh, interview, uh, invitations. So I think that was something that we weren't expecting. And ultimately what ended up happening was, uh, a friend we met, vouch for, and the manager called her a friend, vouched for on the Thursday. The manager called her on a Friday morning and the manager offered the job on the Friday afternoon.
So, uh, you know, very lucky on our side. But if, if that's the, the market and the way out there, I think come with the expectation, you're gonna have to put in a bit of a slog and, uh, a bank account that's able to support that is, is a very big piece of advice.
Stephen: Yeah. And again, just from my partner's perspective, he hasn't found any work.
Like he, he hasn't found any work at all. And he's tried. He's tried very hard to find the work and it is just not happening. And again, I think that's, you touched upon it with this, if you wanna call it unskilled work, which they do call it. But when you are, when you're coming over here on that visa process and your idea is to get permanent residency, You don't wanna be wasting time in a job that won't qualify you at all for those points for permanent residency.
So he had that sort of struggle. Like he could have easily gone out and got bar staff work or, you know, worked, worked somewhere like that in a shop or something like that. Um, again, and they do come with the skills, but on the Visa application, That wouldn't have meant anything. And also, you know, he's got experience in film and tv.
He wants to work in film and tv, you know, and he, he had experience before in admin. He wanted to work in admin, applied for all those jobs, and nothing came through that. This is why I, I would a hundred percent advocate before you move over here. Try and get a job, try and get work lined up. That's been a massive shape in our experience.
We would've never expected him not to have found work that would've helped for our permanent residency points and our experience of living here. So this is why I just think it's so important to have that job lined up if you can. Uh, if you don't, the guy I mentioned that I had met up with from Instagram in January, he came over here without work and he managed to find work because he joined an agency and the agency found him work.
So, If that happens, then there's, there's options to find the work. So they are available to you. But just bear that in
Jack: mind. Just to interject very quickly, Jack is very much underselling himself here. Getting a job as a newcomer in this country before you land is difficult and Jack should. Absolutely be very proud of the fact he was able to grab one at all.
Canadian experience, uh, is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot amongst, uh, immigrants in the country or certainly in Vancouver. I can't speak for the whole country and it, it holds so much weight here. I mean, yes, if you can get a job before you land, amazing. Great. But it, Jack, you are one of the few I've ever heard that have managed to do it particularly in the field that you wanted to be in.
Stephen: Yeah, no, I'm, I'm, that's the thing, I'm, I'm so lucky with how my, my visa went. I, I am so lucky about that. I'm, I'm really glad to have, have had that, cuz yeah, it would've been a very different experience otherwise. But then, you know, they do talk about Canadian experience and how much weight that is. When we went to do our permanent residency points, I, I was still way below the, the express entry draws.
Even with a year of Canadian work experience, sometimes it's kind of a bit like, What else am I meant to do? Uh, but that's a separate, that's a separate issue. A separate story, but yeah. Yeah. I, I, a hundred percent like, I'm so, so lucky to have found a job before I got here. All
Host: right, so as we get closer to the end, we've got a couple more questions to go through cuz this conversation has been fantastic and I think you've both done such an incredible job of framing what it means to come to Canada on a little bit of a whim.
But, you know, a lot of pre-planning obviously goes into it as well, so, What advice would you give for someone else who's looking to have that international experience while understanding how this has shifted your own perspective of the world and what you want out of your life now that you're moving towards that permanent residency status?
Jack: I think one of the, Most surprising key takeaways for me moving to Canada is that what I do now, I would not be able to do in Ireland. The work I do does not exist to create digital content is not a field that you would be able to support yourself in back home. It is growing field across the whole world.
I think that's, that's something we can all see with the, the rise of social media apps and influencer marketing and everything else, but. It seems to be more established in Canada or in North America. So the fact that I have found work in this field, uh, surprised even me, I was not expecting it and I certainly wasn't expecting to be in front of the camera again cuz I used to be years and years ago.
I used to work in, in that line of work and went behind the camera for a myriad of reasons and didn't expect to come back out. I thought it was gonna be a little gremlin behind who just stayed in the dark. And all of a sudden I'm back in front, uh, every week. So I think that was one thing that that really surprised me, and I'm very, very, very grateful for.
It's been an amazing experience thus far to be able to share the story, my own story, as well as, uh, help other people with their moves. So I think that was, that was one of the things that. Was huge for me. That changed drastically when I made the move over. In terms of advice though, it's a slight contradiction as I feel most of my answers to this conversation have been.
I was like, here's one side, here's the other. Look. I think everyone's journey. To come to live and work in Canada is individual. And while we can all share similarities in certain parts of it, don't take what someone else is saying as a hundred percent how that journey's gonna be for you. And that can be something as simple as the forms they fill out might be different.
Possibly that can happen or it could be something, uh, a little bit more. Philosophical in the sense of like their social media portraying them living this amazing life. Every weekend might not be the life that you have. Not saying that you won't have a great time, but everyone is, everyone's experience is gonna be so different that focus on.
Making the experience your own and not about what other people are showing you. I think that's the one kind of takeaway that I always put out into the world whenever I'm talking to people about making the move over here and they're interested in it. Yeah,
Stephen: I a hundred percent echo that. I was very much out of that mindset where I saw so many.
Stories and videos and photos of people having this great experience, I thought, great. You know, I'm, I'm going to experience that as well. I can't wait to experience that as well. Yeah, I knew my experience would be different because it's natural that things are gonna be different, but I thought I would be getting the benefits of it as well.
And my experience has been completely different from what I've seen online and it's, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all because it's. It teaches you a lot about yourself. Like I said before, it teaches you a lot about what you want from life and what you want from your career and what you want in general.
And I think as well that it's given me perspective on what I had and what I've got here and things that I would want going forwards. And that's why I've found this so beneficial cuz I will never regret moving here because it's been teaches you a lot. As for. Jobs. It kind of echoes what you said, Steven, in the, in the sense that there's opportunity in Vancouver, there's opportunity in Canada, and I really, I really feel that, I really see that I see much more progress here than I did back home.
And I mean, I saw that straight away when I got over here. I was working for an animation studio on a program for Disney. I would've never got that back home where I was living. I would've never worked on a program like that. In some ways I kind of wish that experience went different because I basically ended up in exactly the same place I was back home.
Uh, but again, you can't account for that because things change. Things happen and that's, that's kind of what comes from it. But you'll learn a lot, I think. I think that's kind of what I'm trying to say. You'll learn a lot if things don't go the way you expected. Again, it's this control thing that we touched upon.
You can't always have control of the situation. You can't always have control of your narrative. It's just not going to happen. So, um, if things change, don't be afraid. Don't think things have gone wrong. Don't think everything's falling apart. Adapt and change. Go with the flow and see where it takes you cuz that that's also part of the fun.
That's also part of the adventure and moving somewhere completely new. You will become a different person and you will go somewhere that you would've never even thought you were gonna go. That's why I'll never regret it.
Host: Now, have either of you had an opportunity to go back home since you've
moved
Stephen: here?
No,
Jack: I haven't. I haven't. And, um, one of the first friends we've met when we landed very casually mentioned that it would take six months to a year to get settled, but like, financially, mentally, everything. And at the time I, I was like, oh yeah, sure. I believe that, and having done a year, I'm like, oh yeah.
Like at least, at least a year to feel settled in this, in this country, in this, in this city. For sure. Hopefully we'll be making a trip back sometime this year. Hopefully won't have the immigration sickness. I believe it's colloquially cold where you come back. After visiting your home country and you feel all the pangs of wanting to move back home, but have to remind yourself that actually you just saw the best part of it for a week or two weeks, and if you live there, it'd be a very different experience.
So yeah, looking forward to all that down the line. Uh, as I plan to stay in this country for as long as it'll let me. Yeah,
Stephen: so we made the decision to, to move back home in April, and that's because of just the way our experience has gone wasn't how we thought it was gonna be cuz we couldn't account for what happened whilst we were here.
And again, it's unfortunate that it's gone that way, but the, the reason it's gone that way is, you know, my partner hasn't found work and it's, it's been a financial struggle on us living here. So I think. The thing about that is we will move back home. And I have trepidation about moving back home because I remember why I moved here in the first place.
I remember why I wanted to move here, and until then, I don't know how we'll feel if you do move here and you've chosen a place to live in Canada and it doesn't feel right and you move, you move back home. You haven't failed in any way, and it doesn't mean anything's gone wrong. What it does mean though is that you've tried something.
And it didn't work out the way you thought it was gonna be, but you will learn from it. And also that year or two year of Canadian work experience that you get is gonna mean so much that if you do change your mind, you still have an opportunity. To come back in some capacity there will, there will always be something available to you so don't, don't feel like you've failed in any way if something does change or go go awry in some way.
Host: Thank you so much for your candidness with both of those answers, cuz I'd be very curious to touch base after you've had that experience of being able to move back to Wales or being able to have that experience of going to visit Ireland. And how that shifts your whole perspective of the international experience when you get settled in.
Because Steven, like you said, that you know, you go and you get to see the best parts of your family in the country for a few weeks and then come back and there is all these feelings to process and to work through and to understand. And again, that's not something that we talk about a lot. And Jack on your end, it's understanding how having an international experience and go and then going home, how that enriches your life and how that changes your perspective on what you want, you know, as you plan what's next.
So I think that'll be a really interesting to be able to continue watching both of your journeys and maybe have a follow-up conversation down the line.
Stephen: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's like, um, you know, for example with the YouTube stuff is even though I'm moving back home, I'm still gonna share that experience because you, you don't know where life's gonna take you.
So for all, for all I know, we could move back and yeah, two, three months in, we're like, oh my God, why did we do this? Why have we, you know, why have we moved back home and then, you know, we moved back or something. So yeah, that would be an interesting. Discussion.
I
Jack: think, I mean on, on a slightly separate note, Jack, all those feelings about like, am I making the right decision?
Should I stick it out? What, what will happen when I go back? Had them all, when I left the states and left LA I was certain that I was gonna be a Santa Monica man for the rest of my life. Short-lived. Yeah, the opportunities come and go in life, but, uh, you gotta do what's right for you at the end of the day.
Host: No, thank you so much. I can't say this enough for being so honest and having, being able to express things that, you know, you don't see behind those rose-colored glasses when you're just, You know, seeing those Instagram accounts or those TikTok accounts where people are having these incredible experiences and you're daydreaming and you don't realize there is so much that goes into that and that it may not be all it's cracked up to be, and you may have to shift your perspective, but overall, you've given yourself an incredible richness in an ability to see the world from a different
Stephen: perspective.
Yeah, absolutely. And, and. This is the thing, like if things go wrong, your home is always going to be there. You know, you are always, if things don't work out, you're not gonna be stuck anywhere. I mean, you know, once your visa's over, you have to leave anyway, so you don't have to worry so much about that.
You know, if things do change, just adapt. And if things, if you haven't adapted, or if things haven't gone the way you thought they were gonna go, okay, that's okay. That's okay. It's, it's, it's gonna happen and there'll be support wherever you go and there'll still be support when you go back home too. If you go back home, I should say
Jack: also just, just because I'm doing this, the whole chat, so why not do it now?
Again, what we see on social media, we also do at home to it ourselves as well. Like people out having the best times, going to hotels, traveling mimosas for brunch. It's not, uh, exclusive to people who are making the move across, so just keeping that healthy skepticism. At all times. You know, you, you will have good moments here.
I, I think Jack, even you would, were able to say like, yes, there's some great times that you can have sitting and watching fireworks on Sunset Beach, uh, over Vancouver. Phenomenal. So, you know, come at it with skepticism. There's a reality behind it all, but it also doesn't mean the reality is all doom and gloom.
Yeah, absolutely.
Stephen: Yeah, it's definitely, it's definitely not doom and gloom. There's been a, you will have great experiences here it, and again, experiences you wouldn't have got back home. So I would a hundred percent advocate for if you have an opportunity to move abroad and to move to Canada, do it because you know you were gonna, you'll experience
Host: a lot.
Thank you so much. Um, we have covered quite a bit of information and I very much look forward to following along with both of your journeys because you like. I've said this before, but I'll repeat myself because you two have both done such an incredible job of putting yourselves out there to show the realism of the experience and the whole process of moving to a foreign country and what that entails.
And now to be able to see that next step, especially Jack, as you transition into, you know, a country that you haven't lived in for a while, I think. That's a really neat perspective to have, so I'm so excited to follow along with the rest of your journey.