stevesegkay:
Hi hayor2014,

Your posts has been helpful to me.

I would like to connect with you. I trust it would be a blessing.

Can PM you please?

I would be writing CIA Part 3 in a couple of days. Also hope to write CISA as soon as possiblypracticable once I land in mid-March.

Many thanks.

godG:


Yas! Fellow Midwesterner, thank you! Please ask here if it won't violate any privacy concern.

Orange1234:
As in ehn. When's your AOR? I'm already tired of waiting. Just praying AVO releases PPR this January. chei

stevesegkay:
Hi, ladystone

Although I'm not a Calgary yet but let me try contribute to your enquiry based on guidance I have received from wonderful elders/seniors.

I would suggest you consider Calgary South West/Downtown first for ease of movement/getting public transport to place you may want to go as a newcomer. South East possibly your second best but it depends - some place there are far too.

Calgary North West is not really advisable for a newcomer as it's a new, though fast developing area and it might not be that easy getting public transport to places you need to be.

Calgary North East - nothing to say about this except that I once read that some neighbourhoods there are particularly notorious in a negative sense and newcomers moving around at night in those neighbourhoods?


I lived in Calgary Northeast for over 2years after moving from SW. If you avoid areas like Sunridge, Rundle, Malborough and Embrace more Saddletowne, Taradale, Falconridge, you should be fine. Personally lived few blocks away form Saddletowne station and worked late into the night, not for once did i get harassed.

NB: Experienced Calgarians, please correct me, if any wrong notion in this post

SchwarzMann:
What about someome who obtained a Nigerian driver's license in march 2019 and planning to land March 2020, must such person also start from scratch in Canada ?

DexterousOne:


It's actually worth it.

Especially for your kids

They will have both passports and can settle anywhere

stevesegkay:
Hi hayor2014,

Your posts has been helpful to me.

I would like to connect with you. I trust it would be a blessing.

Can PM you please?

I would be writing CIA Part 3 in a couple of days. Also hope to write CISA as soon as possiblypracticable once I land in mid-March.

Many thanks.

Issyman:
Hi, Please can you share the study materials with me. Can I send you a PM?

hayor2014:


Talking of passports, mine would soon expire oooo..
I live in Calgary, what is the process to get the naija passport renewed, I am seriously considering using only the Canadian passport when i turn citizen of this great country

Ginomel:
Sorry for my question please.

I am processing my entry into Canada. But from my reading here, it seems like even in Canada one goes through stress.

Is it a case of one stress in naija (security, power, etc) to another stress in Canada (Cold, expenses, taxes etc)

I am beginning to wonder if the relocation to Canada worth it.

Someone should tell me the truth please

19CannyMum:


My brother or sister truth be told, it's not worth it at all. Please stay in Nigeria.

It's only worth it for those that don't have doubts. If you know you're having doubts don't bother at all. The stress here is too much, life is hard etc. Even the air we're breathing is taxed. Please just stay in naija and be managing the small small stress there, it's nothing compared to canada stress.

Jesusbabygirl:
Lol. Thanks, I don't think my questions will violate any privacy rules. So my questions are:
1. Did you soft-land?
Yes.

2a. If yes, what visa category are you on in the US I'm on F1 (I am on OPT, which goes till 2022, so since i have a job in the US, I would like to keep working here and looking for a job in Canada and/or writing professional exams that will help me when I get there, so I really need to softland.

This sounds exactly like my plan. All the soft-landing stories I have really seen are people on H1B).

There is nothing like "soft-landing," really. Landing is landing, whether "soft" or "hard". Just go there like every traveler and tell the officer you are in Canada to establish residency. People just like to complicate things unnecessarily.

The most important thing is to ensure that you meet the residency requirement of your PR. How soon you travel is nobody's business.

I was asked only two questions (whether I have any criminal record and whether some goods would follow... all through the process.

2b. If you are on OPT, can you share your soft-landing experience? I am most concerned about documents to show, if I can soft-land on a weekend, How you are handling getting your PR card, etc.

I'm not on OPT, but the experience was smooth. No one asked me anything about my status in the US. They just wanted to see my COPR and passport. That was it. The whole thing took me between 15 - 20 minutes. You have nothing to worry about.


Don't hesitate to let me know if you have further questions. Good luck and God bless you.

Thanks.

pejuhazel:
This is my long overdue landing gist, landed on the 28th of December and typed it some days after. Several things have happened since then but still, here goes...
Landing gist
The weeks before leaving Nigeria was very hectic cos we had to move out of our house in Abuja to stay at my dad's. We arrived Lagos on the 15th so we can spend xmas with families on both sides and finalise our shopping and packing, so I had to rush everything cos we were going to my parents house in mowe on the 22nd and stay there till xmas. The day after we landed in Lagos my daughter became ill, high fever and purging, she got better after some days only for it to start again the day we got to my parents house. Tried everything and she wasn't getting better and the stress of caring for her and packing for our trip got to me as well, I had a terrible cough that ended with me losing my voice on xmas day. My daughter started getting better on xmas and that was timely cos our flight was on the 27th.
Days before our departure I noticed that one of our boxes weighed 28kg even though it was mostly empty, so I weighed the box on it's own and it was 6kg, I was upset cos this was a day before departure so I decided to use a GMG instead, since it was mostly hair extensions and foodstuff that was in the box. D-day arrived and it was time to leave the house that was when village people struck as we were loading our bags, the GMG started tearing, we decided to manage it since we planned to wrap all our bags. We got to the airport around 10:45 and as we were entering the departure hall, our GMG fell apart!!! Everything in it spilled, my husband had to rush ti go get a new one while everything was on the floor, he got one for 2k and it wasn't even as big as the torn one but we were desperate. We had to repack, after we were done was when the agric guys came, I didnt part with dime. Our bags were weighed and 2 of our 6 bags weighed 30 and 26 but they didnt disturb or ask for anything, my husband was in a very generous mood because he kept dashing all the customs people money and it was paining me. Our flight left some minutes earlier than scheduled and landed early, intact the entire trip was uneventful and fast we landed in Toronto 30mins before our scheduled arrival. My daughter slept through most of the journey, customs and everything was smooth but we were unable to do our SIN because we landed 7am on a Saturday. As we landed in Toronto, our host (my husbands friend) called and told us his wife had gone into labour, we started panicking because we had no idea how it would affect our accommodation with them but everything was resolved as she had the baby not long after we landed in Calgary. We've found an apartment, going to sign the lease today as well as open our bank accounts, get our SIN and sim/ health cards. We are excited to be here and can't wait to discover all that Canada/Calgary has to offer.
We moved into our place at auburn bay on the 1st of January, we bought a car already got a good deal on kijiji. This was very important because the cold these past few weeks has been terrible and walking especially for my little girl has been painful. We've started applying for jobs as well as looking at our options for going back to school. We're ready to take on anything Canada throws at us.

Jesusbabygirl:
Haba, don't forsake the motherland...lol. If you do that, then you have to apply for visa when visiting Nigeria. Just keep renewing your Nigeria visa. Hopefully, the 10-year version gets "to the abroad" Nigerian embassies soon. That way, you will only worry about renewal once in every 10 years.

ademolait:




Very Interesting Story. Wish you best of Luck in all. We stay at SETON, opposite Auburn bay. It is good to know Nigerians are close by.

pejuhazel:


Hello neighbour, how long have you been there and hope you're enjoying it?

Ginomel:
It seems the stress in Canada is comparable to that of Nigeria, though in a different way.

It looks like a case of one stress, relocated to another type of stress considering what I am reading here.

Does it worth it coming to Canada.

Someone should tell me the truth

ademolait:


September last year, we recently moved there and previously staying at Legacy close to Walden SE. It is a new and beautiful community in Calgary. Has cinemas, drug stores, the biggest YMCA and the New hospital, my wife gave birth in there last year. It has been great.

19CannyMum:


My brother or sister truth be told, it's not worth it at all. Please stay in Nigeria.

It's only worth it for those that don't have doubts. If you know you're having doubts don't bother at all. The stress here is too much, life is hard etc. Even the air we're breathing is taxed. Please just stay in naija and be managing the small small stress there, it's nothing compared to canada stress.

jesusbaby01:



Two methods..Either fill the form online and approach the embassy yourself in Ottawa or get in touch with the Nigerian Association in Calgary, you'd pay slightly higher which won't equal the cost of a plane ticket. Nigerian Association does rounds for passports and do it in batches every year.

Ambidextrause:
Hello,

Is there a way to find any info about when the next round will be in Calgary? No info of such nature on their website currently.

Blackbuddy:


My advise would be to research the particular neighborhood you're considering living in any city, look online to see what info is available, check the ranking of the elementary schools in the neighborhood, drive around there in the evenings to see things for yourself and hopefully, you'll find something great. All the best ahead.

Mimmieee:
Hi guys, please I have been driving here in Nigeria for about a year and a few months but i have not been able to get a license yet. I have seen from some posts that licenses below two years won't be accepted for use in Canada.So should I just not bother about getting one anymore or do I have anyother alternative or just to do their entire driving process from scratch when I get there?

SchwarzMann:
What about someome who obtained a Nigerian driver's license in march 2019 and planning to land March 2020, must such person also start from scratch in Canada ?

Freeasabird:
Hello everyone!

We plan to land in YYZ next week but we are wondering whether or not we have to get the yellow card as we are using Egyptair.

Do not know the process and I just watched a landing story where someone said she had to get the yellow card.

Please, do we need one and if yes what’s the procedure for getting it?

Thank you.