₦airaland Forum

Based on my assumptions from your post you are doing well in Nigeria and you can use your current resources for the next level. Remember that everything great would always have some risk element.

I was in a similar situation many years ago and my decision was abroad (I have no regrets at all).

My suggestion to you is spend the least amount of your money on a country and route that would yield the greatest result.

You can research about Canadian Express Entry on Nairaland and google. You might have all it takes to achieve a canadian dream without going the route of education.

Onyeoma3:
Since I arrived Canada, the whole schooling system has turned me into a nocturnal animal right from uOttawa cos that's the best time I have to read and do some personal stuffs.

Kingston is cool though, just that there are very few Nigerians heading to Queen's University.

It's rare to see a black in this community.

Yeah, Queen's ain't that popular amongst us for reasons I don't know. However, I believe it is a University that Nigerians should start concentrating on for obvious reason, that will also help visa applications.

Trust me your Professors are very friendly.

Onyeoma3:
This Man.... Lolzzzz, How is Ottawa?

Fine bro, wonder why you are awake sha...hope Kingston is fun...

Onyeoma3:
Someone should please tell this lady to look up the meaning of AFFLUENT in the dictionary. I guess that's where the confusion is coming from

Chia Onyeaoma, it is like your supervisor is on break.

Kepner:
Okay. Well, I'm sure it doesn't necessarily apply yeah?
I do love how the course generally accommodates people from different backgrounds, not constricting.
How has it been for you so far?

Yeah, you will surely meet people from different educational background, it has been really challenging, but am done with all those courses now. If you are doing research based that is MEBT and not MSC, then be ready for so many courses, just be ready for mad work.

Kepner:
OMG! Hi! It's E-business stream

What stream are you? I'm curious, is there really any major difference between the two?

E-biz stream. E-biz is for people with biz background, and we do a lot of business related courses, but E-tech is for computer people.. Though we do some related courses sha.

Kepner:
Hello ohaveez,

Surprising, you guys just keep piling.
I'm going in for E-Business Tech. Are you for the coming Fall term?

Nice so someone is coming to my dept, are you in E-business or E-technology stream?

mevisbleek:
Please renew your passport before u leave naija it's the best thing to do. Those guys in naija embassy in Ottawa go take u do yeye, they are so lazy.

My oga, good morning for that your end. if it is possible for him to renew from Nigeria that might be fine, but I disagree with you on the bolded.
I heard alot of bad stuffs about the Ottawa embassy, but I renewed my passport there in less than 2 hours, and I have had dealings with them 3 times this year, all my experience with them was first class, far better than any service I got from any Nigeria agency even while in Nigeria.

Maybe they were bad before now, but things have changed for the better. I am proud of them.

JohnDuke259:
Thank you so much Bro! Yours is on the way. I will find out from immigration if I can renew it.

Congratulations on the passport request. It could be difficult renewing if you still have 6months validity, however things do happen in Nigeria.
But note that your applied for visa with your old passport and it carries your passport number and all, I am not sure if you can tender a different passport for visa stamping at this stage.

Also if you go ahead with this old passport, your visa will expire by Feb 2016, but you can renew in Canada, the only sad part is that you will have to travel to Ottawa for passport renewal, and I guess your location is far from Ottawa.

Do your investigation well, and enjoy this good news as you prepare to come to Canada.

Cheers!!!

Taike:
Do you by any chance have such extensive information about the Scarborough area?

Is there any one who can help with information on Scarborough? Like the general area, preferable locations to get an apartment, costs and stuff?

I don't know anything about Scarborough. Am sorry about that.

CoCoLav:
Could you explain the first and last month rent better?

The landlord wants you to pay two months rent before you move in.
One for the first month and the other for the last month.
This means if you move to the house in August, one part is for the August rent so he still owes you one month rent, however, this other one month is going to be used when you are about moving out of the house. So say you want to move out by January ending, you have to tell the landlord by December ending that you will be moving out by Jan ending therefore you won't pay rent for January but just have him activate your last month rent..
I hope I am clear enough.

CoCoLav:
Thanks. If you don't sign a lease then it means your landlord could ask you to move out after a month right? Since there's no agreement. If a lease isn't signed then what sort of documentary agreement is the norm over there?


@Cronsberg the waiting period is long but we use this thread to ease off the stress and anxiety.

For lease arrangement, they want you to sign for 4 or 8 months, so you can't move out until after the agreement expires.

However the other option is to pay monthly, well they mostly will ask you to pay first and last month rent, the implication is that you must give 30 days or a month notice before you move out.

But no landlord will ask you to move out for no reason, or better to say I am yet to know of any landlord that will say that except you are not paying your rent.

CoCoLav:
Harkinhola thanks for the info.

Didn't even know about the tax and PR issues. If Gatineau is in Quebec then is authorization needed to live there? Cos it seems Quebec has different set of rules. The apartment is furnished. Do you think its cheaper to get an unfurnished apartment and furnish it yourself?

I speak French BTW so its not really a problem.

You are welcome Ma. Am not sure about what is needed to live there, but I never heard anyone talk about needing a document to live there.
And YES Quebec has funny set of rules.
I am never a fan of unfurnished apartment, because upgrading a place will tie you down to the place. Get a furnished place that has no lease signed if possible, then stay there for a month while you visit people to see what other options are available.
This way you can change your house easily and get what suit your type of person.

I really won't advise anybody to rent a room for more than $600 in fact $550. Except you really really have to spend above that.

NigerianNewbie:
My primary concerns: warmth for the cold, a location say within 5 to 10 minutes of the school by bus and yes, being around the African community will be nice, to have that connection to something familiar.

I sent you a pm by the way, looking forward to a reply.

You will be fine bro, there are good clothing for the cold, so no fears, and the cold is only when you are outside. 30min bus ride ain't a bad one, in fact you won't feel it, so many people even do up to 1hr bus ride (though you don't have to do that).

Check St. Laurent and Fairlea area using that as your search criteria on Kijiji, also you might have realized that most landlords won't respond to your enquiries if you are not yet in Canada, don't be discouraged by that.

Just search to have an idea of what housing is like here, but you will be very fine. No stress.

CoCoLav:
@NigerianNewbie

I'm heading to Ottawa in the fall. You can check the Student Housing Billboard for students who are looking for roommates. Also check kijiji or craiglist. There's a nice apartment I saw for 650 and its really cool with all utilities covered. Its around Sandy Hill. Sandy Hill is preferred because it us close to the school and helps during winter when its really cold to move around. Also the U-Pass for Ottawa allows you access to the buses without payment (cos you have already paid seperately).

For me I might consider the Hull/Gatineau area cos its cheaper like #350 a month with hydro, cable, laundry, unlimited internet and electricity but you might have to share a bathroom and a kitchen. For something like this in Ottawa you will get it for #650-800. Also note that most parties happen in Sandy Hill and you can't use Upass for the Gatineau/Hull area. You use something called STO which is 278CDN per month as opposed to the 380CDN charged by Ottawa. Also note that you can opt out of the Upass if you stay in Hull and if you stay in Sandy Hill/Ottawa you will still pay for Upass even though you are very close to school and barely use it.

From Hull to Ottawa is 10 mins by Bus 35.

So there you have it.

Wow, so spot on...I will just add to it that Gatineau is in Quebec, and this difference in province could sometimes cause some little ish, for example if you want to use Ontario Nomination for PR later, because you didn't live in Ontario, you might not be able to take the advantage of Nomination.
I "HEARD" there are some tax issues to if you live in Gatineau but going to school in Ottawa. Theses are just other points you might want to check before settling for Gatineau.
Gatineau is also French speaking this I am sure you are aware of, so just saying.

Talking about distance and cold during winter, staying in Sandy hill might even be a bad idea, imagine your house is 12minutes walk to school, so you can't take bus but you have to walk in that mad cold for 12min, meanwhile if you ride on the bus for 30min and walk 2min to your room, it might be a better option to even live far away since bus is reliable.

The house for 650$ in Sandy hill might be unfurnished, please confirm that very well with the landlord, and it might require you sign some lease thing.

In summary, all I just did is to add a few things to consider when choosing which area to stay. You already did a good job.

mevisbleek:
You sef sabi vanier? Lol you are blessed sir. Just messing with ya. Takecare

Nice, thanks and God bless.

mevisbleek:
Lol u Don sabi Ottawa finish. Brother doesn't have a ride and u dey send am go Montreal abi Gatineau. Well we shall wait until he states his preference. Vanier is also a good place heared they have lots of girls wey sabi leaving out there. It's well

Haba, I meant Montreal road, that's where you have Vanier na. That's why I said bus 12.

mevisbleek:
Really? Even in Alberta you can see a room for $400 as well as Toronto. Transport from fairlea in extremely easy as bus 8 goes straight to downtown. Suggest other places to him but when I was there it was uber easy I tell u with couple of Nigerians around (chicks to be precise) so he will enjoy it

Lol, that's an area where you have lot of blacks, but bus 8 don't work till 1am. and the 400$ houses, do they have all other overheads included?
for me I stay out late, so I always prefer a place that has bus 95, or at least not far from bus 95 bus stop,
St. Laurent is fine, you have lots of blacks in there too, and relatively cheap. + you have lots of African markets around

Blair area is cool too, Montreal area is fine, bus 12.
But let him state what he is concerned about, hopefully I can give better suggestion.

mevisbleek:
Good day Sir,
My brother regarding neighbourhood you suppose dey find the cheapest at this stage. Enter fairlea crescent e cheap like $400.im sorry for suggesting cheap stuff. But if you have some paper to burn I would suggest downtown Ottawa. Are you going to buy a house when you arrive or you looking to rent sir?

Just to clarify something here, even 400$ at fairlea is super difficult, maybe it was easy when you were here though, but I feel he should not plan on 400$ so he doesn't get stranded. That's my view though.

NigerianNewbie:
Oh really. Which neighbourhoods do you suggest then?
Also, do you by any chance know of any other people heading to Ottawa this fall, who could tag along with the group accommodation idea?

Also anyone in the house? Do make contact.

There are a few things to put into consideration before we start suggesting.
apart from cost, transport is important, so as your life style.
Are your Graduate or Undergraduate?
I don't know anyone coming to Ottawa but am sure you can get a few in here.
Feel free to send the PM if you have anything private you want to share.

NigerianNewbie:
University of Ottawa, so I'm looking for places around Sandy hill (which I hear is very close to the school). I won't mind renting a building with some other folks for that price a month. Very ok with me.
I'll send you a mail if that's ok.

Sandy hill area is not bad if you really want to stay close to campus, apart from this reason, I will suggest you don't stay in that area. In my own opinion Sansyhill won't give you value for money.

NigerianNewbie:
Hello everyone. I would like to find out a thing or two.

Although I know this is based on the individual, how much do you think is ok for personal expenses for a year in Canada, excluding accommodation? A range will be fine.

Also, I'm heading to Ottawa. Is 800 CAD too much to pay for accommodation per month? It is a campus suite which I will call fully serviced: heat, water, laundry, gym, furniture, Internet, full bathroom but sharing room with 1 person. Should I look to get lower? I hear housing in Ottawa is generally quite affordable.

@Kepner you're heading to Ottawa as well right. Any thoughts?

I'd appreciate some responses. Thank you.

800 is high, you can try to get a place outside campus and am sure you will be fine, plan between 500 and 600$ a month, and if you have up to 3 or 4 persons heading to Ottawa, you might all rent a building of say 3 to 4 bedroom. Which of the University are you heading to? I live in Ottawa too.

mrnilobrawn:
Which other jobs ar available on campus or off campus aside teaching assistant?

They are too many to mention, in my opinion getting minimum paid job is not a challenge, the challenge is balancing school workload with job "MIGHT" be difficult for the first few months... The workload here is mad.

Amefrica:
Yes oo bro. I'm good and the semester went well. Thanks bruh.

You welcome. Which province are you?

WaleR:
@harkinhola . Thanks bro. Not yet, hopefully when I get down. I'm tryna register but some of the courses I need to take are fully booked. I'm monitoring Jst in case someone drops it. @tnuola, thanks a lot.

You welcome, wow, are you in the engineering faculty? They are the ones I know they always have their courses fully booked, anyways, I will seriously advice you look at those position on campus from today, the deadlines are always very short, and they are the best job you can get here...that's a good opportunity for PHD students. You might also want to contact your program coordinator as to the fully booked courses, but please look into the campus job. Very juicy.lol

aldexrio:
Thanks.
Do you know how easy it is to get a scholarship to study in Canada?
My agent said he will get me a scholarship there since the fees are high.

I don't know about scholarship, but your agent might have some information in that regard. I haven't been following this thread for a while, so I don't have any information about you, but then you might want to do a good research, before you proceed with your application. Get information about Universities, courses, tuition, and the rest. Don't just rely on agent information only.

Amefrica:
Hahaha from the International Space Station?


How Montreal na?

How are you guys doing? Hope the semester went well, now that exam is over/ almost over, all men are back in here.

WaleR:
lol. Don't worry, Your TRV has been approved already. I'm not certain yet. Tentatively 5th or 6th January.

Congrats mehn, Good for you. So you are even coming to my school, good one. Hope you have applied for teaching assistant position?

aldexrio:
Ok. PGD is for how long? Can one go for MSc after the PGD?

I guess it all depends on the PGD you are applying for, it could be 1 or 2 years, and yes you can do MSc after, but you might want to apply for a Masters program directly if you are qualified.

The name is Akinola.

Jijola: Oh, my bad, Sir. Your Moniker sounds like the name of one of my female colleagues, that's why. Cheers.

Nice Shot Sir, I am M not F, Thank You.

Jijola: You're on point Ma'am. The commonest reasons people from Nigeria opt for PGD are lenient entry requirements and change of field.This is not to say, however, that there aren't other reasons which some people are not aware of. Most westerners consider other reasons like shorter training period and more Practical training giving quick opportunity to work in the industrial sector. Once a child reaches the age of majority in the west, he is expected to fend for himself. This is why more westerners go to college first, even if they would ever consider a University. Colleges bring quicker job opportunities. A typical college trains students in Laboratories, Worshops, studios and fields while a typical University trains in classrooms, seminar rooms and conference rooms. Westerners that proceed to University after college are the ones who wanna become academics and researchers. Many Universities and colleges now run partnership programmes to enable students combine practical as well as theoretical knowledge. These are the ideals, it doest mean there aren't exceptions such as colleges running a University degree or a University running a technical programme.
And yes, you're also right on the issue of two years' programme. It's just logic-2 years gives a higher duration of work permit, thereby giving one more time to be eligible for and to process one's PR. It follows that where one doesn't have enough qualification to enter a University, one would simply get an alternative that will give one the required number of years in Canada to be eligible for PR. This is the reason many Nigerians choose colleges in Canada. But let's note that not everybody chooses a College simply for this reason as some people have concluded from insufficent premise. Most of the facts here are on the internet...do a thorough research.
Just to clear the air, I may sound like I'm supporting colleges. This is just a discussion that requires facts, so as to help peeps that want to make a choice. Personally, a University does it for me, hence no reason to be sentimental about colleges.I am into research and teaching, so I have no place in a college. I say this to hint those who may want to attach sentiments in this analysis to avoid it. I don't wish to join issues with anonymous peeps here, so if anyone starts screaming on Nairaland, he or she is on his or her own (OYO). I welcome intellectual and factual contributions like Harkinola's.
Sorry Ma'am, for the long post. Happy Sunday.

How can you use Nigeria as a Case study. This kind of conclusion is why Nigeria is where she is today. The truth is Colleges of Education and Polytechnics are meant to be for serious practicals, and their graduates are meant to be celebrated, but what do we have happening in Nigeria? We disrespect them. There was a year in UK, I think 2004, they were seriously looking for Nurses from Nigeria that had DIPLOMA, from School of Nursing.

So not everyone goes to Colleges cos it is easier to get into.

Or how do you explain it, someone with Msc, MBA, and has decided to go for PGD or PGC.

Please always look at things from a general perspective and not just some few cases.
How can you close a case you didn't open?

Amefrica: To seal off the argument!

Which one better and hard to enter between Obafemi Awolowo University and Tai Solarin College of Education?

Case closed!