Should I go back to Canada??

[UNCjigga]

I'm serious...I've been thinking about this for awhile...

As some of you know, I was born in Canada and hence I'm a Canadian citizen. Recently I also got my US citizenship. While I love living in North Carolina, I feel like somehow I don't quite belong here in the US. I don't consider myself an elitist, but it seems I still have a lot more in common with Canadians, it terms of my political views, lifestyle preference etc. Recent world events have also led me to question US foreign policy and "imperial" ambitions. However, this is hardly the main thrust for my interest in returning home.

I left Canada because my dad's job got moved to New Hampshire (he was with Digital/DEC at the time.) I didn't really have a choice in the matter. The next few years left a scar on me (I moved in between middle school and high school...didn't fit in with the blue blood New Englanders where everyone knows everyone else...parents got divorced etc.) I never really got to say 'goodbye'. If it were my choice to make, would I have moved? Or would I have stayed where I was? Will I ever know?

Recently I've begun preparing for business school. I'm a longshot to get in anywhere in the Top 20 with my undergraduate GPA so I've been building up my resume with work experience and leadership initiatives. One of the school options I'm really starting to like is the Ivey School of Business at Western (the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada...my birthplace.) While this school is still VERY competitive (300 spots) they don't stress undergraduate GPA and place a greater emphasis on GMAT and work experience. Also, I know a few well-to-do Western alums who would be glad to provide me with references. I also like the idea of returning to my original roots (before I moved to Mississauga/Toronto) and I wouldn't mind paying tuition in Canadian dollars! And who knows, maybe I'll finally find the answers I've been looking for all this time in terms of what to do with my life?

My question here is whether its a good idea for me to go back to school in Canada. Will I be able to choose where I want to work (US or Canada?) Will my MBA be as valuable here as it is up north? Has anyone else here gone to grad school in one country and worked in another (Skoorb?) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Iron Woode]

I say do it, if it feels like the right thing to do.

In other words, if you have a gut feeling to go back here to london, then follow your gut feelings.

They usually are the correct choice.

 

[GoingUp]

so long as skoorb stays here!

 

[Looney]

I say you should!!! But i'm biased of course.

While this school is still VERY competitive (300 spots) they don't stress undergraduate GPA and place a greater emphasis on GMAT and work experience.

Aren't most graduate school like this? At least that's what i was told by my profs.

 

[JohnPaul]

If you don't like it, leave. One less person I have to fight with over a job. BTW, I was born and raised in America and my family can be traced back to the 1700s living here. I think America is the best country on earth hands down, but if you think Canada has more to offer and you don't like our policies than more power to you sticking by your beliefs and actually leaving, instead of being like 90% of people who come here but secretly talk about America like their home country was better, but if it were, why would they have moved here in the first place?

 

[simms]

Come to Canada. I know a few people too who are going to Ivey for next year (or should I say, the undergrad into Ivey...) But if you're willing to come back, don't look back on the situation.

-Simon

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Speaking from my own experience, I have to say that I believe graduate programs in Canada are excellent. They also put a lot of emphasis on publications and academic articles.

 

[WarmAndSCSI]

Get your Canadian ass off our soil! BLAME CANADA!



j/k

 

[Platypus]

Do whatever makes you the most happy. Take everything else out of your mind when making this kind of decision.

 

[N8Magic]

Welcome back.

 

[Aquaman]

Do it

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Jugernot]

Sure, I'd do it.

I'm not candian by birth, but if I couldn't live in the U.S. I'd pick Canada easily as 4th or 5th.... I mean 2nd place to live.

 

[jagr10]

Come back to Canada. There has to be an igloo you can stay in. eh?

 

[Isla]

Just something to think about...

North Carolina is NOT representative of the United States.

Colorado is supposed to be pretty cool, and probably a completely different experience than the South.

Do whatever is best for you in the end, but remember that the US is very diverse and NC is just a small part of it!

 

[Aceshigh]

Honestly, while University of Western Ontario may be a great school with high standards, I don't see an MBA from there having the same kind of impact as an MBA from a decent U.S school if you are planning on working in the U.S.

I would not limit my search in the U.S to top 20 schools. I feel that anything in the top 50 you are pretty much golden.

Of course, if you think you would enjoy moving to Canada. By all means go for it. Good luck in your decision.

 

[aircooled]

Depends on your preference for Heat and Cold. If you like being warm most of the year, stay in the southern part of the US (and go check out the southwest also). If you don't mind being cool most of the year. Canada or the northern US is for you.


edit=spelling

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Aceshigh
Honestly, while University of Western Ontario may be a great school with high standards, I don't see an MBA from there having the same kind of impact as an MBA from a decent U.S school if you are planning on working in the U.S.

I would not limit my search in the U.S to top 20 schools. I feel that anything in the top 50 you are pretty much golden.

Of course, if you think you would enjoy moving to Canada. By all means go for it. Good luck in your decision.

I agree.

 

[StageLeft]

I don't know much but I'd assume that a well earned MBA in Canada should hold plenty of weight in the US.

It sounds to me like you should definitely pursue the possibility more thoroughly. BTW as a US citizen you have to keep filing US taxes even if you're in Canada and not making a US nickel. That's the price of being a US citizen (in my predicament I don't have to file CAN taxes at the moment).

So anyway if you were planning on moving around for school anyway now is a perfect plan to try your time out in Canada again. For me it was a more significant move but what's a border hop? And since you're a dual citizen you'll have no problems at the border ever. Then after working up some Canadian debt (much lower than US) you can either stay there or come back here. Basically if there is ever a time to leave it's probably now and nothing is final.

As mentioned below you may be happier in a different state. I think the attitudes of Americans seem to change more on geography than Canadians (though I've spent little time outside of Eastern Canada unfortunately). In Alabama everyone is a god-fearing republican. In Connecticut you'll see the opposite. Maybe try moving a little further north...

 

[NakaNaka]

If your gut instinct is to go back to Canada then go. But let me tell you, maybe you should look to moving North. I live in NYC and have visited Canada many times, and have gone to places away from the Northeast. New York is very similar to Toronto. Look to New York, Boston, etc.