I live in the Maritimes, I'm unemployed and I'm broke. I'm about to lose my car, my TV, my computer and my dignity.
Or, next week I could be earning 60 grand a year somewhere in the prairies.
The choice is obvious. As soon as I hear the words, I'm gone. What ever doesn't fit in the car will be at the curb. Or I'll have an "Alberta sale" to pay for the gas.
Poverty sucks. Never again. How did this happen? How did Alberta become my potential savior? I guess a couple of bad career moves on my part. Maybe one too many pleasure trips I couldn't really afford. A really bad investment in Corel way back when. At least I have my health. And at least I CAN move to Alberta. No visa required.
The USA is right next door. Like a five minute walk from where I live. No, Madawaska, Maine, could not end my poverty. In fact, the good people of Madawaska are in a bad shape financially. If there are any Americans reading this, you can buy a house in up-state Maine for about $25,000. A cheap place to live if you can afford it.
Florida has plenty of jobs in my field. As a professional I can work there temporarily under NAFTA, but not permanently. I'd rather live in Florida than Alberta. I'd rather live in North Carolina or Virginia. Those places are growing to. Those places are much closer to where I live. But they are in a different country. Unlike New Zealand and Australia, Norway and Sweden and unlike most of the European Union, Canada and the USA don't have a mobility agreement, other than the very limited provisions of NAFTA.
So the unemployed of Montana can't drive up the road to Calgary to work. And I can't drive down I-95 to do the same. I have to go to the other side of the freaking continent. Alberta is closer to Mexico than to New Brunswick! The Province of New Brunswick is significantly closer to Florida than to Alberta!
Poverty sucks, but so does distance.
6 comments:
You are upset because you are leaving Edmunston?! PfffffT!!! Yeah, what a shangri-la that place is (rolling eyes).
You might be surprised what you find out west - you may just like it. Wherever you go, there you are... quit letting petty comments adn a total lack of knowledge get in your way of embracing the change before you.
Thanks for the advice. However, I've been to Alberta a couple of times. I'd prefer a warmer place closer to my friends and family is all.
So whats your solution to your problem?
The Americans are not going to do a EU style labour mobility agreement. So whats your choice?
Move to Alberta, get a job thats 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, and stay in Edmunston.
Why wouldn't the USA go for a labour mobility agreement? Surely there is as much animosity between New Zealand and Australia as there is between the USA and Canada.
I don't think anybody commutes between the Maritimes and Alberta every two weeks! But I could be wrong. Anyway, commuting isn't an option in my profession.
Why wouldn't the USA go for a labour mobility agreement?
For one thing, becuase they can't think of a good reason to do one for us but not Mexico at the same time. And they don't want any of them brown people working there! (Even though it's already happening.)
Pack your bags on c'mon out here amigo. There are help wanted signs just about everywhere here in Edmonton and the same is true in Calgary. Grocery store cashiers (Safeway) are making almost $20/hour. Even Mickey D's is paying $11/hr to flip burgers. The construction industry is screaming for people - even helpers are making big bucks. Housing is more expensive than in NB but we're paying 80 cents a litre for gas and there's no provincial sales tax. What I like about Edmonton is all kinds of services you can't get at home - including great clubs, concerts, shows, etc. 'Course we have snow here at the moment and it's colder than a witches heart, but hey, it's gonna be cold pretty much everywhere in Canada soon anyway and the Jasper ski hills are only a couple of hours away. Start that sale man! :-)
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