“Vancouver’s nature and beauty is spread all over. No matter which direction or what time of the day, you open your eyes and you see nature at its best and you feel blessed. Canada is a very progressive, diverse and multicultural country. We felt incredibly welcomed and accepted by our family and fellow citizens.”
Sukhpreet Singh Narula is a realtor at MacDonald Realty
Navjot Narula is a yoga teacher
Jesica & Malica Narula are students
Getting Here:
Sukhpreet Singh Narula decided to migrate to Canada with his family for a better and safer life, and for a brighter future for their daughters Jesica and Malica. “We believe human life has a higher value here in Canada,” says Sukhpreet’s wife Navjot.
On reaching Canada in May 2010, they lived with their relatives. Eventually they moved to a rented house, before finally buying their own home in 2011.
Ask them their first impression of Vancouver and the Narula family describes it as being “spellbindingly beautiful.” “Vancouver’s nature and beauty is spread all over. No matter which direction or what time of the day, you open your eyes and you see nature at its best and you feel blessed. Canada is a very progressive, diverse and multicultural country. We felt incredibly welcomed and accepted by our family and fellow citizens.”
Though there were challenges along the way, it was the beauty of the city that kept the family going and helped them adapt to the new place and its people. “As stated by Robin Sharma, ‘Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end,’ our life has gone along these lines. The only difference is that even though some days were hard and messy, the gorgeousness never left us. To be honest, we missed our cook, cleaning lady, and the driver but learned to live without them fairly quickly. In all seriousness, our friends and family that we left behind were missed the most, but our family here made the transition fairly smooth. It took a couple years to completely feel at home here, but once we did we never looked back,” says Navjot, remembering the initial years.
Explaining how they have comfortably adjusted to the Canadian lifestyle, Navjot recalls an incident on her daughter’s first day of school in the country. “It snowed heavily that day. During the lunch break, all kids were sent out to play but my daughter was not used to the weather and felt so cold that when she came home she cried so hard and wanted to go back to India the same night. And now, at zero degrees she walks to school with merely a sweatshirt on.”
Biggest obstacle faced so far in Canada:
Our biggest obstacle right now is being able to sponsor Sukhpreet’s parents. As they are aging, insecurity is rising between us about being able to live together. Applying for their immigration and getting the PR status for them is a pretty lengthy process. Also, medical care for visitors is very expensive.
Resolutions made for yourself or family:
As a family we feel blessed to be in a better world. We got enough love and support from everywhere and now we intend to give back to society. We want to travel and explore the world and aspire to be a better human each day.
Advice for future immigrants:
Never give up; keep your patience, determination and spirits high. Don’t accept defeat, and never be afraid to start over. Make friends, talk to people, and don’t hesitate to take guidance. Canada is a land of dreams; never give up on your dream as sooner or later they will come true.
Memories of your homeland:
During festivals we miss our family and friends who we left behind. We made lot of friends here too but the ties which were formed while growing up are remembered and missed the most.
