2014-2026: An Ordinary Engineering Guy's "Rùn🇨🇦" Ten Years

Yesterday, a friend asked how I managed to "run" my way here. Today, I want to write about it and also record my journey. From the moment I considered moving in 2014 to settling in Quebec, Canada today.
In these 10 years, I’ve paid IQ taxes, taken the IELTS three times, received rejection letters from immigration, and even doubted my life in -30°C Montreal. There’s no inspiring story here; this is a record of the physical effort and trial-and-error involved in breaking through barriers.
If I could go back, I would only tell myself one thing: Don’t hesitate, but also don’t be overly optimistic.
Basic personal info: no resources, no background, just an ordinary person. During the preparation period, I wasn’t working full-time; I was already working 996 at a company. I wanted to improve my situation but was afraid to quit outright, worried about losing cash flow.
To force myself to learn English, I signed up for New Oriental and paid a deposit. I naively thought: paying = earning points. The reality was working overtime every day like a dog. I never even attended that class once; the deposit naturally went to waste.
Agents can help you fill out forms, training courses can provide materials, but no one can sit the exam for you. That night, I decided to turn myself into a learning machine.
What if I don’t have large blocks of time? Then I’d steal it. During my commute on the subway, in the meeting room during lunch, even during bathroom breaks, I was memorizing exam scripts.
In 2014, I took the test twice, but neither attempt was satisfactory. In 2015, before my third exam, I even felt I might not make it. But when I finally scored 7 points, I was so excited I almost cried. That piece of paper finally helped me get my only offer.
For me, that was the key from “overtime hell” to “freedom.”
Landing in Montreal, I thought I had made it. But I didn’t expect what came next: the water master’s course selection trap, renting a house, cultural shock, discrimination issues, immigration thresholds changing, PEQ interview rejection, redoing French, buying a house and getting scammed, children’s school enrollment, job hunting obstacles, illness, medical delays, work permit expiration—these “post-landing hardships” are the real first lessons of immigration.
Looking back over these ten years, I thank the version of myself who memorized words on the subway, and also the one who didn’t break down in front of rejection letters.
Someone asked: If I hadn’t “run,” would I be better off in China? Maybe. But I know that if I hadn’t taken this step back then, the suffocating feeling of endless overtime would have killed me early.
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