The Importance of Building a Network

My mother has been a gardener for as long as I can remember. We once planted a mango seed and watched it grow into a tall tree. Another time, we had to transplant a guava tree from one part of the garden to the other and sadly, the transplant didn’t take. My mother explained the difference: one was adapting, the and other was uprooting. When something is uprooted, time is of the essence: it needs to be planted as soon as possible, watered, tended over, and protected from the elements. The gardener must then watch and pray. The same holds true for immigrants headed for foreign shores.

The intrepid newcomer is an uprooted tree in some sense. We leave parents, partners, friends, and pets to come to Canada for a better life. But adjusting to the new ways of life, food, work culture, and language barriers (in some instances) can take a toll without a support system. We need local support—we need to form new roots here.

One way to do this is to use LinkedIn before we land in Canada. Start networking with professionals in the city you plan to settle in. Ask simple questions about daily life, about the weather or anything else that could help you build rapport. Try meeting them in person once you land! Another fantastic idea is to form a small “landing group” with like-minded individuals in your home country via social media groups. Once you land in Canada, continue to keep in touch, keep tabs on one another and help with networking or other leads. In Okinawan culture, this social support group is called a moai (pronounced “MO-EYE”) and members of some moai know each other for decades! One of my first friends in Canada was a gentleman from Pune whom I knew on an immigration forum.

Volunteering is another solid option to build community and put down roots. As the adage goes: seek and we shall find. Service to community members in some form or the other can help put our own woes into context and help meet kind-hearted people in the process. Anything from a small donation, a few hours a week of pro-bono work, or in-person volunteer service could do wonders for yourself and others long-term.

Finally, be open to conversations. Smile at people and don’t be afraid to say hello. Talk to your landlord and to your roommates and if possible, seek access into their social circles. If you are adventurous, try weekly board game meet ups!

Moving across the world and leaving behind established support systems is nothing to be taken light of. For many newcomers, the combination of a new country, the lack of company, homesickness, difficulty in finding meaningful and well-paying work, and brutal winters is just too much to take. We have legitimate mental health struggles, and this further impedes our ability to move forward.

So, this is something I always ask anyone—stranger or friend—who asks me about moving to Canada: Have you started thinking about finding your tribe yet?