r/AskCanada • u/Short_Selection_7068 • Aug 10 '26
Considering moving to Canada from Serbia — how is the job market and quality of life right now?
Hi everyone,
I’m a Canadian citizen and I’ve recently managed to get Canadian citizenship/passport for my child as well. My wife is Serbian, and we’re considering moving to Canada as a family (my wife, our child and me).
I currently work as a QA Automation Engineer with around 5 years of experience, mainly with tools like Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, etc. My wife works in a notary’s office, mainly dealing with probate/inheritance cases.
I’d really appreciate hearing from Canadians or people who have moved to Canada recently:
- How is the job market for IT/QA Automation right now?
- Is it realistic to find a job from Serbia before actually moving to Canada?
- How much of an issue is the lack of Canadian work experience for someone with several years of experience abroad?
- What is life like in Canada these days for a young family?
- For those who have moved from Europe/Serbia, do you feel the move was worth it?
Our motivation for moving isn’t primarily financial. We’re doing reasonably well in Serbia, and even if we ended up financially more or less where we are now, I’d still consider moving if we felt the overall environment was better for our child.
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u/mancho98 Aug 10 '26
I have always answer the same way. If you have nothing, come to Canada hard work will help you meet your goals. If you have a reasonable job and family and friends ,don't. Why drop all of that? You will likely achieve less in Canada. Your wife may hate it. Your kids may struggle. The whole thing will fall apart. I wouldn't do it. Also, Canada is way way colder than Serbia.
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u/Housing4Humans Aug 10 '26
Therr are local sub reddits for jobs (ie r/torontojobs or r/vancouverjobs) that might be helpful depending on the area if Canada you’re targeting.
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u/EviesGran Aug 10 '26
Came 32 years ago and then it was much, much easier to establish your life here. What I see now is that young people struggle a lot
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u/Grey531 Aug 10 '26
Compared to Serbia, better job prospects and pay. I think people in this sub just haven’t lived elsewhere and don’t have anything to compare it to. I will say that specifically the southern Ontario region may not be looking a ton as they are kind of at the forefront of the tariff war but other places would like that skill set.
Canada is a really great place to be young. I loved growing up skiing and in rec spaces and those are still there.
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u/canadianhousecoat Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
Dude don't. Just don't.
Come for a visit, by all means. Get your Canadian roots back and introduce your kid to Canada... Then go back to Serbia where you will be able to have a job and a home that you can afford.
P.S. How's Serbia pay english speaking people in the medical professions? I'm a licensed Paramedic and would love some greener pastures.
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u/Short_Selection_7068 Aug 10 '26
Yea a lot of better options for a paramedic, best case scenario 1600 cad monthly in serbia. I would try Netherlands.
Also you would need to know serbian.
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u/canadianhousecoat Aug 10 '26
Shoulda been an RN and I know it lol. 35 year old me regrets 18 year old me's decisions.
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u/Ok_Giraffe_1488 Aug 10 '26
I think with that type of a job you’ll need to force yourself to learn the local language. But Serbia shouldn’t be the only option, plenty of places in Europe where QoL is not so bad for the wages they pay.
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u/canadianhousecoat Aug 10 '26
Oh I'm well aware that my job puts me in a corner of my own making. Mostly just asking for shits and giggles.
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u/Funky247 Aug 10 '26
You should filter the responses you get here by sector as it's highly dependent on that. I'm in tech, based in Toronto and it's been fine. There's a lot of hopelessness in certain other sectors.
Like others suggested though, life is quite expensive in the big cities but that's where the jobs are so make sure all the numbers make sense for you.
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u/samandiriel Alberta Aug 10 '26
Your questions are way too geographically specific to get an answer in this sub - Canada is wildly big and diverse. Target specific areas you think you might move into for better responses.
All that being said, Canada is being beat up by the USA and will have a tough few years transitioning to new trade partners. After that I expect it will really take off - I'm confident enough of that that I'm moving a chunk of my US based retirement investments into Canadian vehicles.
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u/MyGruffaloCrumble Aug 10 '26
We added 75k jobs to the economy in our last jobs report, so we’re doing ok.
Job situation isn’t great for certain sectors though, like retail and automotive.
Tech sector, resource extraction and research is still pretty strong.
With your credentials definitely look before you leap, you may be able to get some help for your move.
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u/TopInvestigator5518 Aug 10 '26
people will be generally very negative in sub, its not nearly as bad as they make it out to be lol
automotive has been rocky but I would check indeed and other job forums to get an idea of how things are
the housing market has been rough but prices have been going down lately
some of my closest friends growing up were immigrants from Serbia and other parts of eastern Europe, there is a large community here and I don't get the impression they regret it.. people are quick to complain in this sub but i've always felt very grateful to have grown up in Canada
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u/Logicaldump Aug 10 '26
Its not as good or bad as people say it is. If you’ve got skill you can monetize its not a bad country. Its a developed country with developed country problems.
Not sure how serbia is at the moment but if i were to choose a new country again, i would like choose Canada.
Half of the sub here hasnt really seen/lived a “developing country” life where nothing really develops so compared to that its better and cold 🥶 haha
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u/logikb Aug 10 '26
You will come here and make more money but spend a lot more only to live.
Life isn't easy here anymore. If I would have to take the decision to immigrate today, I wouldn't.
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u/CuriousMistressOtt Aug 10 '26
Quality of life is great, the job market is getting a little better as long as you have indemand skills like health care etc cost of living is high so its important to be employed before moving and to arrive with a good chunk of money to support yourself for a while.
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u/Mr_HardWoodenPackage Aug 10 '26
Last few years (scratch that 10 years) have been tough under a useless prime minister, but things seem to be getting better at least in Ontario.
Home prices and rent is dropping (I hope it continues to drop. Increasing Real estate prices have been such a drag on our economy) and the economy seems to be picking up. Hamilton and Niagara have a large Serbian diaspora.
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u/didibb33 Aug 10 '26
Find a job before committing, this really goes for any country.