Moving back to Germany from Canada
Posted by Shot_Gift_6619@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 17 comments
I’m a 35-year-old mechanical engineer and certified Project Manager currently living in Toronto, Canada. I’ve been in Canada for 8 months, working for the past 5 months as a Project Manager. Before moving here, I lived in Germany for a little over 2 years, and prior to that, I was in Turkey, working in senior project management roles for major companies in the automotive and chemical sectors.
I moved to Germany in 2022 after finding a job thanks to my experience. My first position lasted 10 months, during which I witnessed two global layoff rounds. Although I wasn’t personally affected, I didn’t feel stable or secure enough to stay longer and chose to leave. In my second role, I was laid off on the final day of my probation period—literally during the last hour. My wife was pregnant at the time. It was one of the lowest and most helpless moments of my life. I stayed unemployed for 6 months, during which I earned my PMP® certification and eventually found another job, but that period broke my emotional connection to Germany.
Meanwhile, my wife had been waiting endlessly for an exam date to move forward in the medical licensing process in Germany. German bureaucracy kept delaying things, and we couldn’t get any updates or certainty. Out of fear and frustration, we decided to move to Canada, where she had received a job offer.
In Germany, we were living comfortably on my €4,000 net monthly salary. Here in Canada, although we both work and earn more combined, we barely get by due to high rent, insurance, groceries, and overall cost of living. We can’t save, we can’t travel, and I feel like I’m working just to survive. My wife is constantly working overtime and even needs to work from home, which leaves almost no time for rest or family.
Now, I’ve started looking for jobs in Germany again. If I can earn a similar salary there, my wife could stay home and care for our child. I completed B2-level German, though my speaking is still around B1. I have 10 years of solid work experience. If I had stayed in Germany just 3 more months, I would’ve qualified for permanent residency. But I was emotionally drained—I couldn’t stay a day longer and rushed the move to Canada. Friends who moved to Germany around the same time as I did now have their permanent residence. I missed that chance.
Now I find myself stuck. I feel like I pushed my wife into this decision. Our work permits in Canada are valid until September 2026 . But her medical degree still isn’t recognized here either—she works in a temporary program unrelated to her specialty
Should I return to Germany?
Neat-Composer4619@reddit
How long before you get citizenship in Canada? Could you wait for that and then move to keep yourself an option to go back?
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your thoughts — I agree that Germany has its advantages, especially regarding travel and access to other EU countries. Financial pressure is much more lower than Canada.
However, in my case, I’m currently on a work permit in Canada and, in the best-case scenario, I will be eligible to apply for permanent residency (PR) in February 2026, and likely receive it around September 2026.
From there, if everything goes smoothly, I can apply for Canadian citizenship in March 2029, and ideally become a citizen by the end of 2029.
However, if I return to Germany, I could have my previous work period counted toward a permanent residency application. I would only need to work for 3 more months to qualify. I estimate that I could apply for citizenship about 2 years after that.
Apotropaic-Pineapple@reddit
"Financial pressure is much more lower than Canada."
Toronto is not representative of all of Canada.
Joethadog@reddit
All of Ontario has high rent at this point, even small towns.
Manonemo@reddit
First lets get the disclaimer out of the way: I do not posses crystal ball. All informatuon is not to be misconstrued as an advice but only for point of discussion. Now, that said, welcome to effin trap Northern American continent is, from fellow entrapped. You got tangled carrot ahead of you and you went for it, pulling heavy load... (me too). So America has been hacked decades ago by republicans and conservatives who try to re establish feudalism. You work from sunrise to far after sunset. Just to survive. No benefits really (Canada is slightly better) (except, ppl here are indoctrinated inyo believing thats right and should be do. All else is commie thing). Have nothing from life and you just produce for someone else, who tangle the carrot.. Normal petson storry. Unless you sre some sort of socippsth who finds a way to weasel up and screw all over to enrich yourself.
After few years, I had same deciding to do, and chose to stay. Decades later, I realized: I erased my life. I still wont get treated well, always get some hate, discrimination.. Have nowhere to return. (Nearly no family left, friends grew apart...)
You can chose differently and undo the damage. Great experience in sweatshop, use time here to travel through and thank you but no thank you...
DeepB3at@reddit
Canada sucks and is declining. I grew up in Toronto but moved to the Gulf. It's not that Toronto is too expensive it just doesn't have much wow factor to justify the price like somewhere like NYC. People move slowly and broadly lack ambition in my opinion.
I'd say go back to Germany, get citizenship and maybe consider Switzerland after but that's just me.
Unless you have some compelling reason than why stay 4 more years just for the passport.
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
I totally agree. Coming from Europe myself, I can honestly say there hasn’t been anything here that really gave me that “wow” feeling. Everything just feels pretty ordinary.
Palettepilot@reddit
My advice is less about the moving and more about your mental health.
You said “that broke my connection to Germany” and “I was drained and couldn’t stay a moment longer.” You will lose jobs, be fired, be laid off throughout your life. It’s inevitable - none of us have control of that. We obviously hope it doesn’t happen or is infrequent, but it will happen. Is your plan to move every time this happens, because it breaks your connection to the country? That you will rush a move of uproot your family to escape?
My recommendation - see a therapist. You need to learn how to set boundaries between your life and your work. Both you and your wife deserve a fulfilling career and life, and the way you’re functioning now will not serve either of you in the way that you need. What will happen if you move back to Germany, get your dream job and get fired? What happens if your wife takes her examination and fails? Life happens - if your decision to move is calculated and makes sense, then great - but reading this post sounds like you’re running from yourself.
All this said - Toronto is expensive as hell and definitely not ideal on a single person’s income. So don’t take this as discouragement around moving. Ultimately maybe this is an unhelpful comment, but while reading your post I thought “damn, if I was doing this I’d want someone to give me a reality check.”
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective — I appreciate the honesty. You’re right, it’s important to separate work from personal identity, and I agree that setbacks like job loss are part of life.
That said, my decision isn’t just an emotional reaction or an escape plan. It’s shaped by several practical and long-term factors — financial stability, quality of life, proximity to family, and how both my wife and I envision our future. I tried to express a feeling, not a trigger for a sudden move.
Palettepilot@reddit
Fair enough! I wish you the best of luck. It sounds like both of you are hard workers who just want to find their footing, so I hope that you do!
Foreign-Dependent-12@reddit
It seems like the decision is simple, as you haven't mentioned any pros of living in Canada for you.
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
I can list many positives about Canada — less bureaucracy, more genuine people, being able to live more comfortably as a foreigner, and speaking the country’s main language fluently. Not having to deal with language-related stress, like I did in Germany, also makes daily life easier.
Apotropaic-Pineapple@reddit
As a Canadian (in Germany!), I would say that Toronto is the roughest city to move to in the country in terms of cost of living and other factors. I lived there for a few years. I actually disliked it (also the social vibe is weird).
Your experience would probably have been different (in a positive way) if you had gone to Alberta, where the cost of living is relatively low compared to Toronto.
I'm a Canadian in Germany. I dunno how I feel: I am here for work, but if I could transplant myself back to Alberta with the same job and salary, I'd go. I'm not German and I feel that on a daily basis. The cost of living here in Berlin is higher than what I'd pay in Edmonton, Alberta.
When I go back to Alberta, I see how well my relatives live and we make comparable salaries. They own houses and have a lot more space available to them. On the flipside, here in Germany, I got access to a lot of amenities that they don't.
So my suggestion might be to check out other parts of Canada. Ontarians often dump on Alberta (and also Saskatchewan and Manitoba), but the Prairies provide a good quality of life.
ApprehensiveStudy671@reddit
In your situation, Germany seems to be the better option. Living in Germany may end up giving you the chance to move to and work in other EU countries, such as the Netherlands, etc.... in the long run. Also, travelling to places and trips are much easier and more affordable in Europe
I'm sure the more fluent you become in German , the easier time you'll have in Germany. Nowadays AI has become a good tool when it comes to learning languages.
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your thoughts — I agree that Germany has its advantages, especially regarding travel and access to other EU countries. Financial pressure is much more lower than Canada.
However, in my case, I’m currently on a work permit in Canada and, in the best-case scenario, I will be eligible to apply for permanent residency (PR) in February 2026, and likely receive it around September 2026.
From there, if everything goes smoothly, I can apply for Canadian citizenship in March 2029, and ideally become a citizen by the end of 2029.
However, if I return to Germany, I could have my previous work period counted toward a permanent residency application. I would only need to work for 3 more months to qualify. I estimate that I could apply for citizenship about 2 years after that.
kranj7@reddit
Canada is expensive and I don't think the future is particularly bright there, but Germany too has its own issues with an equally bleak outlook too. Do you need to be Toronto based? Could a place like Calgary or Edmonton (with somewhat lower housing costs) be a possibility?
Shot_Gift_6619@reddit (OP)
My visa is dependent on my wife’s work visa, and we have to stay here as she has an ongoing contract. Therefore, it’s not possible for us to live outside of the GTA.