latinos

I had a roommate from Canada who moved to San Francisco largely because she liked the not-cold climate. She was a nurse, so it was easy for her to get a green card.

She emigrated for the climate?!

Hi Deborah!

Is that the same if you come from Europe too? I'm planning on becoming a nurse too. I have an honours degree in modern languages but haven't really used them as such. Everyone thinks I'm selling myself short wanting to make a career "in the lower echelons of society". Most people wouldn't do a nurses job, so they leave it to the immigrants to do. What do you think about someone with a degree in an area like languages wanting to become a nurse? Just need a few opinions that's all!

Cheers

She really liked SF when she visited, and the weather was a significant factor. A lot of people from the northern US moved to warmer areas, so why shouldn't someone from Canada?

Is climate really a valid first reason for emigrating?

Sander, I don't know whether it was her *first* reason for emigrating, but obviously it was a valid reason for her.

Yeah...still strange though :)

Anthony,

This is from an article on the shortage of health care professionals:

“While HMO dominance has changed the landscape of the health care industry, what hasn’t changed is the ongoing need for competent health care professionals. As diagnostics become more machine-oriented, specialized workers, such as radiology and EKG technicians, are needed to run the equipment. The nursing profession continues to provide a constant presence at the bedside, even more essential now because HMOs limit expensive doctor visits to patients in the hospitals, leaving the nurses primarily in charge. Discard the old image of a nurse as someone who changes bed pans, and replace it with that of a skilled professional adept at problem solving and communicating with patients and doctors.”

The whole article:

http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=206&wn=

Here’s another article:

http://www.xtremerecruiting.org/blog/archives/ss/000235.html

As for my opinion about having an honors degree in languages and choosing to go into nursing, I'm not sure why my opinion should mean anything to you, but here it is. I don't have much use for people who look down on those in the "lower echelons of society." I think you should go into a field you think you'd enjoy, degrees be damned. But since nursing can be hard work, think about whether you'll get enough satisfaction from it to make it worthwhile. My former roommate told me something interesting that you might consider. She said that when she was interviewed prior to entering nursing school, she was asked a number of questions meant to assess her suitability for nursing. But, she said, they didn't ask one very important question that, had they asked it, might have made her think twice about entering that profession: How will you like being ordered about all the time?

Thanks Deborah!

<<Yeah...still strange though :)>>

I don't think it's that weird to move for climate--and I really doubt that climate was the only factor in her wanting to move to San Francisco, which is an breathtakingly beautiful and world-class cosmopolitan city which would be an attractive place even if it were in the coldest of climes out there. The climate may have been a large (or even biggest) factor but I doubt that was the only reason.

That being said, I guess it's also a matter of perspective--I personally tend to think of San Francisco as kind of cold at times...many times in San Francisco a sweater and long pants may be required for going out even in the summer (tho it definitely has its very pleasant days to be sure)--this is because its position surrounded by cold Pacific water and Bay water keeps its temperatures very moderate thruout the year--in the summer it's much cooler than more inland areas like San Jose, while in the winter it tends to be a little warmer. But, anyway, it wasn't for nothing that Mark Twain said the "coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." :)

What? Burp!

Weather sounds like a good reason to emigrate to me! It's not the only factor, and I doubt if I'd ever move to Florida just because of its weather, but I'd need a hell of good reason to even think about moving to Canada.

<<Weather sounds like a good reason to emigrate to me! It's not the only factor, and I doubt if I'd ever move to Florida just because of its weather, but I'd need a hell of good reason to even think about moving to Canada.>>

Canada's a great place, so there are some good reasons to move there, depending on what you're looking for. I may be somewhat biased because I have family in a couple different provinces there and also my grandparents on one side were originally from beautiful BC, so I have some Canadian heritage back there, but still there are some really cool places in Canada--beautiful cities and stunning nature.

Still, I have to admit that as a Californian, I honestly would also have to have a pretty good reason to move there...for me, snow is something you go to---you go and see snow in the mountains if you ever get the hankering to do so, but permanently living in a place where for several months out of the year it's possible to have snow where you're living might be a little much for me. I'd probably get over it, tho.

" Is climate really a valid first reason for emigrating? "

When someone emigrate from one rich country to another one it is for "comfort" reasons (weather, sun, beautiful country, nice food, nice people beautiful girls, etc...)
Yes, for many people it is a good reason. In Europe you just have to see how many British, german or dutch are emigrating to southern France or Spain. It is mostly because there is 300 sunny days in one year while 100-150 only in north-western Europe. (food and lnice lanscapes would be second reason)

One friend of mine has moved from France to Argentina because he felt in love with argentinean girls

bernard,

Britain is the top-down sunny place of Europe, with an average of just 51-70 !!! sunny days per year. Compared with Spain (300-340), S.France (310), Italy (330), Balkans (300-340)...

British people are desperate to live "in the sun"...(but most of brits living in the sun get skin cancer)Same situation in the Southern U.S and California, having the higher skin cancer rates in the world...

(Celtic-Anglo-saxon Americans are not meant to live in the sun)Lacking the melanin pigment who protects the skin...Unfortunately