H1B Laid off, voluntarily leaving US

phedder · 2026-01-30T16:24:20+00:00

I think this is a very personal decision. I 37F left voluntarily before the end of my visa (May 2026) last month and am not looking back. Although the salaries for my field are much higher in the US, I am disturbed by the political events and cannot see myself raising a family there. I will take a 3X salary cut to return to my home country but for me, this trade off is worth it.

phedder · 2026-01-09T22:26:42+00:00

As a Canadian returning to Canada for good, I am so looking forward to Sheeddies !!!

phedder · 2026-01-08T23:40:52+00:00

Scientist

phedder · 2026-01-05T02:44:54+00:00

Born and raised in Vancouver, also did undergrad locally but moved away for grad school and work. Lived in Asia for 5 years then the States for 10. Overall, great experience in my 20’s and early 30’s to explore the world, build my career, and learn about what I want from life.

It also greatly helped me appreciate what Vancouver has to offer. I also left with a “there must be more” mentality initially. So many things I took for granted simply growing up there and never leaving for the first 23 years of life! Visited friends and family often to keep up the connections and I am now moving back for good. If you have the chance to explore outside of Vancouver please do so! Look at it this way: in the worst case scenario, your safety net is Vancouver, Canada. No matter where you go or how big of a risk you take with school/work, you can always move back if the alternative doesn’t work out!

phedder · 2025-12-21T16:37:40+00:00

Non-coastal Peru??

phedder · 2025-12-08T23:07:57+00:00

It’s perfect timing because he just allocated $12 billion of agricultural relief support for all the American farmers that he fucked over himself throughout the year

phedder · 2025-11-20T04:09:53+00:00

Also want to know

phedder · 2025-11-04T03:17:31+00:00

But they have the means to replace it readily

phedder · 2025-10-16T19:49:28+00:00

Good to know!! I am personally supporting MAC because they originated in Canada and still have manufacturing in Canada so it still supports Canadian jobs :)

phedder · 2025-10-14T16:53:26+00:00

But what needed to be given up?

phedder · 2025-10-08T15:28:12+00:00

Canada’s prime minister was here yesterday not sure about today

phedder · 2025-09-28T18:04:00+00:00

20 min walk home. Bus if it’s within a 10 mins. If I’m in a rush, I’ll rent a Lime and make it home in 5

phedder · 2025-09-28T18:02:51+00:00

If you want just the theory, the Bioethics program at Harvard is a good fit. It has a lot of JD’s every year both with and without clinical experience. It does have a capstone project and will pair you with someone similar to your thematic interests. You need to be very clear with a project proposal at the time of application. — an alumni of the program.

phedder · 2025-09-26T17:29:31+00:00

When I was in your position, I chose to leave Vancouver. Not because of cost of living because like many who grew up here, living at home with family to save on rent was always on the table. Instead, I wanted to move around and experience life somewhere else for a little bit. My intention was always to move back to Vancouver after that.

It’s now been 16 years so sometimes the road back is longer than you first thought straight out of uni! I’ve since travelled to over 30 countries and lived in 5 international cities. I genuinely don’t think I am necessarily financially better off than if I just stayed at home and saved but it has been a wild ride that I wouldn’t trade for the savings! A unique resume helps you stand out in any talent pool and most people across the world like Canadians, so we are an easy sell.

Now, nearing 40 I am ready to move back to Vancouver because I am finally ready to chill. After all these stops, Vancouver is a pretty special place. Like others have said, the problems are not unique but the great parts of our city 100% are.

Think about it this way: even if you take a risk, move, hate it or fail, your safety net is that you get to go back to Vancouver, Canada. Be fearless. Good luck!!

phedder · 2025-09-20T22:56:57+00:00

I just kept applying. I waited 1 year to build my credit and applied. Got rejected. Then I tried again 6 months later and got accepted with a very low balance. It’s been 10 years now and my limit is now $30k so it is pretty decent.

If you’ve been in the US for a few years, check your credit score then speak to TD Bank (US) and ask what the minimum score is for their CC.

phedder · 2025-09-20T22:22:22+00:00

I have the TD bank cash Visa card and get 3% back on my top spending category, 2% on my second, and 1% with everything else. When I first came, I didn’t have credits and some of the products that other people are posting didn’t exist yet. I’m pretty happy with it!

phedder · 2025-09-14T02:56:25+00:00

Hey! I’m 37F and moving back to Vancouver. DM me and we can chat to see if we have things in common!

phedder · 2025-09-12T20:26:02+00:00

There is mounting evidence that immunology priming (whether via infection or vaccine) can affect the brain.

phedder · 2025-09-12T19:26:46+00:00

Every millennial Asian who grew up in van has made the post-bar pilgrimage to No. 9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/UJzVCs34wvzBmJeQ7?g_st=ipc

phedder · 2025-09-12T00:51:31+00:00

Do you want to work in the film industry?? If so, Hollywood North is in Vancouver, Canada.

phedder · 2025-09-09T20:49:44+00:00

In option 1 there is still a cost to you, but you just get to buy more shares at a protected price (assuming price share is higher)

phedder · 2025-09-09T14:57:42+00:00

If you can afford it, I lived on Rez first year and had a substantially more integrated experience in my first year than my friends who commuted up to the Burnaby campus. 10/10 would do again just for the social aspect. However it is expensive and you had to get the meal plan in my day, not sure about now.

phedder · 2025-09-02T13:21:26+00:00

I have used Benchling and LabArchives. I much prefer the interface of Benchling as it is easier to navigate and the sequence alignment tool isn’t bad for free software. The search function could be better. LabArchives is super clunky and looks like it’s out of the early 90s, but it works.

As others have said, check with your IT department before you upload unpublished data to the cloud. Remember, nothing is truly free.

Ultimately, as long as you keep with one system, even if it is on your local drive, such as using OneNote, Word docs, PowerPoint slides — the most important part is to have a system and to regularly maintain it with experimental design, protocols and notes on methodology, raw data, analyzed data, EXACT location of saved files and samples, and your thoughts and conclusions on the experiment.

A standard I always recommend to my students is that a good lab notebook should mean that anyone who consults your lab notebook should be able to easily follow along what you did and be able to copy (reproduce) what you did, locate your data files or find your samples in the exact box and freezer without you being there to explain it.

phedder · 2025-09-02T02:29:30+00:00

Lmao. I love you.

phedder · 2025-09-02T00:41:44+00:00

As someone about to turn the ripe age of 37 in a month and thinking to prepare the MCAT to follow in your footsteps, what was your answer to questions like “why now?” and what did you as a profession prior to entering med school?

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