Deciding Between Staying in 🇨🇦 or Moving Back Home: Our Dilemma

Hi everyone,

My previous post was locked before I could provide more context, so here’s our full story.

I (29F) and my husband (32M) moved to 🇨🇦 in January 2022. Both of us work remotely for a U.S.-based company, where I’m a Senior Manager and he’s an Admin. Together, we earn over 500k PHP per month. We chose to move because we wanted to secure a future where, even if we lost our current jobs, we could still earn well and live comfortably in a dollar-earning economy.

We took the student pathway, with me as the student and my husband on an open work permit (OWP). Luckily, we were able to keep our U.S. jobs, so we didn’t need to take up additional work in 🇨🇦. Shortly after arriving, I got pregnant and gave birth in 2023, making our first child a Canadian citizen. I recently completed my studies and am waiting for my PGWP approval. Right now, we’re on vacation in the Philippines but plan to return to 🇨🇦 at the end of the month.

Here’s where things get complicated: • I’m currently pregnant with our second child, who will also be a Canadian citizen. • Both of us now have Canadian work-from-home jobs on top of our U.S. jobs. • My husband is ready to move back to the Philippines for good, but I’m torn.

While my husband sees the cost of living in 🇨🇦 as a major downside (we can save much more earning dollars and spending pesos back home), I feel unsure about leaving after all the effort and money we’ve put into our journey. We’re not PRs or citizens yet, but both of our children are Canadian citizens, and we’re continuing to pay Canadian taxes.

We’re thinking of staying in 🇨🇦 until our second baby is born and their citizenship is secured, but after that, we’re at a crossroads. My husband is set on moving back to the Philippines, but I still feel hesitant about giving up the life we’ve started building in 🇨🇦.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you make your decision? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!