#4. We've published 100 episodes..woohoo
How should I celebrate?
Hello!
I am pumped today. My surgeon just broke up with me six months after my surgery for a fractured knee patella. Grateful for the Canadian healthcare system. The Newcomers Podcast also published its 100th episode last week. Woohooooo.
Damn…I forgot. How are you doing? Good I hope.
In today’s newsletter: Dennis Agbegha talks about moving to Canada, dealing with a divorce, and his secret to settling in anywhere as an immigrant.
Also: Stephanie Kubi shares what it felt like going from legal Canadian resident to undocumented alien overnight. All while being six months pregnant with her first kid.
Plus: We’ve got an oldie but goodie piece on things to know before moving to Toronto.
By: Dozie Anyaegbunam
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You can find the online version of this newsletter here.
Dennis Agbegha knows the secret to settling into Canada as an immigrant
Dennis is what I would call a super-connector. When he walks into any room, he tries to answer one question, “How can I love and serve these people?”
And in his experience, people start seeing him as “one of us” more often than not. I don't think this is naive optimism or toxic positivity. Dennis had to deal with a divorce while settling into Canada, went through the usual immigrant struggles, and dealt with the feeling of being the “other.” But he's refused to carry that as a burden.
His approach is simple. Focus on the universal human fundamentals; love, kindness, and service. And let everything else be background noise. The result is he's never met a room he couldn't eventually belong in.
Continue listening ⤵
Stephanie Kubi knows what it feels like to be undocumented
Stephanie had done everything by the book. You know how it can be with first kids.
“I had applied for renewal. Nobody got back to me. I had applied for restoration. Nobody got back to me... I was literally applying based on all that. And even when they didn't get back to me, I was like, in case it's a loss in the system, let's apply for restoration,” she says.
One day, she's preparing for maternity leave, setting up a nursery, planning for her delivery. The next day, she's holding a deportation notice, wondering if she'll have to choose between leaving everything behind or staying and figuring out what went wrong with the system.
Continue listening ⤵
10 Things to know before moving to Toronto in 2025
Before you pack up your life into a few boxes and relocate to “Torono, here’s what you need to know about living in what we think is Canada’s most vibrant metropolis.
You’d need to earn about $6k without taxes to live a good life, otherwise you’re just surviving.
The best neighbourhood to live is somewhere you have access to things you need on a weekly basis.
Job hunting will test your resilience, be ready to hustle.
CIBC, TD, and Scotia are the top newcomer-friendly banks.
Depending where you live, you don’t need a car for absolutely anything.
Even though people say it’s bilingual, English is more dominant.
Read the whole thing ⤵
What am I excited about?
Bibie Agoha’s adult colouring book, Deadline Doodles: Because we all need to destress as adult immigrants every now and then, right?
’s book, Antimemetics: If you work in the idea space, go cop a copy.
Simi Ajayi’s Tax Community: Because financial illiteracy will be the end of you if you don’t tackle it head-on.
Events
Edmission’s Canadian Universities Education Fair
Who: Edmission in collaboration with Carleton University
When: Thursday, July 11th, 2025
Where: Toronto Business Development Centre, 111 Peter Street, Suite 902, Toronto, ON
What: A fair designed for immigrants looking to re-enter education, navigating career transitions, or exploring graduate programs that alogn with the needs of today.
Free