I don’t usually offer inspiring tips and advice beyond “Don’t buy a white jacket for Canadian winters” and “This is how I finally took my G road test in Ottawa”—and these articles are invariably based on a “today I learned” moment I just can’t help sharing.

Everyone has a different definition of success. If you want to know how to make crazy money and buy a house in downtown Toronto ASAP, feel free to start following narcissistic executives on LinkedIn for (hopefully) more useful motivational platitudes.

I only know a thing or two about the “hippie” version of success—feeling at home in Canada, creating meaningful connections, embracing a new culture and finding fun opportunities. So if this is what you’re looking for, stick around.

Build fluency in English, French or both official languages

I can’t stress this enough—speaking the official language is the key to feeling at home and understanding how everything works. And I say this as someone who spoke basic high-school English when I came to Canada, knew five words of Spanish the first time I travelled through Latin America and had no idea how to say “Where is the bus?” Portuguese when I crossed into Brazil in 2002. But I learned, and it helped me travel deeper and solve many cultural mysteries.

Most newcomers to Canada speak some English or French. Don’t stop here, aim for fluency! Dive into Canadian pop culture. Read books, newspapers, product boxes, boring forms, online discussions, and yes, blogs. Watch movies and series, the news, sports games, and commercials. Listen to the radio, podcasts and yes, do eavesdrop on conversations.

Figure out your industry terminology first, then moved into other fields. Oh, and don’t forget to decode common acronyms and cultural references.

Learn the way Canadians actually speak and interact. Get used to the many flavours of English and French spoken in Canada—you probably have an accent, but so do millions of people around here.

Yes, it will take time to digest it all. But it will be rewarding, I promise.

On a side note, the French will give a lengthy grammar lecture if you’re using the wrong form for an unpredictable irregular verb but native English speakers will never correct your English—“Oh, you can say it either way!” This is very polite of them and absolutely infuriating when you’re working on your language skills.

Try new things

Moving to a new country can be an incredibly freeing experience. Relatives and friends aren’t around to judge, and your former country’s dos and don’ts may not apply in Canada. This is kind of the grown-up version of changing schools—former bullies and embarrassing moments are forgotten, and you get a fresh start without family and social pressure.

So go ahead, try new things, big or small—change careers, eat different foods, develop new interests, learn something you’ve always been curious about, and be the person you’ve always wanted to be.

Learn how to master social interactions

Social interactions are deeply cultural, so even the most mundane exchanges can be puzzling at first.

Learn how to master small talk if discussing the weather is considered a waste of time in your culture. Find out how people in Canada generally interact with perfect strangers, acquaintances, coworkers, neighbours, officials, friends, and more. Get used to the way favours are asked and problems are solved—Canadians are non-confrontational by nature, they curse in private.

Get ready for the culture shock and adjust your expectations when making friends—different cultures see friendship differently. But build a network of people who will be here for you!

Be reliable

Very few people have a unique talent—most of us try to pick something we like and work on getting good at it.

Reliability is a very useful soft skill to develop in life. It’s not rocket science, but it puts you ahead of the game. Show up on time. Deliver as promised. Follow through on your commitments. Keep your promise. It’s as simple as that!

Being reliable and dependable will help you in life, especially when you’re new to the culture. You will make mistakes, and it’s okay, Canadians are pretty forgiving… especially when you’re overall reliable.

Work on your prejudices and biases

Prejudices sneak into your brain and luggage. Everybody has prejudices—sometimes, we’re not even aware of them.

Canada is home to people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. This is a unique chance to reconsider and stop wrongly assuming. Discover new cultures and beliefs, and get the facts straight. The more you spend time with people who are different than you, the more you’ll realize that hatred and fear are just silly.

On a side note, Canada isn’t a perfect place. Cultural tools perpetuate racism and systemic discrimination does exist. Sorry.

Don’t devalue your culture

Maybe you’re from a country that’s often in the news for bad or sad reasons, and perhaps you came to Canada to find a new safe home. Maybe your country’s current leaders are crazy. Maybe you didn’t leave anyone or anything behind. Maybe you don’t want to be associated with your former country and just can’t wait to apply for a Canadian passport.

But whether you want it or not, pieces of your culture travelled with you to Canada—your mother tongue, favourite foods, beliefs, special holidays or traditions. It’s very, very hard to leave everything behind. And it’s okay.

Be proud of the culture you brought to Canada. There’s no reason why it’s cool (?) to be British, American or Danish and not “cool” to be from Togo, Paraguay, Russia, Lebanon, Somalia or Venezuela. Just because your former country isn’t a top holiday destination doesn’t mean it’s not cool.

Don’t make the mistakes Canadians make

Canada is relatively safe, clean and efficient. However, Canada is not perfect—and neither are Canadians.

Canadians don’t necessarily raise their kids better, control their finances, and make wiser life choices. They make mistakes, plenty of them. Don’t make the same mistakes, this is a cultural experience you can skip.

For instance, don’t try to keep up with the Joneses—more than half of Canadian adults (55%) currently have credit card debt. And take care of your mental health, the mental health crisis is real in Canada.

Don’t wait to be told you belong

Remember that there’s no “Canadianness” benchmark. At one point, you may take the citizenship test and the oath of citizenship. You may travel with a Canadian passport. You may give birth to “true” Canadian kids. But no one will ever expressly say “you belong here.”

I used to get annoyed when Canadians would ask me where I was from. “I’ve been living here for years! I wanted to fit it! What’s so foreign about me?”

Honestly, probably many things. But it’s okay. I know the language, the country, the culture, and it’s part of me. The country is full of people like me—like you. We’re Canadian… and something else. But we belong, regardless.