Where would you rather live - in Canada or United States?

[clunkerider]

Well in my travels I have found US to be more affordable. More value for the $. We get ripped off in Canada with high taxes and high cost of living. But I love living in Canada and being Canadian. I guess that's the price of being a Canadian.

[harrymiafl]

I am a bit confused...
Several commentators admit that the other country has more pros than cons,yet they are reluctant to move...
Is that a practical matter( visa,job offer) or an ideological matter...?

[netwit]

Originally Posted by ionlife

It is risk based care--and God help you if you are a heart patient.

And God help you if you are 29 and not in a risk group for colon cancer and yet, you have it, and you live in Canada. They won't let you have a colonoscopy there at 29 if you suspect you have the disease.

My husband is a heart patient. He had a quadruple by-pass five years ago...I know! You're one of those people who like to pretend they've lived in Canada, right? Amazing. I've never pictured Canada as such an exciting place that people would feel compelled to pretend to know all about it.

Your imagination is incredible!

[netwit]

Originally Posted by harrymiafl

I am a bit confused...
Several commentators admit that the other country has more pros than cons,yet they are reluctant to move...
Is that a practical matter( visa,job offer) or an ideological matter...?

I can't speak for anyone else but I think statistics show that Americans move more often than Canadians. Personally, I find that when people are reluctant to move it's often because of the family and friends that they have in an area. So that's at least a partial answer to your question.

Speaking strictly for myself, and with the caveat that some people are lucky enough to be born into a region or country that mirrors their personality or value system, it would be partially an ideological matter for me. As a Mennonite, although there are Mennonites in many other countries, compared to the US, Canada is a better fit for my ideological leanings.

And secondly, I have family here and my parents are getting to the age where I check on them a lot. And my husband has serious health issues, which if they were to occur in the States, would bankrupt us.

But I hate snow. Snow and cold are an inescapable fact of life here. Beyond that, there's nothing serious that goes against my grain in this country.

And I find, when I think of leaving for warmer climes (not necessarily the US), that there's a certain amount of sentiment tied to the area where I grew up. I'd put that in a different category from nationalism.There's just something about knowing each bend of the road, each dirt road, each tree - and the way the familiar yet astonishing way the sunrise and sunset reflect off landscapes and buildings familiar to me, that squeezes my heart and altogether ties me here.

I have lived (as opposed to visited) in two different, and by most accounts, more exciting countries than this one. But this place, this patch of ground, for better or worse, is home.

[Boxcar Overkill]

For an American, even a very liberal American, living in Canada is daily confrontation with a powerful, not-so-subtle, anti-Americanism that pervades most aspects of life.Canadians are obsessed with America. Pretty much their entire self image is based on the negative, "we are not America." They don't know what they stand for, but they know what they are not. They only know how to define themselves by drawing a contrast to Americans.

If you've never experienced Canada's weird and unhealty fixation on America, you don't know how sick it really is.

[Boxcar Overkill]

... and BTW, about 2 X as many Canadians move to the U.S. each year than the other way around.

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by StarshipPoopers1

You're in IT as well? I'll be entering the field in a couple of years with a diploma in CTY and am curious as to what the job markets are like. The market in the US is better than here in Toronto right? That's what I've been suspecting, but I haven't really sat down and done the research. It seems on average the wages in the US are higher for IT than here in Canada, especially when you factor in taxation and cost of living.

As for Canadian Tire, that's a strange thing to miss haha. To each their own. I guess there really isn't a major American counterpart that I can think of that's comparable, Canadian Tire is a mix of several US stores.

I can only speak about the market in Toronto for IT and its not healthy. The recruiters I spoke to mentioned it is much slower than they've seen but there may be opportunities in consulting.

As for Canadian Tire.. there is no American counterpart which is why I miss it so.. I always find things that I don't need and want.

Originally Posted by Boxcar Overkill

... and BTW, about 2 X as many Canadians move to the U.S. each year than the other way around.

Its more like for every 1 American that moves to Canada, 3 move to the US, according to a Canadian government web site.