Where would you rather live - in Canada or United States? (2011, health insurance)

[Lillietta]

Originally Posted by briarwood

/\ Anyone else find it strange that Canada/UK/EU make it a pain in the ass for middle-class Americans to move to, yet if you're a ****-poor Muslim/African/Asian/Mexican immigrant, welcome aboard!

I guess the Canadian government thinks these poor immigrants need a home more than Americans do. For me, that speaks well of Canada.

[Lillietta]

As long as the dictatorship is in effect, as long as our borders are overrun, as long as illegals are taking our jobs and killing our taxes we want OUT.

I can hear you saying this same thing if you ever moved to Canada -- a country that offers asylum to refugees from problematic countries. And you would complain about the taxes THERE! I am sure socialized medicine comes from the people's taxes. I know in England it does; I think as much as 50%.

[stuckincorpus]

Yes, Canadians really do pay for their healthcare/socialized medicine via a 40% tax on their income. So you see, it's not "FREE".

[Wallaroo]

Originally Posted by castor

I vote USA because of the weather (I would love to move to Hawaii) but I prefer Canada because it's my country and also it's safer, less crime, and I share the values of Canada.

I hate military and Bush. And USA are confusing (it seems normal to watch someone being decapitated on TV, but when Janet Jackson shows her nipple, it's a scandal??? What the f...!?).

Maybe you know this. Can a European like me buy a vacation house in Canada and live there for 3 months each year, or is it only people with permanent residence who are allowed to own property in the country?

[Cornerguy1]

Foreign citizens may own property in Canada and use the property for the period of time permitted by their visitor's visa.

[BlueStone]

Canada in a heart-beat. If I wasn't such an old,cranky koot, I'd be up there if I had to live on pigeons.

[mhsquire]

The US. I live here already, and Canada offers nothing special or unique compared with the places I've been to in the US and Asia. Socialized healthcare means nothing to a right wing economist who'd rather save his own money for small medical check ups and not rely on paying high taxes to a bureaucracy. Taiwan has socialized healthcare and the services are similar to Western one, but I couldn't care less about a service I rarely used. I feel welfare programs are most effective when done by private organizations. Most of our problem lies with selfishness and ignorance, and not lack of government organizations. Crime in Canada is the same as any US suburban or rural area; it's the slums that skew American crime rates. Superficial reasons are that Canadian and US cities have similar layout, similar architecture, and similar cultural activities.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by shecali

I picked Canada for the overall socio-political climate. But the cold is a deterrant for me (I'm from the desert).
It doesn't seem to be that horribly difficult to gain permanent residency in Canada. I just took the test on their website and scored 70, you must have at least a 63, I think, to qualify. I don't speak French and no job lined up before applying (these factors would get you higher points).

I thought the same thing. The minimum score is 67, and I scored a 81 without having a job lined up, if I had that then I'd have a score of 91.

[momma4]

I voted for the US. Canada is a beautiful country but I wouldn't want to live there.

[stock66]

I spent most of my life in a border town. Watched the CBC nearly as much as I watched American news, listened to Canadian radio, had Canadian friends, got some of my healthcare over there.
It is more expensive but I vastly prefer the ideals up there since they seem much more progressive than here in the US. Based on that I would choose Canada.