Canada/USA

[mishigas73]

Hey Robynator...

I, for one, DO appreciate you taking time to further explain the ideas that you've put forth. As you can probably tell from my responses to you, a lot of what you've said I've heard before, from people with varying capabilites of actually *discussing* the issues. So, yes, I appreciate the fact that you have the ability to actually talk about these things.

The travelling. I'm not quite sure that day jaunts over the border to shop at Bellis Fair or to go to the casinos, or week-long trips to Vegas or Reno qualify as the types to make Canadians "more knowledgeable" of the US. And, yes, a lot of Canadians I know do just that, and only that.

I've had a passport since I was 9 years old. Which, incidentally, was also the time that my parents got their first passports. My dad just never used to be much of a "traveller". *shrug* I guess when you live in metro NY and have all of the fishing, camping, beaches, and skiing you want within, at most, a 4 hour plane ride, you don't have to think about getting a passport.

That is a pretty common mentality in the US. And, why not?

When I was in college, in Vermont, I spent a lot of Saturdays in Montreal. Just as a change of scenery, you know? My friend, who went to college in Buffalo, did the same with Toronto. Just like the people who I see on a daily basis now coming south to shop, I don't know that this gave us any more of an "understanding" of the other country. Respect? Sure. Understanding that those who have never been over the border wouldn't have? Nah.

Honestly, if I didn't have a reason to go over the border on a weekly basis now (I curl and visit my bf in Vancouver), I don't know that I would even *think* about vacationing up there. (Just like when I was living in So Cal for 4 years....I never made it to Mexico...just because there were other places that I preferred to go to.)

I believe, fully, that "understanding of the world around you" comes from a lot more than travel and watching the news, and *certainly* from more than crossing the border to get good deals at the mall. There has to be an open-mindedness that, again, from my experience, is not *at all* relegated to one side or the other. I could go into stories about the crap that I've heard when I've been north of the border, but that's for a different post...

Oh, and as an added note, we *do* get Canadian media down here. The CBC, to be exact. I'm sure that if I were to watch "CBC News: Vancouver" at noon, I'd see local traffic reports.

[melaniek93]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Canadian provinces (and territories) are like their own separate countries - they can be quite different in terms of scenery, climate, culture, history, economy, infrastructure, law, and living expenses. They would each give you a completely different taste of life in Canada. It's the same way with USA's states.

I so agree with Robynator...I was born & raised in Montreal & moved 2 the US in 1992. After living in VA for the most part (4 1/2 yrs in CA) I will def say that every state here is different. I now have 3 children and have considered moving closer to my family but wouldn't want to move back to Montreal though. As much as I hate the politics in this state, I have to be realistic and say that I have a better chance at my children having a future and career in the US than in Montreal. I'm not going to say Canada because my experience and comparison applies to Montreal vs VA. I will say tho that the discrimination, racism, religious beliefs, and minority status is mistreated or rather singled out alot more here than when I lived in Montreal. But I guess the bottom line is either put up or get out...I've been thinking of miving to vermont and have been reading all these comments for the past week but am questioning myself as to whether I can make it or not...

[electronelectron]

hi is there any one to explain me about canada university???

[minibrings]

make a list of specific questions, what your criteria is for a college and start a new thread with specific questions. Don't just post an open ended "tell me about colleges in Canada" its llike asking someone "tell me about America".. their response would be "tell me what you want to know"

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by rachel210389

I, I'm born in toronto and lived there until I was 6 years old,then we moved in france , but my family (cousin ,aunts,everybody except my parents ) stayed there , so each summer I go there for a month ,and I'm always mailing with them from france,so I know a bit about canadian life.

I went on some trips to the usa ( miami, nyc , las vegas) but I was pretty young so I don't really remember.

(sorry for all the story..) so I just wanted to know what were the differences between these 2 countries,like mentalities, people , everything..I know that the us is more "liberal" (politic) and canada has a better health system..so , well just a question..

thanks ,

Are you saying that Canada has a better health system than America? I would have to disagree with that. While our healthcare may not be free, b/c it isn't free, it is better. I have no idea if Canada's healthcare is similar to that of the UK, but I have a friend from Ireland and was comparing his dentist experience there with it here. He said there he got the basic treatment- xrays and cavities filled if needed...here you get your teeth cleaned as well and I even got flouride up until the age of 18. I am 27 and have no cavities, pretty impressive. Same thing with medical care. He said in Ireland he felt like they were rushing out the patients whereas here, yeah sometimes you wait in the waiting room for a while, but the doctors are very thorough and take their time with you.

Also, in terms of saying what Americans are like as compared to other countries, Americans are really different just in and of itself. People from NYC are a lot different than people from the south or midwest. The hospitality in the south is beyond stellar. People from NYC are very high-strung due to the pressure of jobs and our high cost of living.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Oh yes, I'm very much aware of this which is why I peppered "mass generalization" here and there throughout my original post. I made it very clear that the USA and Canada have a lot of diversity from within and that you really can't just make blanket statements about such huge topics... because there are so many exceptions to them, you'd need several lifetimes to explain them all!

When I said that the USA's a better place to be than Canada if you're caught up in the "get me rich!!!" mentality, it wasn't because I thought that's how all Americans are. I've been to the USA many times and many of my good friends are Americans (who clearly don't fit that stereotype). And it is very much a stereotype. But the point was that the USA is more capitalist than Canada in that regard, and that if your plan was to make as much money as possible, you'd be best to do that in the USA, as opposed to Canada. The two countries don't compare when it comes to gaining (and keeping) immense personal wealth. The USA is by far the best economic powerhouse there is.

About the point that Americans don't travel outside of the country... again, another mass generalization that I made. Obviously millions do travel and there are millions of well-travelled Americans out there. And likewise, there are Canadians who have never left their own country who are pretty ignorant about the world outside even their own province!

But Canada's population, as we saw from that map, is located predominantly along the US border, so for most Canadians, the US-border is a short drive away and is something people do frequently. In the USA, since the population is spread out all over, you have a lot of people who live far away from the Canadian border, so they don't get that opportunity to visit. As a result, you have many more Canadians who visit the USA than Americans who visit Canada.

This is also pretty interesting:

How many Americans own passports? (Phil Gyford: Writing)

honestly, really the only place that exerts this "get rich" mentality is New York City. Go to places like Kansas and Nebraska...these are beautiful places but I don't really think they are out trying to bust their butts to get rich. It's a simple life out there and it's great. New Yorkers are the ones trying to get rich and we are miserable, high-strung and stressed out.

[Fred Derf]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Toronto or Montreal, on the other hand, is freeway heaven.

Yes, once upon a time the solution to traffic was to build more and more highways in Toronto but we have come to realize that this only encourages more people to live further away and commute in more and more personal vehicles. You can never build highways fast enough to keep up with traffic growth. The first step in this realization happened back when the Spadina Expressway was cancelled due to fears that it would destroy neighbourhoods like the Annex. Toronto will also get around to fully removing the elevated Gardiner Expressway. Several years ago we took down the eastern section and replaced it will parks and bike paths. That still leaves the 8 lanes of the Don Valley Expressway that runs north-south on the eastern side of the city and the 16 lanes of the 401 in the northern part of the city. I suppose the 400 highway does start within the city (at the 401) but that places only a very small part of the highway within the megacity. At any rate, my point was that Toronto no longer sees new highways as a solution to traffic and many people in Toronto live their daily lives without them.

[Fred Derf]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

Are you saying that Canada has a better health system than America? I would have to disagree with that. While our healthcare may not be free, b/c it isn't free, it is better. I have no idea if Canada's healthcare is similar to that of the UK, but I have a friend from Ireland and was comparing his dentist experience there with it here. He said there he got the basic treatment- xrays and cavities filled if needed...here you get your teeth cleaned as well and I even got flouride up until the age of 18. I am 27 and have no cavities, pretty impressive. Same thing with medical care. He said in Ireland he felt like they were rushing out the patients whereas here, yeah sometimes you wait in the waiting room for a while, but the doctors are very thorough and take their time with you.

Dental care isn't covered in all provinces but I would remind you of the U.K. stereotype that tooth care isn't as important as it should be.

Seriously though, Ontario is considering adding dental care to the OHIP single-payer system but the majority of people have family dental insurance through their workplace. I think some major things are covered through OHIP for people without private insurance but it would have to be considered 'non-cosmetic'.

This makes it different from other aspects of health care where private insurance doesn't really exist (except to cover medicines prescribed outside of hospital, hospital upgrades like a private room and material costs like crutches).