Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi everyone, this is my first post on City Data even though I followed along for several months. I have been living in Canada for the last six years with my now husband due to his employment. We are in our late 30's and also lived in the US for eight years before coming here because he is American. Now we have relocated back to the US after we both have had our fill of Canada, to say the least. I am German born and and didn't live in North America (the US) until my teenage years. I am mostly comparing living in Canada to the US since the US is the other North American country and I have lived and will be living there.
Pros:
*Canada is clean and safe *A lot of activities and festivals
*Trains take forever but it's a good alternative to gridlock
*Great veterinarians. So friendly, smart and caring. My vet has called me after hours just to check up on my dog.
*Maternity leave. But I've seen 3 women fired - 1 year after returning- because the 'temporary' workers stayed on and people maybe liked them better. It's a gamble to leave work for a year and wonder if people will really miss you or realize you were easily replaced. Especially when you are now a new mom and not willing to work past 5 PM like the temporary worker who won everyone over.
Cons:
*Everything is too expensive. Compared to the US everything in Canada is a blind rip off.
*Food is outrageous. Chicken is $2/lb in US, here it's $20/lb. Ice cream is $10 per carton compared to $4. Eggs are $4/dozen instead of $1.50. The "$5 foot long at Subway" is $6.50. The 99c menu is the $1.99 menu. You are still expected to tip even though waiters are making $10/hour.
*Alcohol - $30 for a fifth that would cost $10 in US
*Technology is about 10 years behind the US
*Cell phone - They still have 'roaming' and 'local areas' and charge crazy amounts. Bill is 2-3x more than US. $200 per month for 200 minutes plus some data. 50c per text sent/receive to US. Voicemail costs extra. I pay $10/month and can get 3 voicemails. After 3 voicemails, its filled. I also pay extra for Caller ID.
*Cable - They just launched a big campaign here for TiVo. Lol. Also, I pay $225/month for internet and mid-level cable (no HBO, movie channels but things like HGTV). Depending on where you live, Rogers or Bell will provide the service. You can't choose. Also, we had to cancel because we moved and were charged a cancellation fee because it was less than 2 years. And we needed to give 30 days notice to shut off the cable.
*Bills - Local utilities required me to FAX my information and I have to pay with a check. Really? Utilities are also 50% more per month for things like gas, electric and water. Water in Toronto proper is on a meter. Crazy expensive.
*Work - We submit paper expense reports through interoffice mail and get a paper tax statement. I work for the same multinational company I did in the US 14 years ago and they were already paperless back then.
*Healthcare- I finally have a family doctor after a 3 year wait. I was able to go for 10 minutes to be 'interviewed' to basically see if I was a senior and she therefore wouldn't want me. It took me 6 weeks to get that first appointment. I need a referral to an ob/gyn for fertility. I've been waiting 6 months. If by miracle I get pregnant, you can't go to an ob/gyn until you are 26 weeks pregnant. My husband needs a psychiatrist for ADHD- He's been waiting 8 months for an appointment. If you go to a walk-in clinic because your family doctor is busy and you need an antibiotic - you can't be their patient anymore. Yearly physicals are limited to 20 minutes. My husband was hospitalized. We received a $4,000 bill in Canada. People who have 'never seen a bill' have never needed to use the healthcare system. He had to pay $200/night for a 2-person room. He spent the first two days sleeping in a hallway (they give you an eyemask and ear plugs for night since the lights stay on). People using bed pans in the hallway. Elderly people laying around naked because their gowns came undone. We were also charged a portion of costs for the ambulance and procedures. He waited 5 days for an ultrasound. He got a staph infection because "only one doctor is at the hospital on weekends and he can't see everyone" and it's not an emergency 'unless it spreads up his arm and infects the entire blood stream". I had to sit at the hospital for 6 hours and beg the nurses to get the IV out of his hand with the staph infection. Went and bougt my own Neosporin just so there would be some kind of antibiotic. I changed his sheets myself which were covered in vomit and blood for 2 days because the nurse said "that's not my job". The pile of dirty linens and a bowl of vomit stayed in his room for another 4 days. I paid $20/day in parking to visit him. Prescriptions cost $13 per scrip to fill, plus the cost of the drug. So, on average, $50. Even Tylenol and OTC drugs are 2-3x the cost of buying it in the US. They even bill for $10/day for TV and $10/day for the phone in his hospital room. He never used a phone. They said you need to make note of that when you are checking in. I guess he was too busy almost dying to mention the block on the phone charge when he was at the ER.
*Insurance and Billing - In the US, I never saw a bill at the dentist or eye doctor. Here, you pay first on your credit card. Then you need to submit all the bills and receipts and wait for reimbursement. Major dental work like a crown is not covered at all ($1,000 out of pocket). They only cover cleaning and x-rays.
*Gasoline - About $5/gallon here compared to $3/gallon in US.
*Clothes- About a 40% markup. Check out gap.ca and gap.com to see the across the board increase. I try to shop Canadian stores but they aren't much cheaper.
*Fire Department - My husband had a car accident. Another driver called 911. The fire dept charged us $490 because the accident happened in Mississauga and we don't live in that city.
* Costs and living - In general, it costs $10,000 more per year to live in Canada compared to the US (excluding rent for our home). I have an MBA and make $15,000 less per year in Canada than I did in the US. I work for the same multinational company (one of the largest in Canada) in downtown Toronto. Wages are stagnant here. The minimum wage may be $10. But I make only $25/hour with 15 years of experience. There is no cost of living adjustment. Canada is great if you are a teacher, firefighter or government worker. Than you will make $100K plus a pension. I do not have pension or 401K or anything toward retirement. I'd rather pay $20 co-pay for my annual check up in the US and save the other $9,980.
*Size of land/houses - The standard size building lot in GTA is 30 feet wide. In the US, it's at least 80 ft wide. You will pay $800,000 for your 30ft wide lot with a shoddily built home. The garage normally does not connect to the house. You have to walk outside. A house built in the early 2000's in Canada will still have popcorn ceilings, formica, plastic cabinets in the bathroom, no icemaker in the fridge, etc. They never have a garbage disposal, either. Houses which are 20 years old in Canada look like they are 40 years old by US standards. US got rid of popcorn ceilings in the 70's. It's still super common here because it's cheap and builders cut corners.
*Tossed Salad- No melting pot - In the US, you are an American. There is pride. You fly the stars and stripes. Here, everyone only cares about which country they or their parents and grandparents came from. You live in Little Portugal, Little Italy, China town, Russian/Ukraine neighborhood, Brampton (Indian), Markham (Asian). In the US, I didn't know where my neighbors grandparents were from or what religion they practiced. It was a melting pot. We were Americans. Here, you only live with your own kind. You only eat food from your homeland and speak that language. There's no push to be 'Canadian' where immigrants to America want to be American while honoring their past. People call the US 'the states'. Annoying. Canadians have an incredible inferiority complex. They read meaning into everything. They don't understand that the US doesn't care about them. They just aren't relevant. Canadians meanwhile are obsessed with Americans and the US. They love to bash the US or point out where they did some tiny thing better. They love to be like "Boom! We beat you". They don't realize Americans are not even aware we were in some sort of competition.
* Inclusiveness - Canadians are not as open to new ideas as Americans and often shut out anyone who stray with insults and brands like "sexist". On the other hand they talk about Canada as a perfect paradise where everyone is accepted totally regardless of race, gender, religion, background but this is not true at all. This is the hypocrisy that is one my biggest peeves about Canadians.
Chicken $20 a pound? I buy chicken every week, and it is usually 2-3$ per pound. I don't know where you shop.
House: you can't compare GTA with "America". You have to compare it with Boston, San Fran, Chicago, LA etc.
Utilities: again you need to compare with a comparable city. I know for a fact that it's expensive in a NYC and San Fran.
As to technology being behind, you will be surprised how backwards US is. Popularity of window AC is the US (NYC even) is one example. Even countries like China stopped using those units 10 years ago. Trust me, the difference betwweh US and Canada is negligible.
Wow, some of that information is plain misleading and outdated.
- You have an MBA and only make $25/hr after 15 years of experience? I have a master's with only 2 years of experience, and I'm easily making more than that.
- $200 / month for a 200-minute cell plan? If you willingly pay for that kind of cell plan, then you DESERVE to be ripped off. I pay $85 / month with Roger's right now and have unlimited North American coverage, unlimited minutes, 5 GB data, and unlimited text.
- $20 / lbs of chicken: I wonder what that chicken is made of. I regularly shop at Whole Foods in downtown, probably the most expensive grocery store in all of GTA, and I have yet to witness $20 / lbs chicken.
Seriously, stop trolling us. Can't have a successful life of your own, so you blame everything on society and other external factors. Classic.
Oh whatever - 10 DOLLARS for a carton of Ice Cream PUHlease... 20 bucks per pound of chicken -nonsense!
This post is just full of the same talking points over and over again. If the OP didn't want the 'brigade' to come out maybe the OP should have focussed on a credible post.. 3 YEARS to find a Dr in the GTA zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I never understood the 'technology is behind' thing. How and where? Iqaluit? Chicken at $20 per pound? Lol. And what about your GP? Like they think you've betrayed them and dump you for going to the clinic? I do that literally every time I don't feel like making an appointment with my family doctor. Also, paying dental and the likes upfront depends on your specific insurance. Some make you claim reimbursements, other just take care of it straight away.
I'll have future Americans who want to jump at the health thing know that our average lifespan is beaten by fewer than ten other countries on the planet, and for its admitted faults, I don't have a terrible opinion of our heath system.
Good lord. LMAO. Sounds like the GTA is 10 years behind Manitoba too, never mind the U.S. Bahaha. Something ain't right about the 'facts' in that post.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
