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Zoisite, have you ever gone clothes shopping in the U.S.? The selection is far better, prices are probably about 30% to 50% lower, and the sales taxes are way lower (or nonexistent in some states). Why is it offensive to you that Canada has inferior retail? As far as I am aware, no country in the world has retail on the same level as the United States. The U.S. is truly the world leader in consumerism and it shows in the size, quality, and number of retail stores available. Even smaller towns in the U.S. have large big box retailers... the same size town in Canada would be lucky to have a smaller Canadian Tire and a Home Hardware. I would imagine the majority of Canadians can afford to go cross border shopping, or did I just imagine the major backups at the Peace Bridge and Rainbow Bridge earlier today? By the way, I just bought a flat panel LED TV for $250 with a 5% sales tax in the U.S., came out to $265... in Canada the same TV was $30 more plus 13% sales tax and a $39.50 "enviro" fee, so it would come out to about $90 more for the same thing... do you think I will ever buy another TV in Canada as long as such fees and taxes are charged?
Now, Jews for Jesus obviously hasn't spent enough time in Canada to know that houses are measured in square footage, building lots are measured in feet and acres, produce in the supermarket is advertised by the pound (but rung up on registers by the kilogram, go figure)... now temperatures are measured in celsius and liquids are measured by the litre. The funny thing is you get sodas (pop) in 355 ml cans (12 oz.) and 591 ml bottles (20 oz.) so they just take the U.S. sizes and convert them to millilitres for the Canadian market. There's still a lot of imperial measurements being used in Canada, just not to the same extent as in the U.S... and really, who cares? It's just two different ways of measuring the same thing. Once you get used to it, the novelty wears off.
Zoisite, have you ever gone clothes shopping in the U.S.? The selection is far better, prices are probably about 30% to 50% lower, and the sales taxes are way lower (or nonexistent in some states). Why is it offensive to you that Canada has inferior retail? As far as I am aware, no country in the world has retail on the same level as the United States. The U.S. is truly the world leader in consumerism and it shows in the size, quality, and number of retail stores available. Even smaller towns in the U.S. have large big box retailers... the same size town in Canada would be lucky to have a smaller Canadian Tire and a Home Hardware. I would imagine the majority of Canadians can afford to go cross border shopping, or did I just imagine the major backups at the Peace Bridge and Rainbow Bridge earlier today? By the way, I just bought a flat panel LED TV for $250 with a 5% sales tax in the U.S., came out to $265... in Canada the same TV was $30 more plus 13% sales tax and a $39.50 "enviro" fee, so it would come out to about $90 more for the same thing... do you think I will ever buy another TV in Canada as long as such fees and taxes are charged?
Now, Jews for Jesus obviously hasn't spent enough time in Canada to know that houses are measured in square footage, building lots are measured in feet and acres, produce in the supermarket is advertised by the pound (but rung up on registers by the kilogram, go figure)... now temperatures are measured in celsius and liquids are measured by the litre. The funny thing is you get sodas (pop) in 355 ml cans (12 oz.) and 591 ml bottles (20 oz.) so they just take the U.S. sizes and convert them to millilitres for the Canadian market. There's still a lot of imperial measurements being used in Canada, just not to the same extent as in the U.S... and really, who cares? It's just two different ways of measuring the same thing. Once you get used to it, the novelty wears off.
That sounds like a lot of work to me to bother going across the border just to save 90 bucks. I don't disagree that there's more selection, but I just can't imagine going to the bother of the time wasted if I was going across just for that. Does that price mean that you stay for whatever amount of time is required to get it duty-free or do you have to factor in hotel costs as well?
I can certainly see why people might pick up bargains if they are there for other reasons as well, but the whole concept of going across the border just to shop has always mystified me. I have a sister who does that and with the cost of gas and hotel, I doubt she has ever saved anything if her intention was purely on the basis of saving money.
Sorry, I just have to say it. It's nice that you appreciate Canada so much but I think you are being rather too effusive about it and perhaps a little misinformed or inexperienced in some instances. Maybe you need to spend some extended time visiting in ALL parts of Canada to get a better perspective of what ALL of Canada is really like. It's broad-brush statements such as yours above that can cause resentment, arguements and pi**ing contests between Americans and Canadians and I get kind of tired of seeing that.
When I say Canada I mostly refer to Ontario and Quebec. Rest of Canada has zero interest for me. Most Canadians live in those two provinces anyway.
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Originally Posted by Zoisite
Canada doesn't have better healthcare than USA. It has good healthcare that is comparable with USA and any other medically and technologically advanced country but it's not better.
50 million Americans are uninsured. 15% lives at or below poverty line. Enough said.
America has great healthcare if you can afford it.
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Originally Posted by Zoisite
The food is not necessarilly healthier so much as most Canadians tend to be more conscious about eating healthier and better balanced foods and getting more exercise.
Less processed food in Canada.
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Originally Posted by Zoisite
French/English bilingualism exists mainly in Quebec and in the rest of the country the language spoken and read is English plus whatever other motherland languages are spoken by immigrants. Many of those other languages including French ARE in English speakers faces but nobody worries or complains about it the way Americans complain about Spanish being spoken in America. If English speaking Americans don't like it that so many people speak Spanish in America then maybe they should make an attempt to learn some basic Spanish themselves so they can understand what's being said.
You compare Spanish (being considered a ghetto language) with beautiful and romantic French language?!
I wish America had English and French bilingualism. Spanish is NOT an official language in America, and many Spanish people wants us to cater to them in their language, and refuses to learn English.
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Originally Posted by Zoisite
Canada doesn't just have a mix of North America and Europe. It has a mix of every culture, language and ethnicity from around the world.
I happen to like farenheit, miles, pounds, yards, feet, inches, etc. because they are easier for me to convert "visually" but it's not that hard to convert back and forth from those to metric.
Canada's system and the way it looks has mix of European and American.... Didn't mean Canadians.
If you think imperial units are better and easier, you must be kidding.
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Originally Posted by Zoisite
Shopping twice a year for clothes and shoes in America? Thanks but no thanks. Actually, I find that statement insulting as it implies that Canadians can't get good clothes in Canada. That is rich American person's way of thinking about disposable material possessions. Most Canadians are middle class people, there are less poor people and less rich people in Canada but not even most rich Canadians go clothes and shoes shopping in America twice a year. There is no savings in it as middle class people and poor people can't afford the trip twice a year to shop for cheaper clothes in America. There is no social fashion benefit in it either as fashions in America are not any better or more prestigious than what can be found in Canadian domestic and imported products. Really wealthy Canadians have their clothes made for them personally by their own couturieres, or they go on shopping trips to Europe and the UK.
Clothes and shoes are much cheaper in America than in Canada. You don't need to be poor or wealthy wanting to buy cheaper items. I didn't say Canada has not great choice of clothing, it's just that it's more expensive.
That sounds like a lot of work to me to bother going across the border just to save 90 bucks. I don't disagree that there's more selection, but I just can't imagine going to the bother of the time wasted if I was going across just for that. Does that price mean that you stay for whatever amount of time is required to get it duty-free or do you have to factor in hotel costs as well?
I can certainly see why people might pick up bargains if they are there for other reasons as well, but the whole concept of going across the border just to shop has always mystified me. I have a sister who does that and with the cost of gas and hotel, I doubt she has ever saved anything if her intention was purely on the basis of saving money.
That's why I said you could shop if you go once or twice a year which will also be a part trip or mini vacation for you. Well worth the trip! Buses to the US cities runs basically every hour or so, and book it weeks before it could be very cheap. Indeed you could go for a day or two and come back.
Sorry, I just have to say it. It's nice that you appreciate Canada so much but I think you are being rather too effusive about it and perhaps a little misinformed or inexperienced in some instances. Maybe you need to spend some extended time visiting in ALL parts of Canada to get a better perspective of what ALL of Canada is really like. It's broad-brush statements such as yours above that can cause resentment, arguements and pi**ing contests between Americans and Canadians and I get kind of tired of seeing that.
Canada doesn't have better healthcare than USA. It has good healthcare that is comparable with USA and any other medically and technologically advanced country but it's not better.
The food is not necessarilly healthier so much as most Canadians tend to be more conscious about eating healthier and better balanced foods and getting more exercise.
There may not be ghettoes such as can be found in parts of USA but there are still places, such as some aboriginal communities or the DTES for example, that are in deplorable conditions and are a shame to Canada.
French/English bilingualism exists mainly in Quebec and in the rest of the country the language spoken and read is English plus whatever other motherland languages are spoken by immigrants. Many of those other languages including French ARE in English speakers faces but nobody worries or complains about it the way Americans complain about Spanish being spoken in America. If English speaking Americans don't like it that so many people speak Spanish in America then maybe they should make an attempt to learn some basic Spanish themselves so they can understand what's being said.
Canada doesn't just have a mix of North America and Europe. It has a mix of every culture, language and ethnicity from around the world.
You can't say Canada has no illegals. There's an estimated 120,000 illegal immigrants in Canada out of a population of 33 million, so percentage-wise per capita that's kind of on a par with the number of illegals in America.
I happen to like farenheit, miles, pounds, yards, feet, inches, etc. because they are easier for me to convert "visually" but it's not that hard to convert back and forth from those to metric.
Shopping twice a year for clothes and shoes in America? Thanks but no thanks. Actually, I find that statement insulting as it implies that Canadians can't get good clothes in Canada. That is rich American person's way of thinking about disposable material possessions. Most Canadians are middle class people, there are less poor people and less rich people in Canada but not even most rich Canadians go clothes and shoes shopping in America twice a year. There is no savings in it as middle class people and poor people can't afford the trip twice a year to shop for cheaper clothes in America. There is no social fashion benefit in it either as fashions in America are not any better or more prestigious than what can be found in Canadian domestic and imported products. Really wealthy Canadians have their clothes made for them personally by their own couturieres, or they go on shopping trips to Europe and the UK.
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Props for sticking up for you southern neighbor. many people for some reason don't want to admit that us Americans are all living in some ghetto violent country but really the average American lives a very great quality of life and our lives are very similar to your lives up north.
50 million Americans are uninsured. 15% lives at or below poverty line. Enough said.
Nope, sorry. But this is another broad brush statement that (deliberately?) obscures a lot of important facts such as:
...roughly one quarter of those counted as uninsured — 12 million people — are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), but haven’t enrolled....Since these people would be enrolled in those programs automatically if they went to the hospital for care, calling them uninsured is really a smokescreen.
....Another 10 million uninsured “Americans” are, at least technically, not Americans. Approximately 5.6 million are illegal immigrants, and another 4.4 million are legal immigrants but not citizens.
.....Nor are the uninsured necessarily poor. A new study by June O’Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that 43 percent of the uninsured have incomes higher than 250 percent of the poverty level ($55,125 for a family of four). And slightly more than a third have incomes in excess of $66,000. A second study, by Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania and Kate Bundorf of Stanford, concluded that nearly three-quarters of the uninsured could afford coverage but chose not to purchase it.
...I knew that would be the next response. 90% of mainstream media reporters are leftist Democrats...but anyone who points this out is written off as a right wing nut job.
By the way, I just bought a flat panel LED TV for $250 with a 5% sales tax in the U.S., came out to $265... in Canada the same TV was $30 more plus 13% sales tax and a $39.50 "enviro" fee, so it would come out to about $90 more for the same thing... do you think I will ever buy another TV in Canada as long as such fees and taxes are charged?
How long were you out of Canada, and how much did you declare at the border coming home?
I think our "out of country" duty-free allowance is abysmally low, but it is what it is. Did you cheat Canada out of its tax entitlement?
When I say Canada I mostly refer to Ontario and Quebec. Rest of Canada has zero interest for me. Most Canadians live in those two provinces anyway.
That's a little like saying, "When I say the United States, I mostly refer to New York and California. Most of the United States has zero interest for me. Most Americans live in those two states anyway."
Like the United States, Canada is a helluva lot more than just Ontario and Quebec. And the US is a helluva lot more than just New York and California.
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