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I'm not finding anything personally wrong with Canada, I'm simply remarking among all of the terrible things that I've read other CANADIAN members say about their own country. I quote "In Vancouver, you will just be poor." "B.C. stands for bring cash." "You only get 45GB of bandwidth per month with your Internet service, Canada would rather you watch their programming than get on the Internet." These were all from Canadian contributors.
To be honest, I was quite shocked reading all of those things from Canadians, hearing them talk about how terrible it is, and how Americans have it much better(I'm hard pressed figuring out WHY Americans have so much better). I thought that Canada had one of the most thriving economy's in the world? My childhood dream was ALWAYS to live in Canada, but after hearing so many mixed views about how poor you'll become, etc I'm not sure I understand what is there for people?
Please explain, instead of accusing me of finding faults. I haven't "found" ANY faults, yet, but I don't particularly like what I've read on this forum from several Canadian members, what is the deal? Is Canada really that unpleasant of a place to be? I always thought it was beautiful, and potentially a great alternative to the trash that goes on here in America, particularly the decreased crime rates in comparison. Yes, I understand Canada is expensive, but is really THAT expensive? With a higher cost of living generally comes higher wages to attempt to compensate for that?
Well unfortunately, I've read numerous posts about Canada being far worse than America as far as controlling Government goes, and how unbelievably expensive it is in the B.C. area it seems more like a miserable place to be and more of just something to visit. It does look beautiful, I'll give it that. But I don't like the "Bring Cash" mantra, or the poverty thing I've seen everyone talk about with the B.C.
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Being a much more socialist country compared to the USA you will be more controlled by government and you will be paying higher taxes,its the price you pay for living in Canada,most Canadians dont give it much thought its just the way it is.
Yes BC can be an expensive place to live but dont judge all of Canada by British Columbia standards.
I know many people who live there and they seem to be happy enough.
As for those naysayers about Canada? if you are talking about the few on this forum they do indeed cast Canada in a negative way,but theres people everywhere who will trash their own place thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.
Ultimately only you can decide if Canada is right for you. a trip to perspective areas of habitation will do wonders for your own sense of what Canada's all about, and if you do move up here and it turns out to be the naysayers are right you can always return to the USA with some good stories to tell fellow Americans about your time spent in Canada.
Also theres a lot more to Canada than just BC, And while BC has some spectacular scenary i prefer the East Coast.
Spewed, if you and your wife are planning on moving to Bellingham anyway, I think that is your best bet for starters. It will give you the opportunity to do personal investigation at your leisure of places like Vancouver and Whistler and to talk to people who actually live in B.C. You will also find that the culture and environment of northern Washington is very different from Texas, it's pretty much like southern BC, and that there are plenty of mountains in Washington, if mountains are what you want. Washington is a beautiful state with the same kinds of natural features and micro-climates as B.C. as well as mountain ski resorts of its own.
I don't think you'd have much trouble finding jobs in the nursing field in B.C., you just might not be able to get those jobs in some of the places you have in mind since the popular hot spots are probably already filled. But if you were to consider taking jobs further afield your chances of getting nursing jobs are more likely.
Whistler does not have a hospital, it has an emergency clinic that is open during the daytime and is staffed by on-call doctors. There are family doctors who have their own offices elsewhere in the town. The closest hospital is in Squamish so if you're serious about being near Whistler but want to work as nurses then Squamish probably would offer better work opportunities and less expenditures in accomodations and living expenses. Whistler is quite expensive because it's a resort town that caters to millions of year round tourists. It's a small town with a permanent residency of just over 10,000 population and an annual rotatingsubculture residency of 20,000 workers in the hospitality and service sector. The rotating resident workers are all mostly young single Canadian adults visiting/working temporarily from out of province and foreigners on temporary work visas visiting from other countries. Lots of Australians and Europeans.
Yes, it's true that places like Vancouver and Whistler are expensive but neither Vancouver or Whistler are the be-all-to-end-all of British Columbia and there's lots of other places in B.C. that are not so expensive and people live very comfortably and very, very happily.
Just one additional comment. Don't judge Canada, (and especially not B.C.), based strictly on the comments posted by the Canadians on this board. There are not really many Canadians that post on this board in the first place, and more to the point of your questions - very few of the Canadians on this board live in B.C. or know what it's like to live in B.C. on a run of the mill, day-to-day, life-long basis.
Thanks for the generous responses. We are planning on moving to Bellingham, or one of the surrounding areas. I've always been interested in Canada, like I said since I was a child. When I was 8 years old I always proclaimed to my parents that I would be moving to Canada someday. I still wont consider that out of the realm of possibilities which is why I am questioning here the hatred of a country that i have thought to be profound. I appreciate the response.
Have you been to Bellingham? I assume so, since you're claiming it being like "south B.C.", explain that to me a little bit more please. Once I graduate from Nursing school and begin my journey to Bellingham, I do fully intend on exploring as much as Canada has to offer in full detail through frequent visits. I no long want to be an "American", and under no certain terms, do I want to be a "texan" anymore.
BC isn't THAT expensive, unless you want to buy a house. Seriously. Food and stuff, while not as cheap as the US, is still pretty cheap, a Big Mac meal is maybe $7 in BC as opposed to $5.50 in Oregon or Texas.
Have you been to Bellingham? I assume so, since you're claiming it being like "south B.C.", explain that to me a little bit more please.
Once I graduate from Nursing school and begin my journey to Bellingham, I do fully intend on exploring as much as Canada has to offer in full detail through frequent visits. I no long want to be an "American", and under no certain terms, do I want to be a "texan" anymore.
Sure, I have been to Bellingham many times. There's not much I can explain about it that you haven't already been told by other people in your enquiries in the C-D Washington forum. It's just another PNW town pretty much like the towns in southern BC, with similar infrastructure, amenities, social culture and environmental features and micro-climates as south west B.C. There are a lot of farmlands and a few small farm-towns around Bellingham because it's geographically part of the Fraser Valley system which is mostly farmlands. The biggest difference between northwest Washington and southwest B.C. is the difference in religion, politics and government.
Now as to your other comment above. I hope you will pretend for a moment that I am your grandma trying to give friendly advice to a grandson and I hope you will try to not take what I have to say the wrong way.
Not wanting to be an American is not a good enough reason for wanting to be a Canadian and your disatisfaction with America won't get you any sympathy from Canadians or qualify you for Canadian citizenship. Instead of exploring Canada to see what resources Canada has to offer to you, you would be best advised to explore Canada with an eye to determining what personal resources you have to offer to Canada. Don't ask what Canada can do for you, ask what you can do for Canada. That is what will be expected from you if you want to live in Canada.
I think if you're unhappy with Texas now then you will be much happier in Washington because it's different. Once you get yourself to Washington you may find that your attitude about not wanting to be an American might change for the better and you will feel more positive about being a proud American in a new American home. So give Washington and a new life there a chance first before deciding that you don't want to be an American.
Sure, I have been to Bellingham many times. There's not much I can explain about it that you haven't already been told by other people in your enquiries in the C-D Washington forum. It's just another PNW town pretty much like the towns in southern BC, with similar infrastructure, amenities, social culture and environmental features and micro-climates as south west B.C. There are a lot of farmlands and a few small farm-towns around Bellingham because it's geographically part of the Fraser Valley system which is mostly farmlands. The biggest difference between northwest Washington and southwest B.C. is the difference in religion, politics and government.
Now as to your other comment above. I hope you will pretend for a moment that I am your grandma trying to give friendly advice to a grandson and I hope you will try to not take what I have to say the wrong way.
Not wanting to be an American is not a good enough reason for wanting to be a Canadian and your disatisfaction with America won't get you any sympathy from Canadians or qualify you for Canadian citizenship. Instead of exploring Canada to see what resources Canada has to offer to you, you would be best advised to explore Canada with an eye to determining what personal resources you have to offer to Canada. Don't ask what Canada can do for you, ask what you can do for Canada. That is what will be expected from you if you want to live in Canada.
I think if you're unhappy with Texas now then you will be much happier in Washington because it's different. Once you get yourself to Washington you may find that your attitude about not wanting to be an American might change for the better and you will feel more positive about being a proud American in a new American home. So give Washington and a new life there a chance first before deciding that you don't want to be an American.
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Excellent post.
As great as BC is, Wash/Oregon offer pretty much all of the same things - but for Americans gives them the added comfort of still being in their home country. Coming from Texas, the cultural differences will be very noticeable and the political and social climate will have some similarities to Canada.
Bellingham, although close to Vancouver offers a young person very little IMO. I would look at Seattle or Portland first - and Canada is always a close drive away and you can enjoy many of the benefits of Canada at your leisure.
Don't get too bent out of shape about Canadians being negative about our country. Canadians seem more negative and skeptical than Americans anyways (a trait inherited from our British roots), but almost all are fiercely proud of our country.
Your concern about the controlling government is pretty much unwarranted. Yes there is greater government regulation here in some sectors, for example airlines, cell phone providers, utility providers etc. are much more regulated in Canada then they are in the US - this combined with a smaller population base drives the cost of these items much higher then they are in the US. Canada offers alot less consumer choice than the US. For example, a flight from Detroit to Seattle is less than half the price of a flight from Toronto to Vancouver, even though they are basically the same distance. Day to day expenses like food, clothing, gas, are also significantly more. Anywhere from 20% more, to double.
The tradeoff in Canada, is despite the higher cost and higher taxes, for the most part we get good value for our tax dollars. Our public infrastructure like healthcare, schools, policing, although in need of some improvements, for the most part are excellent and most Canadians would not give these things up in return for lower taxes. This has resulted in a much less polarized society, where mass affluence or mass poverty are not as prevalent as in the US - but where society and classes are more closely integrated. In spite of the impact on your pocketbook, you will rarely encounter situations in Canadian society where you feel your personal freedoms are infringed upon.
Contrast this to the US where consumer and economic freedoms seem more abundant, but the government has greater influence over the day to day lives of Americans due to the security concerns that have emerged post 9/11. Arizona has a new anti-illegal immigration law allowing police to arbitrarily stop people who look "un-American" and ask them to produce ID? How is this freedom?
I'm personally ok paying a little more to fly domestically if it means I don't have to go through the body scanner...
For Americans with capitalist ambitions, and/or with politically conservative viewpoints - I would say they are certainly better off in the US. For those who want to live comfortably in a society that is more civilized for middle class citizens, Canada has alot to offer.
That said, BC is very expensive - and with your career ambitions of being a nurse will be very challenging for you to thrive in Vancouver or Whistler.
Also, consider Calgary as well. It is in many ways the Texas of Canada, oil and cattle ranch culture, with low taxes and conservative politics (by Canadian standards). Also it's an hour away from the Rocky Mountains, and IMO the Alberta side of the the Rockies are without question the most beautiful part of the country - even moreso than BC. The only drawback is that it's damn cold. To make an American comparison, Calgary closely resembles Denver, CO in many ways. The average Calgarian also earns more than the average Canadian by a significant margin. If financial considerations are a major concern, you would be much better off in Alberta (or even Ontario) than BC.
Forcing everyone to have Healthcare sucks, until you need it. In Canada you pay more tax and have to follow rules that make it easier to live together, like taking a course and writing a test when getting a license to own a gun. Life and commerce is basically the same. I wouldn't place much value on personal freedom, when it's expressed as a desire to avoid responsibility. You can avoid that wherever you live...
Strange way to bump a thread, but on the perspective of living in Whistler in 2018, prospective people would be better served looking into Squamish with decent upside, and then Pemberton for better prices today. Think of Whistler as your backyard weekend retreat.
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