Pros and cons of Canada and USA (hotel, bankrupt)

[xboxmas]

Just a thread to name off the pros and cons of both countries.

Pros of USA:
-Very diverse weather. (From the snowy tundra of Alaska to the blue skies of Hawaii.)
-Lower taxes.
-Diversity
-Still a lot of wide open spaces.
-National parks/Forests
-A wide variety of tourist attractions
-A lot of interesting cities
-Diverse music scene
-Hollywood
-A lot of professional sports teams
-Drinking age is 21


Cons
-Getting crowded in some places
-Racism
-Illegal immigration
-Lack of unity between different groups of people
-Terrorism target
-Rising gas prices

Pros of Canada
-Free Healthcare
-Wide open spaces
-Interesting cities
-Not much of an illegal immigration problem
-Mountains
-Hockey
-Great bands
-Not as much pollution

Cons
-High taxes
-Drinking age is 18-Too low
-Hospital waiting lists
-Winter is too cold
-Has the wrong image of the US, and thinks we are all bad, greedy people.
-Racism
-Too liberal
-Gas prices
-Lack of a lot of major cities
-Hotel/Motel standards-We stayed at a gross motel.

[MidniteBreeze]

Well, as I posted in another thread....while there are certainly differences (for better or worse), I think there are more similarities:

Pros (of both):

-big and beautiful with varied landscapes and abundant natural resouces
-seen as an attractive place for immigrants, lots of opportunity
-respected higher education system
-high standard of living
-high literacy rate
-respect for basic human rights
-coastline on THREE oceans
-longest shared open/friendly border in the world
-vibrant, interesting and truly cosmopolitan cities
-growing concern for the enviornment/preserving natural resources and beauty/finding alternative energy sources, etc.
-has open-minded, intelligent people who want to make the world a better place

Cons (of both):
-healthcare is not affordable AND readily accessible to evereyone
-problems associated with increasing diversity (racism, conflict, etc.)
-Native peoples who live in poverty due to an imposed government "welfare state"
-lazy but otherwise able people who take advantage of public assistance programs
-general feeling among working people of being overtaxed and/or that the government wastes too much money
-problems associated with not having one "unifiying" language
-difficulty striking a balance between enviormental and economic needs
-"urban" problems such as traffic, sprawl, violence, drugs, etc.
-has closed-minded, insular idiots who think they're always right

[cherrywink]

I think your statement about Canada being too liberal as a con is definitely "in the eye of the beholder". Sometimes I wonder if Canada's liberal ebough, lol

[guylocke]

I think your statement about Canada being too liberal as a con is definitely "in the eye of the beholder". Sometimes I wonder if Canada's liberal ebough, lol

I agree completely, I would put this in the pro's category, myself.

Has the wrong image of the US, and thinks we are all bad, greedy people.

This pretty much stretches across the world. It's a real shame, too. Most people can't separate the idea of government from people. For example, Europe greatly hates George Bush and his administration and policies, and that reflects on us as people. But we aren't George Bush or his lackeys and I don't want him representing me. It would be very hard for outsiders to love the people yet hate their government.

I am friends with a girl that is from Madagascar. In the last decade she has lived in England, France, South Africa, and the United States and is a world-traveler. She claims that US citizens are easily the most friendly, fun, and genuinely helpful people she has ever encountered. In fact, she said even the US embassy's across the world are far more helpful and kind than the many other embassy's she's been to. That is just one girl's impression, but it was nice to hear her story.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by cherrywink

I think your statement about Canada being too liberal as a con is definitely "in the eye of the beholder". Sometimes I wonder if Canada's liberal ebough, lol

It truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Many of the people I know would probably say either it's a "con," a few are simply indifferent. If we were significantly and noticeably more liberal it would be very annoying to some of my friends, to the point that they might feel the need to leave.

Some things considered "liberal" values I agree with, but also many things considered "liberal" I'm unimpressed with.
I tend to err on the conservative side, though there are also some things considered "conservative" that I'm also unimpressed with.

[Jadel812]

While visiting relatives in Brampton, my cousin stopped at the gas station to fill up her tank. I noticed that she just walked up to the pump and started filling up. Once she was finished, she walked inside and paid for her gas. I was dumbfounded, I have NEVER seen this in the states, and I've traveled to quite a few areas of the United States. Is that a norm in Canada or it all depends on the area you live in?

[MidniteBreeze]

Originally Posted by Jadel812

While visiting relatives in Brampton, my cousin stopped at the gas station to fill up her tank. I noticed that she just walked up to the pump and started filling up. Once she was finished, she walked inside and paid for her gas. I was dumbfounded, I have NEVER seen this in the states, and I've traveled to quite a few areas of the United States. Is that a norm in Canada or it all depends on the area you live in?

Where do you live?? In most places I've lived/traveled to, "pre-pay" gas stations are the exception, not the rule (though they are much more common in "seedier" areas of big cities.) Granted I live in a small town now, but I also lived in CO Springs for 5 years.

[Jadel812]

I currently reside in Florida, but as stated, I've been to so many states in this country and have never seent his before...Though I must admit that I've never really stopped in a small town for gas before.

[Jadel812]

To add to the cons of the USA

1-Having to pay U.S taxes if you live and work out of the country
2-Social Security possibly being bankrupt by the time I retire
3-Increase cost in healthcare and healthcare coverage

[Robynator]

I always take these lists with a grain of salt. The reason for that is, most Americans and Canadians haven't travelled enough in their own country and in their neighbouring country enough to have experienced these pros/cons from coast to coast. I mean, I honestly think you have to have lived in both Canada and the USA before you could even begin to understand the pros/cons of each. Otherwise this just becomes a list of perceived pros and cons.

I have been to Washington state, Oregon, California, New York City, and Boston. So when I make my list of pros/cons, all I can say is what I know from these states. But do these states represent entirely "USA?" How do I know what healthcare is like in the USA if I haven't lived there or worked there? Do I therefore make my judgment from what I read in the media? Likewise the same with Americans and Canada.

Can Americans who have only visited Niagara Falls in Ontario say they've "seen" Canada?

Can Canadians who have only been to Disneyland say they've "seen" the USA?

To somebody who has only visited Toronto, Canada would be seen as a diverse, multicultural nation with an amazing music scene and skyscrapers everywhere.

To somebody who has only visited Charlottetown, PEI, Canada would be a sleepy small town kind of place with a predominantly white population.

To somebody who has visited a small border town in Michigan, they'd have a very different perspective of people who have only visited Miami.

Etc, etc.

I'm not trying to rant, but just trying to point out that we all have different experiences in these countries, and it's hard to make blanket statements for both countries if we're only working off of our regional localized experiences. So there's going to be a lot of bias in what we list as a pro or a con.

And for people who have limited to no experience in either the USA or Canada, how are you developing these pro/con lists? Are you taking it from the media?

It would be interesting if people wrote where they're from, and where they've been in both the USA/Canada, as it would shed some light into their list.

That's all.