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My question is directed particularly to those people who know both countries. I'm a Canadian-born American who has the option of Canada, but really I'm American, I've lived here since I was 4.
Is Canada...particularly BC, Vancouver area, but also any of the other provinces, a good place to escape the decline of America? I fear America is collapsing into chaos and civil war.
Do you think if this happens, Canada will be stable and avoid being dragged down? Or will Canadians just do whatever America tells them?
Is Canada...particularly BC, Vancouver area, but also any of the other provinces, a good place to escape the decline of America? I fear America is collapsing into chaos and civil war.
From Boston here. Question: What are you smoking? If this is another one of the plethora of America-bashing threads, save your internet bandwidth.
Well Canada looks like almost the US except that they use the metric system, bilingual packages and federal building (French only in Quebec), higher sales tax and more liberal.
There is no reason to.
America is not a small country where everything is pretty much the same. If you don't like some parts of it, live somewhere that is devoid of it.
Plus, if America declines, what do you think will happen to Canada which exports 80% of its products to the US?
There is no reason to.
America is not a small country where everything is pretty much the same. If you don't like some parts of it, live somewhere that is devoid of it.
Plus, if America declines, what do you think will happen to Canada which exports 80% of its products to the US?
Perhaps then a good way to start would be to go through the problematic aspects of life in the U.S. for the OP one by one, and see if there are truly are places within the U.S. that are largely unaffected by them, and also determine if Canada is immune to them or has the same problems.
There is a vast difference between relative decline and "collapsing into chaos and civil war."
Among OECD countries, America still boasts one of the strongest economies and growth rates. Q3 2014 GDP growth was 2.5%, and Q2 2014 GDP grew at 4%. Hardly a sign of "chaos and total collapse." For a mature developed economy like America, a 2-4% growth is incredibly healthy. Source: News Release: Gross Domestic Product
At the same time, U.S. unemployment has been declining consecutively every year since the highs of 9% during the 2009 financial crisis. It is now at 6.3%. In contrast, national unemployment is currently at 7% in Canada, with merely 42,000 new jobs added in the month of July 2014. Source: CBC News - Unemployment statistics
Net In-Flow Foreign Direct Investment into the United States - often seen as a measure of confidence in one's economy - have consistently been the highest or the second highest in the world - the United States received a net in-flow of over $235.87 Billion USD of foreign direct investment in manufacturing, R&D, and other fields in 2013 alone. This is the second highest in the world. In comparison, Canada received $62.61 Billion USD in FDI over the same period. However, among Canada's annual FDI, roughly 32% of that capital flows to resource extraction, with an over-reliance on the oil, gas, and mining industries. Source: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) | Data | Table
Canada's over-reliance on resource extraction may yield high growth in GDP and FDI, but will come at the expense of other fields such as information technology and inadequate R&D funding within the private sector. Lack of focus on infrastructure and a lack of graduates (especially advanced degree graduates in STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) all contribute to a structural imbalance in the economy. In recent years, it has deteriorated to the point that Canada now ranks 2nd last in education of qualified STEM graduates among 16 peer OECD countries. Source: PhD graduates
Canada has an over-all highly ranked education system when it comes to primary, secondary, and university education. However, the system does not stimulate enough students to complete post-graduate degrees, especially in the science and technical disciplines that underpin R&D-based innovation, because funding is too widely dispersed among an expanding number of universities.
There is no reason to.
America is not a small country where everything is pretty much the same. If you don't like some parts of it, live somewhere that is devoid of it.
Plus, if America declines, what do you think will happen to Canada which exports 80% of its products to the US?
Agreed. If the US suffers a catastrophic depression or something like that, then Canada will suffer as well because the countries are so tightly connected economically and socially, even politically. Some people may want to think Canada is more independent than it is but I don't think it's there yet. Emerging markets will decline as well since they too are tightly connected to the US consumer for a lot of their output. The world overall is very interconnected in many ways. A recession in China would affect a lot of US interests that will affect Canada.
My question is directed particularly to those people who know both countries. I'm a Canadian-born American who has the option of Canada, but really I'm American, I've lived here since I was 4.
Is Canada...particularly BC, Vancouver area, but also any of the other provinces, a good place to escape the decline of America? I fear America is collapsing into chaos and civil war.
Do you think if this happens, Canada will be stable and avoid being dragged down? Or will Canadians just do whatever America tells them?
Honestly I find the contrasts within cities and towns across the regions of America are more of culture shock than the contrast between the average US municipality vs average Canadian municipality. The difference comes down to a few small things:
1) Do you prefer Canada's public schools over USA's for your child?
2) Do you prefer Canada's healthcare system?
3) Do you mind paying more for gasoline at the pump?
4) Do you want more space to roam around and less crowded and cleaner cities as the overriding norm? Keeping in mind you can find these kinds of places within the US as well but not as much the norm.
Besides this, I find life in either country is maximized or minimized by what you personally make of your life. You have similar rights and freedoms in both countries.
As for bang for the buck, both countries are very closely tied. People who would prefer only Canada have a personal connection or preference. There isn't too much you can't find in one and not the other.
The overriding norm is Canadians are less corporatized and more polite. However, you can find these traits in various US towns in say Vermont and Maine, Portland Oregon is clean like a Canadian city, San Francisco is more Leftwing than most Canadian cities, Minneapolis is quite progressive. I would hence focus less on US versus Canada and use the fact you have both nationalities to select which cities/towns among both nations you would like to settle into, and know you can choose a Canadian one freely.
1) Do you prefer Canada's public schools over USA's for your child?
2) Do you prefer Canada's healthcare system?
3) Do you mind paying more for gasoline at the pump?
4) Do you want more space to roam around and less crowded and cleaner cities as the overriding norm? Keeping in mind you can find these kinds of places within the US as well but not as much the norm.
You forgot fewer job opportunities and lower salary (at least for highly skilled), higher income tax, and everything being 20-50% more expensive in Canada. And weather as well.
It is silly to say US cities are more crowded. There are NYC/Chicago/LA and there are other quiet medium, small cities and towns. It is very easy to avoid congested cities if you want.
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