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I, I'm born in toronto and lived there until I was 6 years old,then we moved in france , but my family (cousin ,aunts,everybody except my parents ) stayed there , so each summer I go there for a month ,and I'm always mailing with them from france,so I know a bit about canadian life.
I went on some trips to the usa ( miami, nyc , las vegas) but I was pretty young so I don't really remember.
(sorry for all the story..) so I just wanted to know what were the differences between these 2 countries,like mentalities, people , everything..I know that the us is more "liberal" (politic) and canada has a better health system..so , well just a question..
The U.S. is not more liberal. Canada is more Liberal by far.
I agree with you.
I love going to Montreal in Quebec Province and to Quebec City as it gives me a chance to test my French speaking skills. The folks there are friendly like here in the Southern States of the U.S.
(sorry for all the story..) so I just wanted to know what were the differences between these 2 countries,like mentalities, people , everything..I know that the us is more "liberal" (politic) and canada has a better health system..so , well just a question..
thanks ,
The differences?
LMAO
How much time have you got?
As far as politics go....I've met Canucks who like to think that they're "liberal", but, meh, that cover is blown in about 3.5 seconds.
There's this weird "us vs the US thing" going on. Yeah, well, when you think that you're "better" because your PM isn't as much of a dorkus malorkus as the US president, you stand taller. Which, honestly, makes me laugh.
The Canadians that I've met (primarily in BC) are the MOST patriotic people that I've ever encountered. Which is fine....but, yeah, they don't want you to realize that. *wink*
Seriously though, as far as I've seen, there's little to distinguish Canadians from Americans. There's pride in their country, and rightfully so. Even with the negatives, I'd much rather live in either of those two places than anywhere else in the world.
I would say Canada is exactly like the States without the crime we have in the States, oh and the snow. Canada is more laidback though. I loved Vancouver.
I lived in Canada for a year. Maybe enough to put my finger on the pulse of the way of life.
There are many people I met who really do not like Americans. But they do realize that it is the American government they dislike, they do know the people are just like them.
They are taxed to death, have to follow more rules, bylaws and real laws then you can shake a stick at. They are very honest people as a whole.
Crime? Well our home was broken into while we slept and the burglars walked the home while we slept. The next day when we seen that we were cleaned out of valubles, we called the RCMP and they said they have perhaps more crime in British Columbia but way way lest violent crimes. He called them Cat Burglars.
Yes they are proud people. 80% of the entire Canadian population lives within a 2 hour drive of the USA border so they are very aware of us down here and what we are like.
Their road system leaves much to be desired. Sorry but I am spoiled there with our Interstate Highway system.
Housing in the big city is like the 2nd most expensive on earth, 2nd only to Tokyo. many working class families live in basement flats because rents were in outer space and mortgages were in orbit.
In closing I have to say when I lived there and was attempting to get citizenship and work under temp rules I began to hate it. I left after a year and 3 years later went back for a month to as a visitor/tourist. I loved it. It is a different feeling as a tourist as opposed to trying to make a living.
I do love the Canadian people. I so rarely had any bad experiences. In fact we have discussed retrying to go back to retire in the Oganogan Valley on Kelowna Lake where the worlds only floating cement bridge is.
Finally everytime we crossed that Peach Arch crossing, it felt great no matter what direction we crossed.
I lived in Canada for a year. Maybe enough to put my finger on the pulse of the way of life.
It sounds like you only lived in Vancouver, which is fair enough, but your portrayal is accurate for Vancouver, but doesn't represent what you'd expect across Canada as a whole.
The highway infrastructure in Vancouver, or lack thereof, for example, is a product of a city-wide vote in the 1970's in which the locals voted *against* having a freeway because it would mean the destruction of neighborhoods. To this day, freeways within city limits are seen as a bad thing among Vancouver city planners, and this trend is actually catching on in other cities across North America because they see how vibrant the city remains when freeways aren't dissecting it up. Vancouver has also implemented a plan to densify as opposed to sprawl out, and freeways are catalysts for urban sprawl. As they say, "build them, and they will come". It's a totally different mentality to think of freeways as a bad thing, but that's the way it is in Vancouver.
Toronto or Montreal, on the other hand, is freeway heaven.
And Vancouver's housing pricing is ridiculously off the charts, but fly one hour over to Edmonton and you've got yourself bargain housing. Or anywhere in Ontario outside of Toronto is peanuts compared to Vancouver's insane prices. I couldn't believe when I heard that you could still buy houses for under $200,000 in Windsor!!! (Compared to Vancouver's $800,000+ average). Calgary's even half of Vancouver's insane prices.
But they do say BC stands for "Bring Cash" for a reason.
Back to Rachel's original post...
As previously mentioned by mattncind, Canada and the USA are countries with a diversity of regions, kind of like how Europe has a diversity of regions. So unless you go down to a regional scale, you're going to have a patchwork of answers which are very likely to give you conflicting responses of "what Canada is like" and how it compares to what "the USA is like".
Canadian provinces (and territories) are like their own separate countries - they can be quite different in terms of scenery, climate, culture, history, economy, infrastructure, law, and living expenses. They would each give you a completely different taste of life in Canada. It's the same way with USA's states.
Last edited by Robynator; 01-04-2008 at 12:35 AM..
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Canada is more liberal
It's a totally different mentality to think of freeways as a bad thing, but that's the way it is in Vancouver.
