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#2: I realize you probably don't count Canada as a large population country, but it has the strongest middle class in the Western world. Very high standard of living and quality of life.
Sorry to burst your bubble but, no, I agree with EDS here, your average Canadian is not better off than your average American, not by any stretch of imagination and I lived in Canada.
Comparing Police and Firefighter salaries is pointless given the huge variance in the US for such jobs..I remember reading years ago in Stockton CA, police officers were making almost 200K....
The only things better that you have compared to the US is the quite bad (by European standards) free healthcare system and mandatory, again, lousy by Western Europe standard, holiday and maternity leave. So, yes, if you are very poor or you have marginal skills and a low paid job, Canada may be better for you...it may....
You still live in the same crappy homes, eating the same mediocre food, etc... and with weather choices running from bad to truly horrendous to boot.
New immigrants are systematically discriminated to lowball them (lack of the BS "Canadian experience") and foreign qualification recognition is poor.
Canadians carry record amount of debt and are experiencing a gigantic real estate bubble with no end in sight.
The US still has some allure among some young Western Europeans but pretty much nobody wants to go to Canada.
Last edited by saturno_v; 01-10-2021 at 04:49 PM..
Sorry to burst your bubble but, no, I agree with EDS here, your average Canadian is not better off than your average American, not by any stretch of imagination and I lived in Canada.
Comparing Police and Firefighter salaries is pointless given the huge variance in the US for such jobs..I remember reading years ago in Stockton CA, police officers were making almost 200K....
The only things better that you have compared to the US is the quite bad (by European standards) free healthcare system and, mandatory (again lousy by Western Europe standard) holiday and maternity leave. So, yes, if you are very poor or you have marginal skills and a low paid job, Canada may be better for you...it may....
You still live in the same crappy homes, eating the same mediocre food, etc... and with weather choices running from bad to truly horrendous to boot.
Canadians carry record amount of debt and are experiencing a gigantic real estate bubble with no end in sight.
The US still has some allure among some young Western Europeans but pretty much nobody wants to go to Canada.
I think the poor in Canada probably live better than the poor in the U.S. for a simple reason: Cold weather makes people more disciplined.
Homeless drug addicts in Canada can't easily run to live on the street in a mild climate like they can in the U.S.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my general impression.
I think the poor in Canada probably live better than the poor in the U.S. for a simple reason: Cold weather makes people more disciplined.
Homeless drug addicts in Canada can't easily run to live on the street in a mild climate like they can in the U.S.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my general impression.
If I were to leave the US I would return to Europe for sure or maybe even considering Australia (lived there for 3 years).
Canada is simply not on my radar...a poorer, colder, with less opportunities and more bland version of the US in a nutshell...I even got my citizenship there but I will never use it.
Consider that among older Canadians, if you make it, your goal will be to have a townhouse or condo in Arizona to spend your winter time and if you really make it, you may even aspire to Florida or California....
Last edited by saturno_v; 01-10-2021 at 04:51 PM..
Sorry to burst your bubble but, no, I agree with EDS here, your average Canadian is not better off than your average American, not by any stretch of imagination and I lived in Canada.
Comparing Police and Firefighter salaries is pointless given the huge variance in the US for such jobs..I remember reading years ago in Stockton CA, police officers were making almost 200K....
The only things better that you have compared to the US is the quite bad (by European standards) free healthcare system and mandatory, again, lousy by Western Europe standard, holiday and maternity leave. So, yes, if you are very poor or you have marginal skills and a low paid job, Canada may be better for you...it may....
You still live in the same crappy homes, eating the same mediocre food, etc... and with weather choices running from bad to truly horrendous to boot.
New immigrants are systematically discriminated to lowball them (lack of the BS "Canadian experience") and foreign qualification recognition is poor.
Canadians carry record amount of debt and are experiencing a gigantic real estate bubble with no end in sight.
The US still has some allure among some young Western Europeans but pretty much nobody wants to go to Canada.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not bursting my bubble.
Don't know why you're referring to me when talking about Canada: I've lived in the US for many years and am a US citizen. My parents, who still live in Canada, are from Europe. I'm aware of Canada's shortcomings, though I don't agree with the ones you mention above.
Western Europeans, for the most part, have no interest in leaving Europe, period. They have little interest in emigrating to the US or to Canada. If they did, they would. But they don't.
That doesn't change the fact that, yes, Canada does have a very high standard of living. Like you, I have family and friends there. Lots of my friends there have little to no education beyond high school. They're not brighter or more skilled than average, and they don't work any harder than most Canadians or Americans.
But they're sitting in 1.5 million dollar homes, they own cottages up north (a Canadian tradition), multiple vehicles, snowmobiles, etc, and they take regular vacations. They're not hurting.
Why do you think diehard Trump supporters, in comparison, are so angry? Have you never heard of the economic despair in white working-class areas throughout the US? Have you never heard of the opioid epidemic and other serious health issues ravaging these areas?
That doesn't change the fact that, yes, Canada does have a very high standard of living. Like you, I have family and friends there. Lots of my friends there have little to no education beyond high school. They're not brighter or more skilled than average, and they don't work any harder than most Canadians or Americans.
But they're sitting in 1.5 million dollar homes, they own cottages up north (a Canadian tradition), multiple vehicles, snowmobiles, etc, and they take regular vacations. They're not hurting.
Can you post links to show that this is how a typical Canadian lives?
Western Europeans, for the most part, have no interest in leaving Europe, period. They have little interest in emigrating to the US or to Canada. If they did, they would. But they don't.
True...they are generally not interested in Canada or the US...probably Australia currently has a bit more appeal.
Quote:
But they're sitting in 1.5 million dollar homes, they own cottages up north (a Canadian tradition), multiple vehicles, snowmobiles, etc, and they take regular vacations. They're not hurting.
Many people live in "1.5 mil homes" but they doing good only if they bought them decades ago otherwise it's just mortgages and debt....excessively high property houses is not a good thing despite what people may think
Quote:
Why do you think diehard Trump supporters, in comparison, are so angry? Have you never heard of the economic despair in white working-class areas throughout the US? Have you never heard of the opioid epidemic and other serious health issues ravaging these areas?
Plenty of desperation in Canada, they are simply more quiet and take it.
Quote:
Generally speaking, comparing living standards of blue-collar Canadians with blue-collar Americans is like comparing apples with papayas.
Nonsense, they are perfectly comparable, Canadians are not doing better.
If, as a young person, you can choose between America and Canada, America wins hands down, no question about it. Many Canadian professionals still aspire to move south and the US is still the most coveted destination for immigrants between the two by far, Canada is always playing second fiddle.
Can you post links to show that this is how a typical Canadian lives?
Not any better than America.
It's anecdotal of course but all of my friends in Canada have less disposable income than their American counterparts...and they are professionals, we are not talking retail jobs.
For example, having a "1.5 mil" lousy shack in Vancouver and having people living in your basement to help you pay for your mortgage does not make you any richer than a person living, let's say, in Atlanta, making more money living in 400K brand new mansion and with a lower cost of living in general.
Homeless drug addicts in Canada can't easily run to live on the street in a mild climate like they can in the U.S.
Apparently most of them end up in Vancouver, which has the mildest climate in the country.
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