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It's critical but he sounds right on the money to me.
Probably. Don't know much about Canada but from what I've read it doesn't sound as cheap to live there as much of the United States is. Would still love to visit however, in the summer months of course.
I'm fascinated by Canada like most places, at the same time feel as if we are close cousins, I think using the term "North America" to describe US and Canada combined does make a lot of sense.
Canada is no utopia by any means, I do feel like many Americans idealize Canada, however there are a few things that I am intrigued and attracted to by Canada, despite the fact that .
#1. Despite Canadas association with "soft socialism" (universal healthcare, etc.) it does have a lower corporate tax rate which has been very advantageous to Canada, although I don't know the specific details of all this. Toronto seems to be booming, and Vancouver has become the new LA with the film industry taking advantage of lower cost.
This is important to note, that a culture can be a little more laid back and liberal while still being very business friendly. In the US, most of the areas known for being the most business friendly, are also areas where you also find backward thinking.
#2. I'm fascinated more by the demographics of Canada and the history of it related to the present day.
Westward expansion in Canada was done in a much more orderly way. the original French influence had a huge advantage to building trust with Native Americans (the French trappers and traders wanted to do that, just trap and trade, not to permanently settle as much) so when it came time to permanently settle there was less violence on Canada's frontier than in the US's frontier. That may sound bad, but seriously Anglo expansion was inevitable, it might as well have been done in an orderly way, that pissed off indigenous people the least possible way.
Also the fact that French Canada was a huge part of Canada, so the nation was somewhat bilingual from the very beginning, people may have learned to just accept the reality of bilingualism. Unlike here in the US, you have all these people making up some myth that up until the large scale Mexican immigration, everyones' grandparents learn to speak english immediately,etc. etc.
Also, being too cold for cash crops, Canada did not have slavery, so therefore no descendants of those slaves that suffer from struggling with issues related to violence, under-education, etc. The majority of Black Canadians are Caribbean in origin and came to Canada specifically for opportunity with the idea of making the most of those opportunities like any other immigrant group.
#3. I just like all the lingering British Commonwealth influences. As someone who group with BBC broadcasting on PBS I've always been a little like an anglophile. The idea of having the best of North Americas wide open spaces and spectacular nature that the US has, combined with images of the Queen on the money, Royal institute names, metric units, government buildings that look like Londons Parliament, etc., etc. does sound pretty neat.
Bottom line is: I love the USA, however I feel like here, I have to work to know which areas to avoid having to be around and listen to "loudmouths" whether its "rural evangelical guntoters, or "ghetto tough people" that I am not on the same wavelength. In Canada it probably easier to life your life minimizing your interaction with these extremes
Yea, that's right. I live in the "cheap" part of Canada around Winnipeg. That means you only tack on a few hundred thousand on to your home. Picture your $300,000 home in a decent area of Chicago, just add $250,000 on to that. But we are lucky here, in other areas it isn't so affordable. Guess how much these homes cost?
If you guessed anything under $1 million, guess again. Each one of those homes is going for over $1 million in the part of Canada north of Seattle. The average yearly income there is 1/15 of the average home cost. Think Oahu, Manhattan, or downtown San Fransisco pricing but without the economy or international hub status to support it. Meaning that the average hardworking Joe has no chance of ever owning their own home. But hey, at least the streets are walkable, right?
British Columbia? okay.... how about the housing prices in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan?
I'm fascinated by Canada like most places, at the same time feel as if we are close cousins, I think using the term "North America" to describe US and Canada combined does make a lot of sense.
Canada is no utopia by any means, I do feel like many Americans idealize Canada, however there are a few things that I am intrigued and attracted to by Canada, despite the fact that .
#1. Despite Canadas association with "soft socialism" (universal healthcare, etc.) it does have a lower corporate tax rate which has been very advantageous to Canada, although I don't know the specific details of all this. Toronto seems to be booming, and Vancouver has become the new LA with the film industry taking advantage of lower cost.
This is important to note, that a culture can be a little more laid back and liberal while still being very business friendly. In the US, most of the areas known for being the most business friendly, are also areas where you also find backward thinking.
#2. I'm fascinated more by the demographics of Canada and the history of it related to the present day.
Westward expansion in Canada was done in a much more orderly way. the original French influence had a huge advantage to building trust with Native Americans (the French trappers and traders wanted to do that, just trap and trade, not to permanently settle as much) so when it came time to permanently settle there was less violence on Canada's frontier than in the US's frontier. That may sound bad, but seriously Anglo expansion was inevitable, it might as well have been done in an orderly way, that pissed off indigenous people the least possible way.
Also the fact that French Canada was a huge part of Canada, so the nation was somewhat bilingual from the very beginning, people may have learned to just accept the reality of bilingualism. Unlike here in the US, you have all these people making up some myth that up until the large scale Mexican immigration, everyones' grandparents learn to speak english immediately,etc. etc.
Also, being too cold for cash crops, Canada did not have slavery, so therefore no descendants of those slaves that suffer from struggling with issues related to violence, under-education, etc. The majority of Black Canadians are Caribbean in origin and came to Canada specifically for opportunity with the idea of making the most of those opportunities like any other immigrant group.
#3. I just like all the lingering British Commonwealth influences. As someone who group with BBC broadcasting on PBS I've always been a little like an anglophile. The idea of having the best of North Americas wide open spaces and spectacular nature that the US has, combined with images of the Queen on the money, Royal institute names, metric units, government buildings that look like Londons Parliament, etc., etc. does sound pretty neat.
Bottom line is: I love the USA, however I feel like here, I have to work to know which areas to avoid having to be around and listen to "loudmouths" whether its "rural evangelical guntoters, or "ghetto tough people" that I am not on the same wavelength. In Canada it probably easier to life your life minimizing your interaction with these extremes
I always enjoyed visiting Canada when I lived up north. I am a very conservative person and would not be interested in how much government involvement they have but I cannot deny that their national government seems well run. I also think their ties to the UK make them a bit unique. We share the same culture and language but they still embrace their ties to the mother country. We seem to hide them, even though they are still there. Overall Canadians and citizens of the US are really almost the same people, but have two different national governments due to a political split during our revolution. It is the same relationship that would have existed between north and south had our civil war resulted in two nations coming out of the US civil war.
I'm sure Canada is nice and all, but it's notoriously difficult for new immigrants to the country to get clearance to work there legally. My brother moved to Ontario and had to work illegally for a year before obtaining the proper work status.
It is simply not true.
I am an immigrant and studied in the US prior to moving to Toronto. Arrive in Toronto in May 2008, got a permanent government job in late July. English is not even my first language.
Your brother probably didn't have the right skills Canada needed at that time?
I am an immigrant and studied in the US prior to moving to Toronto. Arrive in Toronto in May 2008, got a permanent government job in late July. English is not even my first language.
Your brother probably didn't have the right skills Canada needed at that time?
Possibly. His degree is in philosophy and his previous job was as an electronics assembler. He moved up there in 2009 or 2010 and had to do odd jobs under the table for a year.
Yea, that's right. I live in the "cheap" part of Canada around Winnipeg. That means you only tack on a few hundred thousand on to your home. Picture your $300,000 home in a decent area of Chicago, just add $250,000 on to that. But we are lucky here, in other areas it isn't so affordable. Guess how much these homes cost?
If you guessed anything under $1 million, guess again. Each one of those homes is going for over $1 million in the part of Canada north of Seattle. The average yearly income there is 1/15 of the average home cost. Think Oahu, Manhattan, or downtown San Fransisco pricing but without the economy or international hub status to support it. Meaning that the average hardworking Joe has no chance of ever owning their own home. But hey, at least the streets are walkable, right?
That is pretty shocking. Even if the rest of Canada isn't as bad, it appears housing costs are way out of whack for the middle income earner. Odd, since the country presumably has lots of open space and real estate due to a low population. Does no one at the national level try to address this?
I'd move to Canada instantly if I was able to work there.
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