Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreamingkitty
I'm from Canada but have never been to the U.S, I'm wondering just how similar the U.S is to Canada? do you have the same standard of living as us etc?
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Similar to the US? ....geographically or culturally?
Geographically ....I'd say close.
West coast of BC has similarities to both PNW and SE Alaska.
Mild rainy winters, coolish sunnier summers, very green, towering
snow capped mountains, big trees.
Driest/warmest interior BC has a similar look to intermountain US.
Northern Idaho looks very much like BC Kootenay Region.
Canadian Rockies look like US northern Rockies, even a bit more
stunning....if that's possible.
Southern Alberta and SW Saskatchewan are almost indentical to
adjacent areas of Montana...even eastern Wyoming and extreme western Dakotas.
SE Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba mirror North Dakota and NW Minnesota.
NW Ontario (Lake of the Woods/Rainy River to Thunder Bay) have a
Northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin look and feel.
Parts of Ontario around Sault Ste. Marie / Wawa ....very Michigan UP-like.
Extreme SW Ontario....Essex and Kent counties have a US Midwest look and climate.
Southern Ontario....Upstate NY has similarities....particularly Niagara Falls,
also Thousand Islands ....shared by both countries.
Even parts of Quebec look geographically like the US
Yes, the Eastern Townships and Beauce Regions look like Northern New England
areas of VT and NH.
As mentioned before, Maine is not too different than parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
In the North .....The Yukon and NWT can be matched with areas of Alaska.
Culturally .....
Coastal BC ....PNW
Interior BC ....inland PNW and Northern Intermountain US
Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan ....eastern MT...western ND
and the other US great plains states down to central Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle
are not too much different. Giant wheatfields and ranching in drier areas.
Canadian Cowboys and ranchers share and common culture and lingo.
Toronto is mixture of Chicago and NYC...with a little LA thrown in.
Quebec is unique....Montreal though can be compared with Boston.
Halifax and Portland, Maine are almost twins.
Newfoundland and Nunavut are unique to Canada.
I personally find the US natural vegetation in the Midwest and even northern US
south not that noticeably different, southern Ontario is at the northern limit
of the "Carolinian Forest Biome".
Canada does not have anything like California and the lowest/hottest desert SW zones.
Closest Canada has to Cali is Southern tip of Vancouver Island, it's in a rainshadow,
Sunny and warmer than the rest of the coast, even has a native broadleaf evergreen tree,
the Arbutus.
Closest Canada has to US desert SW is the driest area of BC around the Thompson River
and Fraser Canyon, very dry but in reality more like northern Nevada than the SW.
Culturally Canadians are close ....we watch the same shows, have a similar lifestyle,
speak almost the same.
Most Canadians could easily "blend" in most of he US....
western US accents (including California...maybe especially California) are close to
Most Canadian accents. Midwest not much different too...except the Great Lakes Vowel
shift (Chicago best example).
Canadians never sound as harsh and tough as NYC ...New Jersey, Philly, and Boston accents.
Canadians sound more laid back ....like Californians.
Then there is the south....only area of the US where Canadians sound like foreigners,
except in areas of Florida where there is no dominant accent.
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