Better life in USA or Canada? - expats opinions and your comparison

From the day Obama took office last year to the end of this fiscal year (which ends today), according to the Office of Management and Budget, the national debt will grow by $3.3 trillion. In just 20 months, Obama has created as much debt as Bush ran up in his entire eight years. His spending plan that was approved by Congress last February calls for doubling the national debt in five years and almost tripling it in 10.

I guess you do not have any children....???????

what you write mr. West is completely, and conveniently leaving out the fact that obama inherited the worst economic crisis the world has seen since the great depression.

when bush took office, america was BOOMING......and look what he left behind.

obama is spending money, sure, but it's in an attempt to rescue the country from economic meltdown. maybe it's a good decision, maybe it's bad, but it's something to maybe try and stop the bleeding. new job creation is on the up and up lately......

bush created debt through entirely different means.

you simply can't compare the two.

nice piece in the huffington post....

huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/need-a-job-try-canada-whe_n_640555.html

Where did you get that garbage from?
Nobody tells me what doctor to see and nobody tells me when to see a doctor decision is mine. Unlike in the US where the insurance company first tells you if you're covered for a given condition and then what procedures you are allowed to undergo.

In this comparison the area is critical. Where in the US and where in Canada? If someone feels like living in a potato region then there is no difference between rural US and rural Canada. If someone prefers a larger city then I'd say NYC carries some aura of myth an excitement.

In general it all depends on what makes you tick. For me the US is a no no. I left after 5 years, then worked there 3 more years and now I cannot imagine myself living there at all. Heck, I don't even feel like cross border shopping anymore. The US has definitely changed in the last 20 years or so. For the worse.

I love USA, but there are lots of great things about Canada. I like how much greener it is up there. It's colder, too.

.. Better topless bars.. no hillbillies.. no neo-con weirdos.. no jesus freaks.. quite a few things actually. If they didn't tax everything incl sunset watching.. it would be alright.

What you are saying is it's better because it's more liberal?

Too bad because they have better selection and much better prices.

Hmm.. no not necessarily.. but I think they have a lot less hang ups about stuff. We're the more creative country.. more dynamic maybe.. but they're more laid back and probably run a better country. I think they go about things smarter to a degree. I wouldn't mind working there for a couple of years. Probably not live there.

It seems cool because the Canadians have a greener approach to life. The US would be better off being more like Canada. We would have an easier time. We can learn how to relax and quit being so consumer oriented.

Yes.. wholeheartedly agree. They don't consume simply for the sake of consuming. Remember though.. 30 million is a lot easier to manage than 300 million.

I live near the Canadian border and my thoughts (not criticisms) on the Canadian north.

No dominant culture which is alluded to above. A fella I met from Liverpool (or was it Manchester?) who had relocated to Western Canada said his son still spoke with an English accent. Another guy mentioned that when he went in the service in WWII he was surprised when he met Ukrainian-American soldiers, that they were so well assimilated in the culture. He said in Canada the Ukranian immigrants didn't speak English well enough to serve in the Canadian Army.


Toronto I don't know about, but generally speaking Canada isn't somewhere people go to shop. Not much selection.


No humor. In my travels to Canada rarely if ever see Canadians bust out laughing.

:) Hilarious sentence

Yeah.. now that I will give you. They don't have much of a sense of humor at all. Kind of a bland outlook on life. (Not sure if that's true in BC though).

What a dumb comment.
Those who came to Canada a year or two before WW2 broke out certainly could not speak English. Would Ukrainians in the US somehow acquire super skils to learn the language faster?

On the other hand, I know a few Italians in Buffalo, NY area. After 40 years in the US they speak less English than my cat, age 15.



Oh but they do burst out laughing. It's hard not to with such hilarious neighbors to the South.

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BhTZ_tgMUdo

and who ran the economy into the ground? who bailed his buds on wall st? do you have blinders on?


bottom less too


i dunno about liberal but at least it's more progressive in so many ways..


some places but not all

Yawwwn... not going to even watch it, probably more d*ckhead interviews, pop trivia style.. just like the Limeys, Aussies come over and do. Lots of editing to find the dumbest bastard responses you can find and *voila* "All Americans are retards". Tee.. Hee.

One thing BETTER with the US is it doesn't have that sad chip on it's shoulder like Canada constantly obsessing about a neighbor. Kind of pathetic and fairly juvenile at the end of the day.

Anyway, you're the board a$$ wipe so I guess I'll let it go.. as aforementioned I like the Canucks in general.

Perhaps America sense of humor is stale then.
But wait! Some Americans actually have a sense of humor:

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fys3MsKMpms


Actually, there was no editing involved. Life wrote the screenplay.


Americans not obsessing with Canada? And these posts of yours prove that? Have you forgotten Canada the scarecrow during the public health care debate in the US?


So this is an example of this "famous" American humor?

but we all know Bill Maher is a traitor.. ;) :D

This is something that gets bandied about a lot, that the US has such cheap taxes in comparison with Canada and Europe.

Here, compare for yourself:
paycheckcity.com/canada/coeatonca/caCalculator.aspx (Canada)
paycheckcity.com/NetPayCalc/netpaycalculator.asp (US)

For the same salary, my paycheck is actually higher in Canada. Two big differences are that tax on capital gains in Canada is about half that of the US for short-term capital gains, and for long-term capital gains it's about the same. Also, sales tax is about 10% higher for most items in most places in Canada.

The main thing I've noticed about America vs Canada is that life in America can be ridiculously easy and cheap. Food, cars, online shopping, electronics - they are all fast and cheap, and in most cases conducive to living a less healthy lifestyle. Fatty cheap food, driving everywhere, avoiding driving when possible and having things delivered to your door, electronics like the iPad that just make you plant your ass down and watch more glowing rectangles for more of your day.

I was watching Inception the other day and there was the Jeep commercial where they asserted that "What we make, makes us." I think that sums up a lot of America - it is a nation of heavy consumption. Except most of that consumption actually comes from China or other third world countries where goods are produced cheaply. Easier life, but not necessarily more interesting. That is one of the main differences to me.

Life was simpler when I lived briefly in Poland, and even in Canada.

Conversely it's more threadbare too. Sorry but cheaper, affordable goods do have a place in the happiness factor.

To an extent, and then it becomes noise that can distract from living. In the US, the noise is a lot louder and in your face. Only here in America is something like this possible: youtube.com/watch?v=Va2Ydlf2cqc

..or.. it could get you closer to your dreams. You're young and you want to play guitar for instance, piano.. lot's of ways to purchase ones in the US.. and a huge variety too.

Lots of things take money. Sorry but that's just a fact.


Well, thanks.. but no thanks.. I've seen enough of the youtube videos about my homeland. They're generalizations.. are there hints of truth here and there? Sure, but these little vids of somebody acting / saying stupid could hardly characterize an entire 310 million people. Strange how little you seem to grasp that.

I know Europeans / Canadianas snicker and tee hee about the dumb American all day long but it's not reality. Casual observation would tell you otherwise. << had you even been here>>

Not really. I did comparable calculation of $50,000 annual salary in USA and Canada (province of Quebec) and my result was $41,275 for USA and $32,181.76 for Canada.


In Canada the tax on capital gains is currently at 50%. Much lower in the US. And besides, if you don't own stocks or bonds what do you care?

Generally speaking Canada is much more expensive place to live than USA.

hmm.. i just did mine and the paycheck in the USA would definitely be higher.


yup.. but one doesn't have to live on the cheap chinese junk like you think everyone does.. also, most people say that healthy food is expensive but i disagree.. i tend to buy the better stuff but then i am frugal and know when to buy what..


lol.. great stuff


yup, yup, and yup.

Well, you do have less whackos, serial killers , gun nut fools, etc.

plk123 wrote:


the thing is, you can live however you want in the USA. things are simply more accessible there, and almost every time, for a cheaper price. if you want to live the stereotypical lifestyle of an american, prosze bardzo, it can be done, but just as easily, you can go to a store and buy really healthy food for example, and it will cost less than probably anywhere else.

the beauty of america is if you want to be lazy, you can, which means when you feel like being lazy, it's easy to do which is nice and convenient, but the point is, the option is always there, and options are good.

First, Quebec and all the Atlantic provinces have the highest taxes of all the provinces. The point in any case is that "Canada has 50% taxes" is clearly wrong, and the amount of tax you pay depends on many factors that are not simply US vs Canada.

Second, tax on capital gains in Canada is 50% of your marginal tax rate. So if your marginal tax rate is 30%, then the tax is 15%.

I don't think it's that much off. Considering federal income tax, provincial income tax, unemployment insurance, Canadian Pension Plan, Quebec Pension Plan, property tax, school tax, two consumer sales taxes (federal 5% and provincial 7,5%) and additional taxes to gasoline. Not to mention high license fees. There’s no question that we pay hefty tax rates in Canada.


But they are still in Canada, so what's your point?

My Grandfather settled in New Jersey in the 60's and his brother simultaneously settled in Canada. My Grandfather was able to leave Poland and enter the US because my Grandmother was an American citizen, and I'm not sure how or why my uncle settled in Canada.. but he did. While I never knew him, I can say that I can't stand my Canadian Cousins --- his grand children and great grand children.

Vancouver is a beautiful place, and in general, the environment in Canada is majestic, there is absolutely no doubt about that, but the same can be said about the US... Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Pacific Coast, Rockies, etc... But yeah, all the great scenery shown on the Winter Olympic coverage doesn't really do the nation justice, its a beautiful place.

But getting back to my cousins and their Canadian ways... they are with out a doubt the smuggest people I have ever met. And its not just them, but the culture in general. Sure we were some what estranged cousins, having never met until 6 years ago, but good grief, the whole time it was Bush this, Rush Limbaugh that, our health care is better, how can you live with yourself after killing all those Iraqis, you go to church and drive a SUV, your police officers carry guns?!?

I mean my cousin's wife devoted all this time and money to an organization she founded which PROVIDES NEEDLES TO THE JUNKIES OF VANCOUVER. I questioned why on earth she would want to do this because its not like they are wealthy and could waste money on stupid stuff, and well... that was a mistake. But yeah, other then maybe San Fransisco, no one in their right mind would even think of doing something like this in the US, and I pretty much thank god for that. Canadians are pretty far out there too, just in left field.

Finally, I'll just say that I also have family in Poland and when I visited them last year for the first time, I was treated like a foreign dignitary by my relatives and I'd say I'm a decent looking guy... but back in Poland I was like Brad Pitt or something, I had sex like a rock star, which was new to me, and Canadian women, ugh...

So I'll say this, US>Canada and Poland>Canada.