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

The problem is that everything is so spread out here, unless you live in a major city you pretty much have to drive.


I seen the Chevy Volt at the auto show, it looks cool, doesnt peel rubber but it can go 50 miles on one charge.
Im sure moped, scooters and bike sales will be on the rise this summer.

guesswho
yeah, very unusual indeed. First time in ten years or so (just like snow btw, lol)

We were slammed with a huge blizzard this year and now it has been raining every day for 2 weeks:(

I never been through a Tornado but have experienced a Hurricane before, Andrew back in 92
Ill never do that again!!

You can go far on a bike and fast, too. Riding a bike is a quick way to get someplace without burning gas. I only drive a car because everyone else does. If hardly anyone drove and everyone rode bikes, I would join them because it's so cheap and good exercise. The only reason I don't now is I don't want to get run over.

too bad ru-paul is american.. lol

seriously i used to think i dressed ok when i live in chicago. i was in blaine washington just before i moved to vancouver and i thought also they dressed ok just like most places ive been to in us, dressed exactly same, just the norm ya know.. but recently just 2 weeks ago i was in blaine washington again shopping.. wow just wow! they look like farmers! lol. never thought it was that bad. :(

Yeah, the ************ want to kill the middle class and doing a good job at it. I hope I can land something soon before I have to live under the bridge. Or, even worse, go back to Poland. Lol.

I would ride my more if the weather were nicer, were one of the most bike friendly cities in America.
We have trails along the lakefront that are really beautiful, we get a like of bike group tourists in the summer as well.


They probably were farmers, thats Apple country!

Youre probably still into the Seattle Grunge look,,,lol


All the free govnt programs and wasteful spending have dug us into a huge ditch!

We spent over a trillion in Iraq, we could of re-built half the country with that kind of money.

Hope you find something soon:)

ouch.. try getting in canada specially alberta. that's the money state! city of fort mcmoney i heard even working for dead-end jobs like mac dicks pays $18/h.

vancouver also is a booming city with killer view! just be prepared to pay hefty amount for renting or buying a house. it's ridiculously expensive! 2000 sq ft bungalow could easily set you back close to 800k to buy!!!!

The wind makes it hard.

hell naw! justin bieber that canadian icon kid can testify to that. lol

lol


Ouch! and the taxes are higher as well...


I would love to check it out someday, Ive heard nothing but good things about the place.
The farthest Ive been in the PNW was Oregon and that place is just too beautiful!


Im telling all the Mexicans about this tomm,,,lol


The worst is when youre pedaling into the wind and then you get to where you are going to turn around and enjoy the wind at your back, then it suddenly changes directions...grrr!

800K? Jeeze. Naah, thanks. I love my two bedroom condo where I am and I can still keep it even for a measly $14.00 if I have to... :)

there's actually lots of mexican here but these are not the poor mexicans. most of these kids that i talk to are from the well to do families in mexico. most are students studying at the film schools and speaks very good english. i kid you not, some of these kids pays tuitions somewhere around 50k a year! i doubt their the same ones tryin to sneak in the arizona border. lol

A neighbor of mine where I lived before was a Mexican. Remarkably intelligent, well educated, hardworking and a good buddy.

better color green or yellow? Better men handsome or intelligent? Better food Italian or Chinese?

The answer to all of this is, it's in the eye of the beholder.

Nothing is really better or worse, it's how we feel about something is what makes the difference.

And how is the weather in canada different from most of the northern US?


Thanks for this post, it really shows how stupid you americans are when it comes to universal health care.

Well, you met one of the 5% then.. Everybody else is scrambling around chasing lizards for dinner.

I've been through a tornado.

Funny... I lived in Canada for almost 40 yrs before living in the US.... I never got told what doctor to see. I picked my Dr.'s and my specialists, and never had better care. The US system is SO messed up... the Dr.'s are so desperate to make a buck, they nail you for everything they can. You have to be on your toes in the US... they will send you for any test they can dream up...They love spending your money!

Funny. Never got told what doctor to see in the US. Where do you come up with that stuff?

Could this be why so many Canadians come to the States to get medical care?

this is simply not true. many do come, of course. But just as many Americans go to Canada- why Sarah Palin herself used Canadian health care. For every horror story- there is always a good story- it happens in any country.

Locally known as Rącze Wały (Swift Ramparts)!.

Personally I think the US is much better than Canada. Even although we do have medicare in Canada it is true that there are longer wait times to be seen by a specialist, and if you're really sick you end up going to a private clinic and paying out of your pocket because in the public system you'll die if you wait months for treatment/diagnosis. As far as racism is concerned and people that say there is no racism in Canada move to Quebec and speak English and you'll see some of the worse racism out there. In the past month, 2 people have been attacked for speaking English by a crazy person and while these people were arrested I bet they wont even serve time in jail. There are no rules in Quebec and everything is purely in French and I wonder how they are even allowed to do that since Quebec is part of Canada. If you have a sign in your business in English they fine you, they actually have language police and their paid with your taxes. My husband is from NY and I can honestly say I am embarased to be Canadian from Quebec because no one has the right to force you to speak any language. It's ridiculous really and you wonder where the justice is. Not to mention don't think any of the social services are free you pay for them with 15% tax on everything and get taxed 10% more on your income. In most states sales tax is 7% avg imagine for your whole life paying 8 % less on everything you buy and getting 10% more salary in your pocket and tell me you cannot honestly pay for insurance and have quite a bit of money left. Not to mention vehicle registration, license fees are insane. As far as restaurants go they suck here and in NY/NJ they have the best food and you get much more for your money on almost everything. Mind you salaries tend to be higher in Canada than Us especially for unskilled workers cause min is about 10$ whereas in the states around 7$. I do find Canada is much colder than the US but obviously there are exceptions ( some cities are not that bad). But I live in montreal and NY city is only 6 hours away by car and the temp in the winter is a big difference. The roads are horrible all cracked and they really ruin your car its disgusting and it's not from the weather because just accross the border 40 mins away they are perfect. So I donno what cheap materials or horrible jobs they're doing but something is wrong. All I can say is this place is unlivable it's boring and there's nothing to do, all I can hope for is to finish my education and be able to leave from here once and for all. I will say however, Canada does have a better education system, you do learn more and it is much cheaper. To go to a good university and get a bachelor's it costs about 8000 a year (full-time) tuition and books and supplies included, and there are alot of really good universities in the top of the world (there are poeple from all around that come to study here). In the states the same education costs 25000 a year at a crappy not well known university and 50000 a year at a state school ( i know because I went) it is crazy I know people that graduated 6-7 years ago and still owe 70000$. Overall the best thing to do is get an education and then go wherever you desire. As far as Canada being safer than the Us it probably is but think about it there are a lot more people in the us so no wonder plus all the illegals and their justice system is totally insane there is no justice, but if you're a professional and have money stay out of trouble and live on the nice side of town that wont concern you.

I love Tim Horton's coffee. Plus their subs put Sub-way to shame.

Our weather - as everywhere else - has changed/is changing.

I spent the early part of my life in the southeastern part of US - North Carolina/Virginia/South Carolina - snow was not terribly common in the lower parts of these states (the mountainous regions, yes but not like in Europe) - a snow of roughly 2" deep could shut some cities down for several days. Now - those areas see snows of a foot or more. In 1999, we had over two feet of snow near Greensboro, NC - and it took a week for people to get electric back on and streets to be clear.

In the Midwest - Missouri/Illinois, where I have lived for over twenty years - we used to have commonly snow of two and three feet - now, the weather around St. Louis has shifted - we seldom have snow more than five inches - it has been at least 15 years since a deep snow around St. Louis. St. Louis and Illinois, do get very cold, though - down to 0 is not uncommon in January/February but the summer is hideously hot - over 100 degrees - like hell has relocated itself. I have always credited my parents/grandparents polish roots to be why I prefer the cold weather so much!

I will say - if anyone is considering a beautiful place to live or to visit in the United States - the middle to upper regions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are truly beautiful - in summer, the temperatures are not so horribly hot and in winter, even though there is snow, the cold does not tend to be as bitter. Good cost of living even for those who do not have a lot of money and the beauty of Mountains at one part and the ocean at the other - good tourism and places to visit. Most of my polish cousins, whose parents moved to New York, New Jersey and Illinois from Poland have gone to live in the Carolinas. Our family joke is we have the best of both worlds - Polish and 'Southerners' - :)

St. Louis has a fair-sized Polish population but not so much like Chicago or New York or other points east.

In the south, too - people tend to be far more friendly and accepting of others. More relaxed - which can be frustrating to those who are very busy, busy all the time. A slower pace of life which some come to enjoy. All places have good and bad aspects, of course.

As to the health insurance, politics and serious issues we face here in the US - yes, we are going through very bad times right now - much uncertainty. I can honestly say that I am not pleased with either of our choices in the coming elections. Our politics seem to be nothing now but useless bickering and no real action to be strong and to take action needed - to work together as a nation. This is just my opinion - I am not trying to start an argument with anyone - but it feels very depressing now with people so against each other. One thing is always fairly certain though - life - in one way or another - will always go on.

these are two huge countries... the differences from one end of canada to the other are pretty huge as far as cost of living and standard of living go and i imagine it is the same in the u.s... as far as housing prices if you live in a big city in canada you are going to pay a rediculous price for a house with very little land etc. I have lived in large metropolis areas in big cities and in small communities houses are cheaper in small communities but everything else is more expensive. The friendly laid back attitude that a lot of people love about canadians really is not everywhere in Canada and is found more commonly in smaller communities. The east coast has the highest taxes and highest cost of living in the country and yet the friendliest most laid back people...I have never lived in the u.s but have travelled there extensively although not recently becaue i don't like the direction the country i headed in. Everything is cheaper there for sure but the quality is not as good. A trip to the grocery store in any canadian town or city will set you back much more but the food quality will almost always be better. I suppose the canada vs u.s debate really just depends what you are looking for. For whoever stated that your canadian cousins were shocked that your american police officers carry guns? Sound like complete crap to me Canadian police officers carry guns....

Everyone thinks that america is better, but have you all actually experienced life? im canadian, i went to america on vacation and they treated me like trash, so im not sure what all of you are saying about canada and america.


soooooo wrong, 2000 square feet can be 400k, exactly half of what you said or even less, whered you get that all that info. from. huh


Gays in canada are nothing when compared to america

p.s. canada has nothing over america ive lived here my entire life and no one say nothing, so i dont know where you gaot all this false info from

Canada is the safer life

USA is competition, more ups and downs.

very very true

That's a fair comment. Still, there are trade-offs.

The US allows a lot more choice in climate, job searching and education, all of which give you more options in lifestyle.

Few negatives up there unless you really hate the cool to cold weather.

I lived for some period of time in both countries.I do not claim that I personally great witness
and still use some widely known statistical data for comparison.
Up to early 2000-th the U.S. was one of the main distination for Canadians to immigrate,at certain
periods there were up to 100.000 of Canadians who immigrated in U.S. anually.Mostly it was
associated with better job prospects and payments for a certain categories of highly educated
specialists.For now prospects seems to be largerly equilazed as situation in U.S. worsened a
lot.And unemployment is even higher than in Canada, what was unseen before.
From what I know advantages of life in Canada over U.S are
1) A way lower rate of crime.Especially heavy crime.Cities are much safe to live and to walk at
night.But this is only comparatively.Be cotious in Canada too.
2)Possibly, higher level of general culture.I do not know about all parts of U.S. but it is usually
assumed that Canada is much cleaner in average and closer to Europe in culture and architecture.
In U.S. architecture just awfull or absent in sence of art.And personaly I feel rather uncomfortable with
American stile of interpersonal communication and would prefer something closer to English or French.
But again this is only comparatively.Majority of people who lived in best places of Europe before prefer
Europe over Canada.
3)Free medicine and slightly better social service.In U.S. you may get in real trouble if you are
poor and have no medical insurance.Welfare seem to be more difficult to get in U.S. than in
Canada even though it is difficult to imagine.

Advanteges of U.S. over Canada.There is few if any in my mind.
1)Better climate in some places.But in majority of U.S. states climate is far from sugar too.
Entire East cost from Boston to Florida is extremely wet.Summers could be very hot.
In winters, especially in Boston, and New York frosts could be strong.Entire Southern States
are extremely wet too and extreme heat in summers.North Western coast where is Seattle
is extremely wet and they call it a ``rusted city``. Mid Western states where is Chicago and
Detroit are chilly frozen in winter and windy.Personally I do not like even climate of Los Angeles.
In evenings you get chilly winds from the ocean from local cold current and ma think to use winter
coat even in April if you have to walk at evening or at night.Summers could be very hot and dry.
But the most interesting city is Phoenics.In summers temperature +40°C is very common.And may
not be precipitation for a weaks.But they say people could accustom to such climate to!..
In any case life in U.S. requires efforts of pioneers and cannot be compared to that of Europe (best places).
2)Generally cheaper prices.But I`m not sure about general balance if you need to count prices for doctors,
lawers and housing in New York of Frisco.
3)May be better prospects for job in certain areas.Mostly for high level specialists such as Air Space engineers,
scientists or similar.But not for majority of fields.Currently unemployment in U.S. is staggering.