Canada vs US?

[Sis41]

hi, this may sound really stupid but for anyone who has lived/worked in the US and Canada, what are some advantages of Canada (not Toronto if that matters)? From a very naive perspective, I was hoping maybe less crime, congestion, something like that?

[EVHB]

Would you like to compare Vancouver in BC with Lost Springs in Wyoming?
I hope you realise your question can't be answered. Please, provide more detail. What do you want to compare? A town with a lot of snow? Or a village with lots of sunshine? The boondocks? Crime stats? Wages? Cost of living? Culture? Music festivals? Schools? Work opportunities? Medical facilities? ...
There is not "one best place on earth" for everything. ;-)

[Sis41]

whoops I guess I need to think about it and rephrase

[WestCoastCanadianGirl]

Originally Posted by Sis41

hi, this may sound really stupid but for anyone who has lived/worked in the US and Canada, what are some advantages of Canada (not Toronto if that matters)? From a very naive perspective, I was hoping maybe less crime, congestion, something like that?

In the major cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto & Montreal), you're basically looking at extensions of major US cities.

In spite of the gun laws here, people have guns and are using them (Vancouver had a very bad gang problem a few years ago... Google "Bacon Brothers" and "UN Gang" to get some background information)... we might not have them to the same extent as in the US, but we (Canadians, that is) would be stupid to try to claim that they aren't the least bit of a problem here.

Congestion... you're going to get that in any major city regardless of whether it's Vancouver, NYC or London (you should see the congestion at Oxford Circus subway station at rush hour... people stacked up 10-20 deep outside of the entrances to the station... now that's what I call congestion!!!)

I don't know what else to tell you without having frames of reference to go by. We're not nearly as flag waving patriotic as our American neighbours, although when push comes to shove, we can hold our own.

One thing you will probably notice is that while the US has always styled itself as a "melting pot" of different cultures, Canada has taken more of a "cultural mosaic" attitude towards the population side of things. Case in point... within a 10 minute drive of my suburban Vancouver home, I can think of a number of restaurants that serve food from one community that is done in the style of another (I am thinking specifically of Chinese food done in the style of food that would be served in India). My favourite dim sum place has as many non-Chinese patrons as Chinese diners in over the lunch hour, all enjoying their har gao and siu mai. When my department at w*rk has a pot luck lunch, invariably my boss (a man from Croatia) writes down that he will bring in sushi, while I (an ethnic Japanese) bring in a western style dessert and the ladies from India and Pakistan bring in samosas and ALL OF IT gets eaten by everyone on staff.

Hope this is of some help in your comparison.

[Jrge]

Originally Posted by Sis41

hi, this may sound really stupid but for anyone who has lived/worked in the US and Canada, what are some advantages of Canada (not Toronto if that matters)? From a very naive perspective, I was hoping maybe less crime, congestion, something like that?

Like WestCoastCanadianGirl says, major cities in Canada are just an extension of the US.

Workwise: I personally think workload is about the same
Safety/Crime: Canada isn't as violent as my beloved US. Bear in mind Canada has about 34mm people whereas the US 311mm.
Health: in the US is a privilege, in Canada a right.
Salaries: Depending on your field, about the same (At least in mine is).
Cost of living: Depending on where you live, it might be higher than the US.
Customer Service: pretty much the same in both countries.
Weather: Canada tends to be a bit colder than the US (Please mind my sarcasm)

I see Canada as an improved UK with the affluence of the US, with just a temperature issue. That's it!

Animo
(Cheers)

[Jrge]

Originally Posted by WestCoastCanadianGirl

Congestion... you're going to get that in any major city regardless of whether it's Vancouver, NYC or London (you should see the congestion at Oxford Circus subway station at rush hour... people stacked up 10-20 deep outside of the entrances to the station... now that's what I call congestion!!!)

Hope this is of some help in your comparison.

I am claustrophobic and just recently had to ride the Jubilee line. Well, the thing got stuck in between stations, and we were escorted out through the tunnel. Talk to me about a nightmare!

Animo
(Cheers)

[jawnbc]

And now it's time for the great Canadian debate: how different is Canada from the States? I think it's very different, having lived and worked and attended university in both. Here's a few contrasts:

Big city life: Canadian cities are mostly residential throughout (Edmonton's an exception); US cities often have large corporate/commercial areas where relatively few people live. This includes greenspaces within city centres.
Safety: Canada specializes in petty crime; the US gun crime. Most violent crime in Canada is committed with knives, bats/sticks or fists. Car theft is ubiquitous in both countries.
Shopping: retail sales taxes are higher in most parts of Canada than the US, with Alberta the obvious exception. However, just as in the US the stoopid system in Canada means what's advertised as "the price" doesn't include 5-15% additional tax, which is calculated at the till.
Fitness: generally Canadians are a bit more fit than Americans, and the level of fitness goes up as you move West in both countries. British Columbia (where Vancouver is) has the lowest smoking and obesity rates in North America. But facilities for recreation are very accessible: paths for skating, biking running, pools, hiking trails. Kind of make it hard to make excuses *rubs belly*
Taxation: aside from retail, taxation rates in Canada are higher than many parts of the US, but lower than some. My brother lives in NY State on Long Island and pays a lot more tax than I do in Vancouver.
Income: salaries vary widely across both countries. Living on minimum wage in any major Canadian city is a brutal life. But "wage slaves" won't lose their homes to pay for health care, should something catastrophic happen (see below).
Health care: Health care is not a right in either country--a popular misconception held by many Canadians. In fact the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the opposite. Canada has multiple public health insurance schemes with mandatory enrolment: one for each province, plus specific ones for on-reserve Aboriginal persons and Canadian Forces living on-base.

Most provinces also have extensive public healthcare systems, but physicians are a notable exception, as is most lab work done outside hospitals. Our system is publicly administered (via the insurance scheme) rather than something like the UK's NHS. There is legislation that requires these plans to have no user fees for basic services--so you pay nothing out of pocket to visit a GP, specialist or get care in hospital. However, prescription drugs are ONLY included in-hospital, which is why many Canadian employers offer their staff "supplemental insurance" to cover most or all of prescription drugs, dental care and vision care services. Some employers pay for this cover; others arrange a group deal that employees themselves pay for.

People: there are awesome people in both countries; there are unnice ones in each too.
Politics; Persons on the left of the political spectrum in the US are often rather frustrated between the hard right (Republicans) and centre-right (Democrats): Canada has a full spectrum of parties on offer and 5 parties with seats in our federal Parliament.

[Sis41]

You guys are really helpful! I've lived most of my life in big cities where guns and cops are rampant, although living in the suburbs you still can't turn a blind eye to what's happening around you. As an American I feel disheartened and disillusioned sometimes when the persons that are supposed to be trusted turn out to be dishonest and corrupt. Happens anywhere I suppose but still disappointing.

[headzred]

While it is true that there us no one "best" place between the US and Canada, there are a couple of things that mattered to me when deciding if I wanted to move to Canada. Toronto, at least, really does have less violent crime considering how dense the population is. (Toronto's rate is about 2 per 100,000 people, versus Atlanta's 26 and Chicago's 15.5.) More than that, though, the general attitude of the people is what has won me over. Canadians seem to understand that some degree of social responsibility is beneficial to all, even though they don't agree on how much is too much. The US has become more and more full of people saying, "I have mine and you can't have it, screw you." JMO.

[JohnSoCal]

This is very difficult to answer as it all depends on what your preferences are and where in each country you live.

I live in Southern California but have lived in Vancouver, Victoria, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Fort Lauderdale FL as well as Mexico and Venezuela. I have also spent a lot of time in many other states and provinces.

Our favorite place by far is where we live now (10 years ) which is why we chose it. We live in a medium sized metro area ( 350,000 ) 60 miles north of San Diego and 70 miles SE of Los Angeles. We also love San Diego and the San Francisco Bay area.

The crime rate is very low where we live. Definitely much lower than where my sister lives in the Okanagan area of BC Canada. On the other hand Canada doesn't have the crime problem found in the ghetto areas of many large US cities. However Vancouver has more crime than either San Diego or San Jose which are larger cities. My observation is that in general the crime rate is lower in most large Canadian cities due to not having the ghettos to the same extent. However the crime rate is generally lower in the small cities and rural areas of the US compared to Canada.

There is no question that the cost of living is considerably higher in Canada.

As far as quality of life, that depends on what you make of it. It can be good or bad in either country.

Weather is a big factor for us and it doesn't get much better than Southern California.

So it really depends on what your preferences are and what you are looking for. You can have a good life in either country.