Thread: An American moving to Canada.. Pros? Cons?

Pros: everything except taxes
Cons: Taxes

move to Alberta. Alberta is so great it tried to seperate from Canada once upon a time.

Originally Posted by DontStop

Pros: everything except taxes
Cons: Taxes

move to Alberta. Alberta is so great it tried to seperate from Canada once upon a time.

Lol, so did Quebec

I know. The only difference was is they expected to have all the benefits of the Canadian government and they still expected to use ports in Canada for their own business. And they even still wanted equilization payments. Scummy French.

Alberta is a booming province right now.

Even people at McDonalds or Dairy queen are getting signing bonuses as incentive to take the job.

Like was stated earlier Taxes will be a little bit of a shock.

What are you expecting moving to canada, maybe we can elaborate from there.

What region? Which province or is that up in the air?

Each area has it's pros and cons... some areas are more affordable than others.

Are you looking to get a house or just rent?
Are you looking for a job or is work relocating you?

That kind of thing.

Average home price in Ontario... yes Ontario is $300,000

That's about the same as Alberta's. I know B.C is awful. MEGA heavily taxed. Fort McMurry in Alberta is expensive too...mind you people working at Tim Hortons there get $15/h min wage

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Average home price in Ontario... yes Ontario is $300,000

Actually it is the average home price in Canada over 300K.

But you have to remember that a majority of the population is around large centers, with higher housing prices.

Yah. Edmonton is booming. Hell, look at Calgary.

cons - yes definitely the taxes. also if you don't like George Dub-ya Bush, you're coming to a country with George Bush Jr. Jr... Harper/Harper gov't are idiots.

pros - a chance to make some good money depending on where you live. also a better health care system. and depending on how long you live here, Canada has some damn good post secondary education schools for your children. (not sure what the tuition is like compared to the US though?)

Originally Posted by Scarface30

cons - yes definitely the taxes. also if you don't like George Dub-ya Bush, you're coming to a country with George Bush Jr. Jr... Harper/Harper gov't are idiots.

pros - a chance to make some good money depending on where you live. also a better health care system. and depending on how long you live here, Canada has some damn good post secondary education schools for your children. (not sure what the tuition is like compared to the US though?)

You do realize you sound like a retard comparing any conservative government in Canada to the conservative party in the States?

Harper and his party would be considered even more liberal then the Democrat party.

Personally I think Harper is a good change, after the Chretien and the Liberals stole and lied to us for so many years.

Harper and his Gov. certainly seem to have a realistic view on the path of our country. Our health care is falling apart, our military is a joke.

the only reason I think Harper is an idiot is because he is pretty much following in the footsteps of Bush...if it weren't for Harper we wouldn't be fighting in Iraq or anything like that. he just did it because he wanted to please Bush, in my opinion...plus what he just did to the Maritimes, taking like 1.4billion from them for this "free trade" thing. that is the last thing I am going to say, because its getting off topic.

Harper is wise making bonds with leaders in the U.S.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Alberta is a booming province right now.

Even people at McDonalds or Dairy queen are getting signing bonuses as incentive to take the job.

Like was stated earlier Taxes will be a little bit of a shock.

What are you expecting moving to canada, maybe we can elaborate from there.

Montreal area in the next couple of years maybe but I'm feeling a bit weirded out at the prospect of not being an American anymore. I need to find out a lot like about the possibility of dual citizenship?

I found this Dual Citizenship FAQ .

Why is supporting our largest business partner stupid? We rely on the US as hard as that is to admit. Even though we may not agree with some of there decisions, we should stand beside them, just like you would stand beside any close friend in a time of need.

Seeing that you are from Halifax, I understand you short term problem with the agreement. We (global business)are entering a new phase of trade, for corporations to blindsided by this is just foolish. There will be a shit load of opportunity in the maritimes to come.

Originally Posted by Little Wing

Montreal area in the next couple of years maybe but I'm feeling a bit weirded out at the prospect of not being an American anymore. I need to find out a lot like about the possibility of dual citizenship?

I found this Dual Citizenship FAQ .

Montreal is a very beautiful area, a lot of culture. Be prepared for a culture shock, Quebec is very different from the rest of Canada, it has a very European feel to it.

Are you and your kids Bilingual? Even though Montreal is predominantly English, French will take priority with most business and signs.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Why is supporting our largest business partner stupid? We rely on the US as hard as that is to admit. Even though we may not agree with some of there decisions, we should stand beside them, just like you would stand beside any close friend in a time of need.

No doubt. If, for some wacky reason, someone attacked Canada, or Canada suffered a huge natural disaster, you know that the Americans (not just the government) would rush to help.

Yeah, our leaders sometimes stupid shit (who doesn't?), but that doesn't mean that the people aren't good.

Originally Posted by Scarface30

the only reason I think Harper is an idiot is because he is pretty much following in the footsteps of Bush...if it weren't for Harper we wouldn't be fighting in Iraq or anything like that. he just did it because he wanted to please Bush, in my opinion...plus what he just did to the Maritimes, taking like 1.4billion from them for this "free trade" thing. that is the last thing I am going to say, because its getting off topic.

Canada in Iraq? They are not that dumb. i would move in a heart beat if they had better weather. Im surrounded by idiots who voted for Bush twice. Thank God I live in a blue state.

I can only really compare Arizona and Alberta.

Alberta is cold (damn cold) but Arizona is hot. Honestly though, Arizona heat is much nicer than Alberta cold. It is more tolerable. Alberta gets so cold that you literally cannot stand outside with flesh exposed for more than about a minute. It is PAINFULLY cold... although the summers are nice.

It is nice to have the sun up until 10:00 PM or later in the summer in Alberta... mainly because you get so little of it. It is nice to have the sun down in Arizona by 7:00 PM... because you want to get out of it.

Taxes... Arizona has less taxes but Canada isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

Canada has big ass mosquitos and they are a major pain in the ass. Arizona has less than 1% of the flying insects that Alberta has. There are more nasty crawling insects in Arizona but unless you are living out in the middle of nowhere, they shouldn't be a problem if you take care of your house.

Living in Canada, there will be times when your car doesn't start because the oil is basically frozen... unless you always plug it in.

Don't expect a car to last more than 5 years in Canada... it will rust out.

Property is much more expensive in Canada than it was a few years ago. If you want tons of cheap land with a cheap 3000 square foot house, move to Texas.

Canada has much nicer parks, mountains, lakes, etc than Arizona. The dog park I used to go to in Calgary would take over an hour to walk from one end to the other. The ones in Arizona take about 5 minutes.

Arizona has extreme rich and extreme poor. Canada is a lot more even. Not nearly as many rich and the poor aren't poor by American standards.

Health care is better in the US if you can afford it, if not it is better in Canada.

Drinking attitudes in Canada are much more relaxed than in the US. Having a beer or two at lunch in Canada is no big deal... in Arizona, employers would freak out.

In my years in Canada, I got at least 10 speeding tickets. In Arizona, over 8 years I have never received one or even been stopped. In Alberta they will trap you. They set up speed traps and pull over massive amounts of people and ticket them. They will follow you on the freeway in a plane and radio your license plate to cops waiting a couple miles up and they will bust you for going less than 10 miles over the limit. In Arizona, you can speed without being stopped as long as you are going with the flow of traffic and not driving like an ass.

You don't have illegal immigrant issues in Canada like you do in Arizona.

Canada has curling rinks :P

Arizona has way more swimming pools.

Originally Posted by DOMS

Yeah, our leaders sometimes stupid shit (who doesn't?), but that doesn't mean that the people aren't good.

I have nothing against the American people, I just do not agree with pretty much 100% of what Bush is doing as a leader.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

You do realize you sound like a retard comparing any conservative government in Canada to the conservative party in the States?

Harper and his party would be considered even more liberal then the Democrat party.

Personally I think Harper is a good change, after the Chretien and the Liberals stole and lied to us for so many years.

Harper and his Gov. certainly seem to have a realistic view on the path of our country. Our health care is falling apart, our military is a joke.

I couldn't agree more. Right wing in Canda is nothing like right wing the US.

Ahh I'd rather it be cold then Hot.
I'm originally from lethbridge and in the summer, at times the heat itself was intolerable.

Originally Posted by Little Wing

Montreal area in the next couple of years maybe but I'm feeling a bit weirded out at the prospect of not being an American anymore. I need to find out a lot like about the possibility of dual citizenship?

I found this Dual Citizenship FAQ .

Why do you feel you need to give up your citizenship?

Montreal would seem really French to an American...

Originally Posted by NeilPearson

I can only really compare Arizona and Alberta.

Alberta is cold (damn cold) but Arizona is hot. Honestly though, Arizona heat is much nicer than Alberta cold. It is more tolerable. Alberta gets so cold that you literally cannot stand outside with flesh exposed for more than about a minute. It is PAINFULLY cold... although the summers are nice.

It is nice to have the sun up until 10:00 PM or later in the summer in Alberta... mainly because you get so little of it. It is nice to have the sun down in Arizona by 7:00 PM... because you want to get out of it.

Taxes... Arizona has less taxes but Canada isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

Canada has big ass mosquitos and they are a major pain in the ass. Arizona has less than 1% of the flying insects that Alberta has. There are more nasty crawling insects in Arizona but unless you are living out in the middle of nowhere, they shouldn't be a problem if you take care of your house.

Living in Canada, there will be times when your car doesn't start because the oil is basically frozen... unless you always plug it in.

Don't expect a car to last more than 5 years in Canada... it will rust out.

Property is much more expensive in Canada than it was a few years ago. If you want tons of cheap land with a cheap 3000 square foot house, move to Texas.

Canada has much nicer parks, mountains, lakes, etc than Arizona. The dog park I used to go to in Calgary would take over an hour to walk from one end to the other. The ones in Arizona take about 5 minutes.

Arizona has extreme rich and extreme poor. Canada is a lot more even. Not nearly as many rich and the poor aren't poor by American standards.

Health care is better in the US if you can afford it, if not it is better in Canada.

Drinking attitudes in Canada are much more relaxed than in the US. Having a beer or two at lunch in Canada is no big deal... in Arizona, employers would freak out.

In my years in Canada, I got at least 10 speeding tickets. In Arizona, over 8 years I have never received one or even been stopped. In Alberta they will trap you. They set up speed traps and pull over massive amounts of people and ticket them. They will follow you on the freeway in a plane and radio your license plate to cops waiting a couple miles up and they will bust you for going less than 10 miles over the limit. In Arizona, you can speed without being stopped as long as you are going with the flow of traffic and not driving like an ass.

You don't have illegal immigrant issues in Canada like you do in Arizona.

Canada has curling rinks :P

Arizona has way more swimming pools.

I currently live in Maine so I'm used to the mosquitoes (we sell joke tiny birdhouses n call them mosquito houses) and the cold. Cars here rust out and have great interiors in Arizona the bodies stay nice and the interiors get cracked from the sun I hear.

Originally Posted by NeilPearson

Why do you feel you need to give up your citizenship?

I guess I wouldn't have to, which is a big relief.

Pro: Global Warming

It'll make the other 70% of their nation habitable.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Montreal is a very beautiful area, a lot of culture. Be prepared for a culture shock, Quebec is very different from the rest of Canada, it has a very European feel to it.

Are you and your kids Bilingual? Even though Montreal is predominantly English, French will take priority with most business and signs.

I have The Complete Idiots Guide To Learning French On Your Own.pdf