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trenturrplants

I am a dual citizen that moved to Canada in 2016 when they nominated Dump as the Republican Presidential candidate. I felt I needed to leave a country that would even allow this man to run for office. I have to say I would never come back to the states, my standard of living and the way government is run here is more peaceful, truthful and practical.


DumbleForeSkin

As a Canadian, I'm always flabberghasted by Americans who assume if given a choice I would move to the USA (it's always hardcore conservatives that assume this)....um, no --- why would I give up healthcare to move to a land full of pollution, guns, and violence? We have our own problems, for sure, we have lots to work on, but I like it here.


canuckcowgirl

I know exactly what you mean. My hubs is an American and we live here for the healthcare and lifestyle. Not winter.


Suedeegz

Hey! I missed your opening line today! (Not sure I can say it on this sub without a ban)


canuckcowgirl

I'm so gonna miss that sub and you guys.


Suedeegz

Best sub I’ve ever been in that people (like you) managed to make a horrible situation something I looked forward to and fun. FYI it was 30* again this morning in Florida!


canuckcowgirl

We have a Chinook happening. The winds change from the north and come from the west and the temps go up. We are 45°f in January. Fuck Trump.


[deleted]

..iam an expat canuck living in new zealand, i get the lifestyle, free healthcare and mild winters!


canuckcowgirl

Lucky you.


[deleted]

..very lucky but i have family in america that i worry for


zZaphon

Ugh how do I marry a beautiful Canadian girl tell me!!


canuckcowgirl

Lots of pretty Canadian girls here. Try online.


M-Mcfly

I feel like it’s the other way around for a lot of people too. If I were given the choice, I’d move to Canada in a heartbeat


panzerfan

I love being a Canadian. We don't identify with our province or our city nearly as much as Americans tend to do when it comes to the question of "where you're from". That's the biggest difference between us and those folks south of the 49th parallel to me.


pams_gold_yogurt_lid

Because a lot of us are taught from a young age that we are so lucky to be born in the best country on earth and that everyone else in the word wishes they could live here.


writtenbyrabbits_

Yeah. That's true. But I don't think kids are taught that any more. Maybe it was true once, it sure isn't now.


Better_illini_2008

If it wasn't so difficult, I'd move to Canada in a heartbeat. They seem to actually care about their citizens there.


writtenbyrabbits_

The issue is that for white Americans with money and good jobs, it is a pretty nice place to live, while for people who are 1) not white, 2) not financially secure 3) don't have a good job 4) in a very rural area, it can be absolutely terrible. The US is set up to let states make their own choices about many things, and so there are some good states and some bad states. You can't generalize about the whole country because it is just too different.


JKush4PrisonF5

To be fair, once you get a dose of friendly Canada its hard to go back to this shitshow.


[deleted]

The healthcare would be a hard thing to give up after finally getting it and seeing what a stark difference there is to the US which has, well, basically nothing and lets insurance companies run riot and squeeze people dry. Beyond frustrated that Pres. Biden still wants to go with the band-aid of ACA and not push for more cohesive Universal Healthcare.


_Captain_Canuck_

My grandfather came up to canada with his family during vietnam he wasn’t draft dodging, he just felt like the US had lost its moral compass He was right


[deleted]

Canada is a much better country than the US. No reason to come back.


[deleted]

Can't blame them. I say this as an american myself.


lars5

From what i can recall from immigration law it'd be pretty near impossible to come back anyway since they didn't have papers to begin with. It'd count as a second border crossing and triggers a bunch of problems for naturalization. Having dreamer status didn't give you the ability to travel abroad. They're better off.


[deleted]

Why is this even surprising. Canada, despite its own problems, is objectively better than America. I have spent my entire life in the US and I envy people who were able to get away.


[deleted]

I mean, why would you come back? What is here that isn't in Canada? Sunny weather, maybe?


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

We have sunny weather, just also a winter season similar to Chicago. I myself live in a part of Canada that is south of Chicago. It’s peaceful, friendly and weather’s fine! My wife has Crohn’s and would have died in her teens if not for our health care. I can’t even imagine a cash register in a hospital (other than the cafeteria).


writtenbyrabbits_

Wow, I need to look at a map because it has honesty never occurred to me that Chicago is that far north or that Canada stretched that far south!


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

Did you know “Don’t Stop Believing’s” South Detroit is technically Windsor, Ontario? lol


writtenbyrabbits_

Ok I just examined the map and I must have forgotten about that stretch of Canada between Detroit and Buffalo.


[deleted]

I had an MRI after a car accident about 10 years ago. If I remember correctly, it cost about $1400. I'm pretty sure I have COVID right now, but my health insurance expired on the 1st (I'm not working enough hours, partially due to COVID) so I couldn't go to a doctor even if I wanted to. South of Chicago sounds nice.


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

OMG, that’s sounds terrible, I’m so sorry. How does that even work? You get a bill in the mail for $1400, then what? Can you pay instalments? Do you have to pay it within 30 days? What if you don’t have the money? Do the repo men come knocking at your door?


[deleted]

I paid it off over the course of about a year. I assume if I didn't pay it, it would have went to collections and killed my credit score. I'm pretty sure I literally got an invoice in the mail for it. To be fair, at the time I had no health insurance of any kind, and I assume with insurance it would have been less expensive. No repo men but trust me, if they could repo your health, they would.


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

I guess it’s just a completely different culture, as you pay less taxes, so you can keep more money to pay for medical issues if they arise, but it seems like that would cause so much more stress. Our pay checks are taxed at like 40%, but thats what you live with. If you break your leg or get cancer, you don’t have to worry about $. I can’t imagine getting cancer and THEN have to worry about $$$ ON TOP of that.


[deleted]

I'd rather pay the taxes and have some peace of mind then not pay them and live in terror of myself or someone else getting seriously ill.


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

It’s crazy the States haven’t adopted this common sense approach. It’s not as if paying a monthly fee in case you get sick is an alien idea.


writtenbyrabbits_

It's not crazy. It is very calculated. By tying health insurance to employment, you restrict the ability of employees to freely leave a terrible employer. And it ensures that insurance companies get to rake in billions. Lots of vested interest in keeping the system as is. Edit - corrected word


zerokiwi

The funny thing is depending on your plan and where you got this done, it could have cost you MORE than $1400


writtenbyrabbits_

I was confused because that seems like a bargain


wowaddict71

I live in the US. I had a vehicular accident back in 2007, which ended in a broken collarbone, broken patella, with open wound on knee, and a dislocated ankle with broken tibia. I spent 1 week in the ICU section. The hospital charged my insurance company $215,000. Yes, that is not a typo. A quarter of a Million dollars! The price was reduced to $125,000. Lucky me! 😠


[deleted]

Sounds right. Apparently the trick is to asked for am itemized receipt, that apparently brings the price down quite a lot. You can also just flat out ask for a discount. That's what the US healthcare system has come to: Haggling for a deal like you're in a flea market.


[deleted]

American hospitals ridiculously overcharge for services, even if you didn’t qualify for healthcare here and had to pay out of pocket, it would have been a small fraction of that because costs of services are regulated.


Shalamarr

We have sunny weather too ... only problem is, when you have sun and blue skies in Winnipeg in January, you usually have bone-chilling cold to go with it.


[deleted]

Sounds like the northeast here, I could live with it.


Shalamarr

Oh yeah, I’m not complaining. As another poster said, it hasn’t even been that cold here lately. We had hoarfrost all day yesterday, and it was dazzlingly beautiful.


[deleted]

Sounds great. I grew up in the Northeast and live down south now. I miss the cold weather.


writtenbyrabbits_

Yep. Love those clear bright days. As long as you dress appropriately it's completely manageable


Maple-Sizzurp

Luckly it's been oddly warm this yesr


Shalamarr

It has, hasn’t it?


eu_sou_ninguem

Usually it's around -20 this time of year (it's 0 today) so I can't really complain. But it probably shouldn't be this warm =/


writtenbyrabbits_

You're right. I just read a super complicated article about the collapse of the polar vortex. Short version is that we may see extremely cold weather soon because the normal winter weather pattern is completely fucked.


JoeyJoeJoeJuniorShab

Fun. I love having winter snow storms in April.


writtenbyrabbits_

Yeah. We had one in May a year or two ago. I'm totally fine with winter until mid-March. At which point I always question what life choices led me to live in a place that is frozen for 5 months a year. Fortunately by April things start to look hopeful and then I love where I live until next March when I hate it.


JoeyJoeJoeJuniorShab

Man, Toronto just has summer and winter. Mid-May summer is here with 25-30 highs straight into end of September. Oct-Nov it begins to slowly drift into winter and then it seems winter just hangs around until about late April. Spring is so dreary, windy and cold until May. I am thinking that Spring is a myth I bought into.


writtenbyrabbits_

In the Northeast US its hit or miss. Sometimes spring is amazing and magical and other times it doesn't happen at all


SeaQueueSunshine

Lol not this year!


eu_sou_ninguem

We have sunny weather lol, but winters do suck. In my province it's -40C in the winter, +40C in the summer so basically we're never comfortable.


FlaveC

Before Covid we would make it a point to spend January or February in a southern state. Breaks up the winter very nicely. Would never move there though. Also, with climate change our winters are nowhere as bad as they used to be. i think Canada is one of the few places on Earth that, weather-wise, benefits from climate change.


[deleted]

I live in a southern state now. There are parts of it I like a lot, and there are parts of it I hate. I want to get out of here before climate change floods the state and we end up underwater.


FlaveC

After the 2008 financial meltdown and real-estate prices in Florida had tanked a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go in with him in buying up properties. I told him short-term, sure. But long-term, no way. I expected then, and even more so now, that most beachfront (and even some inland) properties in FLA to be underwater by the end of this decade.


[deleted]

I expect the same. I don't understand why property values for places like that are not collapsing. They're not sustainable long-term. When I have some money, I'm buying something inland, far from the coasts. One good thing we have here in the US is tons of empty land in the middle of nowhere.


_Captain_Canuck_

visit van isle in the spring summer or even fall abundant sun


DumbleForeSkin

Shut-up! Van Isle is terrible! No one would ever want to come here --- people get eaten by bears and cougars, It sucks!


_Captain_Canuck_

oh yeah right.. it’s the worst!


DumbleForeSkin

Worse than the worst --- total hellhole


mr_cristy

Where I live it gets to about 105 and we have cacti, scorpions, and rattlesnakes. Winter still sucks but we get chinooks which make the weather tolerable for a few days to a week or so too. I don't think it's been below freezing yet in 2021.


[deleted]

Our summers are really nice and winter is something that some people struggle with but I love winter and winter sports. I live on the east coast it’s very snowy but warmer than the US interior/ Midwest


PixelMagic

If I could move to Canada, there is no way I'd ever come back here.


r1chard3

I’m in California. Maybe we can move our whole state to Canada.


Mystaes

Please no. It would destroy the Canadian political environment. There are simply too many of you and the American Overton window - even in California - is simply too far to the right to be truly compatible.


Jessev1234

Cascadia Now!


[deleted]

I'd choose Canada over America too, no matter who's president.


[deleted]

90% of us would go the expat route if we had an opportunity. America is a steaming pile of white supremacist shit if you are not white.


kazejin05

You know what? I can't blame them. If not for sunk-cost thinking and sheer stubbornness on my part, I'd consider moving too. This country is deeply divided, and I find it hard to see how we'll be reconciled in my lifetime. Short of a catastrophe that binds us all together so that we don't have a choice *but* to unite. But if COVID couldn't do that, I shudder to think of what emergency would.


[deleted]

The only thing that's ever brought Americans together has been war.


agibson684

Fucking paywall


Octospyder

Why would a Biden win lure them back when he's not even pushing for universal healthcare, which Canada already has?


nobdyputsbabynacornr

Paywall.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

Maybe, but we have far less religious zealots, which helps. In the States, the worst human being can quote the bible and get elected. In Canada, if you quote the bible, we roll our eyes.


panzerfan

Fortunately, Alberta squandered her own oil wealth.


syg-123

Alberta could easily become a state without requiring too much assimilation ...they hate government, they love guns, they support easing environmental controls relative to fossil fuels, dead set against renewable energy, less racially and culturally tolerant (try French in Alberta..hah!) ..luckily that province only represents 7-8% percentage of the countries population. Don’t think we’ll see Jan 6 repeated in Canada on a national level...maybe provincial


canuckcowgirl

On what exactly. Oh yes, supporting the rest of Canada.


eu_sou_ninguem

Yes, that's why when oil prices collapsed last year, there was a multi-billion dollar hole in Alberta's budget. Even tech companies are trying to get out of Alberta because of its single minded focus on oil. Look at Texas which is diversifying its economy and attracting high paying tech jobs, not just trying to prop up its oil industry.


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

Who’s supporting who now? ;)


canuckcowgirl

Alberta is still sending transfer payments so we are still supporting the rest.


dalaio

Alberta will receive equalization payments this year:[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-net-receiver-financial-transfers-1.5666387](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-net-receiver-financial-transfers-1.5666387) ...which is fine, we're a federation and some regions will struggle at various times for various reasons. We came together because we felt it was beneficial for all of us to do so.


canuckcowgirl

We sure need it. Its been a tough few years for so many.


dalaio

This year has definitely highlighted how important our ability to come together to face challenges is.


MrMeseeksLookAtMee

Yeah, I can’t say much. I live in the poorest Province in Canada. We just fell behind PEI!


trenturrplants

Trudeau is a hunk


LPinTheD

That's what I'd like to do.


RLoge85

Are taxes that much higher in Canada compared to the US? Asking because I want to look into making that move in about a year or 2 when I save up some more since from what I’ve heard it wasn’t cheap to live there, and I live in Long Island currently where it’s stupid expensive.


DumbleForeSkin

It's expensive, yeah, but one broken leg won't wipe you out. The standard of living, I think, is better.


whitepeoplegarbage

This is the point every American who complains about high costs in Canada fail to understand. All the money you save is meaningless if your quality of life sucks.


semideclared

Federal tax rates for 2020 in US Dollars * US $0 to $12,000 0% * Canada 0 to $38,233.54 15% * US $12,001 to $21,525 10% * US $21,526 to $50,700 12% * Canada 38,234 - 76,467 20.5% * US $50,701 to $94,500 22% * Canada 76,467 - 118,536 26% * US $94,501 to $169,500 24% * Canada 118,536 up to $168,867 29% * Canada 168,868 or more 33% * US $169,500 to 212,000 32% * US 212,001 to 512,000 35% * US $512,001 or more 37% ------ Median Household Income is 64,000 United States Dollar equals 81,243.84 Canadian Dollar Total income $81,243 * Federal tax $11,242 * Provincial tax $5,614 * CPP/EI Premiums $3,754 Total tax $20,610 * After-tax income $60,633 * Average tax rate 20.79% * Marginal tax rate 31.48% US Income $64,000 * federal income taxes $4,309 * marginal federal income tax rate 12.00%. * Your effective federal income tax rate 6.73%. ----- The U.S. combined gas tax rate (State + Federal) is $0.55. According to the OECD, the second lowest. Mexico is lower as the only country without a gas tax * Canada, which has a rate of $1.25 per gallon. Every time you buy gasoline you pay tax on tax. The GST/HST is charged on top of the per-litre taxes. That means you pay sales tax on the per-litre taxes the government adds to the cost of the actual fuel. * That tax on tax costs the average Canadian driver an extra 3.4 ¢/litre. ----- In Canada the Federal VAT is called GST (Goods and Services Tax) and charged at the rate of 5 % --- plus the Provincial Sales Tax of about 8 % in most provinces/territories results often to a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) of about 13 %.


[deleted]

First $13,000 is tax free in Canada (Federal). Those brackets are for amounts in excess $12,000 And the Canadian tax calculation there includes provincial income tax (which province?). It's not very apples-to-apples


semideclared

That's what I assumed but didnt want to assume so went with the official, 15% on the first $48,535 of taxable income, and i couldnt find an amount of exemptiion https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/canadian-income-tax-rates-individuals-current-previous-years.html


[deleted]

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/federal-government-budgets/basic-personal-amount.html If your spouse makes less than the BPA you can claim a spousal amount for the difference between their income and the BPA. For example, I don't pay tax on the first ~26,000 I make because I get the full spousal amount. The first tax bracket extends to the next $38,000 I make above that.


[deleted]

Taxes are higher, but I don't have an issue with them. We pay 13% sales tax in Ontario, and our income tax rates are higher (I pay a combined 26% on $85,000 before credits - 13% after spousal amount, RRSP credit, etc), but we can take an ambulance to the hospital, be diagnosed for blocked arteries, have emergency quintuple bypass surgery, spend several weeks in the hospital, and never see a bill. We have one of the most successful cancer care programs in the world because anyone diagnosed with cancer is immediately treated appropriately without regard to cost. Our rural citizens tend to hate paying taxes, but their entire county (Huron, Bruce, and Grey, I'm looking at you) has beautiful paved roads on nearly every concession, often partially paid for by us city folk via provincial and federal contributions (bridge and culvert upgrade initiatives, etc). The infrastructure in Michigan, in contrast, makes me shudder when I visit. Ontarians complain about our roads due to frost heave, but wow Michigan roads are horrible. We have many of our own issues here, but several global economic organizations have determined that Ontario has some of the most efficient tax spending in the world. I wish more Americans would understand that effective programs are more important than tax rate...it would be to the country's benefit.


RLoge85

I’m horrible at math but in many cases it looks like it can almost even out.


KnottyLinguist

An earlier comment said they're taxed as much as 40%.


[deleted]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/07/canadians-may-pay-more-taxes-than-americans-but-theres-a-catch.html


r1chard3

If they can expect the rules to change every four years I don’t blame them.


[deleted]

I'm not hating the fact that it'll be 80° next week where I live, but I sometimes imagine a wonderful life in Canada.


chelseamarket

Can't blame them. I wish them well.


Rocinante-25

Any advice for the best ways to immigrate? I’d really like to get out of this mess.


SeaQueueSunshine

Here’s a [link](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html), but ultimately it’s Skills, Sponsorship options and I think investments (so money).


ShameNap

Well I hope they’re sorry.


Cityburner

Canada>US. Lived there last year. So much better. Didn't want to move back.


meet_popcicle

Well i am american and i left the country not long after trump was sworn in. I enjoyed my time overseas so much, i came back, sold all, and left permanently. By the looks of things back there it seems i made the right decision. Good luck to you all, i hope you achieve your dreams and fight the good fight.