What is it like living in Canada as a U.S. citizen?

 Allan:

My answer will definitely be influenced by being a naturalized American and having spent a lot of my life i other countries. I have also lived in many parts of Canada. A bunch of thoughts rather than a coherent dissertation.

Overall I think that there is a better quality of life in Canada than the US. Less hype, more work-life balance. But it comes at a cost.

As Americans, we tend to want instant gratification. We expect prompt service, competitive environments for services such as communications, air transportation etc. So - more patience is required. You’ll find that government services make most American services looks mercurial. And be prepared to pay more. The civil service at the federal and provincial levels are much less productive than the US counterparts. Forget prompt mail service.

Canadians tend to be very polite although comments on Canadian newspaper websites suggest that this isn’t uniform.

I find that Canadians have better quality food. But give me Tillamook ice cream over any non-homemade ice cream.

Multi-lingual environments don’t cause issues. People don’t yell at you to speak American - despite no official language in the US.

Very little racism; not zero but very little.

Fewer extremes, less obvious economic stratification.

More willingness to find compromises rather than only divorce style negotiations.

Employers have champagne tastes but ginger ale budgets. Slow to hire (really slow) and slow to correct hiring mistakes. Slow turnover.

Fantastic education system at all levels. So many firsts for a country with a small population.

Life expectancy is high and consistently beats that of the US. But don’t expect to jump the queue unless you want to opt for private clinics but hard to bypass hospitals.

There are more than 2 political parties. And except for some outliers, no extremists. Even the conservative party is liberal compared to the US.

Crime rates are lower. Most Canadians don’t consider crime rates when they select future housing. We don’t feel the need to “stand our ground”, yet we know how to handle rifles, shotguns, and hand guns safely.

Canadians generally treat others (people, cultures, nations) with huge respect. They are kind, tolerant, consistent, educated, global travelers, tough, resilient, passionate, patient, funny and more. Canadians may look like Americans - but they aren’t.

Canada is a great place to live and welcome anyone. Observe, accept and enjoy the experience.

David Stannard

Engineer / software architect. Business person. Traveler

What are the differences between Canadian and American lifestyles?

 On the surface, much seems similar. Americans have cheaper housing prices and are often shocked to discover prices in places like Toronto or Vancouver. But Canadians get many services for free that American’s pay for. We all drive similar cars, tend to have the same furniture in our homes. 

Per capita, Canadians have a higher level of education. Americans are viewed as more vibrant and exciting and they certainly can be. 

While Canadians are accused of being boring but I contend we like it that way. Canadians hold more passports, this could be simply because we like to escape in the winter but I suspect there is more world tourist travel as well, while the Americans travel more on business.

There is more opportunity in the US for career advancement. The US is a major economic engine and has a much greater population. 

That’s why many of our actors and comedians go stateside. 

Unfortunately, this is also true for the sciences. The Canadian government under Harper unofficially declared war on science funding and as a result, many of our scientists are currently working in the States wishing they could find a high-paying job back home.

Canadian society is more egalitarian. Americans will disagree with me greatly on this. In the US there seems to be an attachment of almost god-like attributes to someone who is extremely wealthy. 

In trying to understand why Trump was so popular, I was very puzzled by the “because he is rich” answer from middle-class people. One explanation I was given is the American dream. 

Americans who strive their whole life to become wealthy greatly admire others who have achieved that dream. While Canadians mix their admiration with the niggling question “What did this person have to do in order to step over others?’

Saturday Morning Confusion about who gets charged!

 I found out this week that there is an increasing amount of Internet companies that ship you goods from Canada but charge you in U.S. dollars!

This is just plain wrong folks!

If someone wants to sell in Canada and even has warehouse space here in the country... then there is no reason on earth [sic] for them to be charging us in the more expensive American greenback!

The way I see it anyway!