Throughout the years, if American’s get frustrated with a political issue, President or just about anything — they often say ‘I’m just going to move to Canada!’. I have probably said it myself a few times over the years, but I wanted to know if it would even be worth while moving to Canada, and what weight that famous American expression holds.
What I found was…it would probably be a pretty smart move!
Canada rests just above the United States with hundreds of border crossings along the United States northern border. For many, this is why moving to Canada would be so easy! Plus, getting citizenship in Canada isn’t that difficult of a task either.
Here are some life differences between Canada and the United States
Health Care
USA – the singularly most expensive and non-trust-able health care in the world. It’s said that 70% of all bankruptcies in USA are because of health care bills.
Canada – Free to their citizens. No charges.
Life Expectancy
USA – 78 years, which is one of the lowest in the world.
Canada – 81 years, among the longest living peoples in the world
Maternity Leave
USA – Six weeks, no pay and if you don’t come back in six weeks, your job is gone.
Canada – One full year with “almost” full pay. Your job is guaranteed to be there for up to two years.
Schooling
USA – No. 34 in high school educational standards.
Canada – consistently among the highest 10 in the world.
Higher Education
USA – The singularly most expensive in the world. A four year degree can cost up to $400k.
Canada – Free (Quebec) or very reasonably priced. All applicants that qualify can study.
Personal Safety
USA – Puts more prisoners (on a per capita basis) in jail than the any other country, by a factor of seven. 50% of all released prisoners are in jail again within 18 months.
Canada – Has among the lowest prisoner population and lowest repeat crime rates in the world.
Vacation Time
USA – No guaranteed vacation time, and many don’t get any. Vacation time is on a per job basis.
Canada – Varies between provinces. Most employees start with two fully paid weeks and it goes up from there.
Standard Of Living
USA – Very uneven, with the great majority living poorly by European or Canadian standards. 49% of Americans cannot pay an unexpected $400 bill without borrowing money. (Source: The Economist.)
Canada – Uniformly high with far lesser difference between high and average paying jobs. Minimum wage can nearly be double in some places vs. America’s minimum wage.
Fun Fact
90% of Canadians live within 100 miles from the United States border!
We could go on and on about the differences, however – the general consensus is that Canada is a decent place to live and in many cases…it’s financially better than the United States.
