Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Russell
Your generalization about the middle class having an easier go of it in the US was true at one time but it's a lot more complicated today. You might do better in a place like TX or OK with low cost of living and low taxes (and crappy services and infrastructure and schools, high crime rates etc.). But in CA or NY or the kinds of places with a more Canadian-style quality of living, life for the middle class is generally harder than in Canada, certainly AB. The Great Recession hit a hell of a lot harder in the USA and in states worth raising a family in the tax rate is high and the cost of health care is staggering. At least that's my view.
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I guess it all depends. I guess I kind of lucked into a little pocket of the best of everything. My effective tax rate in the US is about 13%, which is much less than I'd pay even in Alberta. I used to have to do both country's returns, and when I was single without a house, taxes were definitely higher in the US, but with a family and mortgage, taxes are significantly cheaper in the US/Virginia.