Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
America is unique in that regard. They are the richest nation of all time.
Canada is still a very modern G7 economy with plenty of opportunities, even if it doesn't exactly match the opportunities in the US.
|
It all depends on where you sit on the economic spectrum. I'm a Canadian on a work visa in the US and have been here a few years. Based on what I have seen, it's much better to live in Canada if you're poor to upper middle class.
For most Middle-class people - Health care costs, Education costs and insurance are the big-ticket items that cost more in the US (While federal and State taxes are lower than Canada you have to factor in higher local taxes if you want to live in a decent school district). For poorer folks all of the above also applies, but also there's much more government help and social programs in Canada and the bureaucracy is much easier to navigate in Canada (I believe the big reason why there's different attitudes towards government's involvement in everyday life between the countries is due to this. US federal and state governments are the height of incompetence and useless manual processes.)
Once you're in the range of US$200k/yr and up there's infinitely more opportunity in the US, the taxes lower compared to Canada and you're in the job category where most employer health insurance plans and access to health care are excellent and far superior to Canadian health care.
And yes Fotze, filling out FBAR's every year sucks! (I have a wife who likes to change high interest savings accounts everytime there's a higher rate somewhere else so downloading dozens of account statements and calculating the maximum balance for each is a PITA)