If you had the opportunity to move to the US, would you take it?

[4444]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

I think most people have friends/know people who have made the move to the US and have made it. The people who have done well in the US are smarter and harder worker than the average person. American society rewards the smartest and the hardest working - there's no doubt about that. However, most people are simply average and people who are average will do better if they stay in Canada.

capitalism (US) vs. socialism (canada)

what this says to me is the strong prosper in hte US, and canada is left with 'the rest'

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by 4444

capitalism (US) vs. socialism (canada)

what this says to me is the strong prosper in hte US, and canada is left with 'the rest'

Well, Canadian businesses are typically risk-averse as well. The institutions are partly to blame, but so is the culture too.

[BurnoutBinLaden]

Originally Posted by 4444

this thread will end up a major fail storm of anti-US/pro-Canada vs. the opposite group

you are clearly pro-canada, and a lot of what you said has a very reasonable counter arguement

EVERYWHERE has its flaws - canada ain't that great, the US ain't that great, britain ain't that great...

4444, if you don't mind I'd like to hear some of these counter arguments. It's important that all sides of an issue are heard so people can form their own opinions.

[punkwax]

Interesting timing.. I was golfing with a friend yesterday and he said he wanted to move to the US soon (and has recently returned from living in Ireland for a few years).

We started talking Phoenix area. Cheap real estate (I found very nice golf course homes for ~500k), cheap Coyotes season for your hockey fix, cheap golf, not taxed to death, great weather etc etc. Wife and I lightly discussed it this morning, I could almost certainly find work and we'd live mortgage free with money to spare for our kids' educations, vacations, return trips to Van to see family and so on...

But I wouldn't just move there without some due diligence. I live in a great neighbourhood with fantastic schools and little to no crime. That's a lot to walk away from for some extra spending cash.... not sure our conversation was ever that serious but it's funny how there's a thread on it today.

[Sniperslayer]

Arizona ain't as great as people think and there are ALOT of ghetto areas

Been there a few times and if your 65 and looking to lay by your pool on a good course it's alright or looking to party for a weekend but I'd have a hard time picturing living their for any extended period of time it's always felt to me like a modernized Mexico when I've been
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[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

I
We started talking Phoenix area. Cheap real estate (I found very nice golf course homes for ~500k), cheap Coyotes season for your hockey fix, cheap golf, not taxed to death, great weather etc etc. Wife and I lightly discussed it this morning, I could almost certainly find work and we'd live mortgage free with money to spare for our kids' educations, vacations, return trips to Van to see family and so on...

Would your savings and increased salary compensate for the tens of thousands more you would have to save to put your kids through college?

[drunkrussian]

i absolutely would if it's California or possibly Florida or somewhere warm. Not easy tho, ur competing for jobs which can be filled with Americans so they sure don't make it easy for you
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[punkwax]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Would your savings and increased salary compensate for the tens of thousands more you would have to save to put your kids through college?

Mortgage free = yes.

Anyway, as I said, it was not a serious discussion.

[rsx]

If the opportunity came up and the city of choice was decent, sure why not!

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

I think most people have friends/know people who have made the move to the US and have made it. The people who have done well in the US are smarter and harder working than the average person. American society rewards the smartest and the hardest working - there's no doubt about that. However, most people are simply average and people who are average will do better if they stay in Canada.

+1
if you are a professional...America definitely has its perks.

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

We started talking Phoenix area. Cheap real estate (I found very nice golf course homes for ~500k), cheap Coyotes season for your hockey fix, cheap golf, not taxed to death, great weather etc etc. Wife and I lightly discussed it this morning, I could almost certainly find work and we'd live mortgage free with money to spare for our kids' educations, vacations, return trips to Van to see family and so on...

I have family in PHX and it's more suitable for snow birds..aka retirees looking to stay there during the wintertime. If you stayed there for an extended amount of time in the summer it won't seem as favourable as you'd originally thought.

[SkunkWorks]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

I have family in PHX and it's more suitable for snow birds..aka retirees looking to stay there during the wintertime. If you stayed there for an extended amount of time in the summer it won't seem as favourable as you'd originally thought.

And if you have a daughter, a lot of the backroom casting couch sites seem to be recruiting out of ASU and the like.

Just a thought.

[JSALES]

I would move, maybe once I get sponsorship. Majority of my family lives in the US, mostly California. I would not mind living in California at all, I love it down there.

[bcrdukes]

I moved there and came back. I thought I loved California but only to visit. To live? It's another story.

But YOLO. So yeah.

[The7even]

You really should reconsider, OP.

Honestly, if I didn't have all my friends here and family.. I'd move to Canada.
You really are better off there.

My country of choice though.. Australia. I hate the cold. But yeah, CA/AUS > USA.
Trust me, america has been sold long ago and everything is for sale.. including your freedoms and rights and etc.
I'd advise against it.

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by Sniperslayer

When I was in Mexico this past month we met/talked to a tonne of Americans staying at the same resort. It really is amazing how ignorant the majority of them are on worldly topics and even issues within their own country

As well almost all the older men we spoke to who you would kind of expect to have some sort of career or established job almost all worked like clerical jobs or lower end jobs like plant workers in factories etc

Obviously this is a small sample size but we provably spoke to 15-20 and the majority were all like this, was kind of odd having a group of young guys from Canada who all had great careers talking to these older Americans who were almost embarrassed to explain the details of their " career"

So with that said unless I was some sort of in demand professional ill stay in Canada
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This post epitomizes ignorance.

1) You talk to a bunch of underachieving laborers and clerical staff, and are surprised they are not well versed on 'worldly topics.'
2) You decide to make a broad sweeping generalization of an entire country based on casual conversations with 15 people in a crappy Mexican resort.

I am now interested in your definition of a 'great career' because the bar seems to be set pretty low.

I travel around the world a bit, and spend a lot of time in airline lounges and hotel restaurants/bars. If I assumed the last 15 Americans I talked to were an accurate representation of the total population, I would be there in a heartbeat - fortunately I am not quite that stupid.

[VRYALT3R3D]

To Florida? Hell yeah.

[Gridlock]

I want to go to Vegas and flip houses. Mostly because I can't afford to play in my own back yard. Losing 5% when you bought that shit hole for 500k isn't an option for me.

That said, I don't know what would be involved in doing so, legally, and I don't think I'd want to live there permanently. There isn't really an american city that appeals to me. I could probably get into living in New York...but I'd stick out like a foreigner for the next decade.

[Sniperslayer]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

This post epitomizes ignorance.

1) You talk to a bunch of underachieving laborers and clerical staff, and are surprised they are not well versed on 'worldly topics.'
2) You decide to make a broad sweeping generalization of an entire country based on casual conversations with 15 people in a crappy Mexican resort.

I am now interested in your definition of a 'great career' because the bar seems to be set pretty low.

I travel around the world a bit, and spend a lot of time in airline lounges and hotel restaurants/bars. If I assumed the last 15 Americans I talked to were an accurate representation of the total population, I would be there in a heartbeat - fortunately I am not quite that stupid.

Airport lounges eh? Well then you must be running into all sorts of CEO types!

Give me a break, my opinion isn't only based on 15 people. In the last two years I've been to Scottsdale twice, Cali throughout Orange County, Oregon and Mexico where I've been able to converse with +- 50-60 Americans on a casual basis? The vast majority gave me the same impression as the people I met in Mexico sorry I wasn't in the head office of Microsoft conversing with billionaires I was with the average people you'd probably meet/live around if you moved to the states and that's how I felt

So y u so mad bro
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[originalhypa]

I would move to the US in a second.
The energy when you step into Chicago's downtown core is electric. Just being in Manhattan makes you want to succeed, and the lifestyle in the desert is where I want to be.

I love Canada, but no longer question why Gretzky is living in California, or why so many Canadians winter in Florida or Arizona.

[Spidey]

opportunity or forced to? I wouldn't take an opportunity to.... If i was FORCED to, that would be a different story. The only way I would consider it is if I had full health/dental/eye care. There isn't any reason why I would move there at this point in my life.

[godwin]

It really depends on the opportunity, your age and outlook in life. I worked for a few startups in the late 90s in the Bay Area. Hard brutal work with amazing results and perks; something that can't be replicated in Canada.

Granted in the Bay Area / Silicon Valley the male to female ratio in the tech industry is probably akin to med schools in the 50s. But if you are out going and have a good head on, it is very easy to find someone start a family etc. Most large firms have daycares on site or provide nannying as a perk, just make sure your kid has a spot and have it on paper before you sign the contract. None of ths BS wait list like we have in Canada.

Housing wise, well established cities like SF and SD, the prices are about the same in Vancouver and they haven't suffered any financial crisis.. in fact quite a few places I know in SD had appreciated quite a bit (~15% the last few years?)

On the flip side, if you are in the medical field eg a surgeon. The net take home pay actually ends up to be a bit lower than Canada especially if you work for a decent HMO like Kaiser. Of course if you were medically trained in the US, it is pretty much impossible to come back and work in Canada.

You won't get a decent answer unless you elaborate.

[The7even]

Originally Posted by originalhypa

I would move to the US in a second.
The energy when you step into Chicago's downtown core is electric. Just being in Manhattan makes you want to succeed, and the lifestyle in the desert is where I want to be.

I love Canada, but no longer question why Gretzky is living in California, or why so many Canadians winter in Florida or Arizona.

It's nice if you have the money. If you don't, Chicago sucks.

[geelaw]

yaar, id prob consider cali

[godwin]

That's pretty much anywhere where there is a civil society though.

Originally Posted by The7even

It's nice if you have the money. If you don't, Chicago sucks.

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by SkunkWorks

And if you have a daughter, a lot of the backroom casting couch sites seem to be recruiting out of ASU and the like.

Just a thought.

no kidding...i hear ASU is the biggest partying school in US