Indeed!! More karma on its way

Chipotle

Oh dear I wonder if the inhabitants of Edmonton know their city is uninhabitable being as they are 619 km north of the us border? What about those poor buggers in Fort McMurray?1081km North???? They must be friggin sorryful Folks.

Also canada obviously realises that it only stands to benefit from global warming, as habitable zone gets wider and southern canada gets even better summers.. Perhaps we won't have to take over Turks and Caicos after all. Just screw Kyoto.

I was under the impression we'd already sent advance forces to occupy Florida, Mexico and Cuba?

Ah, you mean 'petit quebec'? Who wants to go there, it's full of frenchies...

Things Americans find weird about Toronto are that the shops are so often closed, there are a lot of laws, the driving's much worse and the TV/radio are terrible. I think the last point is true but can't say that I find them to be much better in America. I agree about the driving but, contrary to an opinion I often hear, I don't think people in Canada would drive better if they thought other drivers might have guns.

There are some great microbrews in Quebec. Bizarrely, the selection of imported beer is probably the worst in Canada. Probably provincial govt policy.

Here's my provoking thoughts on comparison:
=============
Montreal = Paris and NYC combined
Calgary = Dallas
Vancouver = Seattle
Toronto =.....?

Toronto has the cultural diversity of NYC, the traffic problems of LA, the beauty of Cleveland, the glamour of Omaha and the cadence of Oklahoma City.

Since I moved from the US to Canada myself, I will make a few comments. I was in my 40's when I moved, so I was in the US for most of my life. The differences here (Toronto area) are not that many and you can fit in very quickly. You will find some thing missing that you will find bizarre though such as:

Most stores and malls close at 6pm on Saturday
No drive-thru windows at banks
Most grocery stores have very few "health and beauty" items stocked, you have to go to a drug store for that
There are stores that only sell pet food and you need to buy there instead of a grocery store as they have very little of that
Banks charge hideously high service charges and there are few "free" checking accounts
Nobody takes checks, you have to use your debit card
The selection of breakfast cereal sucks (about 1/4-1/3 of what you find in a US store)
No ESPN on TV
TV and Radio in general are not as good (Canadian content laws)
Flashing green on a traffic signal means you can turn left, right, or go straight
Bread is very different
Prices on many grocery items are MUCH higher for no good reason
Meat in supermarkets is generally pretty low quality, you need to go to a butcher for good meat
More variety (i.e. exotic) produce available
Narrow aisles in stores, especially ones where you tend to use carts so it is nearly impossible for two shoppers to pass
Some things with the same name here as in the US are in fact very different such as cottage cheese and oreo cookies
Corn bread doesn't exist and corn meal can be difficult to find
Flour is different (more gluten) and you many have to adjust recipes to make them work properly
There is almost no US regional (home cooking) type food at restaurants. You can find restaurants from any other country, but try to find one with real Southern cooking or even Mexican for that matter.
Yards and houses are much smaller and cost much more
Taxes are 2-3 times more than anywhere in the US
Traffic is horrible and so are the drivers
Long queues anywhere you have to line up for something

I am sure there are more, but that is what comes to mind first other than too many people, but that is more a factor of where I moved from which was far less populated.

Corn meal you can get from the St. Lawrence market (Rube's Flour, downstairs, west side). Supplies for Mexican/Southwestern meals you can get at the Kensington Market, various stores.

It is possible to eat as if one were in America, the night before last we had ribs (eight hours in the smoker), collard greens with bacon and deep fried okra in buttermilk batter. Now that's healthy eating!

My Canadian husband moved to the US 8 yrs ago when we married. He would tell you that life is much the same. More job opportunities in the US but that Canada has better holidays (read as more) than the US. Canadians are friendlier and more courteous than Americans. He would tell you that he likes much about the US political system in comparison to the Canadian. Although there is graft and favoritizm is both systems. You can vote for many judgeships in the US and you can't vote for judges in Canada. He likes that fresh foods are more readily available in the US and for a much cheaper price.

Essentially though it is very similar. You work 5 days a week, have to commute, have longer colder winters then most US states. Same outdoor activities as in the US with the exception for those who live in the major cosmopolitan cities of the US. Then it is a matter of jumping in the car or plane and going to where the leisure activities are.

Good luck on your move. I'm sure you will like living in Canada. Just note that the beer is stronger and the language although purportedly English is not American. Pissed in the US means mad. In Canada it means drunk.

well everything you mentioned is only really relevant to Toronto and its surrounding city/towns, just drive outside of Toronto and you'll find plenty of drive-thur ATMS and it just looks the US to me, with less people etc, Both countries have good and bad things about them.

God people on this board don’t realise how Canadian their becoming, I forever hear Canadians compare Canada and the US and how everything is so great in the US but their still Canadian and proud but are forever talking about visiting the US.

No offence intended here but Canadian life wouldn’t be what is it today if they couldn’t visit the US every week to get cheap gas/food/ is part of the culture here. Just the way it is.

Which points, apart from the ATMs, only apply to Toronto? Do they get ESPN in Regina?

I know a woman who claims she has ESP! Does that count?

Called sportsnet and TSN here (and that other digital one)...mostly just recycled ESPN feed when not showing hockey (which of course noone in the US cares about) If you really care just bring a direct TV dish with you and set it up here....the satelite wont know the difference, although its technically illegal I imagine.


Taxation is an interesting point. Comparing Tax burden in our neighbouring state NY with Ontario, taxation (all taxation, direct, indirect, property, corporation) is actually higher in NY.