Hi there,

This may seem like a bit of a silly question and i'm not sure that this is the right place to post it but what are the main day-to-day differences between life in the US and Canada?

The two both seem very similar in terms of landscape and infrastructure but so many Brits seems to be moving to Canada, is it that much better than the US?

Thanks

The big plus for Canada is the lack of Americans
Canadas economy is in a much better state than us
Canada has a health service
Canada actually wants immigrants
There aren't as many people in canada

Many things are cheaper in the US (Gas, electrical goods, flights, etc)

University is generally more expensive with more extremes in quality and cost in the US.

The US is further south, so the weather is generally milder.

Gun crimes worse in the U.S. Although it could be argued that it's a growing concern in the larger Canadian cities.

No Republicans in Canada (someone could equally argue with that too).

An amazingly high percentage of the U.S. population believe in divine intervention over natural selection.
- DIVINE ACTION AND NATURAL SELECTION
Science, Faith and Evolution
Richard Gordon (University of Manitoba, Canada)

Canada has a 99.9% smaller navy, goes for all services actually.

Oh sorry, re-read original post.

Day to day? Um, you see the U.S. flag less.

Quebec.

Speed signs in KPH instead of MPH.

More (ice) hockey in Canada.

Overall the temperature is lower in Canada.

Quebec

You see more lakes in Canada, and if you go to the north, Inuit people.

More beaver in Canada (although my husband would dispute that).

Quebec

You'll hear 'EH' and 'hoos', as in 'house' I guess more in Canada.

Maybe lots more.

@lgspoke, that made me laugh....I read it out to my wife and said bet they are Ontario based

In a nutshell

The US prides itself on being a competitive society so everyone (your co-worker, neighbour etc) is a threat.

Canada is more of a collaborative society where we all just help each other.

Er, last time I looked Canada led the world in the rates of gun ownership and gun related homicides. Not that gun crime troubles many people in either the US or Canada.

Having worked in all but six states and in Ontario, I'd say that the main difference is that there's less focus on office facilities in the US being scent free.

Americans do not want to be Canadian, most Canadians want to be American but won't admit it.

Canadians compare everything they do to how it is done in the US, Americans view Canadians as poorer, less competent versions of Americans.

I suspect that a much higher percentage of Canadians vacation in the US than Americans vacationing in Canada; ditto for those that "live" in both countries.

Day to day, there is not a huge amount of difference between the two except the distinct lack of competition in every aspect of life in Canada.

Day to day difference is ATTITUDE!!

The Americans will tell you the US is the best country in the world without knowing about anywhere else.

The Canadians know Canada is..

I'd think one major reason as to why many more people emigrate to Canada rather than the US is that most people just aren't eligible to emigrate to the US.

Certainly quite a few forum members here who started off in the US forums before realising that was never going to happen.

There's a little more laughter Canada, not much but a little more.

Obviously there are differences in climate and geography but Canadian provinces differ from one another - as do US states.

I lived in Canada (Toronto and suburbs) for 7 years and have lived in the US (Washington DC's Maryland suburbs) for the last 13 years. If I'd lived in upstate New York or Minnesota instead of Maryland, I would likely see more similarities with south western Ontario than I do in Maryland (e.g. climate, way of life, popularity of winter sports, etc.)

But the OP asked about day to day differences. One big issue comes to mind immediately for me and that's health insurance. It's the biggest single headache about living in the US - no question about it. The healthcare system itself is usually excellent but dealing with health insurance issues can be a nightmare. To make matters worse, my health insurance company changes almost yearly. My employer's plan just switched from Blue Cross Blue Shield to United Healthcare this year. Suddenly you can discover that doctors you like and trust are no longer "in network". When I go to a medical facility such as a doctor's office or imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI) center, the staff on the front desk seem to spend most of their time on the phone to health insurance companies trying to determine what is covered and what is not. It's a huge waste of time, money and human resources.

There are also political differences. The US feels much "right wing" to me generally. I don't like the 2 party system. I lean towards the Democrats but even they are sometimes too far to the right for my taste on some issues. Some Republicans are so far to the right that they scare me. Could someone like George Bush or Sarah Palin be serious political contenders in Canada? I don't think so.

In Canada I think society in general is more humane. People are more accepting of higher taxes if they know they will get services and at least some sort of social safety net in return. In the US, the word "taxes" is almost a swear word. People seem to want less or no taxes but still have services. I think there's a much bigger gap between rich and poor in the US.

Overall I have found that people in Canada are friendlier and more polite (if you bump into someone, they'll say "sorry"!). This is a generalization of course and there are exceptions on both sides (including regional differences within each country) but it's a general feeling I have borne of experience.

I guess I could sum it all up like this. In the US, I always feel like I'm weeks from living on the street should things go wrong (because of the absence of any real social safety net here). It just takes the loss of a job or some medical disaster to completely bankrupt you and your family and make you homeless. People in the US would see that as a sign of your own weakness - people in Canada would sympathize.

The most tiresome thing to deal with on a regular basis as a "non-resident alien" during my years in the US was the unexpected need to balance "yes, you sure have a wonderful country I am really enjoying myself" with "I'm just here for a couple of years and head home to XYZ after this job" just to avoid arguments. I don't suppose the situation has changed for the better post 9/11
and recession.

In Vancouver, being an immigrant and temporary visitor has been a much less aggravating experience.

Americans are big fans of novelty t-shirts.

Funny that, when in Thailand the number of American back packers sporting Canadian flags in their back pack would have some people think otherwise