Living in USA/Canada pros and cons?

[astroNikon]

btw, are we assuming all of Canada as "one whole"?

because Quebec has been trying to separate itself since it required French as a first language.
And that apparently is still a hot debate topic ==> The staggering price of Quebec independence - The Globe and Mail

==> Letters: Quebec’s separation will lead to a Canada-U.S. union | Financial Post

I was in automotive when this all started. We had a plant Quebec. All of a sudden our communications we were receiving was in french. And you thought they were park of the UK expansion?!?! lol

 

[The_Traveler]

Just a small response to the comment about US citizens being ignorant of other cultures and what people see as American nationalistic self-regard.

I think other cultures have a greater and distorted idea of US culture than we do of theirs is because, for the last half century at least, we have exported reports on our culture through entertainment. Ideas, usually grossly distorted and often just plain wrong, about our culture have permeated as far into foreign countries as I've ever been. The fact that Hollywood and the US market is a desirable target for entertainers from any country who make it big is not our fault; it just is.

American citizens travel overseas less than others, perhaps, is due to three obvious factors - a huge diversity of culture and geography right here in the US, the enormous physical and economic barriers of the Atlantic or Pacific and the language barriers. Yes, I agree, we would be better citizens of the world if we got out more but it just isn't going to happen that easily.

In regards national pride, I don't think it is necessarily true that Americans have greater feelings about their own country than many others but it is just expressed more openly and with a slightly different slant than others. I can speak only from knowing citizens of the UK, Western Europe and Russia well enough to talk about their national feelings and each of them have very strong positive feelings towards their homeland.

With respect to living in the US, much of what people lump under freedom is relief from artificial class and cultural barriers that exist in many countries. I think what people see in the US is a chance to make something of themselves without the false anchor of social constructs. The only other country that is both a democracy and large geographically and in population is India.
The US has very little history compared to just about anyone and it has grown by jamming in malcontents from all over the world who wanted to take a chance to make their lives better under a new set of rules.
A country that is so heterogeneous in culture and geographically large is virtually ungovernable and almost certain to be the lumbering giant that it is.
New York City alone has about the same number of people as Sweden and more than Norway, Finland or Denmark.
Population density goes from 26000 people square miles in NYC down to 4 or 5 in Colorado.
Yes, it is totally sometimes a PITA to live here, putting up with radicals and reactionaries and morons and sometimes a silly labyrinth of laws, and I dream about living as a expatriate someplace where I can pick all the conditions that are right for me and carry with me only the things that I want.

 

[bribrius]

This is starting to devolve into an extremely thinly veiled argument about US politics. This is expressly Not Allowed in this forum.

Go find some other forum for this rot.

not at all really. Kind of like the right to not be a slave, the right for womens vote, the right for gay marriage. Rather than a political leaning one must wonder why there is a need for these rights rather than they occurring just in natural accordance on individual liberty. without permissions and script. Accept that they were taken and are given back under a different guise. Canada seems to fair better in reversing infringements in my opinion, I have not lived there on a permanent basis however. I really have doubts the u.s. is more free than Canada. We may just be perceived to be.

 

[bribrius]

btw, are we assuming all of Canada as "one whole"?

because Quebec has been trying to separate itself since it required French as a first language.
And that apparently is still a hot debate topic ==> The staggering price of Quebec independence - The Globe and Mail

==> Letters: Quebec’s separation will lead to a Canada-U.S. union | Financial Post

I was in automotive when this all started. We had a plant Quebec. All of a sudden our communications we were receiving was in french. And you thought they were park of the UK expansion?!?! lol

hey, I like Quebec!!

 

[gsgary]

I just realized one benefit of living further north.

Now that the temps are in the 30's F (-1.1 C), and considering that I do not have access to a refrigerator at work, I can keep my food in the car now without worry of it spoiling. Of course, I do have issues of it freezing.

Another good thing about those temperatures you won't get House wives of New York up there for one of their girl weekends, I hope all women in the US are not like them

 

[astroNikon]

btw, are we assuming all of Canada as "one whole"?

because Quebec has been trying to separate itself since it required French as a first language.
And that apparently is still a hot debate topic ==> The staggering price of Quebec independence - The Globe and Mail

==> Letters: Quebec’s separation will lead to a Canada-U.S. union | Financial Post

I was in automotive when this all started. We had a plant Quebec. All of a sudden our communications we were receiving was in french. And you thought they were park of the UK expansion?!?! lol

hey, I like Quebec!!

well Quebec has wanted it's independence from "Canada" for a long time. They even changed their "national" language!!
They seem very adamant about it compared to Texas which just seems to like to raise their flag from time to time.

 

[limr30 3]

for the purpose of this thread I think I would choose Canada. More peaceable.. The conversation seems pretty well on target since freedom has been brought up numerous times in the thread and has no political leanings but a critique of what it is.

No, it's not on target if the original question was about more practical matters of living in one of these countries. Delving too deeply into the premises on which we base our notion of freedom is no good unless you're going to translate that into, "What does that mean for my day-to-day business of getting on with my life?"

 

[bribrius]

is she going to want to shoot in the cold weather though? I think we have a thread going on about that right now..

 

[astroNikon]

I just realized one benefit of living further north.

Now that the temps are in the 30's F (-1.1 C), and considering that I do not have access to a refrigerator at work, I can keep my food in the car now without worry of it spoiling. Of course, I do have issues of it freezing.

Another good thing about those temperatures you won't get House wives of New York up there for one of their girl weekends, I hope all women in the US are not like them

I don't watch that junk on TV. Most of it is over sensationalized "made for tv" "reality" shows that isn't really reality. Great for ratings and making other countries believe the US is certain ways.

I grew up thinking the UK was all Benny Hill and Monty Python, so what do I know.
it's like thinking all Americans are like the Kardashians or Miami Vice and the English are like Downtown Abbey.

 

[bribrius]

for the purpose of this thread I think I would choose Canada. More peaceable.. The conversation seems pretty well on target since freedom has been brought up numerous times in the thread and has no political leanings but a critique of what it is.

No, it's not on target if the original question was about more practical matters of living in one of these countries. Delving too deeply into the premises on which we base our notion of freedom is no good unless you're going to translate that into, "What does that mean for my day-to-day business of getting on with my life?"[/QUOTE]
okay, you are less likely to be drafted in Canada and they may ask you if you want to go to war first. If you are gay you have a better chance of getting married. And if you are female you may have a better chance of equality without the underlying schisms.

 

[limr30 3]

okay, you are less likely to be drafted in Canada and they may ask you if you want to go to war first. If you are gay you have a better chance of getting married. And if you are female you may have a better chance of equality without the underlying schisms.

For the record, I wasn't talking about USA vs Canada, but USA/Canada vs other places in the world that do not follow the same concept of "freedom" that we do.

That example of the police entering a bar, temporarily shutting down business and not letting anyone leave until they checked papers was an experience I regularly had in Turkey.

 

[runnah]

American citizens travel overseas less than others, perhaps, is due to three obvious factors - a huge diversity of culture and geography right here in the US, the enormous physical and economic barriers of the Atlantic or Pacific and the language barriers.

This is very true. Most Americans, if given a free trip, would love to go overseas. But in reality the cost for me to fly my family of 3 to London roundtrip is $3000. That is just airfare, factor in all the other stuff and you are looking at close to $10k for a week's vacation. On the flip side $3k stateside will get you a very nice week's stay at a resort.

Considering that most american's are cash strapped as it is, it makes it hard to travel overseas.

 

[astroNikon]

okay, you are less likely to be drafted in Canada and they may ask you if you want to go to war first. If you are gay you have a better chance of getting married. And if you are female you may have a better chance of equality without the underlying schisms.

I think the NIxon administration ended the draft ...
so it would make getting drafted somewhat unlikely

 

[bribrius]

btw, are we assuming all of Canada as "one whole"?

because Quebec has been trying to separate itself since it required French as a first language.
And that apparently is still a hot debate topic ==> The staggering price of Quebec independence - The Globe and Mail

==> Letters: Quebec’s separation will lead to a Canada-U.S. union | Financial Post

I was in automotive when this all started. We had a plant Quebec. All of a sudden our communications we were receiving was in french. And you thought they were park of the UK expansion?!?! lol

hey, I like Quebec!!

well Quebec has wanted it's independence from "Canada" for a long time. They even changed their "national" language!!
They seem very adamant about it compared to Texas which just seems to like to raise their flag from time to time.

I have often contemplated if my home state of maine would be better off joining Quebec. I usually don't speak of it in public however.. we are probably closer to Quebec in mentality than we are texas.

 

[photoguy99]

And for the record, of course the police in the USA can walk into a bar, shut it down, and check everyone's ID. They do it, from time to time. Underage drinking is a thing. We accept it as normal and reasonable, because, won't anyone think of the kids? People like limr literally edit it out of their reality, because it's so normal and ordinary. It's not at all like that essentially identical thing in Turkey.