8 ms·

I have migrated from Canada to the USA and my metrics for wealth, ease of mind, actually working while at work, outgoingness, etc instantly improved. I don't pl

• sangnoir 2y ago
  The USA is great when you're working age and are healthy. Outside the 18-65 age range, not so much. I hope Canada will not morph into USA-lite.
  • _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Or if you have older family members you care about. Or if you don't want your children having to practice 'active shooter' drills during their school days.
    • avgDev 2y ago
      My toddler had active shooter drills in day care.....I sometimes think about leaving US.
      • objektif 2y ago
        Many of my friends are also thinking of just leaving to Europe. This whole thing about running after more and more money may just not be worth it at the end.
        • matwood 2y ago
          Nowhere is perfect, but I see many places in the EU as a great lifestyle arbitrage. If someone made or can continue to make US level money while living in the EU, that's a great situation. Depending on the country, visas can be challenging, but most HN skillsets will qualify for digital nomad visas. We bought a place 2 years ago and are in the process of fixing up (it was used as a vacation home).
          • teamonkey 2y ago
            > make US level money while living in the EU, that's a great situation Have you considered Canada?
            • matwood 2y ago
              No, it's too cold. Also, as my wife and I get closer to retirement we want to do more traveling in and around the EU.
          • objektif 2y ago
            I am happy for you. May I ask which country?
            • matwood 2y ago
              Sure, we landed on the northeast Italian coast. We seriously considered Greece, southern France, and Croatia. I don't think there is a single right place for everyone. Each person needs to do their own checklist of requirements.
      • pigeons 2y ago
        We have that in canada. And non-drill stabbings at my kindergarteners school
        • fknorangesite 2y ago
          > We have that in canada That's certainly not the norm. Where, more specifically?
          • pigeons 2y ago
            Metro Vancouver
  • y-c-o-m-b 2y ago
    I think 26-45 might be the more realistic ideal range. Even then, if you have chronic health problems, godspeed. There's certainly more wealth available if you have the means to get it though.
  • deleted 2y ago
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  • busterarm 2y ago
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  • bko 2y ago
    Is it because people outside of 18 and 65 don't have to pay rent or a mortgage? Also one of the often touted benefits of Canada to US is the public healthcare system, but after 65 most people are on Medicare which is adequate and under 25 generally under your parents insurance. Genuinely curious whats better under Canadian system for the young and old.
    • sangnoir 2y ago
      > Genuinely curious whats better under Canadian system for the young and old. The young, old, and those too unhealthy to work full-time. And to answer your question: a better social safety net, IMO. Edit: Because this topic is flamebait, I'm preemptively declaring that I'm not going to argue about my opinion. YMMV.
      • dismalaf 2y ago
        There is no social safety net. Half my town burned down in a national park, including my own home. You think the Federal government did anything? You think there was any net at all? The Federal government even had the gall to refuse my 2 year old's passport renewal for example because I only paid the renewal fee, and not an additional fee for the passport getting destroyed before expiration date that was buried under 10 pages of fine print that I missed because we were homeless with a toddler. And they already had my CC# on the application anyway, but because I didn't explicitly mark down the extra fee, the application was refused. Now we've found a new home in a new town at our own expense, and we can't see a doctor. My 2 year old can't see a doctor. There's not enough doctors and practices won't take on new patients unless you go on a years-long wait list. This is our "free" healthcare. If you're dying, you can go to an emergency room and wait for 8 hours to see a doctor. If you need anything routine you're fucked if you don't have a family doctor. We had one, but our town burnt down and now it'll be years before we have one again. You know how we access healthcare? We go to Europe. We go to my wife's country of origin twice a year to visit family and get healthcare. I had a surgery there (wait in Canada was 2 years, in the EU I got it done in 2 days), our son has had all his checkups and most of his vaccines done there. This social safety net is a myth, a theory. It exists until you actually try to access it. edit - the only help we received was our insurance company, a private corporation. So what's the difference versus the US apart from our much higher taxes and lower wages?
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  • UncleOxidant 2y ago
    My grandparents emigrated from the US to Canada in the late 80s when they were in their 60s. One of their daughters had married a Canadian decades before and she sponsored them. They loved it. They felt like they got better care up there.
  • cryptonector 2y ago
    The meme goes that in Canada if you have an expensive healthcare need the government will offer euthanasia. Is that not true? How come euthanasia is now the fourth leading cause of death in Canada?
    • fknorangesite 2y ago
      You shouldn't be putting so much stock in memes.
      • cryptonector 2y ago
        According to Google it's 4.7% of deaths in 2024 in Canada. This story says it's the fifth leading cause of death: https://www.ncbcenter.org/messages-from-presidents/maidcanada https://www.ncbcenter.org/messages-from-presidents/maidcanad...
• CamelCaseName 2y ago
  What was your path of immigration into the US as a Canadian? Any tips or advice?
  • TriangleEdge 2y ago
    I got a TN while working for big tech, met my wife, got married, and got a married based GC. The GC took 2 years.
  • wk_end 2y ago
    If you're posting on Hacker News, you probably have a skill set that'll allow you to get a job covered by a TN. You go to border control, tell them you're applying for a TN, hand them a copy of your identification, resume, credentials, and offer letter. Then you wait for a couple of hours while they process you, and you're set for the next few years. Rinse and repeat until your job sponsors you for an H1-B or you marry an American citizen and can apply for a Green Card. Of course, there's other ways - talk to an immigration lawyer - but that's the simplest.
    • notevenremotely 2y ago
      You can apply for a Green Card directly from TN status, although timing has been an issue recently.
      • wk_end 2y ago
        Not a lawyer, but isn't that kind of dicey? The TN is non-immigration and temporary - it's not supposed to be used if you have any intention of permanently migrating. I'd worry about it putting your TN status in jeopardy.
        • notevenremotely 2y ago
          H1-B is non-immigrant and temporary. L1 is non-immigrant and temporary. Going from TN to an immigrant visa via AOS is only risky in the sense that: - After you've filed your i485 you will no longer be able to get TN status, this applies regardless of your non-immigrant status. - You can't travel abroad between filing the i485 and receiving AP, which could be 6+ months. On the plus side you get a Green Card and don't have to play the H1-B lottery.
• avgDev 2y ago
  I feel like this site has a bit of a bias when it comes to the USA. Most devs are highly compensated in the USA and can afford whatever. Being poor or sick sucks here.
  • anonporridge 2y ago
    There is not and never has been any place on Earth where being poor and sick doesn't suck.
    • busterarm 2y ago
      But at least in the US, if you can afford the treatment, you can get it.
      • tensor 2y ago
        But at least in first world countries, unlike the US, you WILL get treatment. Even if you are poor, like 95% of the US population.
        • busterarm 2y ago
          No that's the thing, you can't get the treatment if it doesn't exist. For the years that i was living in Ontario there were only 3 MRI machines across the entire province. The waiting period for that diagnostic MRI ranged from anywhere between 10 and 24 months. If doctors were even convinced you were worth getting it. You could die from something before you could even end up getting properly diagnosed with it. You might not have competent enough doctors in some countries for specialist treatment if you need it. A popular Canadian Youtuber who lives in Japan (which generally has great medical care) decided to relocate to the United States during the time they were undergoing their particular cancer treatment a couple of years ago. Japanese yakuza bosses pretty famously obtained their illegal organ transplants at UCLA Medical instead of in Japan... The US's system is certainly flawed but it guarantees that you can obtain the best care possible if you can afford it. That's much better than not being able to get the care even if you can afford it.
• dagmx 2y ago
  I will state the opposite and say that my quality of life has dramatically improved after moving from the US to Canada. It is much more accessible, much easier to get about, far less hostile and any loss in wealth is offset by actually being able to enjoy my time more.
  • tonymet 2y ago
    can i ask what you do?
    • dagmx 2y ago
      Computer graphics software engineer.
• yibg 2y ago
  I'm a Canadian living in the US as well. I definitely make more and am able to save more here. I have better job opportunities and also more interesting work. Where I am the weather is also much better. If money wasn't an issue I'd move back to Canada in an instant (but maybe my view of Canada is outdated, been away for > 10 years). Why? - Lower wealth inequality - Safer, with lower crime rates, especially violent crime - Higher life expectancy
  • wk_end 2y ago
    I lived in the US for around ten years after college and moved back early during COVID. I'd always wanted to go back, and had the possibility of keeping my American salary and working remotely; it seemed like a no-brainer, given how unstable things were feeling in the US at the time. FWIW, my view of Canada has dimmed considerably. The two things that I felt really set us apart when I left and over those ten years were (and these are intertwined) the stronger Canadian social safety net and the sense that, in general, Canadian culture was kinder, more progressive, smarter, and less racist. But the last few years have really put that to the test. Meanwhile, in my time in the US, I really started to appreciate the aspects of American culture that are lacking up here. It's been kind of heartbreaking. I was seriously thinking of exploring going back to the US permanently. And then last November happened, and it's too unpalatable at this juncture, once again.
  • mitthrowaway2 2y ago
    While Canadian wealth inequality is still not as bad as the US, it has gotten significantly worse in recent years as a housing crisis has created a deep split between haves and have-nots. Personally, I think this more than anything else is responsible for the backlash against Trudeau, especially among young people who otherwise would typically be left-leaning.
• maerF0x0 2y ago
  Also a Canadian living in the US. The US is good to anyone who can pay. And my career made it such that I earn a lot more in the US that I would in Canada, so the US has been good to me. It's unclear how widespread that experience actually is. There's a lot of statistics that this is one of the best times to be alive (despite our very cynical / negative attitude about it). But personally, I have no intent of going back, if only because of the weather.