Yeah, no. When I was younger, I thought, "wouldn't it be nice if Canada could join the EU?" (this was when the UK was part of the EU) It would mean: (1) I cou

Yeah, no. When I was younger, I thought, "wouldn't it be nice if Canada could join the EU?" (this was when the UK was part of the EU) It would mean: (1) I could live work in the EU indefinitely, and there are a ton of great cities to live in like Lisbon, Amsterdam and Barcelona; (2) I could take all the high-speed rail I wanted, and travel every weekend. (3) I wouldn't have to worry about healthcare, education or any basic needs. I would have 4-6 weeks of vacation every year. (4) mostly, it meant I could be "European" = refined, liberal, worldly, speaking many languages. It was very much a young person's dream. But I've traveled all of Western Europe over the course of 20 years, and I realized while the above was true in some sense, there were some essential trade-offs. If you wanted to work on leading edge stuff, the EU was not the place (I worked for a German company, one of the largest in the world and the marketing made it look very cool and advanced, but peel off the layers and I found a culture that was very conservative and risk-averse). Europe is also not friendly to immigrants -- unlike North America -- which meant I had to give up the diversity of food and cultures from other parts of the world in favor of only European diversity. Also, the pay is relatively low in Europe. Which is ok since all the expensive parts of life like healthcare and education are covered, but you have to be realistic about whether that is the life you want. The European economy (outside of pockets like the Nordics and the Netherlands) is also less dynamic than most of the emerging world and North America. It's the sort of a slower, more mature economy that has had a good run over the last few decades, but is starting to show strains under a more competitive ecosystem. As an older young person, I no longer believe Europe is the place to be if you want to be part of a dynamic economy. As a Canadian who just wants to work a bit (not too much) and enjoy life, joining the EU makes sense. But if that's the reason motivating most people, it's a bit of a perverse incentive -- it's not going to lead to growth.