I’m kind of in a strange boat right now where I’m really comfortable in Canada yet I can’t shake this feeling I need to get over to the US of A in order to take advantage of that strong USD. I, like many Canadians, work for an American firm and have a TN visa. Recently, my employer offered to sponsor me for a green card, if I ever choose to relocate to the USA. I can live pretty much anywhere I want as I’m a remote employee, but I do travel to the USA for client work.
It’s a tough decision to make. While I consider it, I thought I’d ask the community. So, say you good lemmings?
No, im really not. There is too much darkness, and too much hate.
The gun culture, “freedumb” insanity, and lack of basics such as healthcare make me view it fairly close to the third world. the only they thing have better there is more buying power.
Hell no. Alberta is already too conservative/religious for me, I’m not going to go down to some theocratic hellscape to make more money.
nope. lol. Not unless my salary doubles, at minimum, and that’s just to make sure I don’t go bankrupt from healthcare. Actually fuck that, because if I get an injury that prevents me from working I’m still completely fucked. They’re also notoriously anti union and worker rights are eroding day by day
That place is a shit show. Let’s not even talk about Republicans…
No. The risks outweigh any possible benefits. If it’s a red state then the risks are even higher in terms of quality of education, healthcare and employment.
The real cheat code is to work for a US company (and get paid in USD), yet live in Canada (and have expenses in CAD).
That’s what I do.
Any issues tax wise? I will be doing that starting in August.
It really depends on how you’re paid. I’m paid through a Canadian payroll entity so all taxes are sorted properly with the CRA.
The only thing I’ve got to be aware of tax wise is maintaining my Canadian tax residency… which means being physically on Canada at least 6 months of the year.
If they pay you through a Canadian subsidiary then it’s no trouble, if you’re paid by the American branch itself you might have to file taxes in the USA along with Canada, I would check with an accountant how your specific situation works because there’s loads of different situations and you don’t know if the person you’re asking is in the same as yours.
If you are single this sounds like it might be an interesting opportunity as long as you find a GOOD place to settle in the US. Much like every province is very different in Canada so are the states.
However keep a few things in mind:
- you will be a foreigner ( make sure you know your rights / or lack there of)
- your employment terms may change immediately from being fairly safe and having severance in Canada in law to changing to at will termination in the US depending on the state and situation.
- find out ALL the details of your company medical coverage and its cost before going, everything will cost you money medically in the US but you might get faster service
- If you are thinking about buying a home find out what the laws are for foreigners on a TN visa… Also find out what the property taxes are as in some states they are VERY high, while the price of the home is attractive.
Alternatively look into low cost of living places in Canada and consider moving within Canada. You may find that there is a lot of difference in the provinces and major cities.
There’s like 4 states I would consider in the US in terms of having similar protections as Canada while having good employment opportunities: Washington, California, New York, and Massachusetts. Unfortunately, these states are all insanely expensive and quickly eat into whatever pay raise you would be getting unless you’re a software engineer or something.
Hell no, that country seems to be on track for a civil war.
I live in a small town in Eastern Ontario and work for a company in California. I would never, ever move to the US. Ever. We have it so much better here in Canada.
What’s better about here, in your opinion? What would compel you to consider moving in the United States?
Workers rights. I insist that my contracts all say that they are governed by Ontario and Canadian Labour law. I have withdrawn my name from consideration more than once because they insisted on my contract being governed by one state or another’s labour laws.
Democracy. The fact that every citizen has the right to vote and equal access to the ballot box in non-gerrymandered electoral districts.
Personal freedom. Canadians have much more personal freedom than Americans. Yes, they have hate speech and guns but we have so much more actual freedom than they do.
Healthcare. You pay WAY more for health insurance in the US and even so they will deny everything and make you fight for it. I have a good friend who quit a job because their insurance company was denying all claims. My sister has osteoarthritis in her spine and needs surgery. Her surgeon is one of the best in the business. Her insurance company overruled her doctor and said that she should take physical therapy…for an irreversible, degenerative bone disease. Physical therapy for six weeks will cause her agony and worsen her condition.
Guns. So many people who shouldn’t have guns down there have guns. Gun bravery. Fear. Who needs an AR-15 to do groceries of buy coffee? They’re terrified all the time and they’re armed. That means they’re dangerous.
I could go on…
I would like you to elaborate on personal freedom. That’s very vague.
I went to the US for y2k , and was there for 5 years.
I came home with the exact same amount of money as I had when I left. And I also got a deep understanding for the absolute depths of cruel poverty in the US and for safety nets they don’t have.
Do it. You’ll never be the same, and you’ll really appreciate Canada better.
Why go backwards?
Nope, double nope and, while we’re at it, triple nope. Too much hate, guns, racism, inequality and I don’t want to raise my kids there. If we had to relocate internationally, I’d rather go to New Zealand.
No way. I moved here from there (I’m Canadian now!) and every day I’m gladder I got out.
I’d probably make more money there, but there are things I value more than money and my life is significantly better in Toronto than it ever was in any of the three states I lived in.
Exact same boat. US -> Canada. USA scares the shit out of me. Infinitely happier, even with the reduced buying power.
What do you value more specifically about Canada?
I’m not sure how to describe it beyond saying life feels a lot less confrontational here in Canada, even living in the largest city in the country.
Obviously there are problems here, but it feels much more like an actual society than a collection of people who happen to live near each other.
It’s not even about healthcare or anything specific, those are just symptoms IMO. It’s a larger philosophical difference between the countries
Lol no. Fuck those capitalists
We did it for four years. Washington state in the Seattle are is very nice. We met a lot of great people and we have fond memories.
Having said that it was clear early on this was not going to be permanent. Imagine taking your kids to the local park and seeing a sign that said no guns allowed in this park. Wait, guns are allowed in some parks? WTF. That was just a head scratcher. I found it genuinely hard to be in a place where I was decidedly middle class and so many people were so poor and with no benefits at all.
I remember once chatting with a cashier at the grocery store over the weeks as she was pregnant. One day I stopped seeing her and figured she had her baby. Two weeks later she was back. No maternity leave. She took her full two weeks of vacation and that was it. Shit.
Or the conversation I had with a cab driver who talked about still being in debt because his FIL was sick and avoided getting medical attention because none of the family had medical coverage until he had to be admitted.
The medical system is a confusing shambles of insanity. That’s if you have good coverage. Once our daughter was sick and the childrens hospital directed us to a closer clinic. We went. There was a discussion about possibly admitting her but in the end she went home. A few days later she was worse so we ended up going to the children’s hospital and she was admitted. Turns out the near by clinic was not in our medical coverage group and it cost us nearly $1000 out of pocket. Not fun but doable. The thing is, she was two nights in the hospital where we were covered. If we had admitted her the first day at the wrong hospital it would have cost us at least $10 000.
The whole system is a fucking nightmare of land mines and no one has any clue what any particular thing will cost you.
I just couldn’t be happy under those conditions. Side note I’m not happy with the slide in equality here in Canada either BTW.
My job is in high tech and they pay was no better, just even. We lost money on selling buying houses, but that’s just timing. I kept track of taxes paid. After medical expenses it was only a 5 percent savings and one medical emergency would too that the other way. Yes, I had great medical coverage.
Yeah, I was in Oregon and had really good health insurance, but was always a bit terrified of actually ever using any medical services. It’s so much less worrying to know that the emergency room won’t ever cost you anything in Canada. That said, I’m sure if I did ever need it, it would have been fine.
always a bit terrified of actually ever using any medical services.
That’s kinda the problem: in America, ‘preventative’ care is only talked about in past tense, like “wish he’d’ve gotten looked-at before it cost him his 401k AND house as well”.
No one goes for testing, no early warning.
No. Their cost of living is insane, plus I have T1D, which would be a pre-existing condition under their insurance schemes. Not insurmountable, but would be an ongoing issue. Plus their culture is intolerable.
Nope, I’m happy to sit up here in ol’ Canada, living high on the hog, taking advantage of a 1.32 USD/CAD exchange rate.
US health insurance is no longer allowed to consider pre-existing conditions. That was made illegal by the Affordable Care Act about 10 years ago.
Of course, depending on who gets elected, that may change in the future…
