Hello, all! Longtime lurker on Reddit and now on Lemmy. I’ve tried looking into getting out of the US as things aren’t looking too great as I’m sure many of you know, but wanted some tips from those of us who have gotten out. Where did you decide to move to, and what were the things you looked at when deciding to move there? How did you go about the process? What are some stories you can tell about the immigration process? Where can I start? How can I realistically make it happen? I hope this isn’t silly to you all, as it matters quite a lot to me and I’m genuinely interested in getting away from here for good. Thank you all for your time!
Im interested to hear what new challenges you faced in Canada. I’ve heard their cost of living issues are a lot worse than the US, particularly with affordable housing. I’m not sure if that would be the main issue with moving there or not.
Housing has been one of the top issues for me. That mixed with comparitvely low incomes. I have a bachelors in a STEM field and I struggle to find places offering more than $60k/yr CAD. In US dollars that’s like $40kish/yr. Whereas I’m looking at close to a million dollars CAD for a house in some parts of Ontario. It’s absurd.
The other big thing has been the healthcare system. It was the big draw for me. But it’s severely underfunded and bursting at the seams. My wife called 32 family doctor’s offices the other day and couldn’t find one that would take us as patients. ER waits are a nightmare and walk in clinics are crowded and overworked.
There are also issues with government corruption and poor candidate choices in the major parties. I went into that in another comment so I won’t right here.
The best thing about Canada has been the lack of a police state and the lack of a gun culture.
Depends which province, but you will most likely have a corrupt, inept premier. Health care and education are neglected to a dangerous point. The federal government is a contest of who can be the biggest bozo and still get elected as prime minister.
The ideology in Canada is to pay as much money as possible for everything and try not to complain. Prices for goods and services are out of control. Housing is so unreasonably priced that there is no realistic way of affording to rent as an individual or to buy a house without inheritance.
Taxes are on everything and can be quite significant. Most people don’t realize how much tax is included in the costs of most things we buy.
We are also bringing in so many new immigrants so there is a constant labour pool to churn through and wages only ever increase nominally.
If you’re coming to Canada with a chunk of money, you’ll probably be ok until it’s taxed out of you. If you’re hoping to move to Canada, get a job and rent or buy a place, then life will be tough.
I would disagree with a big part of this characterization. Specifically that prices are out of control beyond housing (which is completely fucked), but outside of that Canada has done better than most comparable countries when it comes to inflation over the last few years.
Taxes are not that crazy unless your only comparison is the US, which is a bad comparison.
As an Ontarian I also gotta say the bit about the premiers is also spot on.
I guess what I’m trying to do is find an area to settle in that ultimately has the goals of progress as their forefront policies. We’re over here “debating” wether children should have provided meals, at the place they are legally required to be at. The government is ran by children in suits, on both sides. I am just tired of being in the middle of it.
I hear you. I am hoping our issues are temporary up here. Honestly, our biggest issue is that housing is astronomically expensive and no one has tried to even fix it in earnest. Rising rates are having an impact. Houses are going up for sale and sitting there. At some point it will break and prices may drop.
I too hope your issues are temporary. I’d have that same hope for the US, but 20 years later and they’re just going full force to regression.
I fail to see how this is fundamentally different than the US, with the exception of minimum wages and the corresponding cost of living prices that they bring. Housing here in unreasonably priced and prices for goods and services are out of control.