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Well said Canada, \n Basically F-you Trump ??

The reason why it's increasingly more expensive to live now is mostly due to Covid. Worldwide, aproximately 1.7 TRILLION USD was given to corporations after Covid, and almost none of the money has returned to the governments, because well... they didn't plan for it to happen. The rich have gotten richer and the middle class have gotten poorer. When giving away so much money, there is bound to be inflation. The money was used to invest by the rich, buying mostly properties, which is why property prices are skyrocketing. There are so many apartments, particularly in Canada, where nobody lives, because there are so many rich investors buying properties. This phenomenon is not restricted to Canada, but most other large cities in western countries.\n\nYou might think the grass is greener in other parts of the world, but it literally isn't. I live in Norway, one of the richest countries in the world, and the situation is exactly the same here. Everything is getting more expensive, salaries stay stagnant and our currency is absolutely dogshit at the moment due to a failure of basic economics by our government and the central bank. Our oil fund, the wealthiest fund in the world, is actively making trades against our own national currency to make money, but they are making the currency itself worse, thereby reducing the value of it. The value of the oil fund evens out, but it lowers the purchasing capacity for everyone else. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. \n\nPeople would chop off a limb to get a passport in Canada. It is, as you said, a relatively safe place to come home to. There aren't too many countries like that in the world, and you are fortunate. I would advice you to reconsider moving abroad. Sure, Canada has many problems, but I can guarantee you, that living elsewhere in the world at this point is not going to ease your grievances unless you live a very frugal life.

The real question is Canada vs Florida because the U.S. consists of many mini countries that have agreed on a common constitutional document and basic laws but otherwise are different countries. With that said Canada loses on every metric that matters to Florida. From economics to taxes to business to self defense and personal property Florida wins. The U.S. is secular but politicians of all nations will bring it up to some degree thinking this is somehow unique to the U.S. means you don’t understand the U.S. When it comes to political and religious diversity the U.S. has a larger population consisting of the entire world its by definition diverse. Canada doesn’t have sensible gun laws it just leaves those who can’t defend themselves at great risk.\n\nCrime is high in cities that have laws & culture closer to Canada than they do the U.S. Which have the strictest gun laws in the country. It’s bad politics & culture which are most similar to Canada that has resulted in higher crime rates. \n\nGun laws in the U.S. are for Americans to have the option to fight against a tyrannical government like we have scene in Canada with the truckers and mass freezing of bank accounts. That is what the right to bear arms was for first and foremost not just self defense. Canada ignores this entirely and instead has the perspective of give the government all the power and expect government to be “good” and act in good faith to the people which it has continually failed to do so. Canada has to bribe Quebec just to keep its country together something that has been an issue since the founding of Canada is parts of it breaking off due to tyrannical federal government power abuse.\n\nFreedom comes with risks but it’s always better to be free.\n\nPeople who leave the U.S. for Canada are doing so for political reasons otherwise they can leave their blue progressive crime filled cities for free cheap safe red states.\n\nI encourage all Canadians to search moving from Canada to Florida and you will find many Canadians that realized the American Dream. Which is still alive and well in states like Florida.

Some of the stats cited here are straight up wrong or... creatively employed, and there's a lot of contradictory information and the typical conservative 'the sky is falling' sensationalism and misattribution. That said, the bas supposition isn't wrong. The bubble we've been sitting on for 20 or so years has completely burst. As someone born and raised in the Toronto area, it's impossible for me to afford to own a house or apartment here on a teacher's salary. Even rent pushes me to the limit unless I want to live in a... less than nice area. I'm living hand to mouth and enjoying the benefits of living in a 'developed' country less. Here's why:\n\n1. Wages aren't really even close to keeping up with the cost of living. The first tick upwards a bit. The second just keeps rising on the back of housing, food, amenities, and inflation: the four horsemen.\n\n2. Our grocery cabal ruthlessly raise prices whenever we look away, and their lobbyists are all ensconced within the leadership of our three major parties, particularly the Conservatives (so if anyone thinks that electing them will help, they're in for a nasty surprise).\n\n3. We're experiencing 'labour shrinkflation': increasing duties are downloaded onto workers and more is expected: more productivity, more availability (almost 24/7 in some jobs), and higher qualifications. Meanwhile, real wages are decreasing relative to living cost, more positions are 'contract', which is basically a way for employers to not have to give you benefits, and job security is tenuous for a lot of people.\n\n4. Houses are being bought by investors and not owners. Foreign entities are money laundering. The wealthy upper crust of high population countries are moving here and buying property because Canada is (still) more safe and stable and less repressive than their home countries in most cases. \n\n5. There's a cycle beginning: as people are squeezed and forced to spend more on 'needs', they spend less on eating out, entertainment, and other 'wants'. These are significant drivers of the service economy and they're being hit hard. So, what can they do? They can let go of workers or lower product costs to remain profitable, but they their quality declines and, in a market where people are pinching every penny and looking for quality for their dollar, they're less likely to go back. They can raise their prices, of course, but then they price people out completely and their profits still tank. I went to a decent steakhouse for my dad's 60th last week. I can't remember the last time that I went to one before that. \n\n6. Our politicians and news cycles focus on the most niche and irrelevant stuff because it'll stoke anger and get tongues wagging. This carbon thing is almost a non-issue, but our conservative leader is harping on about it like it's singlehandedly the death of the Canadian economy when it's a drop in the bucket. Trudeau focuses on 'equity' measures, hoping for a bit of cheap good press, while his efforts are, for the most part, just window dressing and the issues, while meaningful, are often not of paramount importance or even applicable to the vast majority of the people who elected him. Meanwhile, the middle class is pretty much evaporating as he speaks. The NDP keep talking about this in a pretty real way, for what it's worth, but Jagmeet Singh is giving off an increasing vibe of just being another fat cat politician beneath his rhetoric these days. Also, third-party trolls and screeching conservatives try to bury him on social media whenever he speaks... a lot more than other leaders as well, oddly. I wonder why? Oh yeah, the Greens exist and there's Quebec and the conspiracy theory party.\n\n\nUltimately, what we're experiencing is the revenge of the feudal system. Instead of paying rents to your lord and doing labour on the land for him whenever commanded to, you pay rent to your landlord now and go to work even when you're sick or when work hours are over because you have no union protection or are working 'on contract'. Unless we want to live in the armpit of nowhere, 95% of us are going to be wage slaves living hand-to-mouth, not owning our own property, and working to please our corporate overlords if current trends continue unchecked. While some of Canada's problems are unique, I fear that most aren't. As for me, I'm headed to the 'armpit of nowhere' where I can at least have a ghost of a chance of affording life.

I immigrated to Canada in 2010, and here are my experiences inside and outside Canada. I am grateful for a good education; having a Canadian passport opened up many opportunities in other countries to build a higher-level career. However, if I had known the amount of stress, health, and financial damage that I had to endure, I wouldn't have chosen to come to Canada. I would have remained in the US or EU countries where I could achieve even more without suffering to the level I did here. \n\nMisleading immigration promotion: The government-sponsored Canadian immigration program oversells what Canada can offer. It withholds information on the cost of living, chicken-and-egg problems like Canadian work experience is required to get a job at the same level as you are in, Canadian credit history is required to rent a proper apartment, Canadian education is required to secure a high-level job, etc. \n\nHiring process: I knew the Canadian system was not ideal for immigrants over a decade ago, but it got so bad now that even the born citizens are unable to survive. The Canadian government and employers lack a basic understanding that ambitious, high-achieving people immigrate to other countries for high-level positions using proper channels. It's ridiculous to see that Canada uses a point-based system to choose highly qualified personnel to enter their country yet expects them to pursue low-paying entry-level or labor jobs just because they have brown/black skin. At first, I thought having a Canadian degree and experience might help me get high-level jobs, and I didn't think how I spoke or looked would matter when I had high credentials to show off. So, I got my masters & Ph.D. from the Univesity of Toronto, which consistently ranks #1 in Canada. I have a bachelor's from a prestigious university in Asia and had a high-competitive, well-paid federal government job in another country. Still, none of that was recognized in Canada, and I had to volunteer for over 6 months, 10 to 12 hours/day, in a research lab that led to a funded PhD program. I worked even harder during my Ph.D. with many accomplishments, like 40+ research and leadership awards, internationally recognized scientific discoveries, and innovative technologies. I checked all the above and beyond in various domains (research, teaching, leadership, business, engineering consulting, collaborations, etc.). Yet, employers couldn't see past my race, gender, age, etc., and refused to give me the opportunity at the level of my qualifications. Luckily, I managed to secure short-term work in the UK & the US, and it changed even how I see myself. I was highly respected for my credentials, given higher positions than I applied for, and paid 3-4 times more salary and benefits. Of course, bias is an integral part of every society, but my race, gender, age, etc., were not as big of an issue to begin my career at the mid-career stage in these countries as opposed to Canada. \n\nHealthcare: Access to healthcare was another big challenge for me. When I moved to Canada in 2010, due to extremely low temperatures, I developed hives all over my body, my eyes got red, and I coughed for many months. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me and refused to give me any medication. It took us years to get a family doctor, and we got one through my personal network. In 2015/2016, I developed an autoimmune disease, and my eyeballs popped out. As of today, I did not get to see an eye specialist as they have only 1 specialist in the area, and the waiting time is for years for the first consultation. Every time the family doctor told me that I had iron deficiency, even when I insisted that they should run additional tests and they cleared, they were flagged. The doctor never diagnosed my autoimmune condition. Luckily, during my short-term work in the UK, I saw competent interns who completed my care. NHS is poorer than the medical system in Canada... they are understaffed, don't have hospital beds after surgery, or don't have stock of paper gowns, yet the staff are highly competent and caring. Within 1-2 years, they did complete diagnosis by sending me to various specialists, completed eye surgery, and even found a lifelong condition that was preventing me from realizing my full potential. Following, in the US, the doctors confirmed the diagnosis of all the conditions within 1-2 months and put me on two small pills for life. It has dramatically changed my life, and I have even more admiration for the medical profession. While in Canada, I suffered for over a decade, and every time, I was treated as a hypochondriac and never given a single prescription. \n\nQuality of life: Big cities like Toronto are mainly affected by high crime rates, overpopulation, cost of living, low employment, low salaries, etc. A few months back, there was a huge auto theft, and one of my contacts lost their Lexus car within minutes of parking. Despite being a scientist, I have no faith in politicians or individuals fixing these problems. The salaries are not increasing, but the taxes and cost of living are on the exponential growth curve. The ridiculous part is that Canada expects you to pay taxes even when you are not employed or living in Canada! I lived in London and Boston, and they offer a much higher quality of life and pay. \n\nGrowth potential: No wonder Canada, being a G7 country, falls at the bottom of the list in innovation, equal opportunities, economic growth, etc. It has a decent education system but, due to its inherent bias in the hiring process and monopoly of certain businesses, loses talented immigrants and highly qualified Canadians to the US, the UK, and EU markets. Unless there is a dramatic shift in policies, Canadians, especially new immigrants, cannot expect any positive experience in Canada except for being discriminated against and losing valuable time and money by being there.

I’m with my fellow Canadians, I’ll visit the US (although even then, it’s beginning to look less and less ideal) but over my dead body would I live there. \nThe fact you have become desensitized and don’t discuss school shootings is baffling. 4 or 5 years ago, there was a shooting where I live in Canada. The whole city was on lock down. I believe one elderly woman died, and 3 were injured. The person was caught, arrested, and is rotting away in jail. It hasn’t happened since. People still remember it. My little sister and I were scared, so we hid in my bedrooms closet. (It was on the second floor, and there was no way anybody could break in and get up there easily.)\n\nHealthcare is a huge issue. My family has a long line of health issues, and with that in mind, the risk is just to obscene.\n\nI am a woman. The fact that laws are being stripped away from us by old white men who have no idea what it is like to be a woman in the states is horrifying. \n\nGun culture. It’s near-on impossible or at least it’s incredibly difficult to get guns here. Owning guns isn’t respected. When people die from being shot, it’s remembered and spoken about, even years later. At least to me, it seems you care more for your Guns and the rights to own and use them, then Women who want to have bodily autonomy.\n\nYour political issues. I don’t even know what to say at this point beyond. The entire senate is rich old straight white men who like to make laws about groups they aren’t part of, and strip laws away from others. You basically have two polar opposite sides of the political spectrum and that alone, divides people so deep they can’t even be in the same room for more then 10 seconds.\n\n\nI’m Part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Enough said. \n\nI’m well aware that not everyone in the US is like this. But in my eyes, that’s more then enough to deter me. I’m glad you decided to take a look at this, and see our reactions to the questions. And I’m glad you didn’t take offence to the harsh or bitter answers. Sure Canada isn’t perfect, but it’s better in enough ways to keep me much preferring staying here.