Calling all people who have lived in both Canada and the USA

[yvr girl]

I have spent months and months in the US during my lifetime. Mostly for vacation, but also for work. I've always lived close to the border, so there have been more day trips and weekends than I can count. I've spent time in the North and South - East and West.

I noticed differences, but nothing jarring. On the surface, they seem like fairly similar places. I have a feeling though, that if I moved to America, it would seem like a foreign country.

How different are Canada and America to live in?

[sparky_in_ma]

1. I noticed that in Canada

people wear clothes to work, here we don't. (at least none of us adult film actors do.):D

[warrens]

2. Liters

I have no clue how much gas is really costing me in Canada. Almost no spicy food. They make it REALLY HARD to buy beer in Ontario. And harder to buy hard liquor. On the other hand, you can order fish and other seafood and not only know it will be REALLY fresh, it will be pretty cheap too. In Quebec, you're just as likely to find CDs imported from Europe as from the U.S. Lotta smaller differences, I've noticed.

This summer, I'm going to be in Montreal for a week at a family reunion and in Victoria for five days on a business trip. Looking forward to both.

[Canadian Socialist]

5. Here's a handy converter

http://www.flw.com/convertor/
1 litre=.264 Gallons US
so it's about 1/4 of gallon give or take.
Gas here (in Calgary) is running at $.85/litre so it would be about $3.40/gallon. Plus you have to add exchange rate @ about $.25 on the dollar. So ballpark a gallon of gas in Canada is $4.50. Yikes! I'm glad I take transit!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. You got the CAN$ / US$ conversion backwards.

CAN$ 3.40 * 0.795 = US$ 2.70/gallon. Not so outlandish. Cheaper than Brazil (around US$ 3.50/gallon now).

[Canadian Socialist]

12. Good thing

I'm not a financial advisor <lol>. I always get stuff like that wrong. But, it's still a hefty price to pay for something that COMES from here. It's not like it has to be trucked across the country.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. I would die...

To live in Canada. My unobtainable dream.

I want Out. I have had enough,

[Lauri16]

4. Canadians in general

are more polite. I guess the people are the biggest difference.

Living in the US, you don't have to go to a beer store for beer. Although you still have to go to a liquor store for the hard stuff.

The big thing is......NO TIMMY'S!! :(:(:( I loved their coffee!

I really miss living up there. We lived in Hamilton (my husband is originally from Hamilton).

[Telly Savalas]

9. Agreed. The politeness is probably the biggest difference

There's less of that "git off my property or I'll shoot" mentality in Canada.

It's really the aggregate of a bunch of tiny differences which give the two countries different feels. We get hit with culture shock when going back to visit my folks, but it's not clear how much of that can be attributed to crossing the border versus the fact that we're coming from a densely populated urban neighbourhood to a perfect model of suburban sprawl where everyone is white and speaks only English. If my parents lived in a place like San Fransisco, Boston, or NYC, maybe the differences wouldn't be as big.

Some other little differences of note:

*Sportscenter has great coverage of U.S. college hoops and shitty hockey coverage, whereas Sportscentre is the opposite.

*Au Canada, on peut lire des boîtes de céréale en français.

*Beer is taxed so heavily, the good stuff is only marginally more expensive than the cheap goat piss. (At least in Ontario.)

*There seem to be more 3-day weekends in Canada. (Too lazy to count.)

(By the way, there are a few Tim Horton's locations in the U.S., just not enough.)

[Canadian Socialist]

14. Long weekend rock!

We're just at the tail end of Victoria Day. Here's a countdown of statutory holidays in chronological order:
New Year's Day
Family Day (only in Alberta)
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Civic Holiday
Labour Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
Boxing Day.

[sasquatch]

16. What is Boxing day?

:shrug:

[Canadian Socialist]

17. The day after Christmas

Boxing Day

The day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is better known as Boxing Day. The term may come from the opening of church poor boxes that day; maybe from the earthenware boxes with which boy apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters' clients.

Nowadays, we often see, in certain families, gifts (boxes) given to those who provide services throughout the year.

"Boxing Day" is listed in the Canada Labour Code as a holiday.

from google. Aka "The Big Sales Day".

[yvr girl]

6. America just seems more....complicated

It's my impression that things like paying taxes, hooking up utilities, and getting your car insured are just more complicated.

[Lauri16]

7. Pain in the ass is more like it!

NY has to be the worst! It's enough to make you nuts!:crazy:

Although having been to both the DMV and the MOT, i'd have to say that they are definitely very similar!

[Nay]

8. I have always lived in US but have made several trips to Canada

because I am also a Canadian citizen. Love Canada. Wish I lived there right this minute.

On our trips I have noticed that Canadians are more polite and pleasant, just because they like themselves that way and not to cadge an extra dime out of the tourists.

The cops don't seem to be wannabe SWAT team members. Just being a plain nice cop who keeps the general order works just fine for them.

Even in as large a city as Montreal, I never felt like people were in such a hurry they couldn't enjoy the smaller things in life. Here, even in Richmond, Va, people run around like mice on crack, with never a moment to visit or enjoy the sunset. They are all just "TOO busy." I have "friends" who have never been to my house because they don't have the time. This is the FIRST town I have ever lived in where this has ever been an issue. Very odd.

Canada has a much less invasive advertisement mentality. Here, ads are invading every space, even in public bathrooms, schools, everywhere.

[Zuni]

11. really, Richmond?

Here in Maryland some days are hectic, but there are some days I have absolutely no obligations and can do anything to my fancy

[retread]

13. Any country that produces a show like "Corner Gas" has to be a great

place to live!

[yvr girl]

15. For a country known for funny people, our sitcoms are usually drek

and spectacularly unfunny. We have to get lucky once an awhile.