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?
I would recommend most people to live away from their hometown if they get an opportunity to. It’s worth seeing and experiencing how other people live - and it’s worth getting out of your comfort zone. Are you going to learn, grow and be better as a result? As well, is your career going to be fostered as a result?
It’s quite a general question because I don’t know what your values are. I don’t know what you’re leaving behind or how you’re quantifying that. But the US isn’t a monolith in climate, landscape, politics, culture, people, government, etc. You can live in on a Hawaiian island or in the vast concrete jungle of New York City - be in the same country, but live polar opposite lives. Canada isn’t a monolith either, but it’s not as extreme.
If money is your motivation, do a cost benefit analysis with the region you want to live in.
If all else fails to provide answers, leave it to fate. Flip a coin.
Totally agree here. There are many Canadians that would never in a million years consider moving the US and I think that’s a pretty narrow view of the country. It’s a big country with a lot of diversity and until you’ve at least visited I don’t think it’s fair to write it off. Hawaii is a great example. It’s an absolute paradise with a unique local culture, but is still technically the US.
The Mayan Riviera is absolutely gorgeous, but it’s not exactly a representative sample for what moving to Mexico would be like, and a vacation there is not the same as moving there either. I’ll very happily visit the US. I’ll do the touristy things, I’ll meet with my American friends, I’ll go to Vegas for a weekend and melt into a puddle. But if I were picking up and moving I would want to be good and damn sure that my life there would be an improvement and that’s not a great bet in a lot of cases in the US, especially when one half of the government is actively, intentionally and openly working to make everyone’s life worse and there’s a reasonable chance that they’ll be back in power with the next election. And even if they aren’t they’re still able to act through state government and the Supreme Court.
I’ve been doing some figuring to see if leaving the country is feasible for myself, but the US doesn’t make my short list of destinations. It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
I would recommend most people to live away from their hometown if they get an opportunity to.Hot take here but that’s a waste of resources (and potentially money) and a very cultural thing. Anglo Canadians and Americans packing up and moving across the country for university and then taking the plane to visit their family a couple of times a year… We don’t see that as much from other cultures in both countries.