Ok. So had enough of living in the UK. Canada, is that the answer

[theinvestor]

It is one of the most expensive cities in the world - but there is a reason for it. It is always ranked in the top three cities in the world in to which one would want to live and work.

There seems to be a lot of exaggeration of the taxes to be paid - mostly from one troll. Canadian taxes averaged out are nearly identical to the United States - but what you get in return is what counts. Business taxes in Canada are amongst the lowest in industrialized world - and about to get cheaper depending on the outcome of the current sitting of parliament. Government is stable and we are heading towards another election which by all accounts will restore the current status quo which hasn't worked out all that bad.

With children you won't have to worry about medical bills. You get tax rebates for putting them into sports - heck you get tax rebates for just having kids! LOL

If Vancouver is too expensive Toronto is also nice but not a whole lot cheaper - and the weather is not nearly as good. Halifax is another nice city where prices are much cheaper and the weather is more stable year round.

As well going ahead Canada is sitting on more of two things the rest of the world needs more than anything else - fresh water and oil. Canada rode out the worst of the recession because of smart financial governance over the past 15 years - we didn't get sucked into the deregulation that sunk Ireland, Iceland and the United States. Our housing market is very stable and prices didn't drop across most markets. Unemployment while a bit high because of the recession is still lower than South of us and much of Europe. Canada's largest banks are ripping up the world markets and turning over record profits. The Canadian dollar continues to rise and surprisingly it hasn't hobbled our economy to any noticeable degree.

Finally if you do find yourself here and things go wrong financially - you can rest assured that in this liberal nation that you and your family will not be thrown to the wolves. We take care of our own.

Raider posted the following lie -

That just isn't even remotely close to being true. Don't even waste a second believing such nonsense.

Great post !

 

[peter]

You can come here to Sweden! Tax-levels higher than almost any other country, 9 months of darkness and cold and government monopoly on alcohol.

But the women are great

 

[JuniperPark]

While I like Vancouver, it was dark and gloomy every time I've been there. I was told it's nearly always like this, and that the suicide rate is very high.

The other thing I didn't like was that for some reason, there was NO freeway through or around the city. Driving from Microsoft in near Seattle to Whistler was always a pain because we always ended up sitting in long traffic jams and what seemed like 100 traffic lights because the only route was through downtown streets. Hopefully they've fixed that by now.

They did have a great airport - though expensive to use - and Whistler Village is a great place to be near.

 

[Gerry]

Raider posted the following lie -

That just isn't even remotely close to being true. Don't even waste a second believing such nonsense.

BAN YOU!

How dare you suggest such a thing!

BAN YOU TO ETERNAL DAMNATION!

 

[whitebark]

While I like Vancouver, it was dark and gloomy every time I've been there. I was told it's nearly always like this, and that the suicide rate is very high.

The other thing I didn't like was that for some reason, there was NO freeway through or around the city. Driving from Microsoft in near Seattle to Whistler was always a pain because we always ended up sitting in long traffic jams and what seemed like 100 traffic lights because the only route was through downtown streets. Hopefully they've fixed that by now.

They did have a great airport - though expensive to use - and Whistler Village is a great place to be near.

Sun is shining in so bright right now I can barely see my computer screen!

Here's a trick for your next visit - cross via Washington State Route 543. That takes you via 176th street to Hwy 1 which will bring you straight to Whistler without having to go through the city. Because you are right - the city of Vancouver is built up against the water on one side, a river on the other and mountains on yet the other side. They didn't plan the highway system through there very well - but as you can see there are ways around it.

 

[namestrands]

On the note of Costa Rica as a suggestion, I was out there for about 4 months (San Jose) and to be honest, one of the scariest places on earth, not because of the constant site of armed bodyguards and 24hr bank security men with semi-automatic rifles, nor the rampant sex trade that goes on pretty much in front of your eyes.

I was there and experienced 3 earthquakes the highest of which was a 6.4 I think. Anyway, what creeped me out the most was Big Fat Americans parading local kids aged between 10-16 as if they were trophies, I heard that this sort of crap went on, but to be so blatant about it in full view and to see it with my own eyes truly turned my stomach, I had what I assumed was mothers coming up to me and trying to pimp out their kids.

Saying that, Rio and Sao Paulo just as bad.

 

[GAMEFINEST]

I went to Toronto for vacation, didn't like it at all, maybe because alcohol is very expensive, and I hate the snow..

 

[Raider]

Raider posted the following lie -

That just isn't even remotely close to being true. Don't even waste a second believing such nonsense.

There you go with your comprehension problem again;

So if you sell a domain for $100,000, $50,000 of that goes to the Canadian Government, OUCH! I sure hope you have tax shelters.

This was obviously a question to a poster and not statement, The poster who I wrote this to even responded with an answer as other did... It seems every body got this except you.

Or perhaps you did get it and you wanted to take a jab for the purpose of trashing Namestrands thread... Of course.

And members wonder where all the arguing comes from, it comes from people like you and DocCom. 2 of the biggest trouble making trolls on DNF.

With children you won't have to worry about medical bills.

Yeah, the only thing Parents need to worry about is finding a physician;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1481674/

Make sure you tell Namestrands about Canada's Health Care overload.. The long waiting times and shortage of Doctors.
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=20147

I know your good at misleading people, but let's not mislead him OK?. This is his life and Family were talking about.


OH, I almost forgot, Did you tell Namestrands about how your move from Canada, put your house up for sale and moved to Arizona? How did that Home Shopping work out for ya?

I'll also be home shopping - I've had enough of the Canadian winters!

Whitebark is coming to America

That cold huh?

:lol2:

 

[Gerry]

I suggest we just let Mother Eva tell namestrands where to go...she is so good at that.

 

[Spex]

Since Toronto and Vacnouver have been brought up enough, I'll fill you in on where I live, Ottawa.

First, it's the capital city so we have lots of museums and other public buildings and attractions and landmarks that comparable sized cities don't have. This city is very rich in history

It's big enough where you can do pretty much whatever you want but small enough where you don't feel lost (you can pretty much drive from one end of the city to the other in about 30 minutes)

We are well located in that we are 2 hours from Montreal, 4 hours from Toronto and about 1.5 from Upstate NY. So whether by car or by connecting flights, travelling is a breeze from here

The major employer is the federal government, so we aren't prone to massive swings is employment. Even the private sector is thriving here due to government procurement, so what ever field you are in your job is pretty safe. We also have a very large high tech sector with many small to medium sized companies and a few large ones as well

Crime is low, housing is cheap, public transit is efficient and the city is clean. We border the province of Quebec and we have plenty of festivals and outdoor activities year round to keep you and your family busy.

Our summers are nice with one or two heat waves and the winters are tolerable with one or two cold snaps to keep you in check. Autumn around here is beautiful

And contrary to what has been said, the taxes aren't that bad. I make in the 60's and I pay about 18% income tax

And yes, as some have pointed out, finding a family physician may be difficult but you can register with the province and they will help you find one in your area. And we have many walk-in medical centres around town so you will not go without health care

 

[whitebark]

I suggest we just let Mother Eva tell namestrands where to go...she is so good at that.

No kidding. She has made a fool of herself enough times with her ignorance of Canada and called on it but it won't stop her from pooping on yet another thread. I mean imagine that - a Canadian with enough pocket money to buy a vacation home because they prefer warm weather to cold. How dare those tens of thousands of similar Canadians economically prop up Southern states! LOL

Anyways Namestrands - If you make it out to Vancouver I'll take a day and show you around.

 

[Theo]

Never been to Canada but I'd love to. How do I become an honorary citizen?

 

[Gerry]

No kidding. She has made a fool of herself enough times with her ignorance of Canada and called on it but it won't stop her from pooping on yet another thread.

Well, she has become quite the expert on Canadian politics and healthcare.

And she damn sure doesn't want you Kanucks invading from the North. Perhaps that is where the next virtual fence can be installed since the first one proved so successful.

Quite the foreign affairs expert, eh?

Reminds me of someone else...

I can see Mexicans from my house.

 

[Theo]

Doc, nothing can stop Canadians when they have an ample supply of old style Pilsner

 

[Namefox]

Never been to Canada but I'd love to. How do I become an honorary citizen?

You give me a really expensive domain for cheap. I'll sign the papers...

 

[Theo]

You give me a really expensive domain for cheap. I'll sign the papers...

OK, I'll remember you in my will

 

[Raider]

No kidding. She has made a fool of herself enough times with her ignorance of Canada

How do you figure that? The statement of Canada's high income taxes and 15% sales tax came from a Canadian citizen in this thread...

+ The difficulty in finding a physician was confirmed by another Canadian in this thread.

+ The long wait times for health care are common knowledge, your own Government was sued over it remember?.. So where do you get off saying I'm ignorant?

This is just like you Whitebark, you know what your fellow Canadians posted is TRUE, and your feeling burned, You cant argue with the truth so you do the next best thing, you go after me... Someone you clearly don't like, I don't like you either BTW, I never did.. I just don't care for egotistic and arrogant people like you and Doc.

Now just because you cant handle criticism is no reason to be disrespectful to others, No need to come unglued every time an outsider criticizes your Country.. No need to take it personal, NO Country on this planet is perfect, they all have their own problems, their own way of doing things, their own way of life... You of course wouldn't know this, since Canada and the USA are likely the only 2 countries you lived in.

I actually admire your loyalty to your Country.

If you like paying outrageous tax rates for Government taking care of you, who am I to say it's wrong?

If you don't mind waiting nearly 3 years for orthopedic surgery, who am I to complain about it? It's YOUR country right?

Whatever suits your fancy.

 

[tetrapak]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_quality_of_living

4. Vancouver - Canada 107.4
14. Ottawa - Canada 105.5
16. Toronto - Canada 105.3
21. Montreal - Canada 104.2

First American city on the list:

31. Honolulu - United States 103.1

 

[Spex]

How do you figure that? The statement of Canada's high income taxes and 15% sales tax came from a Canadian citizen in this thread...

The 15% sales tax figure came from one guy, in Quebec. In ontario, where I am, it's 13% (not great, but a little lower). Like you, our country is divided up into smaller parts called Provinces (equivalent to your States if you haven't gotten my drift yet) So tax rates vary depending on where you live or buy your goods.

And depending on what you buy, the federal or provincial component in the sales tax is waived so it's not a flat 13% across the board.

And as for the high income tax rates, I believe I posted earlier in this thread that I pay 18% income tax. Again, others pay more and others pay less, but I think 18% income tax isn't as high as you make it out to be.

If you like paying outrageous tax rates for Government taking care of you, who am I to say it's wrong?

Again, re-read my posts, our taxes aren't that high. And as much as I hate paying any kind of tax, I'd rather pay 18% tax and get something in return instead of paying what you guys pay and get a) nothing in return and b) have that money go to funding Wall Street bonuses, Banker corporate retreats, pork barrel spending, illegal wars, etc...

But hey, as you've said before, you're a foreigner so you shouldn't be talking about our internal politcs.

And to throw you a bone to feel better, I can't argue your points about Health Care. It has it's issues and again, since each province administers it's own system it depends on where you live

But the fact that the only negative you can point out about Canada is some issues with the health care system goes to show that it's not too bad up here.

 

[Gerry]

Add into the equation of not only state tax (sales tax), but city tax (french quarter in New Orleans was 14%), and county taxes and guess what...we magically appear at or near the 15% tax.

Own a home? well, guess where your taxes are now.

Then add these little add ons like a hospitality tax (commonly found at Hotels and Theme parks) and that pushes us over the top.


As for Mother Eva, she lives in one of the most taxable states in the country with over 9% sales tax. Now, add in county tax, city tax, and any other little tax and guess what...you're Canadian!