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For various reasons, I'm considering moving north to Canada in coming years. I don't have a timeline prepared but things are slowly moving in that direction.
I live fairly close to the southern border of Canada anyway, and know many Canadians. I even dated one years ago.
Because of that, and because of my many visits, I know there's a lot to like about it.
But when I'm making a serious purchase, I like to know what people *don't like* about a product, and I'm thinking along similar lines here.
What's your *least favorite* part about living in Canada, for those of you that do or have?
I'm not looking to dish on your lovely country, so much as to get a fuller picture.
Real programmers use butterflies
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honey the codewitch wrote: For various reasons, I'm considering moving north to Canada
Have you considered Ottawa? I see your U.S. domestic mail is already being forwarded there. 
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Income taxes are higher here. You're in a state with no state income tax and have what, an 8.5% sales tax? Let's say you move to BC. Your federal tax will be about the same as now, but your provincial tax will be about 50% of that amount, and your sales tax will be 12%. Plus higher taxes on gas and liquor.
Then there's medical care. You might pay a flat $750, but expect to wait, for months or worse, if you need elective surgery or a non-urgent consultation with a specialist.
If you want to order stuff from the US, shipping can be significantly higher, depending on who you're ordering from. In some cases, they won't ship to Canada at all.
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I expect the tax burden but by my estimation over all our standard of living will increase slightly up there, despite our buying power.
The medical stuff is a concern, but honestly? Most of what I need help with here the US is at least as bad with as it would be there.
Private practice mental health specialists do not treat people like me - that is, people with conditions like mine. We're "no fun". It's easier and more profitable to treat middle class people with depression than people with serious conditions that require ongoing monitoring and care. All of the people that will deal with someone like me are working under the public health care umbrella anyway, and they get paid dirt and move on into private practice as soon as they can. In Canada presumably, these professionals get paid a little more than the folks working for a community mental health clinic in my neck of the woods here in the US, and may actually have appropriate training, which you can't find here, unless you have Michael Jackson money. Seriously. Upper middle class people have a hard time with this. There's a huge hole in the mental health treatment in this country, among those that need the most help. /rant
Anyway, my point with the above rant is I'll take my chances with Canada. It can't be worse in that regard.
The shipping stuff I expected, but half of what I want I have to order out of Asia anyway.
But all this is good to know, because it's what I expected.
Thanks!
Real programmers use butterflies
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A couple of things that I forgot, but which may be even more important.
First, on the off chance you don't know this, you can't just "move to Canada" any more than an alien can legally move to the US. I believe you're working on contract, but you may actually need to have an offer of employment to move to Canada unless there are other avenues that I'm not familiar with that would allow you in. There's also the question of how your partner would immigrate. I believe that Canada would recognize your domestic partnership and allow your partner to come with you, but you need to be certain.
Second, you'll still have to file a US tax return. The US is the only country, other than (gag) Eritrea, that taxes citizens on their worldwide income even when non-resident. Doing a US non-resident return is a total buttpain.
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My partner is the one that would be primarily applying, as he knows three languages (and is learning French now), and has multiple degrees, including in nursing which is in demand there. I know it's not as simple as moving. This is a process we've been actively working toward, and we're familiar with how it works at least in broad strokes given where we're currently at in the process. He will have no trouble finding work in Canada. I work entirely remotely, and for people in the US, regardless of where I live, but I'll work that out when the time comes.
My income is just extra money. I'm not the primary breadwinner and nothing I earn is counted on because I do not work steadily throughout the year.
Real programmers use butterflies
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And here I was, thinking your partner was a Mixtec translator! Not much demand for that up here.
There's definitely a demand for nurses. Around the time that I moved to the US (mid 90s), many doctors and nurses were moving to NC because they could get better pay and were tired of the system here. A lot like the British brain drain back in the day.
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That's just one of the languages he speaks. He also speaks Spanish, and English of course. Like I said, he's learning French. And while he's also a translator, he's an *interpreter* which requires more skill than straight translation, which is written. Simultaneous interpretation for example, is difficult. Imagine someone dictating to you in one language, while you have to write in another. That's what translation would have to be to be like interpretation.
The point though, is the skill is transferable to other languages and components of it are even to other fields, even into the nursing profession.
That and he picks up languages the way I pick up programming languages.
If anyone there could learn some of the languages spoken by the indigenous people in Canada, it would be him, and he'd use it to serve that population, like he does with the Mixtecs who live here.
Real programmers use butterflies
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All my medical experiences and everyone else's I know has been excellent. Go with the flow and you zoom through. We have parades.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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If you're prepared for a government that occasionally, actually works, socialized medicine, the metric system (mostly)_, and to give up your guns, come on over! If you are thinking of Southern B.C., then you're already familiar with the weather. Here in Edmonton, we've been having record cold just now, it's currently -27C at 4:30 PM, and its been like that for couple of weeks. Last summer we flirted with +40C, so you might need to update your wardrobe if you come up here.
Downsides
* the Canadian dollar is generally weaker than the US greenback, and salaries tend to be lower, so you might have to alter your lifestyle a bit.
* Taxes are higher here. Well, payroll taxes, anyway. I'm not sure about sales taxes, except we do have a national sales tax of 5%. So higher taxes and lower wages might make a big difference in your disposable income. On the plus side, there is a Tax treaty with the US, so you don't have to pay taxes in both countries if you live in one and work in the other. I'm not sure how all that works out if you're supplying software via the internet. Are you working in Canada or the US when working on a remote server?
* It seems like everything I want to get on Amazon is not available from amazon.ca, even if its listed as available on amazon.com. Sometimes you can get cross-border shipping, but not always. Even when things are available, they always seem to cost more, even taking into account the difference in currencies.
* Western Alienation. The federal government often seems to think the country stops at Ontario's western border. There's been several movements for separation, none of them anywhere near as serious as the Quebec separatists, but its a long nursed hurt that easterners don't get, until they move out here, that is.
* The USA. I'm not really ragging on the States here, but pointing out that when there's differences in goals, be they political, economic, social or whatever, the States, naturally - and rightly, put their concerns first. Its not like there's a big gulf in American and Canadian values, but there are differences, if only because Canada tends towards a more liberal outlook. Canada's clout on the global stage is far less than America's, and sometimes we have to do things "The American Way," rather than following a more Canadian approach. But that's world politics, and very few nations get to do things all their own way.
Just a few things to think about.
Keep Calm and Carry On
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Thank you for all this. It is just the kind of thing I was looking for. 
Real programmers use butterflies
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Until recently I lived in Vermont. The Burlington NBC station is so popular across the border that they run commercials for Canadians. One of the most common ones was for health insurance. Apparently they use it to pay for private care in Canada and the US. Canadians often go to Burlington for care they can't get in Canada and Vermonters and New Yorkers go to Canada for cheap eye surgery.
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The PBS stations in Erie, PA and Watertown, NY receive a majority of their contributions from Canadians.
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I've been living in Canada for 30 years and for 25 years I've been working remotely for a US company, so I think I know pretty well both sides of the border.
Worst thing about Canada: it's not US. Best thing about Canada: it's not US.
Seriously now, for almost every aspect you can find two sides of the coin. Yes, taxes are higher but in general you get better services. Yes, health system waiting times can be longer but life expectancy is higher, so maybe they know what they are doing. Yes, selection of movies on Netflix is smaller but who wants to see all the movies on Netflix.
Canada is no paradise on Earth (otherwise all Americans would move North) but it's not a bad place to live either (otherwise all Canadians would go South). In the end it's a personal decision. If you manage to live in Canada and get paid in US$ you can even make a comfortable living.
Mircea
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Not to mention the fact that if you want to watch American Netflix in Canada, you can always use a VPN.
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A friend of mine came to India about 10 days back for his wife to get a knee replaced surgically.
The wait in Canada was going to be 18 months and he decided he would rather pay $10,000 out of pocket than have his wife wait that long and live with excruciating pain.
Another friend in Toronto had chest pains and was taken to the hospital where they performed coronary artery bypass on him. When he was discharged, he asked for strong pain medication (there are opioids that are non-habit forming and are prescribed for cases such as his). He was told there was no money in the budget and he has to make do with Tylenol! So, excellent care for acute cardiac conditions but abysmal care for acute pain!
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honey the codewitch wrote: What's your least favorite part about living in Canada, for those of you that do or have?
Their southern neighbours? 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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You should definitely consult with an attorney familiar with all of the issues to help you setup a US(Delaware?) and/or off shore corporation and/or Canadian corporation with a Canadian based employee or contractor (you) if you want to continue your free lancing while living in Canada.
You do not want to find out 10 years later that you owe a particular jurisdiction tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
I had a friend that ended up owing the US IRS $35K from an out of country 18 month engagement. Imagine a 5 year accounting mistake?
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Good advice. I'll definitely look into getting something incorporated.
Real programmers use butterflies
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i think its a good idea to move north !
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Windows 11 made it very easy to use multiple desktop...
But.. I just can't get used to it.
Anyone here use multiple desktops? What for?
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I've been using multiple desktops (aka workspaces) under Ubuntu on all my laptops (currently 3 in use  ) for ages.
I find it is easier to generally work in a "one window per desktop" space, and flip (ctrl-alt-left/right in my case) between them, rather than alt-tab or whatever to switch windows in a single workspace. My layout is embedded somewhere in muscle memory, so switching to the window I want is near automatic. (Alt-tab doesn't always work as you'd expect! You need to keep at least half an eye open.)
On my main work machine, I run a horizontal row of 6 desktops. When it's at home, I have an external monitor above the laptop screen.
The six are typically:
File manager (explorer). If I'm home, mapped server file system/s on the top screen. (Deploy = drag'n'drop  )
Alternate browser for website testing
IDE of the day. Often a reference/help above.
Primary browser
Command window. ssh prompt on server above.
Email/calendar
On this ("social") machine, 4 wide: Browser, text editor for notes, skype/zoom/etc, command/file manager.
I also run "workspace affinity", so that common programs are preassigned to specific workspaces. In conjunction with autostart, I boot straight into a complete environment, ready to run. And if I fire up a music player, I know its window is above the secondary browser...
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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very organized! 
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It relieves a few more ageing brain cells for more important pursuits.
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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