Off topic here "as usual"
But I have to ask you former Canadians something.Is it better here in the states or do you wish you were back in Canada? I here about Socialized Medicine and super high taxes..My last experience up there was horrible trying to get my bear home.
There are pros and cons to each country honestly.
For medical care, in Canada we do pay a bit more in income taxes (not as much as you'd think since we don't have a huge military budget) and non-life threatening injuries can have a longer wait time (also no private urgent care clinics). Overall the quality of health care for everyday things is on par, but the US is definitely way ahead in terms of availability and wait times for specialists.
Living down here in the US (and having 3 kids down here) I always feel like I'm getting "nickel-and-dimed" for every visit. Dealing with bills and insurance can be a nightmare at times, and having to "fight" and negotiate and keep track of payments (have been billed twice some times) can be challenging for big procedures/events (2 kids/twins in NICU for 6 weeks) - even with insurance.
Honestly, I'd say overall the care is better down here, and if you're a young single healthy person it's definitely a lot cheaper (with insurance). However, the peace of mind of never having to worry about being out-of-network, having to think about money in times of need or weighing the cost of an emergency room visit has a benefit of it's own.
I'm grateful for the health care down here, but hands down I would take the Canadian health care system any day.
Now, all that being said... America is a hell of a country, and the opportunities down here are endless! (I mean there's a reason I moved here and am still here). And the weather (at least down here in Houston) is definitely an improvement haha. I wouldn't hesitate to move back to Canada if I got the right opportunity; conversely I wouldn't hesitate to stay in America either. Day-in-day out routine there really isn't a whole lot of difference living in either country (except if you're big into carrying firearms on a daily basis then America is definitely for you).
EDIT: Forgot to mention that Houston has a surprisingly lot of Beer League Hockey. Makes you feel right at home
haha
