why did u choose to live in US instead of Canada?

[redBlue 1]

These days, I’m wondering if we are making the right chose by living the Canada and re-locating to US as a family.

I'm especially very concerned for health care coverage and its expenses. Mu hubby's job will cover me(but of course there is a cut for that);but they said they won't be covering babies if we decide to have any...(yes we want kids)

So, I’ve started to ask many questions to myself:

For what reason have you guys decided to live in US with your wife/husband/fiance etc. as opposite to living in Canada?

After you've moved to US, have you thought that would've been better to stay in Canada as a family?Why?

Do you think schools,health care,life standards etc. is better than Canada and what you've expected in US?

thnx

[JillA 2]

That's a good question.... my husband was 100% willing to move to Canada.... but he has a really good job and makes great $$ and has excellent benefits, so it made more sense for me to come here. He could support me fine, but on my salary at home I don't think I could have supported both of us on my salary.

I do often think about the maternity leave issue, as I want to have kids and am not taking 6 weeks.... I wish it was a year here like Canada.... I think health care can be better here if you have insurance obviously, I have a really good doctor and have seen a different side of health care. Education is hard to say because I have no experience with the education system here, but have heard some horror stories so I'm biased to say Canada is better.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I was in the cdn Air force, which of course means one can be away from home for weeks, to months on end! Wife has a super education and a great job which is pretty much 100% recession proof,lol so it just made more sense to move here and for me to start over.

[Sprailenes 47]

Because my husband makes more money down here than he would have up there.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I can say we didn't really consider the details. Things like health insurance and maternity leave never really crossed our minds. I suppose thats part of being young and reckless! I want kids but not for the next 5-7 years, so It seemed like an afterthought.

My Finace's parents own a business in Denver so he has very good job security in a tough market. He also has future prospects of possibly owning the business when his parents retire... which can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. His family is also more financially stable then mine, so they have been able to offer a lot of help in regards to the visa process, the wedding and the move. I'm going to be living with them in the family home for a few months until we get on our feet. That would have been a lot harder for us if we had moved to Canada! Plus, since i've been a student for the last 4 years I have a very limited income and I wouldn't have been able to financially support him in anyway. We would have been in Canada with free medical care, but both of us wouldn't have a job... or a home... so to the US I go! Maybe one day I'll live in Canada again... you never know right?

[Sprailenes 47]

That was a short answer and it makes me sound weird.

But here's the longer version:

He lived with me in Canada for two years, without a visa, illegally. Just working freelance for American clients. Something just had to give, one of us had to let go and I don't think he was willing to let go completely and apply for PR status in Canada. So he got a job offer in Philly and took it and we applied for the K1 visa.

The day he left Canada is still one of the saddest moments I remember. We had stayed together for two years and then we had to separate again. It was really hard. He dropped me off at work that morning and I was a MESS. I just sat in my office and bawled all day.

Then I went home and all of his things were gone.

Ahh still sad thinking about it... but now we're together!! YAY!

[SapphireDreams 71]

We decided to live in the US because it would just be easier for me to get a new job than him and because my fiance is a New Yorker and could never leave, LOL.

No but really, there is a lot of opportunity for both of us in NYC and we both agreed it was a city that suited us both and would make us both happy. I am a very socialable and outgoing person who likes to take risks and can handle change. As well in terms of careers. My fiance kind of fell into his job (he works in HR) and only had a BA. It would be hard for him to get a new HR job here without some sort of HR certificate or certification. However, I work in PR and can pretty much work anywhere and NYC is ideal. I also have a very specialized degree and a graduate certificate and now US experience so I'm in a good position to make a move and not have to back track or whatever.

In terms of a family, we aren't quite there yet, and who knows where we'll end up. Raising children in NYC is expensive but my f-in-laws did it and so we're not ruling it out. We'll just have to see where the best opportunity lies for us then.

[BermyCat 1]

i certainly didn't come here for the money or oppurtunity. I made three times Phil's salary, plus Bermudian companies are required by law to provide good group health insurance plans. What it came down to was that Phil just wouldn't have been able to handle leaving the US. He's having a hard enough time helping me to adjust to being here. My experiences have made him see that the US is far from perfect and it's a realization that he's struggling with.

Thinking about the lack of maternity leave just makes me angry....

~ Catherine

[Udella&Wiz 325]

i certainly didn't come here for the money or oppurtunity. I made three times Phil's salary, plus Bermudian companies are required by law to provide good group health insurance plans. What it came down to was that Phil just wouldn't have been able to handle leaving the US. He's having a hard enough time helping me to adjust to being here. My experiences have made him see that the US is far from perfect and it's a realization that he's struggling with.

Thinking about the lack of maternity leave just makes me angry....

~ Catherine

Me as well - but we're past having kids together.

My daughter and I moved here mostly because we were more portable. I had no ex to worry about and thus my child could easily come with me. My husband has 2 boys who live around the corner from us with their mum so moving to Canada in the next 10 yrs wouldn't have been an option. Don's job was better then mine - although we never really got around to discussing that particular point. I just natually felt that me moving would be best. I can continue my career here and for more $$ (not that it's terribly important, but still)

In hindsight - I wish the situation was different. We've spent 1.5 yrs struggling with my daughter who will probably go back home like a shot on her 18th birthday anyway. My husband's family has been at times unwelcoming and it has made it very hard to adjust to here. I miss my warm, close family terribly

Who knows, maybe we'll switch, but I doubt it....things will probably pan out eventually and I'll be a little more settled in. I have these fantasies about moving to a state within a few hours of the border!

[Kimbear 53]

For me and David it was as simple as his Family. In the last 10 years i've not gotten along with my family for various issues and the communication was almost non existant. My friends are lackluster and barely keep in touch.

When I went down to Chicago to be with him for 2 months, not only did I realize I wanted to be his wife and mother to his children, but also I fell in love with his family. I have never met such sweet kind caring people who are willing to do anything for anyone. And his friends immediately accepted me and wanted to start planning our wedding as soon as they heard about the engagement.

To me that made all the difference.

[thetreble 19]

I moved here because I'm a tool. No, honestly. I didn't think about it enough. I'm still young and I made a very irrational decision in my opinion.

But, I was doing seasonal work at the time that ended at the end of Christmas and Jared had a full time, albeit not great, job.

He now makes almost double my salary after a few years which is great for us. The point is though, is that I had just gotten out of university, he had been out for 2 years...I followed him I guess.

The other reason I decided in my head it was best for me to move is because Jared really loves New Jersey and he has quite a large family. I have a small one with my two brothers seemingly all over the place. (my little brother lives in the US now too..just while he plays hockey though) I thought it would have been horrible for me to tear him away from his family but now I realize it would have been hard for either of us. I miss my family so much.

As far as health care, we have it good so I can't complain. My husband is under MY benefits that leaves me well chuffed because it's cool I'm the bread winner of benefits haha.

honestly though, I think there is just as much opportunity here as there is in Canada. Right now everything here sucks and there aren't many jobs out there. If I had been thinking of moving to New Jersey this year, I would have said forget it because of the economy.

[trailmix 77]

We didn't come here because we wanted to have a warm place to live and it was some place different.

If we decide we want to - neither one of us would have any problem loading up the car and moving back to Canada.

Edited April 17, 2009 by trailmix

[Emancipation 2]

for us it was his job which is pretty secure (or as secure as an aviation job can be), and his children. I knew I couldn't ask him to move to a different country & make travel & visitation even more difficult than it had to be.

My quality of life is slowly similar to what it was back home, except for family. Neither of us have family close, and that stinks. His parents live further than my mother does (MO vs. PEI), so we only get back home 3-4 times a year, and to his parents, every 2-3 years. That bites.

We didn't have an option really, so we make the most of it, but I miss Canada, and the Canadian way of doing things, but what can you do?

Edited April 17, 2009 by Emancipation

[trailmix 77]

We didn't come here because we wanted to have a warm place to live and it was some place different.

If we decide we want to - neither one of us would have any problem loading up the car and moving back to Canada.

Maybe I should have read that properly after I edited it

Of course it should say:

We came here to have a warm place to live and it was some place different. geez

[thetreble 19]

We didn't come here because we wanted to have a warm place to live and it was some place different.

If we decide we want to - neither one of us would have any problem loading up the car and moving back to Canada.

Maybe I should have read that properly after I edited it

Of course it should say:

We came here to have a warm place to live and it was some place different. geez

That makes SO much more sense now. haha