Differences between USA and Canada from Canadian perspective

[stuarthall 1]

Hello everyone. Soon I will be moving from Toronto to another city in the USA that will be unlike a great multicultural city like Toronto. There are some things I'd like to know. 

This question is for Canadians who have moved to the USA as immigrants in recent years. Can you talk about things that affects new immigrants the most like taxes, rent, cost of food, access to services, cost of living

No discussions about politics, please. Leave the democrat vs republican, left vs right stuff out of this discussion. Thanks.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by stuarthall

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Health insurance was something I had to get used to.  Co-pays and networks was very confusing to me.  I knew about all of it but until I had to navigate it I didn't understand. 

 

Good luck 

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

since u do not post the state u may find this info on cost of living for the states gives u some info

as for the culture we are divided into 6 areas with vastly different customs (seriously) and then there is Lousiana with their own everything

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cost-of-living-index-by-state

 

no matter what state it is our health care and health care insurance will be the big difference

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by JeanneAdil

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

Health Insurance in the US is much different from what most immigrants expect.  It is very complicated.  

Premiums

Deductibles

Catastrophic caps

Exclusions

Covered expenses

Co-Pays

Edited November 7, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[ADW & JOP 146]

3 hours ago, stuarthall said:

Hello everyone. Soon I will be moving from Toronto to another city in the USA that will be unlike a great multicultural city like Toronto. There are some things I'd like to know. 

This question is for Canadians who have moved to the USA as immigrants in recent years. Can you talk about things that affects new immigrants the most like taxes, rent, cost of food, access to services, cost of living

No discussions about politics, please. Leave the democrat vs republican, left vs right stuff out of this discussion. Thanks.

 

 

I moved from Toronto to San Diego.

 

Taxes - Overall, I am making more money and paying less taxes than in Canada, but that's job specific/state specific

Rent - Comparable. Depends on where you are moving to.

Cost of food - Food is more expensive than in Toronto - whether dining out/groceries.

Access to service - We have a great plan with Kaiser so access to services are faster and we have no copays - again, this would be job specific.

Cost of living - In general, cost of living is more expensive in San Diego compared to Toronto. From groceries, dining out, etc.,  we are paying more.

Edited November 6, 2021 by ADW & JOP

[JP John 65]

I moved from Toronto almost 3 years ago and everything is cheaper here in NC.  Sales tax less than half.  Income tax much less.  No waits for medical procedures, but be sure to have good insurance.  Booze much cheaper.  Gas was much cheaper but has almost doubled in the last year or so.  I find the people very friendly and the traffic is much easier to navigate than TO.  Only downside is hockey rinks are harder to find!!

[chancecody 125]

On 11/6/2021 at 10:20 AM, stuarthall said:

Hello everyone. Soon I will be moving from Toronto to another city in the USA that will be unlike a great multicultural city like Toronto. There are some things I'd like to know. 

This question is for Canadians who have moved to the USA as immigrants in recent years. Can you talk about things that affects new immigrants the most like taxes, rent, cost of food, access to services, cost of living

No discussions about politics, please. Leave the democrat vs republican, left vs right stuff out of this discussion. Thanks.

 

 

Hi there,

 

Depends on where you intend to live in the United States. Below is our actual experience. We moved here in the summer of this year so this is a recent experience:

 

Housing 2 Bedroom Apartment (1100 sqft)

Toronto: $2000 CAD or $1600 USD

Reno: $2000 USD (+$400 more vs Toronto)

 

Income Taxes (I am data-driven so I created a side-by-side comparison of my current paycheque in Canada vs new paycheque in the US to be fact-based)

Canada paycheque: 28% Tax Deduction  (25% Federal Tax deduction, 1% EI and 3% CPP)

US paycheque: 26% Tax Deduction (16% Federal Income Tax, 3% State Income Tax PA, 6% Social Security and 1% Medicare….note: Although I live in Nevada that does not have State Income Tax, I work remotely for a Pennsylvania US company so I have to pay their state income tax)

 

My net pay is 67% in Canada vs 65% in the US due to healthcare deductions. We complain a lot as Canadians about the “high cost of taxes” in Canada but if you compare it apples to apples, Canadians have it great. I am paying tons of money for healthcare with high deductibles in insurance. If we actually get sick (thank god we are still young and healthy), we still need to pay a high deductible to get services.

[neluciubuc 0]

As others pointed out, it all depends on where in US. I moved from Toronto region to Colorado:

1. Income tax - around 5% lower than Canada

2. Sales tax - depending on the Colorado county - it varies somewhere between 6 and 8% vs 13% in Ontario

3. Groceries - on average 10-20% less in Colorado (we used Costco as a benchmark between Ontario and CO)

4. Car insurance - I was paying $460 for 2 cars and house. I switched to Travelers and it's about $340 for same 2 cars and renters insurance

5. Healthcare - yes it's expensive but it depends what state, where you work, type of work etc. We do find it at a higher quality than Ontario though - can get appointments quick, no line ups, no waiting, doctors take their time and not rushing you, lots of kids hospitals etc. 

6. Schools - night and day. Love the kiss and go lanes, lots of parking (we were in Bradford ON before, it was a nightmare), schools are very well supplied with activities etc. Always option for school bus, even if closer to school than predefined range. There might be fees for school bus but they are optional - at least in our region.

7. General merchandise - as expected less expensive, I am DIYer for car maintenance and I find all parts considerably cheaper here. Same engine oil I used to pay $130 in Canada, here it cost me under $50 at AutoZone.

8. Colorado is a beautiful place, with a LOT of activities - if anyone has been here they will confirm

[mam521 2,062]

Trade one thing for another and it will depend on where you live.  We went Calgary to Houston. 

 

1. Houses are cheaper in Texas, but the property taxes are high, so the monthly payment is about the same. 

2. You buy a home in a neighborhood based on quality of schools around here. That said, the schools in our district annihilate anything not private in Calgary (we had to move back temporarily for 18mo...what a gong show).

3. Houston (I'm in the burbs) has NO proper public transit.  Huge departure from most Canadian cities.

4. No shoveling in the winter.  However, December to March is leaf season, so you trade snowboots, mitts and shovels for work gloves, rakes and bags.

5. Health care is expensive. But, the trade off is no real wait times for anything. 

6. Lack of proper sitdown restaurants. It would seem there's tons of fast food, or full on sit down places, but not many things like Earl's, Joey, Boston Pizza (it's in select locations) where you can still hold a conversation while sitting and where you can potentially take your kids and not be worried it's too formal.  

7. Vehicles are cheaper 

 

[don_mar 18]

In my situation, I moved from Vancouver Island to Oregon, cost of living about the same, house is cheaper in Oregon. I am making $20k annual, but taking home income only $200 more per paycheque, with similar deductions. But you have to work your ### off here, the working culture is very different. I have to put in 50% more work in the US. I’m not a slacker by anyone’s standard.

 

Health care cost is actually better than I expected, I’m not paying too much out of pocket, but it’s just as slow as in Canada if not worse. I was with Kaiser and I was not impressed with their service. I’m switching to another insurance hoping it’s better.
 

On a positive note, my workplace is more diverse and accepting than in Canada. I’m a minority and I had multiple jobs in Canada, but promotions for me almost impossible. Here in US it doesn’t really matter, and my employer is a large international company probably makes a difference. Some will argue with me on this. My personal experience is Canadian racism is more subtle, no one will say anything to your face.
 

Overall I still like Canada better, and I would have moved back if housing is not so crazy.

[chancecody 125]

18 hours ago, don_mar said:

In my situation, I moved from Vancouver Island to Oregon, cost of living about the same, house is cheaper in Oregon. I am making $20k annual, but taking home income only $200 more per paycheque, with similar deductions. But you have to work your ### off here, the working culture is very different. I have to put in 50% more work in the US. I’m not a slacker by anyone’s standard.

 

Health care cost is actually better than I expected, I’m not paying too much out of pocket, but it’s just as slow as in Canada if not worse. I was with Kaiser and I was not impressed with their service. I’m switching to another insurance hoping it’s better.
 

On a positive note, my workplace is more diverse and accepting than in Canada. I’m a minority and I had multiple jobs in Canada, but promotions for me almost impossible. Here in US it doesn’t really matter, and my employer is a large international company probably makes a difference. Some will argue with me on this. My personal experience is Canadian racism is more subtle, no one will say anything to your face.
 

Overall I still like Canada better, and I would have moved back if housing is not so crazy.

True about working culture. Americans generally do not take lots of vacations. At my Canadian company, the standard vacation for new hires is 3 weeks. Here in the US for a management role, they gave me 3 weeks and was told that’s the best they could give when I tried to negotiate (I had 4 weeks vacation in Canada). They preferred to increase the salary than add a week of vacation which is odd. Also, the parental leave here is not good compared to Canada.