So what's great about Canada?

[CGM]

I'd say you are wrong about pretention. Canadians can be just as pretentious as Americans, though maybe in different ways. Canada is generally more "politically correct" than the US, imo.

Canada is often thought of as a cultural mosaic, whereas the US is a melting pot. In Canada the government tends to bend over backwards to help minorities preserve their identity, whereas in the States the government says, you are on your own in that regard.

The Canadian economy is more dependant on natural resources than the US. More dependant on things like Fishing, Forestry, mining etc, whereas the US has more manufacturing.

In Canada the wide open spaces are bigger, the population is no where near as spread out as it is in the states. Canada has far fewer people than the US, but more square miles to put them in.

Canada has a socialized medical system, the US does not. I think that's a good thing, but Lyle will tell you something different.

That's a start anyways. I'm sure others will have their own take on this stuff.

[CFH]

Canada is similar to the States, but it has it differences.

As CGM touched on, assimilation is not encouraged in Canada to the degree it is in the States (I think this is a great thing, but it definitely undermines the formation of the type of patriotic national identity that you see in America. For instance, I feel I have much more in common with people in Seattle and Oregon than I do with those in the vast majority of my country, I doubt you'd see many Americans saying something similar). Canada is very culturally diverse place.

In terms of social policy (ie. welfare etc.) Canada is somewhere between the U.S. and Europe. We don't have a full-on welfare state like you would see in Scandanavia, but the government is still very active socially (IMO another good thing, though it has been greatly reduced under the Conservatives [who I, unsurprisingly, loathe]).

I suggest you take up an interest in hockey. Just do not become a Maple Leafs fan whatever you do. It's a fate worse than death.

The West Coast, where I live, is probably (almost certainly) the most liberal, laid back part of the country. For example, where I live the marijuana industry is the 2nd or 3rd largest employer in the Province. It's still illegal, but the cops are only after big grow ops etc. because they're most often run by organized crime. Vancouver is a world-class city, consistently voted among the best places in the world to live (I assume those who decide on such things ignore the lower-east side which is as impoverished as anywhere in North America - bar Mexico - and I believe has the highest incidents of HIV infections for an areas its size on the continent as well).

The economy is also very heavily regulated, which means the recession didn't hit us as hard as other "Western" nations.

I really don't know what to tell you, I'm not much of a patriot or anything like that but I will state that it is a great place to live for the most part. I'd stay out of Alberta if I was you, along with the rest of the Praries it's essentially Canada's bible-belt.

If you have any direct questions I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.

[KKisser]

hope i can visit someday.

[Julius Rain]

Pamela Anderson.

[VictorCharlie]

Molson Ice and Labbat Blue

[Mark TKO]

Went last year. Loved it but wouldn't want to live there. Too vast and reckon it would be too cold for me in winter.


Favourite place was Jasper - felt and looked just like the town Rambo shot up in First Blood. Met some good locals and had some decent piss ups shooting pool woth them. Really friendly. It's weird walking home and suddenly a huge elk (?) just wanders down the street. Also came across a bear (cue the gags about 'did you wipe it off and apologise ?' ) but luckily was in the car.

Went onto Vancouver and that was great place too - though wandered off course one night and ended up in the area where all the homeless are. Couldn't believe it in two minutes I went from really nice area to streets with hundreds of bag ladies and junkies on. Was watching my back there I tell you !

Then onto Vancouver Island to see the whales and grizzlies. Nice but again even more remote.

In conclusion i am staying in Yorkshire

[Youngblood]

Lyle hates it, so it must be doing something right!

[ono]

[CFH]

Went last year. Loved it but wouldn't want to live there. Too vast and reckon it would be too cold for me in winter.


Favourite place was Jasper - felt and looked just like the town Rambo shot up in First Blood. Met some good locals and had some decent piss ups shooting pool woth them. Really friendly. It's weird walking home and suddenly a huge elk (?) just wanders down the street. Also came across a bear (cue the gags about 'did you wipe it off and apologise ?' ) but luckily was in the car.

Went onto Vancouver and that was great place too - though wandered off course one night and ended up in the area where all the homeless are. Couldn't believe it in two minutes I went from really nice area to streets with hundreds of bag ladies and junkies on. Was watching my back there I tell you !

Then onto Vancouver Island to see the whales and grizzlies. Nice but again even more remote.

In conclusion i am staying in Yorkshire

I assume you wandered to part of the Downtown East Side. It's not really dangerous at all though, it's just really sad.

As for Vancouver Island, that's where I live and I've never found it to be overly remote. Victoria, the city I live in, has over 300,000 people and Vancouver is about 1.5 - 2 hours away. Some parts of the Island are definitely remote though.

[CFH]

Molson Ice and Labbat Blue

I doubt you can get them down in Texas, but Sleemans, Rickards Red, and Alexander Keiths are my favorite Canadian beers from large-scale manufacturers. However, as a rule I try to avoid those types of beer because all the preservatives ruin the taste for me. Okanagan Springs beers are great too, but I think they're more of a micro-brew style, I know they don't put any preservatives in their stuff.

[VictorCharlie]

Molson Ice and Labbat Blue

I doubt you can get them down in Texas, but Sleemans, Rickards Red, and Alexander Keiths are my favorite Canadian beers from large-scale manufacturers. However, as a rule I try to avoid those types of beer because all the preservatives ruin the taste for me. Okanagan Springs beers are great too, but I think they're more of a micro-brew style, I know they don't put any preservatives in their stuff.

I'll look around and see about those brands...I do enjoy yalls beer...not so much your whiskey but yall make a hell of an ale

[CGM]

I really don't know what to tell you, I'm not much of a patriot or anything like that but I will state that it is a great place to live for the most part. I'd stay out of Alberta if I was you, along with the rest of the Praries it's essentially Canada's bible-belt.

If you have any direct questions I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.

An overstatement of course, but I suppose there is some truth in what you say.

The economy of Alberta is by far the strongest in the country because of all the oil, and Calgary is a very nice city, not particularly conservative, that is only a couple hours away from the Rocky Mountains. Calgary also has the Bow River flowing right through the middle, which is a world famous trout stream.

[Spicoli]

Thats it...Im moving
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...daFlagGirl.jpg

[CFH]

I really don't know what to tell you, I'm not much of a patriot or anything like that but I will state that it is a great place to live for the most part. I'd stay out of Alberta if I was you, along with the rest of the Praries it's essentially Canada's bible-belt.

If you have any direct questions I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.

An overstatement of course, but I suppose there is some truth in what you say.

The economy of Alberta is by far the strongest in the country because of all the oil, and Calgary is a very nice city, not particularly conservative, that is only a couple hours away from the Rocky Mountains. Calgary also has the Bow River flowing right through the middle, which is a world famous trout stream.

I'm from B.C., I'd be run out of the Province if I said anything nice about Alberta. They do have an incredible economy, no doubt about that. As for Calgary, I wasn't very impressed when I was there, but it's a helluva lot nicer than Edmonton.

[CGM]

I really don't know what to tell you, I'm not much of a patriot or anything like that but I will state that it is a great place to live for the most part. I'd stay out of Alberta if I was you, along with the rest of the Praries it's essentially Canada's bible-belt.

If you have any direct questions I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.

An overstatement of course, but I suppose there is some truth in what you say.

The economy of Alberta is by far the strongest in the country because of all the oil, and Calgary is a very nice city, not particularly conservative, that is only a couple hours away from the Rocky Mountains. Calgary also has the Bow River flowing right through the middle, which is a world famous trout stream.

I'm from B.C., I'd be run out of the Province if I said anything nice about Alberta. They do have an incredible economy, no doubt about that. As for Calgary, I wasn't very impressed when I was there, but it's a helluva lot nicer than Edmonton.

BC is home, but after living in T.O. for 20+ years I have come to realize that British Columbians in general seem to have some kind of inferiority complex about their position in confederation or something. They resent the hell out of the east, and they seem to resent Alberta too. Other than that though, they're a pretty good bunch.

I spent a year in Calgary when I was in my 20s. Loved it. Like you I wasn't crazy about Edmonton. Honestly, I could live most places. For me a city is more a state of mind (my mind) than it is geography.

Montreal is a great city too.