Some Americans fear higher taxes so much they are willing to move. The capital gains tax rate might go up. The step-up basis might go away. And the top marginal income tax rate might go up too. Therefore, may I present the best life hack for Americans: taking advantage of Canada!
I'm always looking for arbitrage opportunities to help readers make more money and live better lives. Taking advantage of Canada may be one of the best American life hacks of them all.
Not only do some Americans face potentially higher taxes, but all Americans are also feeling the brunt of higher inflation. Combatting inflation by moving to Canada is a serious solution many middle-class Americans should consider.
Taking Advantage Of Canada Can Be A Powerful Long-Term Trend
My favorite money-making arbitrage opportunity for the next couple of decades is investing in non-coastal city real estate due to lower valuations and higher net rental yields. Technology is accelerating the flow of capital and people toward attractive real estate opportunities.
However, taking advantage of Canada could be an even greater multi-decade investment opportunity, especially if you have children. Despite the frigid weather for four months a year, Canadians have a lot going for them.
Their GDP per capita is a respectable $52,000. Few people go through medical bankruptcies because healthcare is heavily subsidized.
Meanwhile, the average annual tuition for Canadian universities is only about $7,000 for the 2023/2024 academic year according to EduCanada. Even compared to public university tuition in America, $7,000 a year is cheap.
Let me share how one Canadian friend is taking advantage of America and how we, in turn, can take advantage of Canada.
How Canadians Take Advantage Of America
A 25-year-old friend in my SF softball league is from Vancouver, Canada. He went to the University of British Columbia, a top-five university where annual tuition is only $5,399 in the computer science department.
When he graduated, he decided not to find a job in Canada, but come down to San Francisco where computer engineering jobs pay much more. He works for an online real estate company.
“Sam, I make twice as much in San Francisco as I would if I got a similar job in Vancouver,” my softball friend told me.
“But don't you want to give back to your country? I thought brain drain is a big thing in Canada?” I responded.
“Yes, but let me make my money first. After five years in San Francisco making double the money, I'll then move to Seattle with my girlfriend where my firm is headquartered. Seattle pay is similar to San Francisco pay, despite the cost of living being 30% cheaper. Further, Vancouver is only a 3.1 hour drive away.“
“Sounds like a good plan!” I responded.
Will Move Back To Canada Once He's Made His Money In America
“Once I'm in my 30s and ready to start a family, then I'll move back to Canada and live a less hectic lifestyle. With a stronger government safety net, I feel more comfortable raising a family back home,” he explained.
Although I feel a little bad that Canada won't get the benefit of his productivity after providing him with 22 years of education, I can't fault his logic.
If Canadians wish to participate legally in our labor market and also buy and sell U.S. stocks and property, why not take advantage of the opportunity? After all, America is the greatest country in the world.
Canadians are consistently a top-3 largest foreign buyer of U.S. real estate. Without foreign buyers, American real estate would be more affordable. Therefore, we should return the favor and buy up Canadian real estate.
How Americans Can Take Advantage Of Canada
Following my softball friend's logic, Americans should take advantage of Canada's government safety net and immigrate to Canada after we've amassed our fortunes as well. This is the best life hack to make life easier.
One of the biggest problems we face in America is the runaway cost of healthcare. Medical-related expenses are our nation's #1 cause of bankruptcy. It would, therefore, seem logical that those who decide to retire early and are ineligible for Medicare should migrate to Canada and get their healthcare paid for.
Move To Canada To Save On Healthcare Insurance
For example, my family of four will pay about $28,000 a year for healthcare premiums plus co-pays and co-insurance in 2023. Does this sound reasonable to you for a healthy family who never sees a physician?
To generate $28,000 in retirement income at a 4% rate of return requires me to first amass $700,000 in capital. But I will need to have closer to $880,000 in capital due to long-term capital gains taxes. With a shaky economy, retirees should also lower their safe withdrawal rates just to be safe.
If my family moved to Canada, we'd be eliminating most of our present healthcare costs and could use the savings towards living a better lifestyle. We wouldn't have to purposefully reduce our income to get healthcare subsidies either. What a shame to stop writing on Financial Samurai, something I love to do, just for the sake of affordable healthcare.
Supplement With Private Healthcare
The only problem is that wait times at hospitals and other health providers can be very long. Therefore, you may still want to pay for private health insurance if you live in Canada just in case. I plan to for a reasonable $3,000 a year.
Lower College Tuition In Canada
Further, given the average Canadian college tuition is only $6,800 a year, we would no longer have to contribute $30,000+ a year in our son's 529 college savings plan. We could easily afford to pay $27,200 for four years in Canadian university tuition from the money sitting in our online savings account.
It is truly mind-boggling that four years of Canadian university tuition costs $11,000 less than one year of private school kindergarten in San Francisco.
Paying for college by sending them to a Canadian college is also so much cheaper. You will experience less stress and anxiety having to work and save so much for college tuition. A four-year private university costs $80,000 a year in America nowadays!
Massive Savings If We Move To Canada
Saving $51,000 a year in healthcare and college expenses just by moving to Canada sounds like a home run. That's $1,275,000 less in capital I need to amass at a 4% rate of return.
Even though the average home price in Vancouver is an absurdly high $1.4 million, it's still about $200,000 less than the median home price in San Francisco.
Moving to Vancouver, Canada might just be the best geoarbitrage move for us. Vancouver is on the same west coast and has the same international flavor as San Francisco.
For Americans living in lower-cost-of-living areas, there are plenty of lower-cost areas in Canada as well.
Our Children Can Take Advantage Of Canada Too
In addition to recommending all adult Americans seeking financial independence migrate to Canada, there's also a way for our children to take advantage of Canada too. The best life hack is when you can help your children as well.
One of the reasons why I became a high school tennis coach was because I wanted to learn how to interact with teenage boys before my own boy becomes a teenager in 2031. It may sound crazy to prepare so far in advance to be a better father, but I figure why not try? Planning is free to do.
During practice one day, I had a nice conversation with one of my favorite players, a senior who attended Occidental College in Southern California.
Occidental College is a good school, but I thought he was going to attend a top-10-ranked school instead. He was super smart, very wealthy, and was frequently late to practice due to constant after-school tutoring.
McGill University, The Harvard Of Canada
He mentioned a classmate was attending McGill University in Canada and I was immediately impressed. I remember having a financial analyst classmate at Goldman Sachs who had also attended McGill University.
She was extremely kind and smart. Further, she was the only one in my 1999 financial analyst class who survived the post-dotbomb layoffs and made Managing Director 10 years later. MD at 33 is quite a feat!
“McGill is the Harvard of Canada!” I exalted in a somewhat joking way. “I wonder what their acceptance rate is?“
My student responded, “Really? The Harvard of Canada? How can that be if their acceptance rate is 50%?“
“There's no way Mcgill has a 50% acceptance rate! I'll happily bet you 20 pushups that it's 45% or less! You've got to accept the bet since I'm giving you a 5% buffer.” I retorted.
Secretly, I was thinking McGill's acceptance rate was closer to 15% – 20%. By comparison, the best universities in America have single-digit acceptance rates.
“You're on!” My student immediately looked up McGill's acceptance rate on Google and started to dance.
McGill University Acceptance Rate
He showed me his phone that Google had the acceptance rate at 46.3%. “Time to do some push-ups coach!”
Never one to surrender so easily, I looked at the data closely and the 46.3% acceptance rate was from 2016. As someone who is proficient with search engines, I knew Google often had old data in its featured snippets.
Once I clicked on McGill's website, it showed they made 15,385 offers to 37,505 applications for a 41.7% acceptance rate for the 2018 school year.
“Bahaha, never challenge the coach! 20 pushups right now!” I boomed.
More People Get Trophies In Canada
A 41.7% acceptance rate for arguably the best university in Canada is comical by US standards for the top school. The high acceptance rate shows that Canadians really are much more accepting of everybody than we are in America.
In America, where meritocracy is under attack, maybe making it easier for everybody to get into great schools and land well-paying jobs isn't so bad after all. Think about how much less stress parents and children will feel for decades.
No wonder why Canadians have a reputation for being nice!
In 2023, McGill's acceptance rate is still over 45% at 46.5%. Conversely, the Harvard of Harvard has an acceptance rate of about 4.5%.
If your kids are academically average, then it is much wiser to at least apply to a university like McGill. The career paths of many university graduates tend to end up in the same place.
Acceptance Rates From Other Top Canadian Universities
Let's say you disagree that McGill is the best university in Canada. Here are the acceptance rates for the other top universities in Canada.
- University of British Columbia: 52.4% acceptance rate
- Queen's University: 42% acceptance rate
- University of Toronto: 40% acceptance rate
- McMaster University: 58.7% acceptance rate
- University of Waterloo: 52% acceptance rate
- University of Montreal: 57% acceptance rate
In other words, the best universities in Canada have an acceptance rate of 40% – 58.7%!
One reader mentioned I left out Concordia University, supposedly one of the best Canadian universities. If so, that's great because Concordia University has a 73% acceptance rate!
Acceptance Rates At The Top U.S. Universities
Now let's take a look at the acceptance rates of some of the top U.S. universities.
Good luck getting into a top 10 school in America. It is nearly impossible.
And if your kids are Asian, then they've really got a Mt. Everest to climb. Is there no wonder why so many Asian families run small businesses? They know their odds are stacked against them, so they bypass the gatekeepers.
Unless you're a really rich legacy student or cured malaria while fighting against gun violence, you or your children have little chance of getting into a top American university.
Remember, even some rich celebrity kids couldn't get in on their own merit. The parents had to bribe school officials $50,000 – $500,000. Therefore, what makes you think your kids can get in?
What is the point of trying to grind so hard in middle school and high school to try and get into a top American university with a 10% or lower acceptance rate? Instead, you can be an average student and still get into a top-five Canadian university!
The reputations of the top Canadian universities are higher than their respective acceptance rates indicate. And some consider the top Canadian universities to have a similar amount of prestige to the top American universities.
The best life hack helps get your kids into a great school and ultimately get better jobs.
The Pressure For U.S. High Schoolers Is Immense
During my three years as a high school tennis coach, I saw and overheard my students talk incessantly about their studies. They discussed how they needed to go to expensive SAT tutoring after practice. They complained about having to take more practice AP exams and so forth.
Several even showed up late to important matches because they required extra time on their exams. They then wanted to talk to their teachers after class. I could feel the pressure they were under to try and do it all.
Maybe the pressure cooker environment has always been there in high school. But is it really a necessary rite of passage given college is becoming less necessary thanks to the free internet?
Instead of spending $52,659 in annual tuition going to Harvard only to end up with the same type of job as everyone else, why not spend 1/9th the annual tuition at the University of British Columbia and work at a US-based firm for more money instead? You might have to live in Canada for a year or two to be able to pay Canadian tuition, but it'll be worth it!
Even if you cannot get any tuition exemption, international tuition is still about $15,000 cheaper than a comparable top-rated private university in America.
Not only might you land a $150,000 computer engineering job at Zillow, but you might also even make more than $1,000,000 a year as an MD at Goldman Sachs by your early 30s!
Less Crime In Canada Than In The United States
If you value your safety and the safety of your children, moving to Canada from America may also be appreciated.
According to World Population Review, Canada is ranked as the 82nd must crime-ridden country in the world versus 56th for the United States.
According to Macrotrends, Canada has only 1.97 crimes per 100,000 people compared to 6.52 crimes per 100,000 people in America. When you've got a larger social safety net and less poverty, there tends to be less crime.
Perhaps there's a reason why Canadians have a stereotype of being more polite and considerate compared to Americans!
Take a look at the crime by country rate chart below. Maybe it's not a coincidence Sam Bankman-Fried set up FTX in the Bahamas. Its crime rate is the second highest in the world! With higher crime comes more government corruption and the ability to bribe your way to success.
Best Life Hack: Move To Canada
I encourage all American high school students to apply to Canadian universities. You'll get a great education and save on costs. Then once you've accumulated enough capital in America to retire, you can then return to Canada to live off the government's good graces.
Having a Canadian university education should make it easier to be accepted by Canadians. You don't even need a job thanks to Canada's Express Entry program. All that's required is at least one year of work experience, proficiency in English or French, and $1,500 – $2,000.
If you intend to be self-employed when you move to Canada, you’ll need to show you have at least two years of relevant experience in the field in which you intend to self-employ.
But once you get to Canada, there's no law that states you need to start a successful business. You can just be a hobbyist to keep yourself engaged.
At the end of the day, Canada is great for early retirees, traditional retirees, people seeking financial independence, entrepreneurs, and children. Canadians are more laid back as its citizens are more focused on work-life balance.
Taking advantage of Canada truly is the best life hack for Americans. Who's with me? Go Canada!
Reader Questions
Anybody currently or planning on taking advantage of Canada to live a better life? What are some of the downsides to taking advantage of Canada besides long wait times for healthcare and cold weather? Should American work and education culture trend more towards Canadian work and education culture to there's less stress and anxiety?
Best Wealth Hack: Track your Finances For Free
Now that you know the best life hack, know about the best wealth hack. Stay on top of your overall finances by signing up with Empower.
Empower is a free online tool I've used since 2012 to help build wealth. Before Empower, I had to log into eight different systems to track 35 different accounts.
Now I can just log into Empower to see how my stock accounts are doing. I can easily track my net worth and spending as well.
Their 401(k) Fee Analyzer tool is saving me over $1,700 a year in fees. Finally, there is a fantastic Retirement Planning Calculator to help you manage your financial future.
Best Investment Hack: Real Estate
Real estate is a core asset class that has proven to build long-term wealth for Americans. Real estate is a tangible asset that provides utility and a steady stream of income if you own rental properties.
If the U.S. housing market ever gets as hot as the Canadian housing market, I expect U.S. real estate prices to go up another 30%+. Americans truly don't appreciate how cheap U.S. property is compared to the rest of the world.
Consider taking advantage of the current housing market weakness by investing in heartland real estate. Fundrise, my favorite private real estate investment platform, primarily invests in single-family and multi-family homes in lower-cost areas of the country.
Thanks to technology and work-from-home, the long-term demographic trend is away from the expensive coasts.
Keep In Touch
Listen and subscribe to The Financial Samurai podcast on Apple or Spotify. I interview experts in their respective fields and discuss some of the most interesting topics on this site. Please share, rate, and review!
For more nuanced personal finance content, join 60,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter and posts via e-mail. Financial Samurai is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites that started in 2009.
The Best Life Hack For Americans is a Financial Samurai original post.
Sam, will you write an article about Europe. No need to establish residency to take advantage of cheap English speaking Universities there.
Not everyone can just pack up and move to Canada. Or to Europe. There are special requirements to become a resident, and most Americans don’t qualify. I’m retired and financially independent, but don’t quality. I can visit there for six months a year, and that’s it. Pipe dreams.
True, nothing good comes easy. But if you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make things work.
Perhaps the best life hack for Americans is to move out of America? I’m glad I moved to Europe. My only regret is not doing it sooner
Thinking about the opposite, but then go back to Europe.
I’m Canadian but I’ve been working in finance and living in America for 11 years.. making a lot of money in the U.S. is nice for sure, but I’m definitely going back to Canada once I’ve milked it. I can make 7 figures but that’s harder to make in Canada.. but in Canada you don’t really need that much because healthcare is free. My issue with Canada are the taxes and cost of living. Real estate is super expensive in big cities (even Calgary in the prairies is now expensive) but mainly the tax rates are punitive. I live in Texas and pay no state tax and food, gas, etc is so much cheaper vs. Canada. In Canada, you’ll pay $25 for a simple takeout lunch, whereas that’s $12-$15 in the U.S. The
U.S. has just become a bit unstable and the possibility of more and more political strife continues to go up. Unity is poor and that originally made America – there was common goals and historically, empires rise and fall on education and unity. I’m sure the British, Spanish, Arabs before that (Egypt in 700-1200 AD was the America of its time when Europe was in its Middle Ages), Chinese – i.e. past empires, all thought their countries were incredible and super safe until they weren’t… crime in America is high and lifestyle in Canada, overall, is much better.
I do really enjoy America and the money is great – quality of life in Texas is incredible and people are much nicer than the news makes them seem to be.. not everyone is racist.. few and far between.. but there’s just too much bullshit happening nowadays. Americans, unfortunately, have become too complacent and maybe too successful. The political situation is a mess and debt is high- that even caused the Roman Empire to fall. Would agree with Sam – move to Canada.
Hey Indian Tiger –
So Toronto is a racist, sh#thole…perhaps a quick review of these links might be in order…
https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/09/11/indias-caste-system-remains-entrenched-75-years-after-independence
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/experts-draw-attention-to-indias-open-defecation-problem/2424082
Be careful throwing stones from a glass house!
Ignore the haters!! Great article and enjoyed it. I was born in Canada but have lived in USA, and pondered many times moving back. Canada is a great country with many positive attributes. Yes if you are Canadian citizen college is cheap my niece paid 12K for McGill room and board included, and never lived a day in Canada. All she had was have a father born in Canada. You make people think and give them options, so keep at it!
Canada is what the United States would be if the United States sucked. It’s America on easy mode. Sadly looks like the United States is going that way with the rise in worship of socialism. It’s sad to see such a great country slowly crumble due to the parasitic ideals of socialism/leftism
Geez, who put a turd in your cheerios this morning?
Which part of Canada you don’t like: Safer living environment? Great affordable education that won’t put a lot of students in debt? You don’t like that they have good health care for everyone? Do you hate that they enjoy a less stressful life than Americans?
Canadians are happier than Americans according to the World Happiness Report. Providing a better social safety net does not take away your ability to make money and be obscenely wealthy if you want to. You should really look into the difference between socialism and communism.
People go through life as prisoners of their mind. The only prison anyone lives in is their own perspective. And if you can crack that, then there’s no greater gift, that sense of freedom.
The prison they live in, that they superimpose on circumstance is really a reflection of the conversation they’ve had inside for decades.
So for those who are bashing the hell out of Canada or whatever, you’ve got to learn to break free and embrace new perspectives and ideas.
Hi Sam
Thank you for publishing your articles, fantastic content!
Your comment on the reaction of readers made me think, because I see a little hint of that too when discussing financial matters with family.
My take is that what you were doing is hold a mirror, and many saw an uglier image in it than they wanted to admit.
The mirror was held for me too and I saw the image, and it was ugly, except that I already had come to the realization that private school expenses and health insurance costs have been crushingly high, and honestly not sustainable for my family’s finances.
That said, I’m doing a lot to improve our situation and your content is always a welcome breath of fresh air.
Thank you
Dear Sam… Please don’t retract the move to Canada post. It’s just a simple jolt of perspective which most Americans never see.
I retired in my early fifties to keep an eye on my elderly mother and have been living on my simple state government pension ever since.
We won’t be moving to Canada any time soon. But, my two sons are in their late thirties, and such a move might actually be an option for at least one of them. The Canadian health care system is just different than ours… not necessarily better in all regards… but, certainly more European in its universality. And, with the ability to add on a private supplemental policy the playing field levels out quickly.
Their higher education system also enjoys some notable advantages over ours. Thanks for shaking the cage. Matt
This is an interesting take! i think for families maybe it would make sense to move.
I came to Toronto, Canada to study and have been living here for the past 12 years. If anything, I am trying to make the move to the US. I work in the tech sector and the salaries are not on par with the high rent (i do live in the city core). Food and taxes are very high. Public Transportation is laughable and expensive.
There is not a lot of providers and competition is non existent, so you will be paying a lot for insurance, cell phones services, food, …. It took me 6 months to get an appointment for an MRI. I got an opportunity to work both in the public and private sector. As a international student, expect to pay 3 times more than domestic students.
My sister is also a professional in the tech sector. We make good money but its just not worth it. Add the cold climate, bias/racism, after 12 years I am looking to make the move to the US.
I would do what my softball friend did and make double the money in the United States for 10 years, and then return to Canada and live a less stressful lifestyle.
Sam, it is not a less stressful lifestyle in Canada. It is a HUGE comedown from the average American West Coast lifestyle. And I’m not even considering the fact that you’re way above the average (your net worth is, if I remember, top 1 percent in the US).
And this huge comedown, imo, would cause more stress.
Canada is expensive and you do not get your money’s worth in so many aspects, e.g. accommodation, transport, food, cellphone service, and so forth. Oligopolies thrive in Canada and make it the socialist set-up it is.
You would absolutely hate moving from Cali to pretty much any place in Canada. Been there, done that. Trust me on this one.
Peace out.
You seem like an angry person, Indian Tiger. You’ve made some blanket statements that are just outright wrong/misleading. First, you said all Canadians hate Americans which clearly isn’t true. Then you said that Canadians are covert passive racist hypocrites (your words), which clearly isn’t true. Then you said “Canada is expensive”. Where in Canada is expensive? You do realize that Canada has the second largest land mass in the world with many cities that have low housing prices, and a much more reasonable cost of living than Toronto and Vancouver?
So you know, Toronto is the fastest-growing high-tech city in North America. There’s a very vibrant angel, venture, and private equity market in the city. Toronto and the surrounding area can’t find enough engineers, AI, and software developers to keep up with the growth.
Toronto is also the fastest-growing city in North America. Developers can’t keep up with demand, and that’s causing a housing shortage.
I could go on. Hopefully, you get the point.
Jeff, your opinions on my psyche / state of mind are not needed and none shall be taken.
You come across as a supercilious nitwit. If you actually lived in America, you would probably see what I’m talking about.
I’m not gonna waste my bandwidth responding to your tangential nonsense anymore.
Have a nice life, friend.
I do live in America. I live on both sides of the border and spend my time equally in both countries, so I pay taxes in both Canada and the US. I reiterate my earlier point, Indian Tiger – you sound like an angry person with an axe to grind.
Man these comments are amazing. I had no idea Canada was such a lightning rod of emotion.
I have to read it all again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Freedom_Day
Sam,
Tax Freedom day in Canada is June 14th.
Tax Freedom Day in the USA is April 24th.
After having spent a third of my life in the US, followed by another third in Canada, I suggest this “Life Hack” (We are dual citizens of CAN and USA):
Become a taxable resident (domiciled) in Florida (no State, No Inheritance, No Estate tax) and spend your other six months (minus a day) in the country of your choice based in part on the https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index
While I spend the best four summer months in Canada, my Digital Nomad son spends his “away” time in Medellin, Colombia.
Bob
ps – thank you for all of your efforts!
A smart life hack to me! Got the best of both worlds perhaps. It takes intention though. And some people just want things right now.
Most of the wealthy canadians I know have already left or are planning to do so.
Canada has banned foreigners from buying real estate until 2025. you can get around this by becoming a resident and moving there but makes it quite a bit harder to do so.
there are plenty of other places you can geo-arbitrage, if you’re willing to do so, as a young person with WFH theres tons of opportunity, I moved out of the US years ago and was able to get my financial footing by saving thousands in taxes personal/business and living expeses by living as an expat.
My grand parents immigrated to Canada in the 80s, along with all 2 of my uncles on my dad’s side. My dad and another brother immigrated to the US (and brought me along)
My grandparents received a stipend and a place to live in Calgary. There is a building (still there serving seniors) in the middle of Chinatown. My uncles settled down and gained Canadian citizenship, created families who are productive citizens of Canada. Both of my grandparents have passed on, and they are buried in Calgary.
I debate often about social programs, but in this case, I do appreciate Canada’s social safety programs.
In a visit recently, my uncles did point out that real estate is getting higher and foreign investments are coming inland (They are in Calgary, so pretty much in the middle of Canada) the costal prices have already been driven up quite high, and so foreigner are starting to look towards inland and especially Calgary / Edmonton area.
Calgary is a great place, aside from the harsh winter (about 4 months out of the year..)
Living in BC, Canada, I know that the cost of tuition for International students is $30,000 +. This would negate any benefit students from the US would have over moving to Canada, just for their studies.
Salaries in jobs after studies is way less than the US. And we are heavily taxed. Keep all this in mind if someone is considering moving to Canada.
But $30,000+ is still cheaper than $60,000+ in tuition and fees. Further, the idea is to get educated at a top 5 school in Canada and then get a well-paying job in America as an American citizen or dual citizen.
As a parent of a middle school kid, seeing that massive college acceptance rate differentials is very eye-opening. Thank you for finding this out. We will take a look at a couple of the Canadian universities to see how they are. Although we won’t be getting permanent residency to Canada, the $25,000 a year savings differential is significant. And if graduates of these Canadian colleges can get lucrative jobs in America just as easily, that it makes a lot of sense to go there as well.
Tough to hear some commenters are having such a miserable time in Canada. I always feel like life is what you make out of it.
Wow so much activity in this article!
Sam you should offer Frank Niu a guest post – he has an account on Tiktok where he talks about temporarily retiring at 30 after working in tech. He moved to Canada after making his money in the US (i believe his wife is canadian though)
Canada is a very nice place to live. The canadian economy, in my experience, is slow and steady – most older people I know who worked in semi-lucrative professions either with high pay or good pensions, like teachers, lawyers, corporate, banks, government jobs, have retired very comfortably by maxing out retirement finds and investing in property.
Canada is also getting better and better for young families; aside from the RESP program mentioned in these posts the federal government just subsidized daycare. Our monthly daycare (preschool) bill just went from about 2k a month down to about 500$ .
Toronto is a very nice city with many opportunites to generate wealth. Just ask any motivated contractor – I know multiple tradesmen who have generated serious wealth by playing the long game in real estate in this city ie, purchasing and renovating old homes and renting them out until the mortgages are paid. Most of these guys are working 7 days week yes, but the hustle pays off. The poster above who claims toronto is a shithole is illogically angry about something. Toronto is a lot like NYC – you certainly have crime and other social issues, but there are very, very nice areas where generational wealth has been compounding for decades. Most poeple in Toronot have been able to weather the economic ups and downs of the last few decades due to solid employment – so many articles talk about the “boomer” wealth in this city and how the wealth transfer this generation will be huge.
As for health care, I’m 40 and yes you need to wait for some things (4-5 months to see a specialist sometimes) but for urgent care – you get seen, and i have been able to keep regular physicals with my family doc for my entire life, for free! Do you know how many preventable illnesses and minor aches and pains I’ve caught early because of our free health care? it’s crazy. We have a couple different genetic ailments in out family, one them heart disease. At 38yo I have my own cardiologist. 2 stress tests, an echocardiogram and various consultations with the specialist…all paid my government. The big thing I wish they would add is dental care. I believe dental care, like housing, should be considered a basic human right.
Sam, I have read your work for years with admiration and commented when I thought it might add value a number of times in the past.
This time, as a rich Canadian, I have to say the only way to read this post is as satire, or perhaps outright comedy. In my view and the views of many others who are highly successful but not part of the ruling elite, Canada is considered a laughing stock politically, economically, socially and in other ways that matter.
Many will disagree with me vociferously of course, and that is fine. I have lifetime of experience here and around the world that supports my opinions, and that is as far as I need to go for this editorial. I could write a treatise about the problems with this country but I won’t. It’s too frustrating and frankly brings up deep resentment about the state of play and feelings of futility about the topic, and for my kids and their futures here if they choose to stay.
Obviously, I can’t prove anything here in comments of this type, but I can communicate openly and people can consider it, or not.
Readers, Sam and this site add tremendous value on a broad range of serious and fun topics. But not this one. On this serious topic – thinking about making “Canada” part of your life – you need to read all of these comments carefully, and more importantly do extensive first hand research for yourself. All the best!
I appreciate you picking up some of the satire in this post. The idea of the post was originally concocted from the fact that my Softball friend says he makes double the money in America and then planned to return home to Canada to live the good life. My response was, why don’t we try to do the same to Canada, especially with a strong USD.
And then, as a parent, to discover the Harvard of Canada has a 45% acceptance rate got me thrilled! And then, I thought about a better world, where more people could get trophies in America, live with less stress, less worry, and more happiness.
The change is probably not gonna happen given we are so capitalistic here in the United States. So to skip decades of potential change or no change, the thought process was to make more immediate change by moving to Canada after you’ve made a decent amount of money in America.
One thing I have noticed though, is that between 2019 to 2021, most of the comments were supportive of Canada. But in 2023, most of the comments say that Canada is a hellscape crap hole.
What do you think this is?
You don’t need to look any further than the Canadian govt. locking down people’s bank accounts who supported the trucker’s rally last year. Whether you agree with the rally or not, the dictatorial, totalitarian response provides all the info you need about Canada. Unfortunately the US isn’t far behind.
Totally agree with you, Biggrey. If you’re a rich Canadian, why not try to move to your big benevolent southern neighbour? Leave Toronto and West Van to the druggies and gangsters that roam the streets there. And leave Montreal to the rude-ass Quebecois who don’t even consider themselves Canadian! They want a referendum! They consider themselves French and if you don’t speak French then you’ll probably get a standard je ne sais pas in response. This is even though they are fucking fluent in English, can you believe it? Bunch of douchebags.
Personally I would relocate to NY, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, or good ol’ Cali in a heartbeat if I could. Exit the shitholes of Toronto/ Vancouver / Surrey / Montreal immediately.
As I mentioned before, the biggest issue in the US imo is the gun violence esp the school shootings, and can be a strong demotivator to go there. Otherwise, America is still a fucking fabulous country to live in.
Americans in general are damn decent and straight forward people. Don’t believe the bullshit published in the woke-ass media. As a brown man, I’ve never once experienced any racism whatsoever in the US, even in the so-called deep South. Zilch. Nada.
Trust me, I’ve lived in India, the US, Canada, and Singapore. I’ve travelled to 37 countries across 5 continents, bruh. The US is right up there in most HDI factors. It’s the gun violence that unfortunately pulls it down.
American people, you need to be GRATEFUL to be born in and to live in what is (still) the greatest.fucking. country.on.this.planet.period.
Peace out, y’all.
If you want to be respected and your opinions to be heard…especially among younger generations….kids.
STOP swearing, don’t curse. Be polite, it doesn’t add anything to your conversation
Okay, boomer. Well understood.
A few years ago, I actually thought about moving to Vancouver. For a period of time, I was even doing research on real estate there, and contacted some new developments for more info. Research came to a halt when I found out that foreigners had to pay 20% tax on the property purchases in the Vancouver area. And I think Vancouver banned foreign purchasers now? I was also researching on how my son can get in state tuition for universities in the future. But he is only 9! Haha. But good to think ahead :)
I think there are some pretty big misconceptions about the Canadian health care system here. It’s far more socialist than western European countries. While it’s possible to have private coverage and delivery for some preventative services and other services (such as eye exams and dental exams), there is no real secondary private system in Canada.
Private companies may be used to carry out medical care within the public framework, but health care is almost entirely is administered by the government.
For example, suppose you’re an American who spends 4 months a year in Vancouver. You will need to buy private health coverage, since in BC (and most, if not all provinces, and territories) you need to reside there at least 6 months to have government coverage (this private coverage is relatively cheap).
Now suppose you have an accident, and need treatment in Canada. Your private coverage will allow you to use Canada’s public hospitals (the BC government will bill the insurance company).
The Canada Health Act doesn’t allow for private services for services covered by the public system. This is different from most western European countries that have relatively strong public systems, but also private options. Canada’s health care system is right at the bottom of the G20, and is a complete mess. I’m not sure why anyone would ever want to come here for health care.
Have to second that one. Not that I am from there but took a trip to ski in Canada recently and our Canadian ski instructor told us he had to sign up 3-4 years in advance to get a hip replacement!
That makes sense. Hip replacements are very expensive.
Good to plan in advance!
As an expat of both Australia & Canada my elderly mother joined me in Canada in the ’80’s. I married a US citizen & moved here (1996), my mother stayed in Canada in a condo we bought her as all our CDN properties were rented.
In 2012 my then 85 yr old mother fell & broke a hip, the responding EMT’s were amazing but she then had a heart attack in the hospital ER. The ICU care she received impressed my wife (who had been in private practice for 30 years at the time). Once the heart attack was addressed she had the hip replacement. Again the care & therapy impressed us both. The hospital bill we received was ONLY for the long distance calls she made. Before her release we sold her condo (for a $250k profit) & we had her take up residence in a $4500/month ‘old folks home’ on the Lake.
Several years later she finally succumbed to lung cancer, but again the 2 month hospital stay for that was impressive.
I hate what has become of Canada, but I was able to make a lot of money as I, (according to my Eng. colleagues at the time), foolishly invested everything I had in real estate, (during the 80’s @ 13-18%). I retired in 1998 & we are still accumulating & managing a sizable property portfolio in the USA.
We did look at Canada for our kids higher ed, but they all ‘stayed local’ & with scholarships graduated with 4yr degrees, without student loans. My wife then made sure they were all active & heavily invested in real estate, so much so that their passive income covers their mortgages/property taxes.
I have to third this!
Our Canadian health care is AMAZING IN THEORY.
until you actually find yourself trying to navigate it.
After 4 years of waiting I’m finally going to get a MRI next month.
I also had to wait 4 years to see a specialist.
I pretty much had to diagnoses myself.
My issues started prior to COVID.
the actualy wait was only 6-7 months but I was rejected 3 earlier requests by the radiologist without any explanation to my Doctors.
Since 2019 I have had pain so great I can’t sit if I had cancer I would be dead already or been offered “MAID” which is Canada’s solution to out of control health care costs.
If I could have paid to have this solved in 4-6 months I would have.
The Canadians play the arbitrage game with real estate. I had a second home in the Palm Springs area. The neighborhood was full of Canadians about 10 years ago. They all bragged about how cheap the real estate was, with the Canadian dollar worth slightly more than the US dollar. Of course, the situation is much different now, with the US dollar worth $1.36 Canadian. They all sold and made big money on the exchange rate change. Today, there are very few Canadians.
Very smart! I’m not sure most Americans truly realize how cheap U.S. real estate is compared to the rest of the world. I’ve tried to highlight this fact over and over again, as someone who lived abroad for 13 years and worked in international equities visiting real estate markets all over for 13 years.
If Americans knew, more Americans would buy many more homes ahead of the foreigners.
https://www.financialsamurai.com/why-is-united-states-property-so-cheap/
https://www.financialsamurai.com/what-if-the-u-s-housing-market-turned-into-the-canadian-housing-market/
https://www.financialsamurai.com/the-cheapest-international-city-in-the-world-san-francisco/
With a stronger USD, it’s time for us to own more of the world.
That’s because US homes have been valued at 3-4x median household income for a VERY long time. Americans are just not used to paying 40-50% of their HHI to their mortgage like a lot of the rest of the world is (or having no mortgage through inheritance). I’ve thought of buying a place in Scotland – if the Pound gets close to parity again I think I will!
The housing valuation multiple hasn’t been 3-4X HHI in at least a decade in America.
Sam – A few questions that you and/or readers can address regarding Canada:
1. Process – what is the process and timeline to gain joint citizenship?
2. Property – cost of residential real estate is sky high to the point foreigners are forbidden from buying real estate for the next three years. Are most expats renting?
3. Health insurance – I’m on Medicare. Why would I want to give this up and buy private insurance to access the Canadian system at this stage in my life? I would have to do this while I wait the years to gain citizenship when I would then qualify for free health care.
Canada is very appealing to me – especially Vancouver. But I really need to weight the costs. Portugal is also appealing and does have a ‘fast track’ program to citizenship that is attractive; which provides joint citizenship and full access to their universal care healthcare system (highly rated). It is an increasingly attractive option to consider.
Will have to write a follow up post as many are asking. Might as well.
6 months – 3 years to get permanent residency.
Private healthcare in Canada is relatively affordable at about $3,000, according to one Canadian commenter below.
If you’re on Medicare already, I think the whole idea of moving now may be too late and cumbersome. I would enjoy the rest of your life in the wonderful USA
The Canadian healthcare system is not something I would ever want to entrust my life to. The comparison isn’t even close to comparable. My mother was Canadian born. On one visit to relatives she became very sick. One of the ER personnel stated “If you can’t get care stateside within 24 hours, you’re likely going to die. We simply don’t have the rapid availability of the type of care you need”. She did make it back to SF, and almost died a day later. Fortunately, she was at UCSF receiving excellent care and made it out of the woods.
The taxes are insane as well. Insane. Although, comparing them to CA isn’t as insane as other parts of the U.S.. I love Canada, but the thought of building wealth by moving there doesn’t seem accurate to me. God help you if you ever need specialized medical care while there
Glad your mother got the treatment!
Strategically, it may be best to build your wealth in America, as many Canadians do, then relocate to Canada for subsidized healthcare plus private insurance and the benefits of getting into college and paying cheaper tuition for your kids.
There is some flawed logic in this article. You can’t just move to Canada and get instate tuition OR healthcare. That is reserved for citizens and permeant residents.
“In-state tuition 2,391 CAD, Out-of-state tuition 7,402 CAD, International tuition 29,200 CAD.” – McGill website
“Fees by residency status | Student Accounts – McGill Universityhttps://www.mcgill.ca › student-accounts › tuition-fees
The tuition fees vary according to the residence and citizenship status of the student.”
While 30k CAD is CERTAINLY cheaper than Harvard….its not 7k.
EVEN IF you move to Canada….until you get citizenship OR permeant residency, you WILL pay international tuition rates (you’ll also pay for UNSUBSIDIZED healthcare).
To even BEGIN the process you need to work in Canada or own 1/3 of a business with AT LEAST $300k CAD invested into it, or have family in Canada.
Thus, you would very likely need to come OUT of retirement to qualify to apply for residency or buy part of a business….which is also like coming out of f retirement to a degree.
Not so cut and dry as simply buying a home and changing the mailing address.
This article is considerably misleading…not up to the well researched standard of articles normally found here.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry for not writing a well-research article up to your expectations. If you have any articles you’ve written about the subject, I’d love to read what excellence looks like as I’m always trying to get better.
To your points:
* $30K CAD is cheaper than $52,659 in tuition at Harvard plus $4,602 a year in fees. A $22,000 – $26,000 a year difference is significant for most families.
* Where there is no will, there is no way. You must plan ahead for yourself and for your children.. This is not a snap of the fingers decisions.
* You can gain permanent residence anywhere from 6 months to several years. Then you can pay local college tuition rates. But again, you must plan ahead.
Here is how some people gained permanent residence:
* Family sponsorships (i.e. marry a Canadian)
* You are a spouse or dependent child of someone who gains PR. (i.e. your husband/wife/parent is a doctor how gains PR)
* Valid refugee claim
* Federal Skills Trades program (mechanics, welders, carpenters, heavy machine operators, chefs). Typically these are two year diploma programs.
* There are a few Federal Skilled Worker professions which may not require a full four year degrees (some medical technicians, home support workers, and such might get way with two year diplomas)
* Various Provincial Nominee Programs. These vary by province but can include a lot of odd trades such as truck drivers, or people willing to buy and run a farm.
* Investors. Technically don’t need them, although few people have millions of dollars and successful business without them.
* Experience Class. World class athletes, performing artists, painters, writers, etc.
When I published How To Engineer Your Layoff, a lot of people believed negotiating a severance could not be done. So they did not try. Yet, my wife and I negotiated a severance, and so did thousands of others who’ve read my book.
I have a default setting that more things are possible than we realize. I look forward to reading your work on the subject of Canada. Thanks
I totally agree with Will.
Imo, this article is under researched and jumps to faulty conclusions.
I’m an Indian dude and have lived in the US (South and West Coast) and Canada (Toronto). So let me give my unsolicited two cents:
American folks, you don’t know how good you’ve got it in the US of A (believe it or not). Sure, America has issues such as the political divide, wokism, and mostly the gun violence which is shit scary and the main problem IMO.
Canada has way more issues:
– Crappy salaries especially if you’ve moved at an older age (> 30-32) in your life. Very difficult to get a job commensurate with your education and experience.
– Crazy high cost of living and scarcity of apartments if you’re renting in places such as Toronto and Van. (Toronto is an absolute SHITHOLE, btw).
– Stupidly high taxes which supposedly fund “high quality”.
primary education and healthcare.
– The food is mostly bs compared with the grub available in the US.
– Covert racism, which is a Canadian specialty, especially if you’re a person of color like me. Eg if you’re looking for a job in Canada, you’re told, “Oh you don’t have Canadian experience so we can’t hire you.”
– Oh and did I mention the gang violence and gun culture. In West Van and Surrey, BC, you have Sikh gangs shooting and killing each other all the time. In northern and downtown Toronto, there are African origin people shooting each other and threatening subway passengers all the time. One of my buds was in a train going home from work at downtown Toronto to Northern Toronto when some 6’6″ African dude obviously high on something asked him for money in the train. My bud is a big guy himself, put up a fight, but landed up getting stabbed. Fortunately it was superficial.
– Crazy amount of homeless people and begging in downtown Toronto.
– My acquaintance broke her finger and was told to go back home since the hospital was short staffed!
– I haven’t even mentioned the horrible climate in all of Canada barring perhaps British Columbia.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. Short story is, I have a Canadian permanent resident visa which I will happily surrender back to the Canadian government soon and live my life peacefully in India.
If I had the resources, I would happily buy a US business category permanent residence visa for around 1 mn $ and live in San Diego, which has some really nice property going at decent rates (compared to many cities in Asia/ EU).
Btw, I read somewhere that the Portugal visa scheme is going to close, so if you wanna live in Portugal, then you better hurry.
I like Americans cause most of them are blunt and call a spade a spade. Screw Canada…bunch of passive covert racists.
There’s an adage which goes, “the grass is always greener on the other side”. IMO, it applies strongly in this case.
I’m a big fan of your writing, Sam. You’re doing yeoman service with the free solid advice. This article, though, needs to be retracted.
Just check quora for stuff like ‘is it worth emigrating to Canada from the US’ for other advice / anecdotes.
Peace out.
Love the feedback! Thanks.
Sounds like you’ve had a terrible experience. Says something if you’re willing to go back to India, earn less, and deal with the traffic and pollution there.
Do provide an update once you go back to India. What city will you live in and what will you do?
And to be clear, you prefer India over living in the United States? If so, why are there so many Indian workers coming to the US?
Completely agree with Indian Tiger and Will. I’m a big fan of you, Sam, but this article is woefully under-researched and wrong, and needs to be retracted.
Totally agree with all the points that Indian Tiger and Will already made. I’ve lived in major cities in Europe, both coasts of the US and the Midwest and the South, and both coasts of Canada. You won’t believe how good you’ve got it in the US of A and Europe.
I don’t mind the climate, but the tax system, gang violence, cost of living, career opportunities, general life conveniences, and terrible healthcare system over the board are unbelievably bad in Canada. I’m only in Canada because my parents are here and are they don’t want to move in their old age, but I’d gladly ditch Canada to return to either the US for life conveniences and career opportunities, or Europe for better social safety net and safer living environment anytime.
Thanks Daniela. Any chance you can write a guest post about your horrible Canadian experience?
What is exactly under-researched and wrong in my article? I’ll correct the data.
I think the US is pretty darn good, and I’ve lived in many places as well (13 years living overseas, 13 years working in international equities, traveled to 60 countries). If I didn’t enjoy where I live, I’d move.
Other favorite places include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Kobe.
Cheers
Sam, I never said I prefer India to the US. I prefer (many parts of) the US to India.
Though what I did say is that I prefer India to Canada, for sure. No question about it.
In India, if you want to make coin, then go to Mumbai (esp if you’re in finance) or Bangalore (for IT). I’m in asset management. Salaries are pretty solid in both cities (though both are the most expensive in India, esp Mumbai).
I get the part of the traffic and pollution / noise but many firms are still okay with some level of hybrid work.
Ultimately, retirement in India just outside many of the metro cities is also a decent idea because of way cheaper COL and decent quality of life. Medical access and hospitals are amazing even in the smaller cities. Private high coverage health insurance is pretty cheap, too. So no fear at all of personal bankruptcy due to medical issues. College education is also fairly affordable, though graduate education is getting crazy expensive.
In terms of salaries, I can talk about the buy side. Let’s say you’re a 40 yo fund manager working at a mutual fund in Mumbai with 15 years of experience. You’d be pulling in a bare minimum of atleast 250k US$ (including a bonus of, say, 15%- 20%).
Now Sam, I know you’d sniff at 250k $ and say “Well, that’s a middle class salary in San Fran”. Well, the ppp conversion factor for Mumbai vs SFO is around 4.4x (as per Numbeo…I didn’t make this up). Which implies that 250k$ in Mumbai is like 1.1 mn$ in San Fran. Now, even assuming a more real world ppp conversion number like 2.5x, 250k$ in Mumbai is like 625k$ in SF. I can tell you 625k$ ain’t middle class in San Fran, buddy!
But yeah, the intangibles like the pollution and traffic / noise in India are definitely a downer. Pros and cons everywhere.
Hopefully one day I’ll get lucky in crypto and be able to afford to move permanently to San Diego, or better still, crazy expensive Hawaii! We are allowed to dream!
Btw I forgot to mention that in case the Portugal visa scheme shuts down, people could also try for permanent residency in Spain, Malta, Cyprus, and Greece. I think Ireland also, but I’m not sure. Better hustle if you’re planning on moving because I’m guessing all these countries will shut down their PR visa schemes sooner than later given that foreigners are buying property at higher rates and the locals are getting priced out and pissed off.
Have a good one, old sport.
$250K is great in Mumbai for sure. I enjoyed my visit there in 2008. But literally 10 days later, terrorists shot up the lobby of my hotel, the Oberoi as well as the Taj!
If you enjoy India more than Canada, I would not wait. Figure out how to make the move sooner rather than later!
Well said Indian Tiger. But think about the US too. We love Indians and the average Indian income and wealth is very high.
Thank you, Jeff. Yeah, you nailed it. The Indian income and wealth levels are definitely very high in the US, but my point was more to compare salaries in Mumbai/ Bangalore with the ‘average’ of high earning folks stateside than the absolute top earners. Even the ‘average’ high earners with that kind of income level in the US have a fantastic standard of living and quality of life.
We Indians love Americans too, and we recognise them for their hard work, plain & simple decency, and straight forward attitude to people and to life. We don’t fall for the bullshit that the woke media spreads about Americans in the US and even in Canada.
I am often surprised and saddened that so many Canadians detest / envy / loathe Americans inwardly but outwardly keep a polite facade to show the world that Canadians love Americans. It’s only when you talk to Canadians that you realise they carry a knife in the heart for their straight-shooting southern neighbors.
Canadians, imo, are covert, passive, racist hypocrites. I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it. They’re like completely the opposite of the average American.
Canadian govt policies have made it a laughing stock of the world.
For me personally, I’m paranoid about the gun violence in America esp the school shootings, esp since my little boy is only 3 yo and still needs to get aware of life.
Happy Sunday!
@indian tiget your characterizations of Canadians are way off base. How can you generalize and say that Canadians detest/loathe Americans! And that Canadians are covert passive racist hypocrites! Do you mean all Canadians? You do realize that almost 20% of the current population is foreign born, and another 25% are second generation. And I’m not sure how you can generalize and say “all” Canadians detest Americans and are racist.
Next, there’s so much wrong with this article and the comments section.
Politically Canada sucks. In fairness I’m a Conservative voter with a strong dislike of the Liberals. If you’re a Liberal voter then you’ll have a different perspective. Which country is better politically today then it was 10 years ago? England? The USA? Germany? Italy? Brazil? No. No. No. no. And no.
Is Canada perfect?
Absolutely not.
Are taxes too high?
Well, that clearly depends on who you ask.
Do some Canadians hate Americans?
Sure they do. They probably also hate puppies and anything else that smiles.
Are some Canadians racist?
Absolutely. Canada has its share of rednecks.
At the end of the day, and given the choice, I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
And I’m an UHNW individual.
Nice point, Jeff. Obviously the people I’ve spoken with (mostly native White Canadians ) who detest Americans may not be a representative sample. I get that.
I know plenty of UHNWs in the US, Singapore, and India who would never leave their respective countries. Too many moving parts are involved in people’s decisions to move, I guess, whether they be UHNW or HMWs.
While Canada isn’t perfect (every place has its problems), it’s definitely not as bad as this Indian has made it out to be. I’ve lived in Canada for over 50 years, ran a multi ethnic business on both sides of the US and Canada border (I sold the business to PE in 2017), and continue to spend a third of my time in the US every year.
Our company employed people from India, Pakistan, Poland, Germany, and many other countries around the world. In fact, we had more foreigners in our tech business than we had born Canadians. Salaries for foreigners were the same as they were for Canadians, and our clear preference was to hire people who could speak English. Not where they were born, which didn’t much matter, but that they could communicate in English. And salaries were commensurate with skill, not place of birth.
I currently run a networking group for UHNW individuals who have had a successful business exit. We meet monthly, bring in guest speakers to speak on topics of interest (wealth, philanthropy, investments and so on). We have 30 members in our group. Almost half the members in our group are born outside Canada BTW.
I live in Toronto. I also own apartment buildings in Toronto. I’ve owned buildings in Miami. I sold the Miami buildings but kept the Toronto ones. I can’t provide perspective on owning in other areas of the US, but I can say that owning in Miami was a pain in the a**. To much red tape, insurance headaches, constant tenant problems (yes, more than in Canada), difficulty finding skilled labour. I could go on.
Toronto is an expensive place to live. It’s also growing at a crazy rate and they can’t build homes and apartments fast enough. If you look up the most expensive cities to live in the world, Toronto isn’t even in the top 15. But, if you look up best cities to live based on quality of life, Toronto is usually in the top 5 cities in the world, next to Vancouver, Vienna, Sydney, and Melbourne.
WRT healthcare in Canada, the system is backlogged. If you need help you’ll get it. And the care is good. If you have money, you can make that level of care even better by supplementing the care through one of the many companies offering concierge services. I’m currently with the Cleveland Clinic. I’ve used Medcan, and have friends who are with other firms. Fees range from $3,000 per person per year to $6,000. And then the care is excellent.
I’ve seen doctors on both sides of the border. Some are excellent, and some are just rude. This has more to do with the doctor than which side of the border they are on.
Canada is a great place to live and raise a family. So is the US. They each have their pros and cons. But in the end, your experience will only ever be as good as the effort you put into it. The opportunity is there.
Thanks Jeff for sharing your perspective after 50 years in Canada.
It’s pretty interesting how everybody’s experience is different, especially compared to several of the very negative reviews on Canada.
I was just thinking that perhaps one of the biggest determining factors is how wealthy one is. The wealthier you are, perhaps the more you will enjoy Canada. That said, you’d have to get over the tax rates.
And perhaps life is better in Canada if you are part of the majority who faces less / no racism? This seems to be a common topic among several dissenters.
The conversation around taxes, healthcare, racism, and quality of life is obviously quite nuanced and can’t be summarized in a blog post or comment section of a blog. But, here’s some quick perspective:
Regarding taxes – every Canadian has an $850,000 capital gains lifetime exemption. I used my exemption, my wife’s, and both my children’s exemptions when I sold my business. This, along with other tax incentives, lowered my effective % tax rate on sale of the business to the high single digits.
Entrepreneurship – because Canada has public healthcare, the cost for an employee benefit program is very inexpensive. Employees aren’t worried about co-pays, hospital in and out of network, deductibles, and so on. They have public healthcare, a good benefits program, and can focus on other quality of life matters.
Next, and regarding entrepreneurship, Canada is the most ethically diverse country in the world. Is there racism? You betcha. There is everywhere. But, there is no other country in the world where you have so many people from so many countries working and living harmoniously.
Canada isn’t perfect. Many people come from different countries expecting a handout, and although they might get a small stipend, you need to work to succeed.
San Diego is nice.
But you’re describing Canada as a shithole. Instead, it feels like you’re projecting your bad life and generalizing the entire country’s situation.
As a fellow Indian, I understand some of the things you were saying. But I feel you fail to see the good in Canada bc of the bad that has happened to you.
“feels like you’re projecting your dad like a bad life”
What are you smoking on, dude? I know weed is legal in Canada since October 2018, if I remember.
Canada is a shithole country, my man. Sure, the mountains and scenery are great but the country is going to dogs.
I get that you’re an Indian who’s trying to be patriotic to his new country, but I recommend you wake up and smell the (Tim Horton’s) coffee (or dogshit on the road, whichever your preference).
Third rate hospitals, dysfunctional airports. Pathetic schools that brainwash kids in gender ideology and teach them bs. 8-10% annual cost inflation and 3-4% wage growth. No value for money at all, and the food is absolute garbage (expensive garbage, though) in comparison with what you get in the US or India / Dubai/ Singapore/ most large economy Asian countries.
If you’re a new immigrant, outside of IT, you’ll probably be earning a pissant 70k-80k CAD per year. Might as well go back to India and make more than that in INR.
Anyways, to each their own. Have a nice life, friend. And don’t forget to shovel the white stuff six months of the year.
43 year old Canadian white person, born and raised. I agree that Canada is going downhill. I had a wonderful childhood, but I feel like the ship has sailed on what Canada used to be. It’s now crazy expensive to live here whether you rent or own, there are really high taxes, backlogged hospitals, and good luck finding a GP if you don’t already have one. Public schools are increasingly focused on doing everything but teach the 3 Rs properly and there is no disciplining bad behaviour. Grocery/telecom/bank industries are oligopolies, and we only seem to invest in real estate as a country, so there’s little in the way of innovation. People are increasingly rude on the roads, and infrastructure and transit are crumbling. Huge amount of immigrants and temporary foreign workers are coming here each year, but there are no plans to find housing or healthcare for all these newcomers.
I am not surprised to hear about recent immigrants (I have read about several new Canadians from India who are in this situation) and refugees (Ukrainians, for example) who are extremely disappointed in their living conditions and choose to return to their home countries.
I am not attached to any particular political party. I shake my head at Trudeau (he only cares about optics) but I worry about Poilievre and Singh. No good leadership options. I know all these issues are not unique to Canada, but I don’t feel hopeful and I really worry for my kids.
hi will, I got a permanent residence after two years after joining a Canadian company from the United States. My children are permanent residence now too and they can pay local Canadian college tuition.
Even if they pay the international tuition, there is about a $30,000 a year savings which is significant.
I would love to you read your articles about your experience moving to Canada as well. I’m surprised you think it is so hard to migrate to Canada. It’s our closest ally to the United States.
Canada has been very generous and lacks on its immigration policy over the past 10 years.
You can’t pay for private health care in Canada. And look into the wait times – they are UNBELIEVABLE. Emergency rooms are having to close at 8PM and on weekends because they have no staff.
I have been on a 4 year waitlist for a family doctor. Walk-in clinics for me. I show up at 730AM and wait outside (they open at 8) and 15 people are in line already and by 8:01AM they are full.
The healthcare system here in Canada is severely broken.
I hear the wait times can be bad. But a couple families say they have private health insurance to counteract it.
I wonder how they can get private healthcare and you cannot. Do you mind clarifying what you mean based on your experience? I really appreciate it since you’re in Canada.
Some thoughts on health insurance for foreigners.
https://www.internationalinsurance.com/health/north-america/canada.php
Some thoughts on personal health insurance for Canadians. https://www.sunlife.ca/en/health/personal-health-insurance/
We have “private healthcare” through the Cleveland Clinic in Canada. There are other providers including Medcan, and some boutique agencies. These companies have FT doctors on staff who provide 24X7 support, and they also have concierge services where they’ll help with specialty services. It’s like private healthcare but not quite since the doctors are still paid by the public healthcare system. I’ve been using these services for years and the results have been excellent. Cost is around $3,000 per year.
Thanks for sharing! That’s basically what my friends have as a backup and the cost is affordable as you highlight.
Maybe I can put you in touch with “DAVID BLACK” in the comments who says “you can’t pay for private healthcare in Canada”? Maybe other Canadians don’t know of the options.
Sure, you can connect me with David Black. There are at least five companies I know of, all offering similar types of services, some more boutique than others.
Did you see what that private plan covers?
Personal health insurance (also known as individual health and dental insurance) is coverage that can help Canadians or those living in Canada cover the cost of preventive care or medical bills due to an illness. It can help pay for several health-related expenses, including:
-prescription drugs to treat a chronic or serious health condition,
-dental treatments such as teeth cleanings, braces, dentures and crowns,
-vision-care needs such as eye exams and prescription glasses,
-emergency travel medical services when you travel to another country,
-physiotherapy to help with injury recovery, and
-medical equipment to help with your mobility.
Absolutely none of that will get you to see a medical doctor earlier than a non paying Canadian citizen. Or get preventative care. I had pain in my neck for a few weeks and wanted to get a scan done to be safe. Prevention is key and I would have happily paid for it. Was told sure but it will be 10-12 months.
They have been trying to push through privatization for at least 10 years here in BC and last I heard there are a couple setups in Vancouver. It’s a very sensitive topic with many layers.
None of these programs will get you a family doctor though. It’s walk in clinics all over the country. And whatever the guy above said about taking a doctor is false. There just aren’t any available if you aren’t old/sick.
Although I hate the CBC (liberal propaganda machine) here are some examples from last summer. These are just the temp ER closures – not the permanent ones.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-er-closures-2022-1.6689970
As you may have noticed – Canada is a very very divided place these days. A lot of hate and anger that is bubbling just under the surface. The comments here give a little snapshot of this hate. Go on any FB news source and read the comments. It’s really bad. The government has fuelled this hate for a long time now.
I spend 6 months a year in the US and have permanent Mexican residency so I avoid Canada as much as I possibly can. It’s just sad to see a country I was proud to call home go to the dogs.
Well said, Dave Black. You speak the truth on the healthcare situation in Canada.
Totally agree that Canada is going to dogs. As the Brits say, “hear hear.”
Hi Dave. Have you looked into a private global medical insurance plan that will cover your health care in all countries, including the US and Canada?
Also – are you at risk of losing Canadian health benefits if you live outside of Canada for more than 3 months?
The waitlist issue is a bit misleading. I’ve also been on the waitlist for about 8 months and haven’t been assigned a doctor, yet I know of doctors in the community that are taking new patients. I could easily sign up with one of them and take myself off the waitlist. I haven’t bothered because quite frankly an assigned family doctor isn’t even necessary. I use a virtual healthcare solution (such as Telus Health) which connects me to a nurse practitioner on demand who can help with the vast majority of common ailments.
As for emergency rooms, it’s true that the wait time can be long, but in my experience it’s not the end of the world. If you’re dying then you get seen right away, if you’re hurting then you probably need to wait a few hours. Yes, they’re understaffed (the health care system as a whole is lacking in staff), and that is a problem, but I think that much of the “crisis” is overblown, in my experience anyway.
Nice feedback. It makes sense that wait periods will be longer for non-emergencies. Maybe people are just venting and spoiled because there is an expectation everything has to be had right now.