Canadian moving to the U.S?

Question

I'am in the process of getting my papers through my mom who is getting her greencard through her father who is a U.S citizen,just for the sake of having the option to live in both places.She is telling me that I will not like the U.S and will want to come back home after a while...so do you think this is true? Is living out there that much different from where I'am from toronto? I visit Florida, New york and California often and I like what I see but we all know visting and living somewhere are two opposite things..what are your opnions? will it be complete Culture shock for me making this move or will I adjust fine seing how I'am coming from Canada?

Answer 1

I think your biggest culture shock would be if you went from a city like toronto to a small town. Moving to NY, SF, LA, DC, Chicago I'd guess there would be mild shock for the first month or so while you try to get your bearings. The American we're #1 attitude would probably be annoying but I don't think it would be that bad. I lived in NY for 2 years and really got sick of the NY supremacists (practically all of them), but it wasn't so bad I wanted to leave.

Answer 2

Even though the USA is supposedly THE melting pot, there is actually more cultural diversity at present in Toronto (the most multi-cultural city in the world). But New York, Chicago, San Francisco-Oakland, and, to a lesser extent, Boston-Cambridge and Washington DC come close (I don't include L.A. because that is not a real city like Toronto with a real downtown where one can walk and use dependable and frequent public transportation but is just a sprawl.

The American federal government at present is practically becoming like the Nazis; fortunately Harper's in Ottawa is being kept in check.

There is much more confining social pressures and control in the USA and actually less personal freedom in many ways (e.g.
vis a vis womens freedom) than in most of Canada. And of course far less in the way of social programs, healthcare and financial equality except in a few "blue state" pockets.

Americans are arrogant and most just cannot understand they are not No 1 in everything. "Our way or the highway" is much more than just G.W. Bush's philosophy.

Suggestion: listen to and compare how reports differ on the same topics between CBC news and public affairs programs to those of America's NPR (the Buffalo station gets to Toronto), similarly compare stories on the same topics between Canada's and the USA's newspapers of record ("The Globe and Mail" and "The New York Times", respectively), and also compare the style and attitude of conservative US call in programs and their hosts (O'Reilly, Hannity, Savage, Ingraham and others) on US commercial radio versus ours.

Answer 3

Livig in the United States is the best place in the world to live. I have travelled to many countries and i would not trade living in the united states for anything. If you move to california you will truly enjoy yourself. There is so much to do year round. California has to beaches, mountain, deserts, lakes, etc.. The people are all really friendly just as long as you are friendly to them. People from canada are more liberal in their political views than people from the united states, but if you move to california that will not be that much of a problem due to the fact that california is a liberal state. Just always be aware of what area you live in and what kind of people live in that area. there are some really conservative areas in california that would not like a foreiner coming in with outside views. To sum it all up the united states is great and you will enjoy yourself if you allow yourself to.

Answer 4

Most of the people I know in Canada just go for job interviews to the US just like that, and you can get a NAFTA visa, but most don't want to move there I don't think it's hard, I believe it is one of the advantages of being Canadian

Answer 5

Hard to say.. I have been to Canada many times and see no big difference. I live in New England it seems to be home to thousands of Canadians. I grew up in a neighborhood of all Canadians and most have never left. My in-laws are from Canada and still here. Just don't try smoking pot on any of our street corners!!! I believe you will adjust fine here.

Answer 6

It depends on where you move to in the U.S. If it's a town like your current one, you might not notice too much difference. There were a lot of Canadian's in my classes in college, and they seen a lot of different views in Gov't class and suck. But actual culture wasn't to much different. Some different styles/accents. You might get some culture shock, but usually peopel do pretty good in a differ country as long as they have the same 1st language.

Answer 7

as a person of color that moved from canada to washington dc...let me tellyou-our experiences will alwys be different than most peoples....whether you try and avoid it or not...sometimes its for the good and sometimes its for the bad....honestly-for me (since i'm native american and hated in saskatchewan for it) the move to the dc area has been a change for the good since there are black and hispanic people everywhere...than you got the rest of the brown people-soi feel like i fit in...culture shock!!hell yeah-try goin from canada to south carolina for a couple of months...i didnt even understand that accent for a while...but it was so country (you'll know what that means more if you live there) ihad to leave but the people were freakishly nice there (bible belt)...btw-i always go to nyc too...but brother and auntie lives there...and dc, sc, and nyc are NOTHING ALIKE...if you go to nyc thanyou'll probably have just as much culture shock (maybe even more since you lived in a city) than someone from south carolina

Answer 8

Canada and the U.S. are very much the same, both open and advanced cultures based on "melting-pot" immigration from other countries.

The main differences are:
Canadians are nicer.
U.S. taxes are lower.
Canadians are more protective of their land, their people.
U.S. goods and services are cheaper and more advanced.
Beer is better in Canada.
Girls are better in the U.S.

Answer 9

America is the melting pot of the world. There is so much cultural diversity here that you will fit in just fine.

Answer 10

Bring your hockey stick and you'll be just fine. Eh?