mindcruzer

I didn't just type it into ChatGPT and copy/paste whatever it wrote without looking it over lol

Titles like this make me more confident that it won’t be a soft landing

"Canada’s population growth outpaced job gains in the month, according to the agency."

lol

House prices are much more reasonable in the USA. Obviously it's a huge country and it depends where you want to live, but in comparison house prices in Canada make no sense whatsoever.

Culturally, very similar. There are subtle differences. Americans are louder and more confident in general I think. Also way more business oriented. People in general seem less healthy but the disparity with Canada isn't that big anymore. Wealth disparity is though. Way more very poor people, way more really rich people. In Canada I'm a top 1% earner. In the USA I'm not really even close.

The obvious major difference from Canada is health insurance. If it's not covered by your employer (92% of Americans have coverage last I checked), I hope you have some disposable income to pay to pay for health insurance. That being said, taxes are usually way lower depending on which state you're in, so you very well might come out ahead, even with copay and deductible. For reference, I had a global health insurance plan with Cigna. It had 1 mil USD coverage and max out of pocket per year for me was like 3 k USD. That was 205 USD/month. This didn't cover general doctors visits, or anything related to that. It was basically for visits to the emergency room. So if you're looking for coverage at the same level as Canada, you're going to be paying more. I have heard from numerous sources that the health care in the USA is way better than in Canada--as long as you can pay for it.

These are broad generalizations. USA is a very diverse place. Of all places I've been in the world, USA is the most similar to Canada, and Australia probably comes second.

It was a lot faster than writing it myself

Yes, multiple things can affect rental supply, not just government price controls.

I’m not sure I really have a favourite. Every country has good and bad. There are some parts of the USA (ex. Colorado, Washington) that I really like. But also the USA has its own issues that we all know about. France is beautiful but there can be civil unrest, taxes are high, etc. I spent some time in Singapore and it’s very safe, clean, great food, but it’s also stale and far from a lot of places. Culture comes into play a lot. I can recognize that somewhere is a great place to live but it’s not for me. I didn’t grow up there, I don’t speak the language, etc. In Europe I feel most “at home” in the Netherlands.

Different things matter to different people. So saying things like “this country is #2” are meaningless. Countries I personally would rank above Canada: USA, Netherlands, Norway, Australia, New Zealand.

It’s inevitable that any type of price control will lead to supply/demand issues. That’s great it worked out for you but it is well documented that rent control harms rental markets long term. Anyone who disagrees is in denial.

Typically you’d be right but as a DN I actually spent most of my time in North America and western Europe—mostly in countries people would compare Canada with (UK, France, Spain, Norway, Germany, USA, Australia, etc.). I never went to Asia or South America as a DN. Actually the only time I stepped foot in LatAm was in Panama for a month this past winter.

It really changed my perspective on Canada. I don’t think it’s a bad country at all but I don’t hold it in as high regard as I once did. Every country has its strengths and weaknesses. What those are is different for everyone. Canada is squandering immense potential in my opinion. If it wasn’t for family, there are several places in the USA I would consider living long term instead.

Hey the USA is a great place to live if you make good money. Not a great place to be poor though.

I spent this summer in France and I had a great time. I will concede that France has a piss problem though.