So my girl and myself are looking to move to Canada and was wondering if anyone could give some advice on this. We live in Iowa, US right now, but we are looking to move and don't know much of the benefits or negatives to moving to another country. Any help would be awesome thanks.
Well first thing's first you cant just pack up and move to Canada first you got to do this stuff. http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Canadian-Citizen It will take you a while even to be allowed to move here let alone get citizen ship.
You will need to apply for a work visa if your interested in working (and living). There is a few areas in Canada that are more expensive than others like the Greater Vancouver and Toronto areas. While we don't exactly have a large influx of jobs other than in Alberta. Otherwise, it is basically like the states other than people can't carry firearms on their person and we have BASIC health care (assuming you are covered). Unless you have a really good reason for doing so (family, work, etc) then it is basically just another USA.
Any specific reason for wanting to move? I prefer Canada any day, but the US has some benefits of its own.
I get that some people are born Canadian and feel compelled to talk about it being awesome, but why would you choose that? If you are used to Iowa, then by comparison it will be cold. You will not see the sun for several months a year if you are employed. People will laugh at the way that you say "about" and "Z" when you visit the US. They will laugh at you politely behind your back, but still... Your 'free' health care will be rationed and if you desire quality medical care delivered in a timely fashion, then you will come to the US for treatment and either pay out of pocket or (if it is serious enough to get ER care) skip the bill and contribute to the ever increasing costs of medical care and insurance in the US. Your tax burden will be significantly higher than in the US as a percentage of your income (provided you have one). If you are anywhere near Quebec you will have to deal with people who still think they are French 'habitants' despite the fact that they have never seen France. On the positive side, you can (and should) take up Moose, Elk and Bear hunting. Canada is excellent for that. If you are in the petroleum business you can make a fortune selling it to the Chinese since your neighbors to the South have neglected to build proper infrastructure to purchase it from you at a much lower cost. If you are far enough North, then you may get to hang out with some Old School Native Americans and go and a baby seal clubbing adventure , or whale hunt (never did either, but both sound fun). If you move to Nova Scotia, then you may be able to get a job fishing for a living which would be kind of bad ass too. Wow. That was a long way to go in order to use up those Canadian jokes that I have been saving. /wrist Good luck with that.