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I think it sounds like an awesome place to live in general, and pretty laid-back, but I know nothing is perfect. What are reasons not to move to Montreal, assuming you can get residency in Canada? There really isn't anywhere in the United States that is progressive enough for my desires.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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1. Taxes. (That's not specific to Montreal; it's Quebec as a whole.)
2. French. (If you want to get a job, you'd really better be able to speak French fluently.)
3. Winter. (Again, that's not specific to Montreal; it's the North-East as a whole.)
4. Quebec politics. (I'm thinking mostly in terms of language issues. Feh. I'm sure there are other political issues to which I turn a blind eye.)
5. Traffic. (No, it's not the worst -- it's not New York, Los Angeles, etc... -- but, depending on where you're going, it's often pretty brutal.)
1. Taxes. (That's not specific to Montreal; it's Quebec as a whole.)
2. French. (If you want to get a job, you'd really better be able to speak French fluently.)
3. Winter. (Again, that's not specific to Montreal; it's the North-East as a whole.)
4. Quebec politics. (I'm thinking mostly in terms of language issues. Feh. I'm sure there are other political issues to which I turn a blind eye.)
5. Traffic. (No, it's not the worst -- it's not New York, Los Angeles, etc... -- but, depending on where you're going, it's often pretty brutal.)
Do Quebec people at least get a lot in return for their taxes? I know college is a lot more affordable there, and obviously health is more accessible than it is in the United States. To me high taxation itself isn't a problem. I'm more concerned about paying high taxes only to get little in return, that's common here in American "Blue states" because we subsidize the military and less tax-happy red states so much.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Hmmm. Well. It's socialized medicine and the government is HOPING (ha!) that everyone will be able to have a family doctor by 2017. You read that correctly. It's next to impossible to find a family doctor who will take you on as a patient. So it's not really "more accessible" in that regard.
Our roads are a mess of potholes. Taxes should pay for fixing those, right? Right.
I'm with you on the tax-happy states. I lived in Connecticut (high property taxes and the highest gas tax in the country) and Massachusetts (aka Taxachusetts). And, even having lived in both of those states, I feel that it's worse in Quebec at a macro level. At the micro level, there are many tax deductions that you can take in the States (such as for property owners) that you can't take here.
Hmmm. Well. It's socialized medicine and the government is HOPING (ha!) that everyone will be able to have a family doctor by 2017. You read that correctly. It's next to impossible to find a family doctor who will take you on as a patient. So it's not really "more accessible" in that regard.
Our roads are a mess of potholes. Taxes should pay for fixing those, right? Right.
I'm with you on the tax-happy states. I lived in Connecticut (high property taxes and the highest gas tax in the country) and Massachusetts (aka Taxachusetts). And, even having lived in both of those states, I feel that it's worse in Quebec at a macro level. At the micro level, there are many tax deductions that you can take in the States (such as for property owners) that you can't take here.
Would you at least say Quebec is better for the poorer non-property owning 50% of the population than states like California, Oregon, Mass and Connecticut? I think being poor in the United States is extremely hard, especially since 2008. I don't think a lot of Canadians realize how much poor Americans struggle, not that Canada is totally poverty-free or anything.
I've heard it's hard to get a family doctor in Canada yes, but you have to realize many people in this country including myself barely go to the doctor at all. The American viewpoint is that healthcare is a privilege for people that make good money, not a right that people are entitled to as a citizen and a tax payer.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less
Would you at least say Quebec is better for the poorer non-property owning 50% of the population than states like California, Oregon, Mass and Connecticut? I think being poor in the United States is extremely hard, especially since 2008. I don't think a lot of Canadians realize how much poor Americans struggle, not that Canada is totally poverty-free or anything.
I've heard it's hard to get a family doctor in Canada yes, but you have to realize many people in this country including myself barely go to the doctor at all. The American viewpoint is that healthcare is a privilege for people that make good money, not a right that people are entitled to as a citizen and a tax payer.
I'm sorry, but I can't answer either of those questions. I just don't have the answers, either based on statistics of personal experience.
MA, however, required every resident of the state to have health insurance. I had insurance through my husband's employer, and I have no idea how unemployed people had health insurance. Obamacare, whether you approve of it or not, partially solved that problem, though, right?
I think that the bottom line, like you said, is that no place is a utopia. There are perks of living in (almost) any state or province, just as there are downsides.
I'm sorry, but I can't answer either of those questions. I just don't have the answers, either based on statistics of personal experience.
MA, however, required every resident of the state to have health insurance. I had insurance through my husband's employer, and I have no idea how unemployed people had health insurance. Obamacare, whether you approve of it or not, partially solved that problem, though, right?
I think that the bottom line, like you said, is that no place is a utopia. There are perks of living in (almost) any state or province, just as there are downsides.
You'd agree that some places are better or worse to live in than others though, right? I know it's not politically correct to say that nowadays and we are kind of expected to act like everything is equal even though in many cases it really isn't.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,040,976 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less
You'd agree that some places are better or worse to live in than others though, right? I know it's not politically correct to say that nowadays and we are kind of expected to act like everything is equal even though in many cases it really isn't.
Politically correct? Nobody's ever accused me of being THAT! Of course there are some places that are better or worse to live. But what makes something better for one person may make it worse for someone else -- one man's trash is another one's treasure, blah blah blah.
Politically correct? Nobody's ever accused me of being THAT! Of course there are some places that are better or worse to live. But what makes something better for one person may make it worse for someone else -- one man's trash is another one's treasure, blah blah blah.
True, like a lot of people think Portland and the Pacific Northwest are awesome and perfect but I live here and think it actually kind of blows in a lot of ways.
Would you at least say Quebec is better for the poorer non-property owning 50% of the population than states like California, Oregon, Mass and Connecticut?
Yes, I would say so. There are quite a few social supports - solidarity payments, higher than in other provinces child benefit pymts . Even welfare, even with the current political belt-tightening, is more readily accessible than in other Canadian provinces. Add here social housing, fiercely fought for, and comprising, it seems, at least 20-30% of dwellings. There are at least two housing bodies who place people on the waiting lists and it's all transparent. None of the connotations of "social housing", the way it may be in the US or in our other provinces: clean, tidy brownstones and even, in places, new condominiums. The developers are obliged to devote a percentage of their development to social housing (I am not following the latest developments, but that is my impression). The poorer folks pay 25-30% of their income as rent, so a welfare person may pay $200 a month for a 2-,3-, or 5-bedroom, (say, a multi-kid family). The rent does not depend on a size of the dwelling, it depends on income. There are nuances, different subsidies, not as generous sometimes, but even with no subsidies the social housing means the average $500 a month, next to the "regular" neighbour's paying $800-$1000 for the same.
People seem to be more organized, though, to collectively defend their agenda of social fairness.
I think being poor in the United States is extremely hard, especially since 2008. I don't think a lot of Canadians realize how much poor Americans struggle, not that Canada is totally poverty-free or anything.
no, I admit I don't know of the depth of suffering of the American poor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less
I've heard it's hard to get a family doctor in Canada yes, but you have to realize many people in this country including myself barely go to the doctor at all. The American viewpoint is that healthcare is a privilege for people that make good money, not a right that people are entitled to as a citizen and a tax payer.
At least, there is a process here where a family doctor will trickle down to you once you get on a waiting list in a community health organization (CLSC). Our doctor trickled down to us, I'd say, 6 months after I put us on the list. She is great though, worth waiting for.
But when it concerns urgent or specialized care, the response, I find, nearly lightening-speed. They will look you over and through. The high caliber of the world-known McGill health Center makes you totally at peace that you get the best possible care. And you pay not a dime for it. My heart just aches thinking how a tenth of this attention would send an American into bankruptcy.
Last edited by nuala; 06-01-2015 at 06:55 PM..
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Of course there are some places that are better or worse to live. But what makes something better for one person may make it worse for someone else -- one man's trash is another one's treasure, blah blah blah.
