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Woohoo! One more reason to move to Canada. Healthcare, and now I can start a business without getting sued for everything I try.
Legitimate downsides or joke downsides? Other than higher taxes, what are you referring to?
Ah. I've only lived in cities in some of the warmest parts of Canada so I haven't really experienced either.
The last time I was in the states was driving from Toronto to Halifax on your side of the border. So pretty much I90 to Boston and then I95 up Maine into New Brunswick. One thing that was noteworthy was that Americans are nice. Canada has the stereotype for always saying please and thank you and generally being the nice country but it doesn't seem true at all. We do always say please and thank you and are generally courteous but it's mostly just out of routine. In the states, we were stretching our legs at a rest stop and a guy parks next to us to complement our car (nothing special, Ford Escape) and then just starts a conversation. In Maine we were outside The Olive Garden and a family comes out and just starts talking to my parents about how filling their meal was. Nobody said please or thank you but everybody acted friendly and genuine, something that doesn't seem to happen that often here.
The fact that you consider Toronto warmish might be part of the problem. Lets face it, there's only one city in Canada that's temperate year round...and it fucking rains in the winter man. Like, it's in the middle of a RAIN-forest.