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This is my first post on DU, but I thought I would provide some helpful information and help clarify a few points about Canada.
My husband and I moved out of the US shortly after 9/11, right before Bush attacked Iraq.
We didn't whine or threaten to leave the US. We didn't share my decision with friends or neighbors. We just did it, as it was quite visible in 2002 that the US was headed to a war with Iraq, and that was something I personally couldn't accept, and refused to support. I do believe in Karma, and that was a Karma I did not want to participate in.
In addition I felt strongly that the direction that the US economic policies were taking would result in the US dollar losing value, and the United States economy becoming severely damaged to a degree that might take decades to repair. As a couple in their early 40s, I did not see a future for us in the 21st century America which was quickly taking form. I was also disturbed by the level of mean-spirited vitriol visible on most internet message boards, and I shuddered to realize that the coarse and ignorant minds writing those posts were my fellow citizens, people whose votes would decide the environment we would be growing old in. My husband had also just been fired, despite glowing reviews, from a hedge fund who simply decided to get rid of all their over 40 employees a week before bonuses were due. The employees were fired with no warning and not an hour of severance - something that is legal in NY and other 'right to work' states. This is something that would never happen in Europe, Canada or even Brazil. That event hammered home to me how vulnerable we were, in a country with very few safety nets, and a population brainwashed in a 'you're responsible for yourself' and 'too bad, chit happens' mentality. I looked ahead 20 years and I saw a country that was bankrupt from wars and corporate looting, without social security and other insurances we had all paid into, and no doubt still paranoid and xenophobic. Worse, 30 years of deliberate dumbing down of the population would produce leaders from a culture of arrogant ignorance and armchair sadism, nursed on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, weaned on COPS. The fact that 1000 internet bloggers and their friends were busy writing critiques of the Bush administration, much as I loved reading them, didn't hide the fact that nearly all of my neighbors in 'blue state' Connecticut supported the republican doctrine, and the few democrats I knew did nothing to stop the trend, most refused to even discuss the issues and instead adopted a 'don't worry, be happy' stance, telling me to 'relax, it will all work out'. If I had seen even a dozen people seriously engaged in debate, in resistance, in organization - to the same degree that the religious right and conservatives were organized and focused, we would have stayed. I feared that by the time the left finally understood the nature of the threat, much damage would already have been done, and it might be nearly impossible to reverse the trend.
All of these observations coalesced into a conclusion which prompted swift action. The thing which took longest - nearly 3 years - was selling our place in Connecticut; even at the height of what we were told was a 'hot' market. That beautiful place finally sold in late 2005 after several deals fell through. Again I mention this in order to emphasize how far in advance one needs to put plans into action, because things rarely go according to our expectations. Major moves are difficult, especially when you're an adult with ties and possessions. International moves are doubly complex.
I spent the spring summer and fall of 2002 scouting properties in Canada, when the CAD was at .63c to the USD. Canadians at that time would laugh at me when I predicted that the loonie would go to par with the US currency, and then ultimately exceed the value of the USD. Sometimes foreigners can see things more clearly. I made this prediction because Canada had no debt, a small, well educated population (30MM) and their commodity exports were just beginning to explode. (fwiw, I see the CAD going to $1.15-$1.25 to the USD within a year, barring something unforeseen which drives down the price and need for metals and other commodities world wide...which is unlikely.)
As an American with a decent credit report, it is possible to get a mortgage with a couple of banks in Canada, although you will need to come down with a 35-40% down payment. You cannot establish a Canadian credit report until you get a Canadian credit card, and to get a Canadian credit card you need to have an SIN, or Social Insurance Number, and you only get an S.I.N. when you formally 'land' after getting your Canadian residency. It is definitely more complex than the US and they like it that way.
To give you an idea of the time line to expect, my husband and I applied for permanent residency in the fall of 2002. We only received our permanent residency this June. That may be a little longer than typical, because we did have to reapply in late 2003, due to errors made on the initial application. However, all should be aware that permanent residency in Canada takes a long time to acquire.
Application to Canada is based on a points system. It is obvious from the application form (which is available to see online at the immigration Canada website) that individuals with advanced degrees, preferably masters and PhDs are favored, as are those who have fluency in several languages. I'm not sure what the points required are currently, but Canadian Immigration adjusts the points system based on their labor market and their need for immigrants. I imagine the requirements should still be pretty low, as Canada is enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in over 30 years. When we applied, they had just lowered the needed points to 71, which allowed us to qualify with only BA undergraduate degrees, and 10 years of advanced work history plus some savings. However, be advised that just around the time of the 2004 election, when Canada Immigration was afraid they were going to be swamped with Americans leaving the country, the points were raised to 78, which would have required full fluency in French to qualify.
There is also a visa program for entrepreneurs/investors, which requires a minimum of $250,000 to leave in an investment account for 2 years (I believe its two years, it's been a few years since I double checked)
The secret to success in getting your Canadian residency is making sure the application is submitted correctly the first time. For this, I highly recommend a good immigration Attorney. Our attorney, David Cohen out of Montreal, is highly recommended, and he understands the situation of democrats interested in relocating. You can write jamie@canadianvisa.com for information.
In response to one of the posts here, Canada is indeed looking for certain skilled labor classes, and in the province of Alberta there is an actual labor shortage due to the astounding prosperity and success of the oil sands industry, as well as the other commodity businesses driving the western economic phenomenon.
Now, for all of those who glibly talk about moving to Canada, let me just mention a few things. Perhaps most important is the fact that people need to know how hard it can be to leave the country of your birth, even to a place as similar in language and spirit as Canada. I have met émigrés in the past, and was always struck by a deep unvoiced sadness in many of them, and now I understand that pain personally. There's a sense of having lost your country, your home, not due to your own actions, but as a result of greater events of history over which you have little to no control. This is the pain of Austrian and German Jews who emigrated in the late 1930s, who I got to meet as I was working on my college thesis on the forces which permitted the rise of Nazism in post WWI Germany. This is the pain of young colleagues of mine at university, whose parents escaped Iran as the fundamentalists took over...some part of you always misses a place that now only exists in the past.
I also know that it is very difficult to accept that the country you knew is changing to a degree that might be a very real threat to your survival and prosperity. But I urge anyone who feels uncomfortable to consider their options seriously. As a European history major, I knew that with every year passed from 1932 to 1939, it became more and more difficult for average middle class Germans to leave Germany. I also know that the majority of people are in denial because they don't want to accept such a painful truth. This doesn't make them bad people, but it does put them at a serious disadvantage.
In our case, we took swift action, and were rewarded with a 50% rise in the currency we moved into, by low real estate prices in Canada at that time (now much higher) and were rewarded by being forced to sell our overpriced house while the selling was still possible before the sub prime mortgage collapse. Those leaving now are facing more hurdles. In a few years time, if there are too many applicants, and the global economy slows down, Canada and other countries may raise their barriers to entry even higher, making residency possible only for the richest investor class.
Also be aware that most countries want younger émigrés, who are able to donate time and skills to their new economy. The time to apply is before you are in your 50's, if at all possible. If you plan to retire on USD based pension plans, remember to count on an increasingly devalued currency, and realize that most countries I researched do not want anything but the richest retirees. It is crucial to purge that US-centric POV that every country in the world will welcome us on our time table, when we finally get around to it. Those days are over. The USD is increasingly irrelevant and many countries are now pricing real estate in Euros, even in South America.
Also realize that in the very real possibility of an economic crisis, governments often resort to currency controls, not permitting residents to take more than a few thousand dollars with them if they leave. This happened to friends of my parents in Brazil and Argentina, and it is not inconceivable it could happen in the US. Also realize that the United States is requiring passports to re-enter the US from Canada, and possibly may start checking passports on exit. Your passport is now linked to your credit report, and individuals behind on child care, on student loans and IRS bills are not allowed to leave the country. There may be other barriers to exit raised in the future. These are all unpleasant truths which require researching in full, and accepting as current reality, most likely to get worse, no matter who is elected in the next sham voter charade.
Is Canada under Harper perfect? Of course not. But Canada has a parliamentary government, and there are a number of parties. In order for any party to rule they are forced to compromise, which I consider a good thing. In addition to the standard Liberal and Tories, new parties like the Green Party or the New Democratic Party emerge in order to meet new needs, and I feel that this ability to evolve and adapt is healthier than our ossified and corrupt two party system. If one party fails to achieve a majority, the government is subject to a vote of confidence, and the government can fall. I feel this is better in a few ways to the rigid 4 term system in which the people's only recourse is an attempt at impeachment (obviously something we aren't even willing to consider)
The majority of Canadians are still more liberal in outlook than Americans, and I find most to be refreshingly well read. Perhaps that is because university is far more affordable in Canada; perhaps it is the British influence with its emphasis on literacy. Where I am in the Maritimes, people are as decent and kind hearted as any place I've ever lived, far more human and kind than Connecticut or New York. Should you happen to break down on the highway, you will probably get 2-3 offers of help within just as many minutes. Ultimately, that deep sense of humanity is our only buffer against inhuman policies. All we can ever count on is the innate goodness of our fellow man.
I don't know what anyone else's needs are, but when we were considering a place to relocate to, Canada made the most sense. The population we ran into was friendly, polite, funny and refreshingly free of the latent paranoia which has been created by the nonstop drumbeat of the GWOT. Most Canadians at least tolerate Americans and many are even fond of us. Many have lived in the United States and have siblings married to Americans. This isn't necessarily the case in England, Europe or Australia, and that is something would-be émigrés must consider. Anti-Americanism right now is very strong abroad, and the intolerance some are showing towards American expats could make living in a new country quite unpleasant. Canadian culture and lifestyle is very similar in many ways to that of New England and other northern states, and I must admit that small things, like being able to buy a familiar brand of shampoo or toothpaste, is nice, especially when you are uprooting yourself from everything you have known. Some things like gasoline are far more expensive, other prices are rapidly coming down reflecting the strength of the currency. There is talk of reducing taxes as well due to the huge budget surplus recently posted.
Canadian minimum wage varies from $7.15 to $8.50 depending on the province, and in some employee starved places like Alberta, even a cashier job at the super market was recently offering $25/hour with benefits and a relocation package. Yes there is universal health care, which means even my poorest neighbor could get the most expensive back operation he needed, and not have to pay more than gas to get to the hospital. However, the waits are long, and if they botch the operation, you have no recourse to lawsuits. There is also no medical privacy, and if you indulge in a habit such as smoking, which is frowned upon, the panel reviewing your case can refuse certain treatments for you, as happened to one of the men who works for us. There are always tradeoffs. However there are currently no right to work' theories which would permit an employer to toss employees on the street with no compensation, and given the tight labor market, I doubt they will be introduced any time soon. There is strong political correctness, and radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage or Ann Coulter probably wouldn't be allowed on the air, but would instead be considered 'hate radio'. Some might see this as a nanny state limmiting freedom of speech, others might see it as a great relief. And yes, the forces of conservatism are on the rise, and it is possible that Harper will win a 40% majority in the near future. It's hard to know what the full implications of that might be. At the same time, the Liberals just won a decisive victory in Ontario, and it's refreshing to see that Liberal is not a dirty word here as it is in the United States, which means that there is still a debate encompassing the entire spectrum of political opinions.
I am not here to defend my leaving the US. That was a spiritual decision as well as an economic decision we made long ago. Just as corporations are given freedom to relocate where it is in their best financial interests, I believe citizens need to take the same precautions. We could not count on America's financial system being able provide us with retirement security in 10-20 years, and we wanted to pay into a system that had a chance of being solvent when we needed to collect. With no debt, 10 quarters of a large budget surplus, a huge trade surplus and more projected, Canada seems to be in the best shape of all the countries I researched.
However I did want to post a first hand experience that may be of help to a reader on this board, perhaps to help someone sort out their thoughts on the issuue.
I wish everyone the best of luck, and I pray daily that there is a miracle candidate who can arise in the United States, a person capable of undoing 8 years of fiscal, constitutional and diplomatic damage, and most importantly, capable of reuniting a deeply divided and increasingly hostile population.
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