Dear Mom:
How are you? You are probably interested in knowing where I would like to live, so I would like to tell you where I would choose to spend my life. After we have lived in both, Canada and United States, and I have a choice where to live, I would like to tell you what I think of the two of them. We moved to Canada in October, 1993, and we lived there for seven and a half years. We moved to United States in June, 2001, and we have lived here for only half year. So, I would be able to describe Canada from a long experience of interacting with its system, whereas about America I can only judge from first impressions. Please, try to understand I like both, but I like America better.
People in Canada are more closed than the people of the Mid-West of the United States, in particular, the ones from the State of Indiana. Even though, it appears that Canadians are friendlier and more polite, yet they are quite closed when it comes to friendship. As far as Americans, they are aggressive and appear arrogant, and yet are much friendlier when it comes to helping someone, or simply when it comes to friendship. I think that since my findings are narrowed to only experiences in Ontario, Canada, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, they may be biased.
The living standards in Canada appear to be better in a variety of small things. Canadian streets are clean, houses are taken care of, and shopping windows are rarely broken. In Indiana this is also true for the richer neighborhoods. However, in the bad regions the streets are less looked after, than the bad regions in Canada. So, possibly at municipal level there is better organization in Canada, making it more pleasurable to walk on Canadian streets.
On the road there is no one as aggressive as Americans are, and even though Mid-West is relatively peaceful and quiet, Canadians are better road-peace keepers. In Canada you rarely see anyone driving through a stop sign, you would never see anyone cutting in front of you, and you would see that pedestrians get the right of way even on a street, where there is no sign to yield to a pedestrian. In Indiana, I see people driving through a stop sign all the time, people cutting of someone, and no respect for pedestrians most of the time. There are no such terms as road rage in Canada, about which I hear quite often in Indiana. So, peace on the roads is a positive quality of Canadians.
There are more police cars in the United States on the roads, than there are in Canada. The amount of police cars on the road usually determines the safety of the location. How? On Canadian roads you would rarely see a police car, which means there is no need for one. Police are mainly on highways. Yet most people follow signs and road rules more closely, than people do in Indiana. Whereas, in Indiana, you see a police car almost every block, and yet more people speed up, drive through signs, and don’t stop when a school bus stops. So, the more there is a need in police cars that means that the less safe is the neighborhood, which hints on the fact that roads in Canada are safer.
The legal system has a variety of lee ways to find the criminals. In Canada there are more laws to catch criminals, than the laws in America. In Canada everything that is not permitted is forbidden, whereas in America, everything that is not forbidden is permitted. Legally, Canada is a very strict and restraining country, almost like a military state, where police is capable of controlling every aspect of citizens’ lives. Whereas, in Indiana there is freedom of choice in regular life, freedom in business arena, political freedom of expression, and little legal restraints on the daily actions of citizens. Altogether, it constitutes into a fact that America is a country of opportunities, whereas Canada is a military-controlled state.
In Canada, unlike in America, there are also many laws restricting how much you earn. If you earn above certain salary, half of you salary disappears in federal taxes. That is very difficult to earn above a set limit – a lid. In America, taxes are not calculated as harshly. It is possible to earn as much as you work in the USA. So, for those who are willing to work, America is a perfect country to earn to the maximum of their abilities.
Personally, I liked a-little-less-protected-by-the-police and less-following-the-rules America better, than the safe and politically correct Canada. Even though, Canada is a country in which it is possible to live carefree life, I think America gives more chances to those who strive for success. Since I am hard worker, I prefer to live where I will be able to have my hard work paid off. I would rather live in a free America, rather than in a safe Canada. Mom, I like America.
Love you,
Anastasia.
April, 2002