living in the US compared to Canada..(long)

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hello all, well i have been debating this for a while now. i'm planning to go back to school in Canada just cause its more "cost effective" :rolleyes: if i did it here in the US it would cost me about $15000-$20000...in US dollars!!! in Canada it would be approx. $5000 for the whole 2 years!!. i have been living/working in the US for about 5 years as a travel RN. i love what i do but now its time to be "more" resposible and plan for the future.

i've recently had discussions w/ some co-workers and we compared the cost of living in Canada to the US. yes i make more money here in the US, if i went back home i would take a serious pay cut (another reason why im going back to school). on the other hand Canada has medicare for me and my future family. here in the US i have to pay $$$ to get covered, i just have to pray that no-one gets seriouslly ill. i saw a documentary on tv: the ferry accident in new york a while back... for those of you who didnt see it, this is the short version. 3 people: one a young man who didnt have insurance or wasn't conrtibuting to one, another young lady, she is (at that time) an illegal alien. the third and elderly lady who had insurance. the 2 people who had no insurance got taken care of even after the ordeal, i.e.: physio etc... the lady who was contributing $$ per month wasn't wholly compensated. i dont recall the reason why, but she wasn't well taken care of by her insurance company post accident. they interviewed the person who was in charge of the hospital billing, she said that the hospital recognizes the fact that they have to bill other pt's "more" to make up the lost revenue. what does this have to do w/ me? well in Canada we may all have access to health care but the system isn't perfect, BUT we all have access to it. in the US (i'm quite convinced) that most insurance companies will try to get out of their responsibilities where ever they can. so in short in Canada i have good access but i might wait for a while to get that CT/MRI for egsample, in the states i can have good access also but it'll cost me; i also hope that my US insurance company wont try to @#$% me. thats one issue.

when i start a family i have medicare to help me w/ my basic healthcare needs. to put my kids through school in Canada will not bankrupt me. the "over-all" violence in major US cities is more compared to Canada... here me now i said "less" in general. the housing prices in California are insane. i spoke w/ another traveller who recently bought a house here... her mortgage payment is approx. $2000 per month. thats NOT including all the other costs of owning a home. housing costs in other states may be less but thats only part of my concerns.

so those are my issues, the cost of healthcare for me and my future family, future educational costs for my kids, and the over all quality/safety factor of life (in general). a little something about me: i'm not one who has to drive a fancy car to be happy, i dont need a gigantic house. those are luxuries, dont get me wrong those things are nice but they are not on the top of my list.. im going back to school so that i may have more choices in the future. if it doesn't work in canada i can always go back to the US.

thank you for making it this far into my long post. so now i ask those of you who have experienced working in the US, taking into consideration all the realities and experiences that you have... would you consider moving back to Canada to raise a family? thx for your time.

I don't. If I were you I would go to immigration Canada's website and see if veterinarians are covered under NAFTA as well. If they aren't you might have the more arduous route of seeking residency the old fashioned way.

This is their website:

http://www.cic.gc.ca

And this is a website for your husband, only for BC. I thought it may have some info on registration or links to other province's registration for him:

http://www.bcvma.org/cfm/index.cfm?It=107

Many are posting about moving from Canada to USA?

DOes anyone know about immigrating from USA to Canada? (And available work for a US educated BSN.)

Curious.

SJ

Hi there.

It all depends from which country,category, the point system such as on ur edu, exp,age,skill requirement in Canadian labour forces are the deciding factors. Even the coutry where u file from also matters, some asian countries wait list is 3-5 yrs.

One of my collegues an US Citzen, who applied for canadian immigration as RN was rejected, reason not known. Anyway goto the candian official web site and you can check online if you qualify and thendown load the PDF forms, submitt to the nearest embassy.

There are quite a few changes since 2002, in the point system your spouse is also taken into account, confused seek the nearest help via lawer or so..

all the best, hope that gives u some overall view, bye for now....PD

To answer the original question... Yes! I would move back to Canada in a heartbeat if I were to start a Family. I have lived in Rhode Island for 2 years from Alberta and I can see a significant difference... I think I've pinned it...

It's all about survival. Back in Canada I felt secure, taken care of, and didn't really have to worry about the basics. Health was paid for, kids have a great standardized (through out the country) education, that's affordable (though taxes are higher in Canada) and the crime rate is super low. EVEN THE HOMELESS had resourses availible to them if they wanted!

In the State where I live, I sense that it's all about Survival of me and my loved ones. I gotta shell out money for this and that and plan, plan, plan for the worst! I feel uneasy here. There's an increased feeling of hostility, and I could be totally off my rocker but, I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on fear and the protection of self.

Just my 2 cents. I should also add that I have enjoyed all the friends I've made here and have been happy to have all the opportunities availible to me here!

So I just have to weigh my options.:)

Does anyone have a similar link for the RNFA information for Quebec? (like the one given for Ontario) Also, a website that gives information regarding working in Quebec/Canada on a Nafta Visa?

Thanks.

Specializes in med/surg.
Hi there.

It all depends from which country,category, the point system such as on ur edu, exp,age,skill requirement in Canadian labour forces are the deciding factors. Even the coutry where u file from also matters, some asian countries wait list is 3-5 yrs.

One of my collegues an US Citzen, who applied for canadian immigration as RN was rejected, reason not known. Anyway goto the candian official web site and you can check online if you qualify and thendown load the PDF forms, submitt to the nearest embassy.

There are quite a few changes since 2002, in the point system your spouse is also taken into account, confused seek the nearest help via lawer or so..

all the best, hope that gives u some overall view, bye for now....PD

The point system is not really operational right now, so not the best route. It's best, easiest & by far the quickest, to get a job offer. You won't need a lawyer, it's not that confusing & all the forms are downloadable from the Embassy web site.

If I can do it from the UK (& others from India & the phillipines who I work with) then it should be no trouble from the USA. In fact I work with a nurse from the USA & she found it very easy. You will need to have your credentials verified & you will need to sit the CRNE. I don't know about your spouse but it should be easy enough to find out.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
The point system is not really operational right now, so not the best route. It's best, easiest & by far the quickest, to get a job offer. You won't need a lawyer, it's not that confusing & all the forms are downloadable from the Embassy web site.

If I can do it from the UK (& others from India & the phillipines who I work with) then it should be no trouble from the USA. In fact I work with a nurse from the USA & she found it very easy. You will need to have your credentials verified & you will need to sit the CRNE. I don't know about your spouse but it should be easy enough to find out.

This thread is from 2004 :D

Specializes in med/surg.

That's why I wanted to let people know that this info is not relevant now. The thread resurfaced at the top so didn't want the now innaccurate info to start filtering through;)

Looking back at the post though I didn't really make that clear - went to run a bath for DD & hit the submit button without thinking it through properly!

Specializes in med/surg.
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Nice save?:D

Great save :D

Specializes in Mursing.

I jsut think how funny it is that the 2nd poster wrote that gas prices were 90.4 c/L in 2004. Albeit it has dropped dramatically (today 89.9) from earlier in the year when it was 155.9.

Things sure change quickly when you travel.

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