Differences between canada and USA

Americans are so quick to be ignorant towards other people that you end up feeling like outsiders.

The one major difference I have noticed between Americans and Canadians is that Americans do tend to have a: "We are right because we are Americans" attitude. They still think in WW2 terms often. A lot of people there just don't realise the world has moved on since the Cold War and especially with the rise of China, the US is really just another country, more so than it has been since the end of WW1 at least. The US has nothing really special about it anymore, Canada and many European countries are much better in many regards. It's like Brian Williams tells them once in awhile that the US ranks twenty something overall in math but they just don't really want to believe it.

Canadians have a more worldly outlook, mainly because Canada is a much smaller country in terms of population and also because it's a Commonwealth country, so they actually know that England is part of the United Kingdom.

Although I have to say having lived in the UK for many years, they're just as bad as Americans, the last German Chancellor many English people can name is Hitler. A real condescending attitude. Which is no doubt how Britain managed to conquer a quarter of the planet: "we know better than you do". Unfortunately the Americans also thought that, and thus there was the Revolutionary War.

I'm an American who has lived for 11 years in London, Ontario after 30 years in New York, Virginia, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Ohio and Tennessee, the last four places relatively shorter stays for work, internships, etc.

Of all the places I've lived, I'd rank London near the bottom, but I would never conclude that my experience here is somehow indicative of all of Canada. Picking one of the qualities asked about -- Friendliness -- I find that generally, people in London are much less open and friendly than the people I've known in most places I've lives in the U.S. -- but Londoners also seem less friendly than many of the Canadians I have met from western and eastern Canada. In short, I would take with a grain of salt the opinions of Canadians who base their belief of Americans on their experience living in a single town or city.

With more than 300 million people and a livable land mass far bigger than Canada, there are so many choice in the U.S. You should really decide what qualities you are looking for and then consider American locales that best match your desires.

You should also consider the cost-of-living, which also vary widely by location, especially housing. In general, goods and services are cheaper, more varied and far easier to obtain in the U.S. because there is so little competition in Canada.

Some fields offer far more expansive career choices in the U.S as well and better pay too - the average income is considerably higher than in Canada.

If I wasn't tied to the London-area through my wife's family, I would move in a heartbeat -- though I would certainly consider other places in Canada, Vancouver, for example, as well as American cities. Again, I think it's rather small-minded to dismiss a country for the experience in one community.

I hope the Canadians don't take this the wrong way (my kids are Canadians, by the way) but I find some Canadians carry a big chip on their shoulder about Americans, an inferiority complex of some sort, that has them looking for the worst in Americans and taking great offense if their Canadian-ness is ignored or teased. What I have found in my vast experience in the US and more limited experience in Canada is that Americans, at least the middle class professionals I lived and worked with, are far more willing than Canadians to look honestly and openly at their country, warts and all, and certainly don't go around thinking the US is somehow better than any other country. Like any place, the US has wonders and woes, opportunities and risks. Seek out the good and chances are you'll find it.

I always say the national pastime in Canada isn't hockey, it's comparing Canada to the US. The mistake that a lot of Canadians make imx is comparing Canada to somewhere in the US that is a lot different than Canada. However if you compare BC to Washington for example there isn't that much of a difference. Alberta is different from Montana because it's more wealthy and there are large cities, but there isn't that much difference between upstate New York and southern Ontario. And the Maritimes aren't that much different from Maine. The main difference I notice between those places is the ethnic mix, BC has a lot more asians.

I find some Canadians carry a big chip on their shoulder about Americans, an inferiority complex of some sort

Yeah I noticed that in Ontario. Not the case out west though.

Steven makes some excellent points. Hard to feel an inferiority complex in booming Calgary - it's the fastest growing economy in Canada by a wide margin and has to be near the top of fast-growing cities in either country. I also think Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver have been innovative in planning growth. Since I've lived in Ontario, we've done most of our trips to the US, but I do really look forward to traveling to Western Canada.

Everyone makes fun of Americans because they think they are dumb and don't know anything, and 99.9% of the reason why is TV, I have long been convinced of it.

Everywhere I have been in the world, you turn on the TV and at least one channel has an American TV show on. I remember my sister saying she had been to Uganda and "Different Strokes" was on the TV. Even in Iran they watch American movies.

I met a woman from Northern Ireland once who told me she thought the English have an "island" attitude, because never had she met anyone from England who could name three towns in Northern Ireland, even though they're both part of the UK.

So after that I tried it out on a number of English friends and only one could name three towns in Northern Ireland and that was after some deep thought about it. Yet they could all name three cities in the US without even thinking about it.

Now you might say that is because the US is a much larger country - okay, name three towns in India. A European might be able to do it, but nowhere as quick as for the US.

Another one I try on English people is this:

Name one American State.
Name one Canadian Province.
Name one Mexican State.

Everyone gets the first one. Most people get the second one. Hardly anyone gets the third one.

The reason why is because of TV.

Americans don't get much foreign TV and 90% of the foreign TV they do get is Canadian. America is the only country in the world I reckon where 90%+ of the programming is domestic, so it's not surprising they know bugger all about the rest of the world.