The Canada vs. USA Debate

[alittlemind]

For those of you who had to decide between which country to move to, how did you come to the conclusion?

SO and I are kind of butting heads on this one. Naturally I'm team Canada, he is team USA. I'm the more flexible one, I would be happy as long as I'm with him, but I still think Canada has the best future for us in the long run. SO, however, is more concerned about giving up his citizenship to the US than anything.

Of course, permanent relocation would not happen for a few years, but there's no harm in exploring our options, eh?

[snow_girl]

Why would he have to give up his citizenship? He can be a permanent resident and still hold his us passport.

[Deleted]

In terms of practicality, I second you wholeheartedly. Is giving up his citizenship the only reason your SO prefers the US?

He could also apply for a dual citizenship, I think.

[melarie]

We're not Canada/US, but we've talked about it before, and I think we both agree that we're going to try to put personal things aside and think about things like where we prefer our kids to grow up, what's more affordable, etc. And then count in personal things. And it kinda sounds like your SO isn't doing that. I totally understand not wanting to leave your home, but he also needs to think about the practicality of it. Like, I'd LOVE for me and him to move back to my hometown because I really miss it, and I grew up there and it's beautiful and everything. But logically, I know where he lives is more affordable and might end up being a better choice for us. How we decide... I don't know. We've got at least 2 years probably.

[Dezface]

Yeah....why would he give up citizenship? I would never have moved out of The U.S. if I had to do that.

[conejita_hada]

He doesn't have to give up his citizenship. The only way he would lose his US citizenship is from some egregious crime against the US or if he actively sought to renounce it through paperwork with the US government. The US fully allows for citizens to retain citizenship while living abroad or applying for and retaining citizenship in another country. In that sense, you guys are equal in your teams now.

(Also sidenote, if you marry and decide to have children your children can be dual Canadian and US citizens, regardless of where they are born, just have to fill out some paperwork with the government of the country they aren't born in to recognize their legal citizenship status inherited from their parent's citizenship.)

[Zephii]

Different countries for us, but we never came to a conclusion. Duel citizenship is available between our countries, so we're staying here in Oz til he gets his citizenship, then we'll live in Canada til I get mine, then back here for a couple of years, then back to Canada...

I imagine as we get older and build better networks, have greater finances and investments, one country will eventually win out. At some point, there might be too much to leave behind, perhaps our children will all settle in one country and we won't want to leave them. But for now we're nomadic. I can't imagine ever living permanently in Canada, but age might mellow me

I believe it's best for both people to experience living in the country of the other. Not visiting, living. Stay long enough to be effected by the laws, experience all the seasons, appreciate the culture differences as slight as they might be and then work out what is best for you as a couple and any potential brats you may spawn. You understand your own land so much better when you have something to compare it to.

[alittlemind]

I did I little research (something I should've done beforehand) and yes, I guess I'll have to get him to read up some info about the citizenship. I have a feeling though it isn't all that for him. We'll have to discuss/research it a little (most likely a lot) more.

I'm most likely going to end up in the states for school... after that, who knows.

Thanks for your responses

[alittlemind]

Is giving up his citizenship the only reason your SO prefers the US?

That was his main "argument" this afternoon. But I've got a feeling that isn't all there is. I'll have to investigate further :P

[lovefrom2800milesaway]

Aha, my SO and I have this debate all the time since I'm Canadian and he's American.
He's not so worried about having to move and all that, he's just worried about leaving his family behind. He's much closer with his family than I am with mine, so that's fair enough.
Some of the reasons why I'd prefer residing in Canada is because of our health care system, first of all, and because of education, second of all. With the degree I'm going to get (BSc. in Pharmacy), if I wanted to become a pharmacist in the USA without a PharmD, I'd have to take an equivalency test and get a work VISA and all that good stuff. He'd also have to get a work VISA to work up here as well, but he has no idea what he even wants to do as a career yet, so I feel like it makes more sense to start our lives up here.

I've always thought about meeting somewhere in between. Instead of him moving to Canada or I moving to New Olreans, I suggested we meet somewhere in the middle like California or somewhere more central USA. We haven't really looked into this yet, but I thought it'd be nice if we both started over together instead of someone having to give something up.

Just my two cents!

[conejita_hada]

Another thought on why he wants to stay in the US is because it is constantly fed to Americans (via school, media, government, everything in society) that our country is the best place to live for anyone (not just Americans). I don't know if this has anything to do with it and he's clearly open to other cultures and countries. I know it's still a bit imbedded in me that my children need to grow up in the US even though the education system is lacking compared to other countries and healthcare...yeah, no. But still, there is the idea lingering that it is the best possible solution. It's not bad to be patriotic, I've just noticed that the US has a bit of a stronger brand of patriotism than other nationalities that sometimes impedes our clear view.

That just requires long talks about what's the best opportunities for both of you in the future (US and Canada have a good educational relationship, specialized degrees like someone mentioned are a little harder to twist but bachelors, business degrees, and academic PhDs are all exchanged well between the two countries). Just find out what's eating at him and work on it from there.

[Eveningsalone]

Hi All,
Myself and SO are in the same boat as OP. I am the American and he the Canadian. It's the hardest conversation we have had about closing the gap. I am more flexible but it seems as though he is not. If I had my druthers I would like to stay here and that is due in part to family(my ill mother in particular) and friends and my freelance photography career happening here. He moved to Toronto a year ago and is working on doing freelance editing and writing. In my mind it would make sense to transplant here but he is at this point not able to see anything past where he is let alone moving away from a city he's fallen head over heels for. Any advice on how to handle this, either practical or anything for that matter

[lucybelle]

You can be US/Canada duel citizens. But as a US citizen you have to pay taxes on foreign earned income, so you could potentially get hit twice with taxes- Canadian and USA. But it's if you make over a certain amount every year. Forgot the number.

You guys are young. You have plenty of time to figure it out. Don't think too far ahead.

[Eveningsalone]

You can be US/Canada duel citizens. But as a US citizen you have to pay taxes on foreign earned income, so you could potentially get hit twice with taxes- Canadian and USA. But it's if you make over a certain amount every year. Forgot the number.

You guys are young. You have plenty of time to figure it out. Don't think too far ahead.

obviously not the OP but regarding taxes, do you know much about how that would work for a freelancer?

[BabyGund]

We're in the same boat -- he's Canadian and I'm American. I'm trying my best to immigrate but there's a ton of issues surrounding that. At this point, I'd be happy living in Detroit or Buffalo and driving across the border on weekends to see him. So I'm working on job prospects there.