Studied in Montreal, went to Texas, then to New York. When I left Montreal, people were genuinely worried for me that I'm gonna get shot.
Contrary to popular Canadian fear mongering, the US is not a shooting free-for-all, as big as a problem gun violence might be. Of all the variables, getting shot is not something I consider about when deciding between the US and Canada.
That someone might have been a Californian. To pick a recent example: https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Videos-show-fatal-shoot...
Hyperbole aside, you are more likely to die from firearms in California than Canada. Most of that, on both sides of the border, is suicide.