[fingerprinter]

I'm an American living in AU, going to move to Canada.

Couple of thoughts.

1. Family was discussing where to live. US didn't really come up as an option because of healthcare and education. Things are generally cheaper in the US, but standard of living for our kids was considered more important. Canada in particular is very close, nearly as cheap and has better education and healthcare. Win-Win.

2. People in the US generally don't realize A. how cheap things are and B. how bad things like education and healthcare are.

3. We are taking a significant tax hit in either AU or CAN...and that is OK because of what we are getting in return. I'm actually more mad at thinking of the things we DON'T get in the US for our taxes.

4. lastly (unrelated to the article), the difference between AU and CAN consumerism culture is amazing. The change is rather drastic and, I feel strongly about this, better for overall health to not be so wrapped in the consumeristic US culture.

[dmpk2k]

I'm curious why you're moving from Australia to Canada? Canada has a lot going for it, and it's definitely cheaper, but in most regards I think Australia has its act together better.

[fingerprinter]

Valid question because I would generally agree that AU has quite a bit going for it.

The single main reason is location. AU is FAAAAAR from things. I fly for work to the US and Europe several times a year. This gets very old very quickly in AU. To get to Singapore, which is the main hub to Europe, is 8hrs. That is already longer than the longest US flight. To get from Singapore to Europe is between 12 and 14 hrs. To get from Sydney/Melbourne to LAX is 15hrs. Do this with two kids and you'll just hate life.

Also, for the kids, the cousins, grandparents and aunts and uncles all live in the US, which is a quick direct flight away. This is the single biggest factor.

This is more a huge pet peeve of mine and I wouldn't move because of this, but I hate the nanny state that is AU. The government here is very restrictive and tends to take away rights "for the kids". There is constant talk about an internet firewall and quite a few other little things that add up to "nanny state". I told my wife that if we stayed in AU it might cause me to get into politics b/c of how messed up it is. It is that bad.

And, lastly, we've had an adventure. We are looking to settle in to a place for 10-15 years or so while the kids grow up and go to school. If it wasn't for the above, AU might have been that place, but the second item makes it hard for us to be this far away.

I say about AU that if you can leave your former life and live in AU (meaning, you live, work and pretty much embrace the AU life), AU is AWESOME. They really do have quite a bit going for it, even with the nanny state item. They don't call it 'the lucky country' for nothing!