Americans and Canadians culture Q&A Thread.

[Buzz Rules]

That you like soccer

Eh, I'll take it.

 

[john7994]

Eh, I'll take it.

This thread is where I was first introduced to the one and only Buzz ...

 

[Buzz Rules]

Buzz's tombstone: "He who spoke of soccer to the entire universe".

 

[Buzz Rules]

Canadians, do you think it is more expensive to live in Canada or the USA solely based on your personal income? In other words, if you could live in any state with your current income, would you have a higher or lower quality of life?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/the-salary-a-single-person-needs-to-get-by-in-every-us-state.html

 

[ronandannette]

Canadians, do you think it is more expensive to live in Canada or the USA solely based on your personal income? In other words, if you could live in any state with your current income, would you have a higher or lower quality of life?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/the-salary-a-single-person-needs-to-get-by-in-every-us-state.html

Right off the top, our salaries lose +30% with the current exchange rates. That, plus the frightening idea of paying for health insurance makes me think there's practically nowhere in the US I could live to the same standard as I do right here at home.

 

[Aladora]

Canadians, do you think it is more expensive to live in Canada or the USA solely based on your personal income? In other words, if you could live in any state with your current income, would you have a higher or lower quality of life?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/the-salary-a-single-person-needs-to-get-by-in-every-us-state.html

Like in the States, this question depends on where in Canada you live.

Someone making $100,000/year in St. John's, Newfoundland would have a very different experience to someone living in Toronto, Ontario. The cost of housing difference between those is astronomical.

The same goes for the USA, someone making $100,000 in Mississippi is going to live in a very different way to someone living in Hawaii.

I happen to live in the 3rd most expensive city in Canada where the average cost of buying a house is just under $900,000. At the moment, there is exactly ONE house for sale here for under $500,000 and it is a land only sale because the house was badly damaged in a fire. The next least expensive one for sale that you can actually live in (not land for property development) is $750,000 and it is 45 minutes out of town.

And that is just taking housing costs into account.

Moving to the USA would mean paying for healthcare which I am certainly not willing to do.

So, I guess the answer to your original question is I *could* live in any state I wanted to and not reduce my standard of living...but I would not want to.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Like in the States, this question depends on where in Canada you live.

Someone making $100,000/year in St. John's, Newfoundland would have a very different experience to someone living in Toronto, Ontario. The cost of housing difference between those is astronomical.

The same goes for the USA, someone making $100,000 in Mississippi is going to live in a very different way to someone living in Hawaii.

I happen to live in the 3rd most expensive city in Canada where the average cost of buying a house is just under $900,000. At the moment, there is exactly ONE house for sale here for under $500,000 and it is a land only sale because the house was badly damaged in a fire. The next least expensive one for sale that you can actually live in (not land for property development) is $750,000 and it is 45 minutes out of town.

And that is just taking housing costs into account.

Moving to the USA would mean paying for healthcare which I am certainly not willing to do.

So, I guess the answer to your original question is I *could* live in any state I wanted to and not reduce my standard of living...but I would not want to.

Wow, that is expensive as with the current exchange rate that 900,000$CAD is about 664,000$USD.
Then again in my current state of Massachusetts, the average price for a single family home is around 575,000 $USD. While we are a very desirable state to live in (the weather notwithstanding), the cost of housing here is becoming a major issue, especially in Boston which is off the chain. I am currently seriously contemplating a move to Europe.

And yes, paying for healthcare sucks.

 

[ronandannette]

Wow, that is expensive as with the current exchange rate that 900,000$CAD is about 664,000$USD.
Then again in my current state of Massachusetts, the average price for a single family home is around 575,000 $USD. While we are a very desirable state to live in (the weather notwithstanding), the cost of housing here is becoming a major issue, especially in Boston which is off the chain. I am currently seriously contemplating a move to Europe.

And yes, paying for healthcare sucks.

Canada has vastly fewer major cities than the US so it’s fairly concise to see what prices are doing at a glance.
https://wowa.ca/reports/canada-housing-market

 

[prairie_girl]

Right off the top, our salaries lose +30% with the current exchange rates. That, plus the frightening idea of paying for health insurance makes me think there's practically nowhere in the US I could live to the same standard as I do right here at home.

There are other reasons that would keep me from moving to the US but healthcare is definitely at the top of the list. Never mind the cost of dr visits and tests and specialists, there’s also the yearly cost for my MRI. I’ve seen people say it can be $5K out of pocket. We’d be so broke and surviving on Kraft Dinner and cheap cereals we don’t get here lol

 

[Frozen Canuck]

That you like soccer

Like??? I hereby declare you the master of understatement!

 

[Buzz Rules]

Any new topics or questions?

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Have we talked about Thanksgiving dishes in the past? Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up and I'm curious what unique foods find their way to people's tables. In our family, with some Norwegian roots, in addition to the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes, we always had lefse. I struggle to eat turkey now without lefse to eat alongside. Anybody else serve more than the traditional bird and sides?

 

[prairie_girl]

Have we talked about Thanksgiving dishes in the past? Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up and I'm curious what unique foods find their way to people's tables. In our family, with some Norwegian roots, in addition to the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes, we always had lefse. I struggle to eat turkey now without lefse to eat alongside. Anybody else serve more than the traditional bird and sides?

We are 100% traditional. As a matter of fact, growing up, my mom would be served turnip at all the holiday meals, and it’s now always on our table, too. The weird part is that my mom doesn’t even like turnip, but since it was on the table growing up, it’s now on her table. What’s even weirder is that it’s not even turnip, it’s rutabaga and we just call it turnip for some reason lol

When it’s passed around I take the smallest amount I can, and choke it down with turkey and potatoes to try and mask the taste. It doesn’t work, but at least it doesn’t make me gag anymore..

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Very traditional Thanksgiving meal at our house.. Rolls and butter, Turkey, stuffing, pan gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed or oven roasted potatoes (depending on which one of us are hosting lol) glazed carrots and again depending on the host.. carmelized Brussel sprouts with bacon, green beans almandine or turnip/carrot mash. When it’s my turn to host I also offer a maple syrup/clove glazed ham for those who don’t eat turkey.

Desert always includes pumpkin pie and an apple desert of some kind.. pie or crisp.

We tried offering either a creamed soup or a salad but it ends up being way too much food so that didn’t last.. lol

 

[Frozen Canuck]

The weird part is that my mom doesn’t even like turnip, but since it was on the table growing up, it’s now on her table.

This cracks me up for some reason...the whole idea of this dish being passed around the table that nobody really likes, but that keeps coming back year after year.

My MIL always makes a lime Jello salad thing for holiday gatherings. It has lime Jello, pineapple, and whipped cream. My husband and his siblings used to go crazy for it as kids. One year, MIL decided that it wasn't very healthy, so she tried a new recipe...lime jello, cottage cheese, and green onions. That bowl went around the table and every "kid" (they were all grown) took a giant helping on their plate. One bite and they were all wishing they had taken much much less!

(depending on which one of us are hosting lol)

I love that you each have your variation on the favourites for each home that hosts.

 

[NAB]

We have turnip too but that was because my dad couldn’t have milk for mash potatoes so my mom just mashed the turnip. Everyone ate both.

Green Bean casserole seems to be big on tv shows etc but we never had that. Turkey , turnip, potatoes , stuffing, gravey and mixed veggies. Oh my mom’s favourite was cranberries made home made.

 

[Disneylover99]

Have we talked about Thanksgiving dishes in the past? Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up and I'm curious what unique foods find their way to people's tables. In our family, with some Norwegian roots, in addition to the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes, we always had lefse. I struggle to eat turkey now without lefse to eat alongside. Anybody else serve more than the traditional bird and sides?

Along with turkey, mashed, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, carrots, turnips, etc….we also have salt beef, cabbage and peas pudding at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. That’s from our NFLD heritage.

 

[ronandannette]

The real question for Canadians is: How do you make your sweet potatoes? Nasty puree with sugar, spices, nuts and disgusting marshmallows on top? Or simply and elegantly sauteed in butter and a little brown sugar to caramelize? The latter is, of course, the correct way.

 

[Aladora]

The real question for Canadians is: How do you make your sweet potatoes? Nasty puree with sugar, spices, nuts and disgusting marshmallows on top? Or simply and elegantly sauteed in butter and a little brown sugar to caramelize? The latter is, of course, the correct way.

Roasted in the oven with salt, pepper, and a bit of oil.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Buzz's menu for USA Thanksgiving: Buttered rolls, a Spanish tapas or Mediterranean salad, ham, turkey, cranberry sauce, a veggie soup for our vegan/vegetarian guests, baked cinnamon sweet potato, a healthy stuffing side dish, water, local apple cider, my mother's secret family apple sauce recipe, my father's secret family apple pie recipe, my mother's pumpkin pie, steamed vegetables, ice cream, fruit sorbet, and a Thanksgiving day cake. We cook what we can several days in advance so it's very little work on the day, so we can just sit back and watch the MTDP (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade), National Dog Show, and whatever NFL game is on. Then we take a nap and get ready for the traditional shopping weekend (although I do most of it online now).