Quote from JohnGreen:
Beltway boy,
that's one of the big problems with the good old USA--they could care less about the rest of the world, and most of them don't know much about the rest of the world either. They just assume they are better even when they're clearly not.
I live in Calgary, and the quality of life is greatly superior to the vast majority of the cities in the USA, even after you factor in a few negative points for the cold. Why?
1) Crime is very low. Murder rates in Canada typically are half of the USA. I don't really have to lock my doors, either.
2) The place is clean and not very crowded. Almost every American city is filthy by comparison. The others are merely dirty.
3) Most people are prospering. There are very few poor people living a third rate trailer park existence. People have good paying jobs (higher than almost any American city), and the city is growing nicely. The real unemployment rate is about 6-7%.
4) Canadians are quiet, well behaved people who get along well, and don't earn bad reputations in foreign countries for being arrogant and thoughtless. We even enjoy the winter and invented a few games like basketball that help pass winter along. Hockey is a great sport!
5) The Canadian system is fairly efficient and really works. Our banks don't need bailing out and never have. We do pay our fair share of taxes, but our government doesn't run obscene and stupid deficits (although we do have a modest deficit currently) and our per capita national debt is much less. In fact, we have had surpluses in a number of years during the 90's and the 2000's. Our politicians are generally honest and try to serve the people.
6) Our education system is clearly superior to the American system. Far too many Americans are semi-literate, barely numerate, and almost every American is geographically ignorant--even those in elite universities. Our scores are better on international tests in almost every category.
So, Beltway boy, just stay down in Washington, and enjoy the shootings, the deteriorating buildings and highways, and your incompetent government. I've visited Washington, and it's better up here, even when it is freezing.