Moving to Canada

Every semester, two or three students who don’t know me drop by my office to ask for advice about how they could move to Canada. I don’t usually have much advice to give them, having only experienced the bureaucracy involved in moving the other way. Today, though, as I was diligently casting my votes in the Canadian Blog Awards I discovered a great blog called “We Move to Canada” that over the last few years has documented a couple’s move from NYC to Toronto.

I’ve only read a few postings on the blog, but have added it to my feed list. One of the things I found fascinating was the insights these blogger offer into what Canada is all about. In fact, it all makes me a bit more homesick than usual. Here’s a bit from a Globe and Mail piece that Laura Kaminker wrote about their move North:

We left behind a large, affordable apartment, great jobs, good friends and nearby family. Waiting for us in Canada was a rented house and a small band of well-wishers we met through my blog (wemovetocanada.blogspot.com). We clutched our résumés, our faith in ourselves and our sense of adventure.
What would we find? Other than Tim Hortons and Don Cherry, the new coins and the new spellings — would it all be pretty much the same?
We knew life in Canada would be different, if only for how we see the United States: foreign wars for profit; unchecked poverty and its twin, rampant violence; increasing government intrusion into citizens’ personal lives; media controlled by the government, and a government controlled by religious fanatics; a corrupt, antiquated election system.
But contrary to what some Canadian cynics say, Canada is not only defined as “not the United States.” Its identity is more subtle than that of the U.S., but then, it’s a more subtle country. Canada doesn’t go around thumping its chest declaring itself The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth. Canada speaks more quietly.
I think when Canada speaks, it uses “we” more often than “I.” One might sum up the difference between the U.S. and Canada as individualism vs. community. Of course, both countries have both, but there is an unmistakable difference in emphasis.
The most obvious example of this is national health insurance. Ensuring that every person has access to basic health care requires some sacrifice from everyone — and that’s a trade-off most Canadians willingly accept. Despite whatever problems the system may have, the vast majority of Canadians agree that everyone must contribute toward this greater good.

I’m looking forward to catching up on this blog and to reading it regularly. It got my vote in the blog awards, too.