i applied for both US lottery and permanant residence for Canada, when i just win in the lottery , i hjust forget about canada, i was an old f1 student in US for 5 years
Since we are about differences:
Canada vs USA:
weather : Canada is pretty much a cold country... Appart of Wester british columbia, Canada is cold (Toronto climate is kind of like Detroit). Montreal winter... Crazy long... forget about the rest of Canada.
Usa weather is way more diverse... even Boston - Montreal, the difference is huge during the winter... and starting mid-May, boston is very hot... Well, it also get very hot in toronto but not like Boston or worse... DC (a summer in DC is hell).
cost of living:
Sure medical bills are lower in Canada but if you take into account everything like gas price, sales taxes, cost of goods, clothing, furnitures ect... It is safe to say that USA is at least 30 to 40% cheaper than Canada to live in....
Phone plan : I will take the cheapest ... Metro PCS vs public mobile...
The standard plan with public mobile is 25$ + tx and you get:
unlimited call ... ONLY WITHING THE MONTREAL METROPOLITAIN AREA... You can not even call other part of quebec without extras charge and if you leave Montreal... NO SIGNAL...... and with that price, you do not have the voicemail nor the internet and crappy phones... (If you get lucky like me, you could get a promotion for a year... but my wife has the exact same plan but no promotion so she is paying 36$ and no voice mail...)
Metro PCS:
You can call anywhere in the US except porto rico, Hawai & Alaska, works almost everywhere... For 40$ You have unlimited talk, text, 3G and 400mb 4g...
internet
... F for Canada here... the cheapest for unlimited here is 50$ per month only internet and 6mbs... (Slow) and only works in large metropolitain area... so if you live like right across Montreal, that plan won't be for you... You would have to pay 60$ for 15mbs and limited to 75Go per months...
clothes : There is a reason why Canadians cross the border to shop...
Safety / crime.. Canada all the way
Job opportunities...
USA hands down
housing...
draw