Leaving for Canada?

Now that the election is over, anybody moving to Canada?

Image: billdamon.com

(Pender Island, BC) - If Donald Drumpf became president, many Americans publicly declared that they would leave the country. How many have left by now (if any) or are making plans to actually leave, is not known.

If you are thinking of leaving, here are some points to consider:

1. Canada Is So Massive That the Eastern Tip of Newfoundland Is Closer to London Than It Is to Vancouver
2. Pay Attention to the Moose Caution Signs, Because Those Darn Animals Are Everywhere
3. Yes, Winter Ends in Canada; It Might Not Last Very Long, But Summer Is a Real Thing There, Too
4. You’ll Always Be Informed About the Weather, Because Canada Runs 229% More Weather Coverage Than Any Other Country in the World
5. You Will Need a Passport to Get in, Because Canada Is An Entirely Different Country
6. Canada Is Super Diverse; Forty Percent of the Population of Canada Is Neither British Nor French and the Country Is Home to More Than 200 Languages
7. The American Dollar Isn’t Accepted Everywhere, So Get Some Canadian Money
8. The Taxes in Canada Are Nuts; You Could Have As Much as 15% Extra Tacked Onto Your Bill as a Result of Federal Taxes
9. In Ontario and Quebec, They Drink Milk Out of Plastic Bags, And It’s Been That Way Since 1967
10. When You Walk Into a Store You Have to Announce Your Method of Payment Before You Actually Swipe Your Card and Get to Work
11. The Homicide Rate in Canada Is One of the Lowest in the World; Baltimore Has More Murders in a Month than Canada Does All Year
12. They Say ‘Sorry’ a Lot, Not As an Apology, But As a Way to Ensure Harmonious Interaction
13. You Can Use An American Driver’s License to Drive in Canada, But You Should Still Check Their Driving Laws, Because There Are Some Differences
14. The Slang Term ‘Canuck’ Isn’t Considered Derogatory
15. The Reason the White House Is White Was Thanks to British/Canadian Troops Burning the Original in the War of 1812; It Was Repainted to Hide the Damage
16. There’s Always a Line Somewhere, Because Canadians Understand the Value of an Orderly Queue
17. Remember When You Were Backpacking Through Europe and You Told Everyone You Were Canadian So You Didn’t Have to Fess Up to Your American-ness? Yeah, Canadians Hate That.
18. The National Sport Is NOT Hockey, It’s Lacrosse
19. Health Care Is Only Free For Canadians; If You Get Sick or Hurt, You’ll Still Need Health Insurance
20. The Border Between the US and Canada Holds the Record for the Longest Undefended Border in the World
21. The National Animal of Canada Is the Beaver, Which Are Extremely Common Throughout the Country
22. International Cell Phone Charges WILL Apply, So Make Sure You Figure Something Out With Your Phone Company Before Heading North
23. Some Canadians Claim They Beat America to Baseball By Three Weeks

I worked very closely for several years with Dr. Gary Deatherage, a Texas native who had served as a psychologist in Vietnam. The interesting thing, to me, was that he would never talk about his experiences there. He stayed in Canada and opened a private practice in British Columbia from which he recently retired.