How does it feel to live in Canada? Here are 8 heartfelt answers to this question

I’ve heard about it, heard all the stats, and the benefits of immigrating to Canada, but I want to know what it feels like to live there – Anonymous.

A Quora question illuminated the most important question many potential immigrants to Canada are asking, and that is: How does it feel to live in Canada?  Quora is a “…question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by its community of users.”
With a life-changing choice before you of whether to leave your home country and immigrate to a new and unknown land, sometimes reading about the amenities, job opportunities, human capital scores and such is just not enough. Sometimes you just want to know what others feel about the place you are thinking about making your new home.

So, how does it feel like to live in Canada?

It feels like 1 second before you sneeze.

Mike Andrews, a “Canuck who got confused and moved to California”, writes a wonderful answer to this question:

“I live in California now, but I have 30 years (plus visits) that qualifies me to answer this question. Also being away awakened my senses to what it feels like to live in Canada.
That tingling feeling carries over into so many other things:

• Diving into one of our thousands of lakes (without putting a toe in first)
• Drinking water from a river
• Hearing the noise your feet make while walking down the street when it first ices over.
• Hearing ice crackle on tree branches
• Having friendly discussions outside (complaining about the weather) with your 5 neighbors whom are originally from 5 different countries and 5 different shades of skin colour.
• Witnessing a parent vs. children ice hockey match (on a lake/pond)
• Experiencing “perfectly cold”. You can get by wearing a sweater, but your nose still gets runny.
• Watching the snow of the roof of the car in front of you, launch towards your windshield.
• Eating Poutine, Timbits, Beavertails, Nanaimo bars, ketchup chips and a Mr. Big bar.
• The first day restaurants open their patio’s
• The day the temperature goes over 5 degrees Celsius (Canadian for “short and t-shirt weather).
• 1st of July celebration/fireworks in front of the Parliament Building on Wellington street in Ottawa.
• the outdoors is always less than 30 minutes in any direction.
• It’s a place where you can just be yourself, without being judged. Where the weekend is truly a weekend and friends are truly your friends.”

It’s the small things you will notice

Matt Musselman is originally from the USA but has lived in Canada since 2004. He writes:

“It’s the little day-to-day things: the different spellings and pronunciations, a slightly different way of dressing than Americans or Europeans, a parliamentary system of government that differentiates it particularly from the US, an obsession with hockey (and in some places CFL football, curling, or lacrosse), an affinity for Tim Horton’s which after 10 years I still don’t quite get. . . .

But I think Canadians embrace these things because they are a set of culturally neutral values that anybody can adopt and don’t depend on where you were born, who your parents are, or how you grew up. You see a lot of European countries struggling with this as they become more diverse, because previously their culture was defined by having an Italian name, or being Danish, or speaking French natively, and those things naturally exclude new arrivals. But in Canada, anyone can order a steaming plate of poutine (possibly even with shahi paneer sauce on it), turn on the hockey game, and have a great time.”

Feel like a global citizen

Rony Gao moved to Canada from China and has settled in Toronto. He writes:

“To summarize my feeling with Canada: living in this country makes one feel as close to being a global citizen as any country on this planet could possibly do. It’s first-world, English-speaking, and multi-cultural. More importantly, the national identity of Canada is inclusive, and “compatible” with one’s other identities and cultures. Canada encourages integration, but not necessarily assimilation.

There are a number of barriers that new settlers need to cope with, such as language (if different from your own), long winters, and the reliance on cars for personal transportation (in most parts of Canada). Once you get used to these things, life is enjoyable. “

The people are nice, and it’s not fake

Fernando Ortega, a student from Mexico who now lives and works in Vancouver, Canada, writes:

“Canadians are some of the nicest people I have met, they are very polite, sometimes too polite. A few weeks ago, a guy on the street helped us with the car because our battery drained. After a few attempts he went home and took his classic porche’s battery and lent it to us so we could keep going (it was given back)). At some point he even apologized for taking so long in figuring out what was wrong.

It is part of their culture to be polite, sometimes people will actually fake it just because it seems rude not to be polite, but in most cases it is genuine.”

Middle Class Heaven

Bill Boland, a third generation Canadian writes:

“To answer your question: it feels good to live in Canada. It is one of the best countries to live in for the middle class, as most essentials are public and universal. Our educational systems are easy to finance and are ranked among the best globally. Even our cold winters cannot dampen how I feel about living here.”

If America and Europe got together…

Mike Bowerbank, is a Canadian. “And I don’t say “eh?” he ads. Mike wrote the following:

“We are a northern version of the United States except with European sensibilities. What Canada does better than anyone in the world is diversity. The two most diverse and ethnically mixed cities in the world are in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver, respectively).

What makes us Canadian is a set of shared values. Hey, true, not everyone buys into those values, but the old guard is dying out and each new generation brings more diversity and more open attitudes. So how does it feel living in Canada? The word I would use is “joy”.”

It’s a good decision for the next generation

Elle Wilson, whose family has been in Canada since the 1700s is grateful to her ancestors, and writes:

“As a Canadian I can tell you that I enjoy living here. We have our problems just as any country does of course but I feel it’s a reasonably secure country with reasonable freedom of choice, a diversity of cultures to enjoy, a HUGE “backyard” to play in, fairly good tolerance levels in dealing with each other, low levels of crime, a decent safety support network and good levels of education. I also like the fact that we are not completely insular… it’s very common for Canadians to have a passport and to go abroad.

A lot of Canadians also speak 2 or 3 languages thanks to the multitude of ethnic groups that have come to make a home here.
While I appreciate how wonderful other countries are, I can honestly say that I feel extremely fortunate to be the beneficiary of my ancestors’ decision to pull up roots and make the long journey here. I think they made a great decision. ;)”

You’ll have time to live, not just work

Alan Dillman is realising how lucky he is to live in Canada. He writes:

“Despite having a similar age, interests, and income as an American friend of mine, I am often reminded how much more free I am to just do stuff. Go places. Spend a bit of money on things I don’t need. Eat new foods.
Apparently, I pay more taxes? So what? I pay less time.”

“The tedium of peace in Canada is more or less relentless.” – Bill Bell

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