Reply #4: Pretty good, IMHO...

[Hand]

We moved here from Boulder in 1990. Tough the first few years with a nasty recession, but the fact is that Canada's a kinder, gentler nation in most ways. We live in Nova Scotia, which is a beautiful province and noted for its hospitality.

People here--especially outside the city (Halifax)--are predominantly good natured and kind. The Atlantic provinces are the have-not area of Canada, but I've always said that money may be hard to come by here, but common civility is not!

One thing about Canada is that it's HUGE--bigger than the US, bigger than Russia, smaller than China--and mostly empty. The total population is 30 million, largely concentrated in urban areas near the border, sort of like Chile turned on its side. The rest of the country is substantially empty--forest, tundra, prairie, mountains. I think that makes people more relaxed and the pace of life slower (sometimes maddeningly so!).

The health care system is pretty workable--it takes a lot of money to keep it running and there are always problems, but overall I'd take over a US HMO any day.

Taxes are higher, but that's just because you pay for what you get... how do you finance universal health care? Answer: You pay for it. Duh...

Anyway, I hope that you don't have to move in November, and I (and my wife) will be among those helping to push Colorado into the blue.