I totally disagree with Carrier's views, in fact much of his post is like reading the Daily Mail ... very one-sided and selecting small exceptions to the rule in order to prove a point.
I heard similar stories before I moved out but found the tax system to be much more favourable and way better value for money than the British system. Those figures of how much tax you pay don't take into account things like fuel tax, city tax, capital gains tax etc... all of which are higher in the UK and you get less back for it. I remember asking my employer how much tax would be taken from my paycheck so I could figure out how much I could afford in rent - I'd heard the usual BS on places like here about straight 50% tax in Canada - it turned out to be better than the UK. Most Canadians who complain so bitterly about the cost are mostly comparing it just to the US and have never lived anywhere else.
A few years ago I did the calculation and took EVERYTHING into account (pretty much EVERYTHING I spend money on in a typical year). I based it on a typical experienced engineer's salary with typical mortgage, housing, car (inc gas/petrol), heating, city/council tax, maximum RRSP (pension) contribution and food expenses with a little left over each year for holidays & fun and my tax rate in Britain was a little over 10% higher. It was ~45% in the UK, ~35% in Canada.
As I say, it's about value-for-money, if you call the cops they come, we have better healthcare, the cities are kept fairly clean, petty crime is low and public services are damn good. Plus people on public transit actually talk to one another!
Wanting to come here to find work as a pilot, now that's a different story - expect minimum wage if you're lucky.
I'm out of work at the moment so life isn't easy for me right now - but I still think I'm way better off being here than in the UK.
Last edited by v6g; 23rd Oct 2009 at 05:48.