Close Reading

There are just not that many options of places to live in the US that are good, especially if you don't want to be isolated. As an American I thought about moving to rural New Hampshire.. which doesn't have city problems, but still, kind of cold and isolating and they might have meth problems. I decided on Miami as a home-base, its expensive, but there aren't many other good options out there.. Living in another country is psychological hard after awhile and dealing with visa issues.. I thought about moving to somewhere like Budapest which is very nice, but if you aren't part of the culture or know the language, its hard.. Its better sometimes just to settle down somewhere, I can't get anything done as a nomad, constantly worried about where I am going to next, living in other people's apartment isn't always comfortable..

US immigration system is broken but it's still the best in western world if you are in engineering, mathematics and tech. I studied and worked in US, moved to India for personal reasons. I realized its difficult to adjust back in India, and US will never let me naturalize, so I moved to Canada. But Canada has hardly any jobs of its own, most of people in tech here work for American companies. In US, even an aerospace, biomedical, virology or genetic engineering person can find job in his/her field despite being on job visa, but in Canada its very tough. \nFew weeks back, I met an Uber driver who came to Canada 4+ years back, mechanical/automative engineer and was not able to find a job in his field despite no need for license with advance education and many years of relevant experience. He became Canadian citizen few weeks back, and guess what, he received 2 job offers in US and was moving to US on TN visa. \nI am myself working on something in Canada that is not my specialization. In US, I can get multiple messages from top government contractors for scientist/researcher positions, but I could not work for them as I don't have citizenship. In canada, despite being a PR, I know many experienced people who are forced to drive uber or do survival jobs.

Canada has another problem that you forgot to cover. Canada isn't an entrepreneurial nation like America. Canadians are less risk taking compared to Americans which means you can have an influx of immigrants but less jobs for them therefore they will leave back to their own countries again. Most of the top employers of engineers in Canada are foreign companies, not local. Salaries in America are high due to the immense labor competition for engineers as there are more startups and entrepreneurial people. \n\nThen in Canada they require certain Canadian certifications especially for doctors which isn't as bad as in the US. So you have some engineers or doctors that end up working low paid jobs since they would have to repeat school in Canada from an accredited Canadian university. I don't see this as a problem for the US at all because these immigrants aren't going to create new companies and are merely looking for a job. Canadians not being as entrepreneurial and not starting companies to compete for the talents of these professionals will just result in these professionals working out of the Canadian offices of American and Asian tech companies.\n\nOverall not a win or loss for America. Even if these guys end up working in the Canadian division of American companies, American companies will still have the benefit of their talent which is a win at a lower cost for the US companies.

As an American that immigrated to Canada, I got to skip a lot of steps by having my wife sponsor me. Becoming a Permanent Resident makes it where I can apply for citizenship within 3 years. Canada has a lot more problems than is advertised. Don't believe the hype. Its a solid developed country, but don't expect what you would in America or you'll be vastly disappointed.

This video is a joke with an agenda. If America let in people as easily as Canada did and in the same proportion to its population could it not end up having the same housing crisis? Besides that, the video pretends Canada is this amazingly superior place when it comes to immigration when the left wing government wants to bring people in in the hopes that they will mainly vote liberal. In America in the 2020 election which way certain states went (such as Pennsylvania) came down to immigration. People have done studies and found if they threw citizenship at certain people they'd be voting around 70% Democrat. Where the government sets these people up also determines election outcomes. I don't want to live in a country where the government values immigrants for voting purposes more than the native population. That is a subversion of democracy. Imagine being born in America and living there your entire life. There are politicians that feel no obligation to change your mind and win your vote. Instead they look at you and those like you as people that are to have to their votes negated/canceled out by forcing another amnesty of illegal immigrants. They would rather reward criminals for their crimes to win an election than actually make a case for electing them to law abiding American citizens.

As an American, I would have felt sorry for our strict immigration policies. Then I lived abroad and realized it's far more generous than where these immigrants are coming from. Work visa are more strict in other countries, the path to citizenship is denied, and property ownership is precarious. The Golden Rule should apply, treat immigrants to your country the way you want to be treated. Otherwise, don't complain and be grateful for the opportunity. Our immigration polcies should not change until it is reciprocated.

I'm American. The half a point for sleeping with shoes on I don't think is accurate. The only exception to that I can think of is if someone passed out drunk. I did agree with some of their points especially around education. Having a lawyer being an Uber driver should be looked at as a problem though unless it's purely their choice. I work about 70 to 80 hours a week and took three days vacation last year which is no life at all. Not feeling like I can afford to educate myself here gives no end in sight and if i save a dollar today it's worth 50 cents in ten years so retirement is also very hard here in the states.

As an American Catholic. I really ache living in these depressing suburbs. I don't know what fool thinks that living alone in a big house with a lot of land alone without either a religious community or large family with a lot of kids; is a 'good' idea. It's really lonely and boring, especially if you live with your folks without a car.

Tyler, with complete respect you DON'T get why we generally have no interest in moving to the US. You constantly talk about 'you just have to find the right place to live'. True of anywhere, but here the choice would be about preferences and afordability, NOT to avoid gun violence or shunning because of political views.\nThere is no where in Canada I could move to where gun violence would be a big factor to consider (we have rough places, and gun violence, but STRICT gun laws). Let me give you some perspective. In 2019 the USA had 37,038 gun related deaths. (No other causes of death- JUST all gun death). In Canada, in 2019, our death by illegal means (which does include suicide, as it is illegal) was 5,874. (That is for ALL types of homicide, not just guns). And the government was shocked by the increase that year and tightened gun restrictions further.\nYou talk about having certain States more Red or Blue. We aren't bi- partisan, so our politics are a melting pot. You might have people you disagree with everywhere you go, but you will also always find an equal group who thinks similar (unless your an extremist). And even the people who think different will generally agree to dis- agree. There is next to nowhere in Canada where your political views would get you run out of town. \n\nYou are USED to thinking like an American. (Fair, your American; I think like a Canadian) Trust me, as a Canadian, there are aspects of the accepted American culture (your country's way of life) that is boarderline terrifying to people here.

I have two brothers living in the states. The one in Wisconsin is my big brother and he means the world to me. He does have his foibles about race and he tolerates me bringing him to task for some of the things he's said. He was brought up in Kentucky. He seems to be seeing the light now. I have spent time with him and my sister-in-law, and my nieces and nephews in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana. We are close now despite being brought up worlds apart. My next oldest brother lives in West Virginia. I haven't seen him on over 30 years. He had a habit of moving without telling the rest of the family. I didn't know he had divorced and remarried. I worked for the Canadian Military as well as some of the American contingent where I worked. I had to renew information for my Security Clearance just after 9/11. He refused to give me any info because Rush Limbaugh was telling Americans the terrorists came to the U.S. from Canada (they actually were taking flight training in Florida). I suppose I could easily take up American citizenship since our mother had dual citizenship but I think I'll decline. I'm too much of a Canuck to change now. I don't think I could get used to politicians winning an election and immediately starting a new campaign. The process seems exhausting to always be bombarded with things politic. Here our electioneering is held to 6-8 weeks before the election and strict limits are placed on funding and contributions. Besides, I live in a small city of 58-60 thousand (North Bay, Ontario). In the close to 70 years that I've lived here, I can recall only 3 murders, so you'll under if I find mass shootings shocking and abhorrent and truthfully scary. I'm a little long winded today....Sorry.

Wtf does Canada have to offer more then the states ? \nNothing. \nNot a thing.. \nLiars will will tell you otherwise.. \nI promise Canada is falling. \nWho cares about the look we have .. actually living here is not as good. \nI make good money and can afford to live in Victoria bc. The most expensive area in Canada.. I currently live here for the last few years. Nobody can say it's better. \nI'm not bias because I'm broke.. or lack of the normal things people are concerned with.. \nOur government is horrible.. the American government is bad.. absolutely.. but Canada is a dictatorship in the making.. I want the fuk out with all my money and stuff I've made before they remove everything we own\nDon't believe what you hear. \nSchool shooting stuff is an excuse to say but we have just as much stupidity here..just hidden crimes. Don't believe what bias people say.. take a trip to see for yourself. \n..

I just love the propaganda effect t The news effect of it. Buying hotel rooms for illegal aliens to stay in? And for what? To take American jobs, and yall are worried about ai, a way to build up American dollars because it's worth more, to take it back to Mexico's economy instead of America's/American Indian's economy! I know how the game works. Before you know it our banks are closing, ma and pop's grocery store's closing, the gas station is an abc store and dry towns don't exist, the remaining jobs are being shipped over seas, until there goes America. When was this ever accepted?! Send forces. What I want to know is why aren't military troops shooting border jumpers? Hell might as well expand the borders to include South America since it's already the district of Columbia. At least then the money would still be going into America's economy.

Not that many people in the developed world are shopping for an alternative country. So I imagine most Americans and most Canadians will be content with their nation of birth. But as a Canadian, I have to admit I'm a bit scared of the US. The level of violent crime down there is such that _many_ (not all) people feel they need guns for personal security. American prison rates testify to a level of desperation and alienation that is _not_ appealing to me. I don't want to live somewhere where owning a deadly weapon seems like a sensible idea! Also, as a struggling creative/entertainment person, I can't guarantee I'll be consistently earning good money – there are plenty of lean times in my biz. I don't want to be repeatedly worrying about my health coverage disappearing, whenever work dries up. I've never had that type of anxiety in Canada, and I sure appreciate that. Btw, although the Canadian health system is a long way from perfect, I've always managed to get appropriate care, according to my needs, quickly enough, at no cost to myself. And currently, I really like my GP _and_ my specialists!

There are racists every where in the world its a sad but true fact. Western Canada in particularly has this problem within Canada. Alberta where she is located has a significant MAGA type presence of ignorant white supremacist and separatist types. They don't even like other white Canadians from other parts of the country. Canada as a whole though is far better than the US when it comes to acceptance of other cultures. As a Canadian I am sorry for this woman's familys experience, ignorance is not an exclusively American thing.

I pay 11.5% of my income directly to pensioners as a contract worker making less than 50K in 2023. At total tax rate of 26% all inclusive. I have to live at home, and I can't find a single job that isn't contract work, and I'm a designer who's worked with F500 companies. The best Canadian rate hourly is 30$, my American contracts have paid 135$ an hour. It's such a bad deal to be a Canadian millennial. Canada has two classes. The ruling pensioner elder class which makes up 60% of the country and everyone else that they've impoverished. Canada has poor pay, worsening living standards, extremely high white collar competition, few job prospects and a disintegrating social fabric. But somehow I think this is the story of the entire commonwealth right now. So that makes us no different, and I don't really believe the grass is greener among the G7 either.

So I am just wondering as an American why you Canadians don't have any ways to remove PM Justin Trudeau if your economy is getting worse? Because he's been there for decades.

As an American who is going blind hurts and badly has a tent on the street a wife I love and son my wife she is dieng my heart breaks for these people I don't even think they understand that America is not what they think but Lord hear these people forgive my selfish wants\n....... Yet as free will exists and the time draws nigh we did this to the people .......the world men love darkness rather then the light men in power have become corrupt greed on a massive level has destroyed this world in a little more then a hundred and fifty years tho there's always been wars and death and hell on earth but as a whole the earth kept on going yet we have taken and raped this earth for things and trinkits destroyed the rainforest the flood supply and given the young adults drugs and violence yet thell have the so called answer which consists of more death love one another people love one wnother if we don't who we'll and if you don't who we'll love you

And when i say the wall need to be built popple look at me like I'm racist like i am immigrant i was poor born in a port in God grace we manage to get our visa and passport, i am not even joking qhw. I'm saying one day we will only eat rice i know where I come from, war, dangerous street at night, just crazy stuff be happening like this is not right it doesn't matter how u look at it American as an immigrant yes there are certain i don't like about the country but what the hell is this.

Yes and if these people truly believed in God and Jesus they wouldn't run from their countries but actually stay on the ground and stand strong in their faith that God and Jesus are going to help them persevere through all this. As a fully disabled American citizen with a child that doesn't even get $1,000 a month and there's no available housing at all where I live no waiting list to go on people on SSI disability don't get any extra housing help we're not offered separate housing are put on separate lists and low-income Able Body people or the migrants jumping the Border but I was born and raised here paid taxes and worked until my body literally couldn't anymore but I don't hear anybody bitching and screaming and crying about the fact that my son and I would be on the streets if it hadn't been for one of my family members stepping up and giving his housing after a lifetime restraining order issued during my pregnancy on my son's biological do do with domestic abuse situation. I'm also US citizen that spent time in the Wards in Houston and projects and other cities and if you don't think that we don't have the same gun violence drug trafficking human trafficking gangs take it over cartels taking over neighborhoods and communities than you're freaking lying to yourself and everybody else. The same s*** that's taken over these countries is taking over the inner cities have been for decades and these are the same communities that most of these people will end up in. No it's not about not being good Christians part of being a good Christian is reminding people to stand their ground and have faith in Jesus and God and their own home territory and not to give it up to the crime people in the bad politicians. You can't say you believe in God and Jesus Christ and then he's got your back while you're running and that's the truth in the reality that nobody wants to hear the more people run from these countries the more the bad people are able to take over and then we get complaints here in the states about the cost attacks is rightfully so. For those people screaming and shouting that everybody should go out pick up in my grant and bring them home to their house and feed them and take them and I challenge you to do the same thing for homeless before you even do the migrant do homeless American citizens go out and really educate yourself because I'm totally tired of hearing from Americans that the only people that live on the streets are people with mental health problems that need mental health treatment or people that are stoned out and that's where they want to be you guys are so f****** wrong and this is coming from someone that met homeless people spent time around homeless people and understand we have a society that wants to paints a very different picture than what's truly going on because then it allows for hey it's not our problem they want to be there. I will say there's two I'm sure a lot of people are attracted to come into the United States I mean it's kind of turned into the Devil's Playground don't you think I mean look at how ostentatiously people live the projects on the backs of taxpayers selling dope holding down dead-end jobs to make it look like they're working all while going out and getting their hair did and their nails done and their eyelashes done and pimping out their cars and all that b******* and buying all this you know high-end tennis shoes and f****** clothing and Handbags and s*** and then we have the part of the United States that justified of themselves all the time or it's okay to have this huge palatial house or have multiple houses I'll we have United States veterans living on the streets or people that truly have disabilities that have been a waiting list for 2 and 3 years for housing. I remind people all the time and they hate hearing this s*** Jesus never had a house as a matter of fact Jesus basically live like a homeless person after he was an adult particularly and God made sure he was provided for. I mean did you all forget the night they came to take them away they were asleep in an Open Garden it wasn't like they popped up tents or glamper camper sites had some little Adobe type cabins they were sleeping in. As a matter of fact if you pay attention to most of the stories about Jesus and talking about him sleeping he does a lot of sleeping Outdoors. Remember God is a father that's how he's been represented and talked about in the Bible and Jesus was a man without a doubt no biological transgender question ability there. People need to remember that part of being a fair and loving. Is also teaching and discipline and these children following rules. I don't believe hearing God and Jesus telling all these people run from your countries and not have faith that I'm actually going to fix things for you and go run to somebody else actually go run to the United States where all those stuff is traveling through. I never understood the logic of that it's like rats run from the country where they're making the drugs to the country that supplying the globe with it and we're all of these bad people have thousands of people in planted everywhere with guns and hookups. I don't know why people don't understand that we have dirty lawn forcement in dirty politicians that are in bed with the dirty drug cartels that's as much as they are in the country. You don't think that there's not decisions made in the United States based on drugs and I'm not talking about how to put it into them but how to keep them flowing. I have Fred still in Florida and we were all making jokes about how quickly Sanibel Island all the way up to st. Pete got Mainland access so quickly after the last major hurricane that took everything down and we all know what it's from is because that portion of Florida is used to bring a lot of drugs in from South America, Central America. So for all of you that want to post your personal assumptions about homeless people because that's all it is unless you've actually been homeless or spent time around homeless you really have no clue what's going on in the homeless population except what you've been told by the same political talking head media bulshit that's been lying to everybody about a bunch of other stuff too. Don't you get it the politicians don't want people knowing that a lot of the people that are homeless on the street are people that are disabled and aren't disabled because they have mental health problems I know that's the narrative they've been trying to stuff down people's throats.

It's interesting hearing the perspective of foreigners speaking about your country. I really don't agree with a lot of this as an American

As a dual citizen, there are so many things that's incorrect about this video. First of all, to make it an apples to apples comparison, I see no attempt to adjust the comparison by population. There is no point comparing Montreal (where I have lived) vs. Columbus, Ohio. Montreal is roughly 1.7 million people or 4 million metro. The correct comparison would be something like Boston. Similarly, there is no point comparing Montreal vs. LA in terms of geographical spread when LA is more than three times the size. So of course your commute will be different.\n\nComparing Montreal to Boston for example, Boston is very very compact. Yes, Montreal does have better food options than Columbus or your random rural suburbs. It doesn't come even close to similarly sized American cities. It's the same reason for example that one doesn't compare San Francisco for example, against London, Ontario. It's a pointless comparison.\n\nAdditionally, the claim that the worst part of Canada is better than the best part of America is laugahble. There is no truly terrible neighborhoods in Canada compared to American ones (where you can tell if you're in a bad neighborhood), but Canadians can't even imagine the wealth and prestige of the best parts of America, let alone compare with it. The wealthiest don't live in downtown New York (where they maintain their work residence), they live in Montauk. They don't live in downtown Boston, they live in Newton or Weston. The most affluent parts of Canada like Bridle Path/Rosedale (Toronto), Westmount (Montreal) or North Vancouver would look like abject poverty by comparison.\n\nOh, let's not also forget other factors for being in the US. The median household income in Canada is $67,000 Canadian. The median for the US is $69,000 US. The typical American is far wealthier than the typical Canadian. Anybody who tried to buy any goods (or services) in Canada and compared their choices in the US, it's not remotely comparable. Of course, the usual, taxes.

As an American who lived abroad half of his life, and has come back to the states a few years ago, I can confirm that every pro and con brought up in this video is 100% true, although I don't really agree with Preach's opinion on American women, but other than that everything else, the food, the tap water, shit being hella spread out, the opportunities, just all of it was pretty spot on. I still love the US, I feel like my life has greatly improved since coming back, but there are things I miss from abroad.

To confirm as an American. Yes, it seems like everyone wants to put hot sauce and cheese on everything and it's annoying. The tap water here is bad unless you get it from the fridge or have a filter. Here in Arkansas, I think our spring water is great.\n\nRegarding the city and getting around to restaurants and other areas, pretty much. A good portion of our factories are on acres of land. However, some are still close enough that you can walk to. I'm certain this is hardly different from Canada but we are 97% rural. People think of America as big cities but usually its the local town and a pumpkin patch. When Aba said America is like 40 different countries, he ain't wrong. \n\nFirearms is ingrained in our culture. That's a given. I see a lot of people mention safety and this is what I can say; I felt my safety was compromised by a tornado warning. Trouble can happen but if you don't deal drugs or do some under the table stuff, usually you won't be a victim of a crime. \nI'm planning on owning some land myself so I can shoot on it, farm, and raise a family. Just be independent.

As an American who now lives in Japan, Yes! to all of this. I don't think we realize how draining it is to live in that type of environment and the toll is takes over time. I lived in a studio apartment in Chicago that costed the same as a 2 bedroom here, maybe less. I had to work 2 full time jobs to pay rent and other utilizes. I rarely socialized with my friends or went out to do anything. And I thought that was NORMAL. That's crazy thinking back on it now. Also I'm a lot less paranoid in Japan then I was in the States due to safety reasons.

I would still take our medical system over the American system without a second thought. Though I would be in favour of a parallel paid tier that's integrated with the public tier so that the public tier benefits from the profits and investments.\nRegarding financial technology, the perspective here is slightly short sighted, although to some degree, I agree. Compared to the US we have had debit (Interac) at retail point of sale since the late '80s/early '90s, and email money transfers (Interac eTransfer) since the late '90s/early '00s, long before the US had anything comparable such as PayPal, and apps like CashApp or Venmo effectively have no marketshare in Canada because of the long history of having email money transfers.\nLastly, for the cell phone plans, you are 100% correct, though we still don't have true unlimited, and only on plans including 5G service. However, there are some mitigating factors such as the high ratings of the network quality and stability for all major cell carriers despite wide swaths of our geography having little to no population and rugged topography. It's not an easy country to cover properly or reliably without it being expensive. Though Canadian telecom and cableco profits are through the roof, as are those of the big 5 banks. We definitely need more competition, though I'm not sure foreign companies coming in are the way to go with this.\nAlso, technologically speaking many important technological and scientific R&D is being conducted here and innovations are made here all the time, but in many ways, these companies get traction outside of Canada long before they get traction here.

You're not correct about the Quebec government banning the hijab - actually they ban all forms of religious expression in clothes worn at work by public servants - so don't criticize us unless you get the facts straight. All countries are facing public health crisis especially in the aftermath of a global pandemic, you mention how long it could take to get an MRI - weeks/months, but it's no worse than in the UK, or other western countries. I do agree with you about limited competition in banking and tech - but we're still a young and growing country, however, look at the global recession that took place in 2007 - Canada was least affected by mortgage default, the US was hit the worst and hundreds of thousands had their homes foreclosed by the Banks, yet in Canada because of our strict banking policies we were saved and the Banks worked with defaulters to try to keep their homes. Taxes, well most countries require you to file your own taxes at the end of the year - what's so strange about that? Yes sales tax is added onto the sales price depending on what province and what you are purchasing, same as US, just because it's not the same in Europe doesn't mean it's worse! Listen, when you're a newcomer to any country you need to fit in when looking for a job, put in the effort, take the time, do the work, any country is going to expect you to be able to speak the language and know the lingo, so I don't agree with your analysis that Canadians are risk adverse! You are 100% correct about the housing crisis, listen it's been going on everywhere for decades, and international investors in the past 10 years or so woke up and noticed that Canada was a great bet for investment, so the problem got really bad. The government just passed a 2 year moratorium on non Canadians buying real estate - as have many other countries, so fingers crossed no more new foreign landlords just regular Canadians buying their first homes, let's hope so!! I've lived many years in Europe - and I loved it! But the quality of life in Canada is better. If you don't live in the crowded city you can have a nice property with lots of space, good roads, not bad school system, very friendly and helpful people. Quebec has some of the best food on the North American continent, we have clean air and lots of water in Canada - I'm very happy here, so don't be so negative please!

Tbh being an indian I thought american are open minded and good looking but look this women she's neither a good looking and her behaviour is 0/10 that's true american, Australia Canada they don't like immigrants specially indian who probably gonna steal Thier jobs but she should respect him whether he is american or not, I was planning to move america but I say no to my company I feel much better here in india, beautiful indian girls well know cities and streets and my fav food I'm not gonna leave my india even I got million dollar job I probably got 60perecent less but cost of living is also 60 percent less I have a american online friend and she literally know nothing about india Becoz what the outsiders shows the indian image is just like cows, slums and poverty and that's not Thier bad we are on highest developing rate and sonner we all get developed and india is a home of good doctors engineers singer arts and many more personality humans and we are second largest english speaker may be my English is not good but yeah I working very fine with my american teammates and they never complainant about my accent what they want just a quality work as long as I'm doing good job they will gave me dollor that's it and I love america becoz america have many more good things I just take the advantage of those things and I worked with american guys and they are not racist even my company believes in diversity they launch different things being working inside the office with educated people u never feel racism but in streets u can find racism even in india I'm not saying 100 percent indian are good but yeah for me I will argue with them if I see any this kinda activities even most Americans will do the same racism is everywhere but america is land of multirace country that's why there is more

I'm a Dominican and I do not believe in racism but people actions are to blame. I was a security guard and I overwhelmingly caught 49 African American and 2 latinos so as a latino I don't discriminate I just observe the way people act in public..misjudge an individual for the mistakes of others is wrong

I actually think Janelle Monae included those characters to make a point. I don't think it gives them a pass. the lyrics of the song even speak about the issue. This is my perspective as an African American. I appreciate the perspective, but I think a message was actually being sent. This does make me want to learn more about how racial scenarios play out in Canada - we share a continent, but the cultures are difference.

Look it took me 5 ir 6 swipes to get back to the top of the comments, so let's be honest with each other here. RACISM is real and EVERYWHERE. Some just hide it better, others don't recognize that they, are sadly but truth is... As an American Citizen and Veteran, I use to wonder why so many family members and former soldiers would stay overseas after the military. That is till it was my turn..! I had my culture shock on my return to the States, I had gotten use to being judged on my merit and personality there instead of my color here. Hey, we even discriminate against our own race at times. Life is, What YOU Make It and How YOU Take It... Canada isn't as bad as here and other places I've been.

growing up in canada, i felt left out in the blk community b/c i am a 5th generation blk cdn on mom's side and 3rd on my dad's - when other black ppl not canadian born met me - i tell them i'm cdn, but i always used to get the question - where are you really from - they were looking for me to say the islands - when i told them my paternal grandma was born in 1901 in canada - that's when the questions stopped. i've been told that b/c i wasn't from the islands, i had no culture in college, but a mbr of the black student society put him in his place i heard he got into a lot of trouble. i was asked what do we eat as in food as canadians what kind of music do we listen to - at our blk canadian weddings, the only carribean song played was hot hot hot by arrow - we played straight up r and b and motown. i hv been rejected by other blk men b/c i'm not west indian enough...it was hurtful. even with 'friends' they made of my cdn heritage but i used to think, why are you making fun of me knowing that my family and ancestors were in canada first - they were 1st generation - i live in the usa now and i'm with an african american man - he has never treated me as if i were different and he loves going w/me to canada. my parents told me it was jealousy on those ppl's parts - one guy i used to be friends with in college, when i went to his house, his mom was from the islands, when she met me - she said, 'you cdn ppl are loud' and that did it for me - i didn't date her son but when he met my parents, they never said any of that crap to him. in the usa, the african americans don't treat differently at all - my ex mom in law thought we were american but decided to live in canada - b/c she was surprised that blacks do live in canada. her other daughter in law's family were from the islands - but she gravitated more to my family and felt comfortable around them more than her family and this ex sis in law would brag about the islands this and that and she would make comments about my looks being skinny and such but it was jealousy - i didn't care much for her b/c she was very insecure. i felt once again, i was a young girl in college again - being around island ppl....i would love to meet drake and ask him did he feel left out and isolated because he wasn't from the islands - he makes me very proud being a blk canadian - his dad is african american and his mom is jewish. i still hv dealt w/racism not much with wht ppl, but with my own ppl - which is quite sad and on top of it-colorism, that also played a part from my family - being called pygmy, chocolate dip, nappy hair - it hurt but these so called relatives, they aren't all that anymore, they had hard lives as children...when ppl see something in you that is special and they don't have, that's when their ugliness shows -