Close Reading

If I was homeless I'd definitely be going to the temple rather than the homeless shelter to get my free lunch.

As someone born and living in Canada I'd love to live in Singapore. I'd pay a premium to live in a country where the government was run by serious people and there weren't deranged homeless people everywhere, there was law and order, pro capitalist laws, etc. Housing and living expenses are awful in Canada, but I'd honestly be fine with that if I thought it was worth living here, or I saw a future in this country. I'm not criticizing you for moving to Canada though. If you like it here I think that's great.

I'm Canadian. I was born here, raised here, and have lived here all my life. However, my parents are American (they came during the Vietnam war), and I have full dual citizenship. I could cross the border into the U.S., get a job, start working and live there for the rest of my life if I ever chose to do so.\n\nHowever, I will never live in the U.S. Why? The cost of healthcare insurance and healthcare in general is definitely a part of that, but another huge factor is the socio-political atmosphere down there that is very unappealing to me. Everything from politics, the gun issue, much higher violence than we have in Canada, more racism issues, the media, and from what I have observed from decades of visits to the U.S.: there just seems to be a lot more people that are on edge and hostile than I am used to compared to Canada as well. For me, the general culture and mindset is just not something I want to live amongst.\n\nThere are some things I enjoy in the U.S., and there ARE wonderful people there too. I have several friends in the U.S. (born and raised), not to mention my entire extended family is American. But for me, the U.S. is a nice enough place to visit, but it's not somewhere I'd ever want to live.\n\nNo matter what kind of trip I take to the U.S., whenever I get back home to Canada it's always like a deep sigh of relief. I feel safer. I feel more relaxed. I feel at home. No matter how good my trip was, when I set foot back on Canadian soil again I always get a feeling of humble gratitude that I live here. For me, other than the warmer weather and some of the sights the U.S. has to offer, I'm much, much happier in Canada. I feel very fortunate to live here.\n\nAs a side note, I have never found our public healthcare system here in Canada to be lacking whatsoever. Any healthcare I, or anyone else I know that has received any, has always been prompt, of excellent quality, and reassuringly delivered in a professional manner.\n\nAs an example, in 1994, my father had a seizure and it was discovered that he had a benign brain tumour that had to be removed. Not even a week later, he was booked for his surgery and he had his procedure. He was operated on by one of the top two neurosurgeons in North America at the time, he spent three weeks in recovery at the hospital, and he had months of rehab afterward. About 2 weeks later, he had another seizure (the last one he ever had), he stayed in another hospital for an additional two weeks.\n\nHowever, all of what I just mentioned, and I mean ALL of it, was paid for by our public healthcare system. All he had to do was show his healthcare card and sign a release form for his surgery, and that was it. Nothing more. There were literally ZERO bills, no insurance companies, no paperwork, no phone calls, and ZERO hassle. Nothing.\n\nAnd no, our family was NOT rich or privileged either. Just an average middle class family. However, my dad's neurosurgeon told us his surgery and all the months of care he received afterward would have cost $180,000 (in 1994!), and our family would have been out on the street if it wasn't for our healthcare system. My dad also had a very minor heart attack in 2007 which didn't require surgery, and he didn't have to pay a dime or do anything else other than show his healthcare card for that either. Since those two events, my father has lived a healthy, normal life thanks to our public healthcare.\n\nIn Canada, EVERYONE receives that kind of care, regardless of if they are a billionaire or they are homeless. Because that's the moral and ethical thing to do, and is just one of the many reasons why I plan on staying here.