Emigration

I'm not saying to let the health care system dissuade you from living here. There are plenty of good things here, especially if you can find an area of the country that suits you. Just don't delude yourself that our system is in anyway comparable to the NHS, even on its worst day.

Yeah, I get you, and I don't think that at all. I'm really not looking at this like a young, naive school leaver. I'm just starting to look into it now and find some things out etc. I just don't like to let risk of bad things happening to be the main factor in how I decide what I want to do, and I'm certainly not the type to run off half-cocked into something like this, so I appreciate the responses here.

That's my problem, I'm an eternal pessimist. I always find a million and a half reason not to do something

Plus, as soon as the conversation turned to health care systems, I'm caught on the shit-end of that stick, so it's something I tend to get vocal about.

When my 2 year old daughter tripped over the rug at the beginning of summer this year we took her to an in network hospital. (meaning, our insurance will pay for it) They called the plastic surgeon in, since it was on her face. He came in, stitched about 6 stitches into her forehead (and couldn't even tell me how many, when I asked he said "a few, I wasn't counting.") He was there for less than 45 minute from walking in the door to the hospital to walking out.
We had a follow up visit a week later where he told me how to remove the bandage. He didn't even look at it. We were in his office for less then 10 minutes.
The bill for HIS services (i.e. not the hospital, etc JUST HIM) was $8750.00. Our insurance company deemed his work worth $2300 and paid him that. He tried to get us to pay the balance. After a lot of back and forth the insurance company paid him the balance.
You have to have the guts to fight for what's right when it comes to insurance here. They really try to screw you any way they can. And by they I mean both the insurance companies and the Doctors. (there are decent Doctors out there though!)

As for the expense of it, our plan is worth over $20K/year. And we still pay $100 copay for ER visits

Mainly free (well, paid for by tax dollars, of course). You have to be here for 90 days before you are covered in Ontario, not sure about the rest of the country. Drugs are not included, nor are dentists, optometrists, and I'm sure a few other things I have no experience with. I read a lot about wait times and whatnot, but the only time I've ever seen or experienced obscenely long wait times is when a true emergency takes priority over non life threatening stuff, which only makes sense. I'm sure others probably have experienced otherwise, however. All in all, I am happy with our health care system - it has its flaws, sure, but certainly beats the shit out of having no insurance, or having to pay an asston of money for what I consider to be a basic human right.

I had a republican want to learn more about the cost of our healthcare so I mapped out our tax system for her. She was FLOORED to discover that we actually pay less in taxes - 'cept for sales tax. And for me to spend enough to make up the difference between the taxes and the amount we pay for our insurance here in the US I'd have to spend somewhere around a quarter of a million dollars every year. (And that makes the hugely erroneous assumption that 100% of our taxes go to healthcare.)
I don't have that kind of buying power.

Sounds very similar to the UK really. What's the weather like there?

I'd second most off of that. The cities are good recommendations if you like big, cosmopolitan cities. If you prefer countryside, America does that well, too.

I should also add that this woman shit on the Canadian healthcare system, yet had no problem sending her daughter to a Canadian medical school.

Indeed. Some areas even have them just a short drive apart - for example Philadelphia is but a short drive from a large part of NJ's farm country.

McGill? That's where they all seem to end up

People shit on our healthcare system because that's what they've been trained to do. They've been told by their politicians that we're all dying because of wait times, and that nobody knows what their doctor looks like because they can never get in to see them. It's all bullshit.

Right now, pretty fricking chilly. On Sunday, we were wearing shorts. Gotta love that Canadian weather, you never know what you'll get! Except a chillier winter than in most places. We don't all live in igloos though

Canada does sound good from what I have heard from some friends as well. I'll definitely have to check it out some time.

Is it possible for people from the UK to become mounties though? If it is, I'm sold!

How'd you guess.

i emigrated from the uk in about 1985 ce, a victim of thatcherism and sick of the violence and chavs in manchester. somehow i settled in germany, 17 years in berlin and now in bielefeld. for eu members it has a lot to recommend it, especially the healthcare system. germans get a lot of bad press, but i was never part of an "expat" community and met many good people here. not sure how berlin is now, i moved away about five years ago, but as big cities go, it's pretty exceptional - cheap, safe, plenty to do, etc. i actually kind of miss it sometimes, but the decision to move had to do with lifestyle changes (eg looking after my partner's mother now). it helps if you learn the language!

I went to the ER earlier this month. A feral cat scratched me and I should've just stayed home. A lot of the sites I read said that "Any wound that breaks the skin should be checked out." In hindsight, I learned that there is a lot of disinformation on the subject.

I went in and got the wound checked. They did a standard monitoring procedure which took about five minutes. I went into another room and waited while someone else took information. Then the doctor came in and said basically there wasn't any problem. He wanted me to sign a release stating that it was just a standard screening procedure so that I "would save some money." They were trying to get me to pay a $50 fee, which I didn't understand because I then pulled my medicaid card out and they said they didn't need it. They just ended up not taking the fee.

Today, I got a bill in the mail for $400! This was in the space of 15 minutes and no work done on their part.

Now, I'm going to have to call and haggle endlessly about it.

Will be a handycap or an after-effect (not worse enough for officially disable) huge problem on the processes for emigration?

Im a Brit who moved to Canada earlier this year. In my case it was because my wife is Canadian (in fact we met on SG 4 years ago )
My suggestion would be to visit various places & get a feel for them, decide what you want from the town/city you will end up in.
Just expect the whole process to take a looooong time. You get an impression from tv & movies that all you have to do is show up at the airport & you'll be welcomed in straight away. The reality is somewhat different to say the least.
I can only speak for the Canadian system as I've been through it. But unless youre applying via the "family class" section (which is actually pretty straightforward....as long as you have enough evidence your relationship is real...my application took 6 months) expect it to take years.
Canada especially is difficult to get into. Basically unless you have a good quality degree, 5 years experience in a "needed" skilled job or the same in a "professional" field then don;t even bother applying! It will be a waste of time & money...you'll be refused almost as sson as you mail in the paperwork. Even if you DO have one of those things you're not sure to get in. It depends on how many other applications from people with similar qualifications have been accepted that year.

That being said if you do have the right qulifications then I can highly recommend British Columbia, it really is one of the most beautiful places on the planet
My house is surrpounded by a forest, theres a provincial park within 5 minutes drive,I've seen a family of black bears just 2 minutes walk from my front door there's a river thats home to a salmon run every year within walking distance, whales can regularly be seen just of the coast.
Thats just a few of a long list
Basically if you're an outdoors kinda person you'll fall in love with the place as I did on my first visit

Looking at the Canadian system vs the U.S. system, Canada is significantly easier process. They take all the paperwork at once, and is fairly straight forward. We went through the U.S. family visa process and I don't wish it on anyone.