Thinking of Moving to Canada? Think About Austin Instead
Posted by Brad Pauly on Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 at 4:19pm.
The upcoming presidential election has a lot of people thinking about moving to Canada. Recent polls indicate that as many as 28% of Americans have at one point considered a permanent move to Canada. Instead of high-tailing it for our Northern neighbors in November, we've compiled some reasons to consider moving to (or staying in) Austin instead.
Similar growing economy to Canada
As of 2015 surveys, the GDP of Texas is slightly higher than all of Canada. If Texas was its own country (#texit) its economy and GDP would rank in the top 15 of the world. Austin is at the top in terms of places in Texas with a growing economy, due to its 20 year tech boom that continues to encourage growth throughout the city.
Canada is hard to immigrate into
It's hard to immigrate into Canada if you're not a refugee, and unfortunately, political follies do not make you a refugee. Unless you have a sought after trade skill or family in Canada, (you can check here) it can be difficult to become a citizen. The job market in Austin however, is among the fastest growing in the country, and continues to grow. While housing prices are rising along with the new jobs, it's still far cheaper to live than San Francisco or New York City.
Better Weather
The weather here is better than Canada's. Even if you love the snow, dealing with feet of slush for months on end chills everyone to the bone. Austin's relatively dry heat and almost complete lack of winters makes living a lot easier virtually all year.
Texas has its own power grid
While the rest of the country is made up of one of two power grids, thanks to president Franklin Roosevelt and a desire for Texas's oil production to never stop, Texas has its own power grid to work with. What does that mean to you? It means that no matter what happens, the lights in Texas will always stay on for you, and often at more affordable electric prices than the rest of the nation and Canada.
You'll still have to pay US taxes in Canada
No matter where you go in the world, there's two things you can count on: death and taxes. Even if you leave the USA never to return, you'll still be prompted to file a US tax form every year, including for purchases of houses and other entities. At least Texas doesn't have a state income tax to worry about, unlike the Canadian provincial taxes you'll be paying.
Texas owns the Olympics
The USA would not have its substantial array of medals without the state of Texas. As a matter of fact, residents of the State of Texas itself have more medals than the entire country of Canada, and would rank 6th in the Olympics for medals if it was its own country. As of April 16, Canada has 2 gold, 2 silver, and 9 bronze medals. The University of Texas at Austin alone has gold medals from 6 alumni/students. Take that, rest of the world. Of course, if you still plan on moving to Canada after the election in November, Pauly Presley Realty will be here to help sell your Austin home. If, however, we've dissuaded you from a move up north, check out the many Austin houses for rent to help you find a suitable home in our great city.