An American 🇺🇸 recently asked me: how does it feel living in Canada 🇨🇦 and not being able to defend your family because of Trudeau’s gun laws? There is so much to unpack here. 

1. Because you have a plan in case of a home invasion? I doubt it. It’s easy to find Americans who will crow about what they would do if someone kicked their door in, but I’d say very few have an actual self-defense plan (beyond a surveillance system and a handgun). Sure, the US may have the most privately owned guns, but very few of them actually have a home defense plan. Home invasions overwhelmingly happen in cities and suburbs, and it just so happens that urban and suburban Americans are terrible at teaching their children gun safety. Therefore most of their guns are locked up. Unavailable in a home defense situation. I really think most Americans would not know what to do in the event of a home invasion. So in that regard, I can’t really agree that there’s much difference between the US and Canada.

2. Because gun laws in Canada were so lenient before Trudeau? Let’s face it: Canada’s gun laws were already strict and stupid before Trudeau. Trudeau’s only contribution was the confiscation announcement, which as everyone knows has been all talk. It’s been four years and all they’ve collected have been polite refusals from provinces and police departments alike. We have no intention of confiscating guns. We don’t have the manpower. It’s not in our constituents’ best interests. More on gun confiscations later.

3. Gun-control advocates love guns too. That’s right: as loudly as pro-gun people crow about what they’ll do to anyone who tries to take their guns, the gun-control advocates are just as loud when they decry American “gun culture”. But the truth is they love guns, too. That’s right: because without them nobody would be able to enforce their busybody policies. You see, legislation is nothing more than busybodyism, the constant tweaking of policy—trimming the sails, so to speak—to keep society peaceful, orderly and prosperous. (Never mind that society is most peaceful, orderly and prosperous when you don’t have a bunch of busybodies experimenting with other people’s lives, which again is all politics really is.) You see, rarely do you ever hear someone say, oh, you want to get rid of guns. I agree. You first. Oh, no, they don’t really want to get rid of guns, do they. So yes, gun control people, if you were being truly intellectually honest, you’d admit that you secretly love guns, as long as they’re only in the hands of the policy enforcers.

4. Canada is actually poised to set an example to the world of what gun confiscation in the 21st century would look like—all you need is (1) a non-native police force and (2) just enough political will. The former is already in place. See, Americans have this Hollywoodized fantasy about gun confiscations that goes a little something like this: Oh, we know Sheriff Jimmy from high school; he’ll never try to confiscate our guns. But the reality is, 21st Century governments aren’t that dumb. No, they fill the ranks of their police forces (or “services” as they euphemistically call them up here) with cops that were born in every nation under the sun. And foreign-born cops will of course have no compunction about following a gun confiscation order. The latter is almost there. But given that Canada is in the midst of a drastic swing to the right—as is much of the rest of the world—the emergence of adequate political willpower to begin massive gun confiscations could be delayed by a few years. Or not. A(nother) bad enough mass shooting incident Could be enough for the gun confiscation to take place under the next administration. In fact, that’s my prediction. Trudeau goes down in history as saying he’s going to do it. But all he did was take credit—or blame—for instituting the policy. The next guy’s going to be the one who does it. Probably after campaigning on a platform of rolling back gun control legislation. Just requires enough of a false flag event.

5. How does all this help me in my new country, you ask? Notice that I have not mentioned the US Constitution, gun rights, self-defense, concealed-carry, school shootings/mass shootings, pharmaceuticals, or non-gun violence. Nor have I even expressed an opinion about guns or gun control. I would advise steering clear of all those mine-field issues. Avoid gun debates whenever possible, but if you must, best stick to driving home the point that gun-control advocates aren’t actually anti-gun. No, it’s better to stick to practical matters. “What's your home defense plan?” What are the gun laws in your new country? Is “self-defense” a dirty word? (You’d better never say it in Canada.) Have you thought about non-lethal means of home defense? Does your new home country have anything resembling good old-fashioned castle doctrine? (Probably not.) Does your new country practice civil law or common law, and how does that affect you? 

6. Rather than take a deep dive, here are some resources that address the gun and self-defense laws in some popular countries that Americans and Canadians like to move to.

   1. 🇲🇽Mexico

      1. Gun Laws in Latin America’s Largest Economies Although there is one glaring factual error. The article states there is only one gun store in Mexico; there are actually two gun stores in Mexico. 

      2. You can have a gun for home defense, which is great, but there’s pretty much no scenario wherein you’ll avoid jail if you carry on your person or in your car.

   2. 🇧🇿Belize

      1. Guns and self defense in Belize Now I really love this newsletter and have subscribed for years. I don’t know anything about this particular writer, though. 

      2. Gun ownership is legal, but it’s not a right. Getting a conceal-carry permit is apparently doable if you have the right residency status and the right reasons. 

      3. No, they won’t likely let you bring all your guns from abroad.

   3. 🇨🇷Costa Rica

      1. Costa Rica Gun and Self Defense

      2. You can keep a gun in your home for self defense—if you can get your hands on one. 

      3. Pepper spray is OK to carry and is readily available.

   4. 🇪🇸Spain

      1. Gun ownership in Spain

      2. Bottom line: forget about ever owning a gun in Spain. Or defending yourself with anything—baton, pepper spray, crossbow, anything else you can think of to keep in your home. 

   5. 🇵🇹Portugal

      1. Article from a Substacker who clearly knows so little about guns she thinks that “semiautomatic” actually means something.

      2. Self-Defense had better not be your reason when you apply for a permit. Just as in Canada, and most places in the world, you should never utter the phrase “self-defense”.

      3. Sounds like you even need a license to get pepper spray.

   6. 🇮🇹Italy

      1. You can use a gun to defend your home. I know a lot can happen in five years, but apparently Italy relaxed its stance on home defense back in 2019.

      2. Here’s a great article debunking the widely held misconception that only the US and Switzerland have a “gun culture”, per se. 

   7. 🇮🇪Ireland

      1. Government has an FAQ

      2. Paintball guns are considered firearms.

      3. Pepper spray is totally illegal.

      4. The article leaves out a few things, like how many you can have.

   8. 🇦🇺Australia

      1. Australia enacted a massive gun confiscation scheme very similar to the one Trudeau has announced in Canada, but which has yet to be implemented.

      2. Like many common law jurisdictions, don’t ever cite “self-defense” as your reason for owning anything. 

      3. Unlike in Canada it is not necessary to attempt to retreat first, but you’d better not use excessive force.

   9. 🇳🇿New Zealand

      1. The cops want you to run away. It’s a good idea: best not to stand your ground if you’re out in public.

      2. The gun laws are very strict. Expect to go through lots of hoops even if you become a naturalized citizen.

      3. Forget about pepper spray

   10. 🇲🇾Malaysia

       1. Getting a license to own could take years.

       2. Super interesting self-defense case that came out of an appeals court: “a man who is assaulted is not bound to modulate his defence according to the attack, before there is reason to believe the attack is over. He is not obliged to retreat, but may pursue his adversary until he finds himself out of danger. And if he happens to kill in the conflict, it is justifiable even if his actions might seem a little excessive to a perfectly cool bystander. As a result, the court found that the accused did not exceed the right of private defence as he was preventing the possibility of a renewed attack onto himself.”

       3. That’s one ruling that would never happen in Canada. The defender would be facing serious prison time. Probably in the US as well.

       4. Not illegal to own and even carry pepper spray in Malaysia? I would double check this.   

   11. 🇬🇧United Kingdom

       1. You can prettty much forget about ever owning a handgun.

       2. Rifles and shotguns are strictly regulated. 

       3. Just as the case in Toronto of Chelsea Arkarakas, which should really anger anyone with a female loved one, you’d better hope you don’t have a home defense situation wherein you overpower your attacker and end up winning. The murder charge will upturn your life, even if they eventually drop the charges. 

       4. No pepper spray in the UK.

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you like this topic and I may just reprise it with some AI advice for home defense.

Sincerely,

In this issue: a) planting flags without moving, b)choosing a service provider, c) what does ChatGPT have to say about it? Reading time 4 minutes.

In previous newsletters we discussed how not everyone moves to another country because they hate the US. Moreover, we discussed how not everyone who pursues flag theory does so because they want to shirk paying taxes. In fact some pay even more in their new home country. But some people simply hate moving. I knew a guy who passed up a promotion to CEO because they required that he move just one state over! Other folks aren’t opposed to moving—once. What doesn’t appeal is the lifestyle of constantly being on the move. Every 180 days I have to cross the border and spend the weekend in a neighboring country before returning and getting my passport stamped. I can imagine that getting old real quick.  

Let’s suppose you have diminishing confidence in the US dollar and you recognize the vulnerability of having all your eggs in Uncle Sam’s basket. But you are committed to staying in the US, at least for the near- to mid-term. So you want to start planting flags while working on an exit plan. Here are some flag-planting measures you can take without leaving. 

1. Open a foreign bank account. You can open a foreign bank account without leaving home. You’ll want to put a lot of thought into this, however. Not only will you have to report it to the US government, you have to determine how it helps you. Will the foreign account make it easier to accept payment from non-US clients? Will it make it easier for you to make purchases or investments in your target country? 

   1. Global Finance ranks the safest banks in the world—you have to go all the way down to #43 before you find one in the US. 

   2. The internet is full of websites that purport to help you open a foreign bank account online. It’s best to speak to someone who has actually done it and find out firsthand how the process went and if they recommend it.

2. Start a side hustle that brings in non-US income. If all your clients or customers are in the US, it’s going to be increasingly difficult, although not impossible, to leave the US. But if you have an expanding customer base that is located outside the US, then your chances of eventually decoupling from the US dollar are going to be better. What does this mean? Ecommerce? Foreign real estate? 

3. Buy a vacation rental in another country.

4. Invest in foreign real estate. 

5. Incorporate your business overseas.

6. Establish an offshore trust.

7. Obtain a foreign residency permit. 

8. Purchase a golden passport. Recently the EU wielded their influence Uncle Sam-style and bullied Caribbean nations to make their citizenship-by-investment programs more restrictive, so you’ll want to make sure your research is up-to-date, as in more recent than March of 2024.

9. Start making contacts in your top five target countries. Reach out to people who are involved in real estate, vacation rentals, resorts, travel and tourism, etc. 

10. Vacation in countries you might be interested in moving to.

11. Offshore your email, your cloud storage and your digital assets.

My family and I just got back from spending Easter Weekend in Jamaica, so this week’s issue focuses on Jamaica. We’re going to start with two completely random facts about Jamaica. 

🇯🇲Random Jamaica Fact #1: Jamaica almost became a province of Canada. 

🇯🇲Random Jamaica Fact #2: Many Jamaicans love Kenny Rogers. One of the staff at the resort we stayed at last week told us this. I asked around some of the 2 dozen or so other staffers with whom we had developed a rapport, and they confirmed. And when we got back home to Toronto my Jamaican colleague here also confirmed it. How rando is that?

Last week in Jamaica wasn’t our first all-inclusive resort experience, but it was indeed the first time we remained onsite the whole vacation, without even once venturing off the premises. In the past we’ve always gone on at least two or three excursions to explore the area. Not this time. It was all about spending time with family from the US—including our son, who left Canada in January 2024–so we stayed put. To risk stating the obvious, staying at a resort does limit one’s options for getting a sense of what a country is really like.

“[C]ultivate a studied ignorance of the candidates and their positions so that even if you were forced at gunpoint into a voting booth…you wouldn’t have any idea which lever to pull…Most anything else you can imagine doing with your time other than paying attention to politicians…would be more beneficial to you, to your loved ones, and to your community.” ~David Gross, blogger.

When I was a kid we used to visit a cavern that had a giant pendulum suspended from the ceiling. If you grew up in ⚜️St. Louis⚜️ you probably remember it. It was probably at Meramec Caverns or Onandaga Cave. Anyway, this giant pendulum went forth and back—as pendula are wont to do🤪–but unlike a grandfather clock’s pendulum, this one didn’t adhere to a single two-dimensional plane. It worked its way around a giant ring that they’d laid out on the ground, periodically knocking over these little dominos that they’d arranged around the ring’s perimeter.

As I was growing up I would hear punditry about election cycles and administration changes. I kept hearing chatter about the “pendulum” taking another “swing” farther to the left or to the right. And me, I’m just a dumb kid; I’m saying, pendulums don’t swing left and right! (Yeah, I learned to yell at the radio at a very early age—what?📣📻)

Digital Nomads who have Gotten Second Citizenship or even Renounced.

I asked digital nomads on Reddit who among them have gotten second citizenships, and which citizenships. Read through these answers and imagine the possibilities. Get a notebook and jot down your follow-up questions to send to me. Has the thought of leaving ever crossed your mind? Where have you thought about going? Have you visited a country and said, I can see myself living here? Where was it?

Here was my question: “Has anyone living the digital nomad lifestyle gotten a second passport, and if so, which passport was it? How has it broadened your travel options, if at all? Anyone renounce their 🇺🇸 citizenship? If so, how was the process? Are you glad? Where did you do it? Anyone have multiple valid residences that they’re keeping in their back pocket (in other words, not actually living there?)”

Here were some very enlightening answers: 

Moving To Canada 2024 Checklist

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𝕋his guide is primarily for the Spanish-speaking world, particularly people coming from Mexico to work. My first-hand experience is in Ontario, but many of these points apply to all Canadian provinces.

In this week’s issue of Many Flags Newsletter, I answer a question from a Redditor looking to Amerexit: “I’ve always dreamed of living in a country where the majority of people don’t like war. Any suggestions?”

My answer: Wow, that is a great and at the same time loaded question. As a pacifist, former soldier and Amerexiter currently residing in Canada, I completely understand where you’re coming from. But your question assumes that the majority of Americans like war. Are you sure this is true? Believe me, I know it can seem that way at times. Do you live in a big city? Close to a military base? A rural area? Heartland? Coastal? Was this overall feeling of yours, that everyone in this country loves war, stronger when Russia first invaded Ukraine, and weaker now that it’s dragged on for two years? That Iraq/Bush era of which you spoke, how many years have passed now? Americans eventually grew quite weary of that ceaseless nonsense; do you feel the everyone-in-this-country-likes-war sentiment is as strong now as it was then? 

San Antonio and Houston, two major Texas cities, are only three hours apart, and I’ve lived in both. One has a strong military presence, and consequently it feels like everyone there is pro-war. The other has almost no military presence, and so the vibe is very different. I posit that the we-like-war vibe, as you describe it, is stronger in rural areas, weaker in cities, stronger in cities with lots of bases, weaker in cities with lots of universities. Have you lived anywhere near Washington DC? I can’t imagine🤮.

I’m not trying to talk you out of leaving. You should get out. Sooner rather than later. But what if you found a country with zero pro-war sentiment, but it isn’t safe to walk the streets after dark? 

For decades it’s been the dream of many young people across the globe to pursue careers in tech with the dream of one day landing a job in Silicon Valley. The world is a big place, however, and believe it or not Silicon Valley is not the wellspring of all things technological. 

All you have to do is look on global freelancing platform Upwork to see how many talented freelancers there are across the globe, specializing in everything from AutoCad to ZScaler. (I'm not an affiliate, but I've been using Upwork, formerly Odesk, for over ten years.)

But the ever-swinging political pendulum in the United States has resulted in a great deal of uncertainty about whether Uncle Sam is as welcoming to immigrants from the developing world as it once was. 

Consequently many budding tech entrepreneurs, software engineers and programmers are seeking their fortunes in other tech hubs around the world. 

(Four-Minute Read) This GenXer is tired of hearing Boomers trashing Millennials. I for one have found Millennials to be great to work with.

Can you believe Millennials began entering the workplace a quarter-century ago?!

Now they’re taking over, and frankly I’m delighted.

"It’s unrealistic to expect any one country…to be the best for you in every way."

~Nicole van der Hoeven, YouTuber, Software Engineer, Multiple Passport Holder.

I love America--I should rephrase that: I love the land most folks nowadays refer to as the United States of America. I was born in the USA, and I lived there for the first 51 years of my life. My family has lived on this continent, which most folks nowadays refer to as North America, since at least 1638. For a while I was even a dues-paying member of the Sons of the American Revolution. I was raised with a strong sense of patriotism, and I’ve made some deep and lasting friendships there.

(Essay continues below; also in this issue:

A lot of people out there still cling to the idea that paying taxes is your civic duty, but I propose we set aside that dragon to be slain another day. Let’s stick to facts: tax-saving strategies exist. Lifestyles exist. Enter the concept of Flag Theory. Boiled down to its essence, Flag Theory is the point where extreme tax-saving strategy and globetrotting lifestyle intersect. 

In the 1960s an investment advisor named Harry D. Shultz encouraged people to:

⛳️Have a second passport

⛳️Keep an address in a tax haven

Back in mid-2020, when I first expressed my interest in relocating to Canada, my employer hooked me up with an amazing immigration team. Based out of British Columbia, these immigration experts secured work permits and student visas for myself, my wife and our two kids. Moreover, they managed to make it happen when the border between the US and Canada was completely shut down (it was downright eerie crossing the border). It was always my plan to stick with them through the whole process from work permit to permanent resident to citizen. We even had a timeline all worked out. If I had stuck with them, my family and I would likely have gotten PR around the end of 2022, and we would be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship around the end of 2024, approximately 9-11 months from the time of this writing (February 2024). But more importantly, my family would not have needlessly spent 20 months feeling that our hopes and dreams had been dashed. And all we'd have had to do was stick with the original immigration team.

20 months is a long time for a family to feel adrift. It's a long time to feel hopeless, to feel that the country you chose doesn't really want you, to feel that your kids don't really have a future here. It's a long time to feel like you've painted yourself into a corner. (Why did we choose Canada? What was the original game plan? What's the new game plan? Stay with me; I'll get to that in future issues.) It also happens to be a long time to watch perplexed as hundreds of thousands of other immigrants get fast-tracked to PR and citizenship.

No, indeed we did not stick with the original team. The people in charge of our Canada operations insisted that we use their immigration lady instead. Don't get me wrong; I love my Canada team. They're charismatic and have really big hearts. I owe them all a really big thank-you for helping my family relocate to Canada. But now I know, hindsight being 20/20 and all, that I should've stuck to my guns. I know you're sponsoring us, but respectfully, this is my life and my family we're talking about; I insist that we stick with Miracle Max. That's what I should've said back in April 2022.

The immigration lady that we switched to specialized in British Columbia. After her initial case review, she should've recused herself on the grounds that she had no experience with Ontario's provincial nominee program. She should never have taken the money.

Q: From Reddit: What are some differences for people who moved to Canada from the US? A: Moved here from the US, in May 2021. So, 2 years, 8 months ago.

1. Peace of mind sending kids to school with relative certainty that some kid doped up on pharmaceuticals isn’t going to shoot up the school.
2. Peace of mind knowing that cops aren’t patrolling the halls of my kids’ school.
3. Peace of mind knowing that the school districts don’t have their own police departments.
4. Much less anxiety about seeing a cop in my rear view mirror.
5. Still a lot of anxiety about my kids getting hit by a car. I live in the GTA and people go 80km/h in a 40km/h on residential streets near me. And pedestrians and cyclists get hit by cars every day. And don’t get me started on the Amazon delivery vans. 5a. But hey, at least we can let our kids go walking/biking. Something we couldn’t do in the very pedestrian/cyclist unfriendly Greater Houston Area.
6. Constant struggles with mental health trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
7. I agree with some experts who say it takes a solid two years to recover from the shock of how expensive it is to live here.
8. I don’t blame Ukrainian refugees deciding to move back to an active war zone rather than stay here.
9. Constantly being on your guard that someone is trying to scam you.
10. People being helpful-not-helpful.
11. Poorly trained wait staff.
12. Never seeing your server again after they’ve brought you your food.
13. Waiting forever for your check.
14. Rules upon rules upon rules.
15. The extreme selectivity about what rules to enforce/follow.
16. Trying to get used to other drivers never actually stopping at stop signs.
17. I do love how drivers pull out into the intersection while waiting for an opening to turn left on green. It was like this growing up in the Midwest; the practice was pretty much non-existent in Texas; I felt like I was back home when I moved to the GTA. So, in summary, I love the Left Turn Yield on Green. 17a: I love that Canadians stop at yellow lights and don’t gun it. There are exceptions, of course.
18. Way more pedestrians than I was used to in the US.
19. I love that sometimes pedestrians will give a car the wave. Like considerate behavior between drivers and pedestrians actually exists. At least I see it more inside the city limits of Toronto, less so in the burbs.
20. Honking is usually just to tell someone “It’s your move.” I don’t see horns used in anger as much. I mean, yeah, I do see occasional road rage, because there are so bloody many aggressive drivers here, but mostly it’s inattentive drivers getting honked at.
21. I see fewer drivers on their phones than in Texas. People looking at their phones while driving—it’s worse in the burbs.
22. This my sound hypocritical, since above I complained about people speeding on residential streets. Nevertheless, the speed limits are way too low. A main artery may be 50km/h—that’s only 31mph. The same road in the US would be 35mph (56km/h) or 40mph (64km/h). Rarely do I see a speed limit and thought, yeah that’s appropriate for this stretch of road.
23. 100km/h that’s only 62mph, on a highway that would be 70 down in the states.
24. There are places where it get up to 110km/h, but even that is only 68mph. Embarrassing, when you consider the same stretch would be 75mph in Texas.
25. Full-sized pickup trucks are way too popular.
26. People’s parking jobs generally tend to be awful.
27. Although I do see that many, many more people back into their parking spaces than in the US, and those that do, tend to take a little more pride in parking straight and evenly. Except anyone in a full-size pickup truck, where care in parking is non-existent.
28. In Toronto, a red light camera nails you if your back bumper hadn’t crossed the white line by the time the light turned red (or so I’m told), whereas in the US (specifically in Texas), the red light camera nails you for making a rolling right on red.
29. Canadians think they’re more immigrant-friendly than they really are.
30. Canadians don’t treat themselves, or each other, very well. Happy to elaborate.
31. Store associates, clerks, receptionists, and generally everybody who is on the clock or on duty, finding every which way to get you to do something yourself so they don’t have to. In fact, I believe most people here will gladly expend more energy avoiding doing their jobs, or trying to get you to do it yourself, than just doing it.
32. Shuffling when you walk. I have never in my life seen so goddamned many people shuffle their feet when they walk. Pick up your feet, Canada! I know, wherever it is you’re headed, you dont really want to go there. But you’re a grown-ass adult for crying out loud.
33. I’m used to seeing couples where the chick is dolled up and the dude is in a ratty t-shirt, wrinkled cargo shorts and flip-flops. That’s any given Saturday night back home in the United States. Well, it’s worse here, but it’s better, too. At least the Koreans and the Persians make an effort.
34. You can nearly always tell if a Sikh hasn’t been in Canada very long, because their turban and their beard are perfect like Jagmeet Singh. But it seems the longer you’re here, the more beat down you get from just trying to keep your head above water, the turban and the beard start looking more and more unkempt, until eventually they stop bothering altogether.
35. I thought I knew diversity. I thought Houston, Texas was diverse. I thought New York City was diverse. I thought London, England was diverse. Oh, no, honey. You don’t know diversity until you come to the GTA. It’s probably the best thing Canada has going for it. I love that most of my neighbors are from somewhere else.
36. We love marijuana being legal.
37. Booze is way, way too expensive. It’s an example of Canadians mistreating their own people. It’s a tax on the poor. It’s unconscionable.
38. There’s no democracy. You’ll read a headline about some provincial premier—here it’s Doug Ford—making some new rule, and nobody bothers to ask where the democratic process went. Or the Minister of Education will lay down the law like a complete autocrat. And here I am an American thinking wow I thought democracy was a joke in the US. They don’t even pretend up here.
39. Sales tax is 13% in Ontario, somewhat less or somewhat more in other provinces. But you pay sales tax on almost everything here. Back home there were things that weren’t taxable. Up here, maybe a few items in your grocery cart, but not much else escape the “harmonized sales tax.”
40. They withhold a lot more from your paycheck here.
41. You will pay much more for rent and get a much smaller place.
42. You will spend a lot of money putting gas into your tank, especially if you’re used to paying US prices.
43. You have to have two sets of tires, and you have to pay to have them switched out, and you probably have to pay to store the set that’s not in use, because you probably don’t have room to store them where you live, because you don’t have enough storage.
44. When you move here, all those movies that you bought on Prime—guess what? They’re not yours anymore!
45. Your Prime membership is canceled when you move up here. You will have to start over with a Canadian Prime membership, which you will find isn’t as good.
46. Oh, and Prime Family Plan doesn’t exist up here.
47. And you’re not really going to find any deals on Amazon. Everything’s just as expensive as it is in stores.
48. The selection on Amazon.ca is way less.
49. And don’t think you’re going to get around it with your VPN. Yes, a VPN is a total necessity, and can help you access content that you otherwise can’t get in Canada, but it’s not a cure-all.
50. I’m planning a trip to the US just so I can watch Season 9 of Endeavour. Kidding, not kidding.
51. I miss big, cheap, strong margaritas. You could pub crawl across the whole state of Texas and never get served a bad margarita. Here, you’re paying 13 for a tiny margarita that’s mostly ice.
52. I miss good Mexican food. Of course the food in Mexico is amazing, not just in touristy places, but in local dives and even in crappy border towns. But the Mexican food in Texas is amazing, too.
53. I miss good food in general. Maybe I was spoiled, but the food in places like New Orleans, Houston, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston is amazing. Maybe it’s geography; maybe it’s supply chain, but sorry, Toronto, the food’s just not that great here. It’s surprising because I think you have amazing agriculture. But somewhere from farm to table something wonderful seems to disappear from the food.
54. Canada has great dairy and cheese. But it’s too bloody expensive, and the stuff you can afford—the “Old Fort”—isn’t really that great.
55. I miss deli American. Boar’s Head American and Hill Country Fare American cheese. Not Kraft slices, but deli-style American. You can find it here at some of the higher-end supermarkets, but I never buy it because I won’t pay!
56. 100% grass-fed beef is harder to find, and when you do, you’ll probably refuse to pay.
57. At least Costco still has giant all-beef hot dogs, both in the refrigerated section and at the hot food counter.
58. At least I can still go to Costco and pay $1.50+HST and get a big polish dog or all beef hot dog and it’s 100% the same as in the US (I just wish the Costco near me would offer sauerkraut, though).
59. I can still go to Costco and get a giant chocolate cone for only $1.50+HST, which I believe they got rid of the chocolate back home in the US, if I recall correctly.
60. My favorite guilty pleasure, as they say, is the 70% Dark Chocolate Kit Kat Bar, which I note has been absent from the shelves for nearly a year. Can’t find it at Shoplifeters anymore; can’t find it at Superstore anymore, never saw it at WalMart.

Today I'm going to post my answer to this question that was posted on Reddit: What are some differences for people who moved to Canada from the US?

My Answer: My family and I moved here from the US in May 2021--during a severe Covid lockdown. So after living in Canada for 2 3/4 years, here is a selection observations:

1. We like being able to let our kids go out on their own. On the one hand, we have much less anxiety about kicking our kids out of the house to go for a walk or a bike ride. They can walk by themselves to Timmy’s, or to the convenience store (aka variety store), or to the boba shop. And even though Yonge Street is super busy and dangerous, the crosswalks are so much safer than in the US. Houston, Texas, for example, is a terrible place to be a pedestrian. Drivers are super impatient (to put it nicely) with anyone who dares to use a crosswalk.

2. On the other hand, there remains a high anxiety about our kids getting hit by a car. We live in the GTA, where crosswalks can be very dangerous. Plus, people drive 80km/h in the school zones where my kids walk! Pedestrians and cyclists get hit by cars every single day here.

3. We see unaccompanied kids out and about more often here than in the US.

4. We like the relative peace of mind sending our kids to school and not constantly worrying: is this the day some kid brings a gun to school?

5. We like that there aren't metal detectors in the schools, and that cops don’t patrol the halls.

6. We like the school districts here don’t have their own police departments. 

7. I feel much less anxiety if I see a cop in my rear view mirror.

8. The e-bikes here are a pestilence. They are a legal grey area, and frankly, I don't think they don’t belong on sidewalks. 

9. If you’re on your bicycle, and you get hit by a car, you could get a ticket.

10. Pedestrians and motorists being considerate to one another. I love how sometimes a pedestrian will give a car the wave, even though it's the pedestrian who has the Walk. I never once saw a pedestrian in the US being considerate to a motorist. I have the right-of-way, but you go ahead in front of me. I see pedestrians do this all the time here. It’s as if to say, I the pedestrian, am sometimes a motorist, too, and so I understand both sides of the motorist/pedestrian equation.

11. Nobody ever makes a complete stop at Stop signs. It takes some getting used to.

12. The shocking increase in the cost of living is noticeable on a week-to-week basis, even after living here for nearly three years. 

13. Constantly struggling to make ends meet takes its toll on your mental/emotional health. 

14. I don’t blame Ukrainian refugees deciding to move back to an active war zone rather than stay here.

15. Constantly being on your guard that someone is trying to scam you.

16. We don't like waiting forever for the server to bring your check. 

17. We don’t really eat out anymore, because it’s so expensive.

18. Canadians think they’re more immigrant-friendly than they really are. 

19. Pick up your feet, Canada! I have never in my life seen so goddamned many people shuffle their feet when they walk. Pick up your feet, Canada! I get it, you’re beaten down and discouraged, and wherever it is you’re headed, you don't really want to get there. But you’re a grown-ass adult for crying out loud. Pick up your feet!

20. I’m used to seeing couples where the chick is dolled up and the dude is in a ratty t-shirt, wrinkled cargo shorts and flip-flops. That’s any given Saturday night back home in the United States. Well, it’s worse here. 

21. At least the Koreans and the Persians make an effort. If you want to dress up, then hang out where the Asians are. 

22. Canadians are very surprised to learn that the United States doesn't have any official languages. Yes, you do! Every country has at least one official language! Many folks I've spoken to seem to think the two official languages of the United States are English and Spanish.

This is just small list of differences we've noticed. But if you're really looking for some actionable do's and don'ts about moving to either Canada or the US, simply reply directly to this email with your questions. Your reply will come directly to me.

For some reason the largest slave uprising in 1,900 years (since Spartacus)—and the first ever successful one, I might add—somehow didn’t make it into any of my history classes. The Haitian Revolution of 1791 erupted in an atmosphere wherein a lot of different people were conveniently pitted against one another. As historian Paul Fregosi describes it:

“[T]he rich whites despised the poor whites, the middle-class whites were jealous of the aristocratic whites, the whites born in France looked down upon the locally born whites...Haitian born blacks regarded those from Africa as savages. Everyone—quite rightly—lived in terror of everyone else.”

It’s very convenient for the oppressor, when the oppressed are at each other’s throats.

As an American living in Canada, I sometimes look back over my shoulder at the United States and think, wow, they are really pitting friends and neighbors against each other. Imagine what would happen if all those people were to realize they are all in the same boat together, and were suddenly to affix their gaze in unison in the direction of those who are jacking up people’s livelihoods and futures. Then I snap back to reality, and realize that the same thing is happening right here in Canada. And all over the world. Small wonder people sometimes move.

• News Headline: Why Some Are Leaving Canada for Affordability. “Some Canadians are making the difficult decision to move to more affordable countries amid the country's affordability crisis. The high cost of housing and other essentials such as food are among the factors prompting people to seek to live somewhere where their money goes further.” Yes this trend goes largely unnoticed, as the roughly 100,000 per year who leave is overshadowed by the number who arrive. 

• News Headline: “The Walking Route”: How an underground industry is helping migrants flee China for the US. The South American country of Ecuador allows visa-free entry for Chinese passport holders. So once you get there, it’s just a simple matter of walking to the United States! (It kind of makes ya wonder why, considering how easy it is to get entry to Canada.)

• News Headline: Thinking of Leaving Canada? There’s More than Just Personal Tax Rates to Consider. Don’t get me wrong. I love Canada. It’s absolutely beautiful, and it’s been pretty safe (knock on wood). But believe me, after nearly three years of living here, I wouldn’t fault any Canadian for wanting to leave. The affordability crisis is real. It ain’t just housing, it really began to spike about 7 months after we arrived (we started really noticing it around January 2022). And yes, Canadians talk about leaving all the time. In fact, I’d say leaving Canada is almost as commonplace a topic as weather or sports. And the number of people in the US that are thinking about moving is not far behind Canada. And I don’t just mean during those reliable and predictable election-season spikes. No, I’m talking about a steadily  increasing trend of US persons leaving or considering leaving. In the article above, the author, Kim Moody, correctly points to a couple of key reasons besides high taxes that Canadian expats and expat wannabes cite. But I assure you, if taxes were the only thing that’s out of control, that wouldn’t be enough to incentivize most people to leave. It’s everything else. The rules. The rules on top of rules. No beer in the park. No playing frisbee without a permit. If you’d like to engage in still photography, simply call 416-392-8188 for permission😳. You can’t imagine until you’ve lived here just how expensive every little thing is. And just how little say in matters people feel they have. The land of ever-stricter rules, and ever-diminishing representation (sound like the US?) is becoming divided among those same stale, obsolete party lines they’ve drawn up in the US. Do you want to see what the US is going to look like once they’ve finally completely hollowed out the middle class? Come on up, it’s on display everywhere. It seems the people in charge are increasingly contemptuous of the majority who fund their lavish lifestyles. They’ve stopped pretending democracy even exists up here. Most Canadians I’ve met don’t bother to vote. And why should they? And yet voter apathy still isn’t as low as in the US. With lobbyists, revolving doors, and the whole bloody country bought, sold and paid for, it’s no surprise that more and more people have begun to figure out that voting with your feet is about the only thing you can do. Not that they would care if you left. But for Canadians to go to the United States? Sister please. Hey, I love the United States, too. I was born and raised there. I lived there for 51 years. And who’s to say I won’t live there again? But to make that your only destination when considering leaving Canada? I’d seriously consider other options. 

• News Headline: Toronto City Staff Propose 10.5% Property Tax Hike as Part of 2024 Budget. Spoiler alert: it’s actually going to be 16.5%, due to their smoke-and-mirrors tactics. It’s just another reason why people are leaving Canada—and why an entire generation has given up on ever owning a home. People don’t feel represented at all. One year the mayor bumps property taxes 5.5%, the next it’s 10.5%—but it’s really going to be 16.5% once you read the fine print. And they can just do it. What’s the ceiling? Young people have questions. Gone are the days of the baby boomers, uncritically handing over the reins to politicians and trusting that they’re going to be responsible with their money.

Dear Many Flags Newsletter Reader,

Thanks again for subscribing, and please, reply to this email with your questions about living in Canada—or the US, and definitely let me know what topics and stories you liked/didn’t like.

There’s a reason why the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 isn’t talked about much: it was an embarrassment. The rebellion’s chief organizer, William Lyon MacKenzie, well, his heart was probably in the right place, but he had no idea what he was doing. It’s one thing to go from farm town to farm town whipping up a fervor by eloquently pointing out the blindingly obvious injustices of the system, but it’s another thing entirely to get ordinary folks to take up arms.

I personally think his first mistake was to believe he could transform reformers into rebels overnight. People trying work with the system suddenly gonna take up arms? Please.

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy 2024! In 1837, in the farming communities just north of the bustling industrial city of Toronto, in what is now known as Ontario, the Upper Canada Rebellion broke out. Canada did then what it still excels at today: it crushed all dissent.

When you hear the term “oligarchy“, you probably think of Russian business magnates who post-Soviet who rapidly accumulated and consolidated wealth and power during the post-Soviet years. But Canada the same thing was happening. The Family Compact, a tiny group of closely associated country-club types, had all the power, while the bread basket of Canada lived in poverty. Sound familiar?

When you hear the term “farmers’ revolt”, you’d be right to think you were looking at a headline from 2024.