LGBTQ+ people in the US contemplate heading north as they wrestle with the president’s assault on the community
  • rozodru@piefed.socialEnglish
    355·
    13 days ago

    As a Canadian…where are you planning on living exactly? We don’t even have enough housing for Canadians and unless you’re prepared to pay upwards of $2000 CAD a month in rent or over a million dollars to buy then good luck.

    I mean I know it sucks down there but it ain’t exactly sunshine up here. There’s no housing, we don’t have any jobs, the cost of living is WAY higher than the US. I mean sure we’re not going to toss you in a camp for being LGBTQ+ but you’ll be sleeping under the gardiner expressway in Toronto…

    • don@lemmy.caEnglish
      452·
      13 days ago

      “It sucks down there” is a hell of a euphemism for “the systematic and targeted eradication of LGBT+ community by American conservatives.”

      I’m also gonna guess that the “consider” part of the headline probably includes the whole “planning and figuring out if and where we can go to in Canada, and where it’s not viable.”

      “Shit’s expensive up here” doesn’t really stand up to “we’re afraid for our very lives down here”.

    • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      23·
      13 days ago

      Less than $1500 USD/month?? That sounds amazing. We live in an expensive city for my spouse’s work, and we pay more like $2600 CAD for an apartment that isn’t particularly high quality. And it’s only this cheap because we’ve been here a long time, other units nearby are hundreds (USD) more.

      I get what you’re saying, but having a bad time economically isn’t really comparable to the shit going on with LGBT (especially the T) rights in the US right now. Shit’s hard economically here too, only here we’re also wondering what rights we’ll wake up with tomorrow. For some people being homeless in Toronto actually is the better choice.

      • BurntWits@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        5·
        13 days ago

        Not defending either side but just to add context, most fields pay way more in the states than in Canada. I wouldn’t be surprised if cost of living relative to average income was vastly worse off up here. My wife and I considered moving to Newfoundland (far east island in Canada) since that’s where all my family live and housing is way way way cheaper but our paycheques would be slashed so hard it wouldn’t make sense. Same sort of situation. Canada in general pays far less.

        • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          3·
          13 days ago

          Canada has a higher minimum wage than the US federal minimum, although some states have a higher minimum. I know American EMTs who are making what would be minimum wage in Canada, but it isn’t minimum wage where they are.

          • BurntWits@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            3·
            12 days ago

            Good luck getting a minimum wage job though. If you aren’t in a speciality field (and even then it’s still very hard), no one here can get a job right now. At least where I live anyway. Any time a grocery store, liquor store, etc has a job posting there’s 200+ people lineups for interviews for 1-2 positions. It’s insane. And no, I don’t live in Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal.

            When I meet someone new and ask what they do for a living, there’s a good 30-40% chance they’re between jobs. Then for people in high demand jobs, a lot of them consider working down south because it pays so much more. A neighbour of mine recently moved to a border town so he could work in the states because it literally paid double.

    • 13igTyme@piefed.socialEnglish
      13·
      13 days ago

      Every single cost of living website says Canada is cheaper to live in. Depending on the metrics they use that ranges from slightly cheaper to much cheaper.

    • sabin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      81·
      13 days ago

      If they manage to find work outside of Vancouver/the GTA/Ottawa I say go for it. We have loads of developing cities that could benefit from immigration.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
      6·
      12 days ago

      Americans pay more for food, and they pay the same rents, PLUS health insurance premiums or debt, education also 3-5X more. At the lower end of pay scales, poorer Americans pay far more taxes.