One thing I envy about my US friends is your ability to move around to a place that suits you. Most of the Americans I meet in business seem to be living in a different state from where they grew up. In Canada this is the opposite with the exceptions of British Columbia and Alberta.
As an American, you have the choice to live in the beautiful PNW with tall trees, crisp winters and lasting summers or, maybe you like the quaint, historic and restful New England area... Norman Rockwell around every corner. How about the playground state of Florida where even in the winter life can have a restful pace. Then there's the allure of California, what's not to love! If you prefer something a little different Arizona offers some of the best any area can offer. If you cant decide, Texas is big enough to offer all from a semi desert to lush tropical environment. Then there's Wisconsin.... close to natures perfection in four seasons (just like most of Canada). If none of those areas tickle you there are many places in between that have much to offer.... Nashville and the Carolinas come to mind the Great lakes regions and western NY. too flat? How about rolling West Virginia? Or Pennsylvania? You can choose large cities or rural serenity and still have opportunity to make a living.
Canada offers jobs near big cities or Albertas "oil patch". This means we congregate around Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal (if you have an affinity for French) and Halifax to a lesser extent. Toronto / Montreal are much the same as a climate zone. Halifax a little more extreme whereas Vancouver is the closet we come to a major change. Government jobs round out some of the other areas but 95% of our population lives within 100kms of the US border. Canada is beautiful, we have plenty of nature however, we do not have near the variety of choices that Americans enjoy.
My point? embrace your opportunities.
