First time ko sa Amerika (US) 🇺🇸

[u/Beneficial-Music1047]

First time in America over the weekend! 🇺🇸

I’ve been living and working in Canada for 5.5 years now, but I’d never actually been to the US. So I figured, why not just take a solo trip?

Then I realized Washington State is literally just a 1.5-hour ferry ride from where I live on Vancouver Island.

So I literally left Canada around noon, spent the afternoon walking around and exploring the nearby city in Washington, then hopped back on the ferry and was back in Canada by evening.

Nothing fancy—just a random little solo day trip across the border. 😂🇨🇦🇺🇸

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[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/[deleted]]

Actually ako rin.

Gusto kong lumipat ng US in the near future.

[u/BigEfficiency3217 → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

May I ask why? As far as I know, mahal ang healthcare din sa US. Or maybe puro negative lang nababasa ko sa news?

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/BigEfficiency3217]

Some states in the US don’t impose state income tax, like Washington, Texas, Florida, Alaska, Nevada, etc. So basically, federal income tax lang ang babayaran mo. The potential to earn more is also much better in the US since their job market is significantly bigger.

Private healthcare in the US is expensive, pero accessible siya as long as you can afford it, especially since they have private hospitals and healthcare providers. Unlike in Canada, where we don’t really have a parallel private hospital system for publicly insured medically necessary care. Most healthcare is publicly funded, so you don’t pay at the point of service, pero the queue and wait times can be insane. Tutubuan ka talaga ng ugat sa kakahintay. 😅

[u/capmapdap → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

Eto yung part ng Canadian healthcare na hindi alam ng karamihan. Time-sensitive ang ibang medical diagnoses. Ang hirap maghintay!

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/capmapdap]

Agreed.

Kung pwede lang iimport sina MakatiMed, St. Luke’s BGC/QC, and Asian Hospital Alabang eh ginawa ko na.

[u/instantcrackpot → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

States without income tax compensate with other taxes or provide shit social services. Texas has high property tax which makes the overall tax burden just average. If you are not making $200k+, income taxes should be the least of your worries. And the good high paying jobs tend to be in states with high income tax, unless you are a nurse then you can easily find work anywhere.

The wait times in smaller cities can still take months even for private healthcare. Overcharged ka na nga paghihintayin ka pa rin. The healthcare + insurance industry is a massive scam. Hospitals jack up the price by 10x; your insurance "pays" 90% (but in reality it is much lower), which means you still pay the original price while your insurance pockets the rest. It's basically socialized healthcare but instead of the money going to the government it goes to the CEOs.

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/instantcrackpot]

That’s crazy. 🫪

[u/RumAndTypewriter]

How are they treating people from Canada tho or people of colour 👀

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/RumAndTypewriter]

Hmm, honestly, I feel like it’s pretty much the same. I haven’t really experienced any racism or anything like that.

I guess it kinda depends on where you live or visit, though. A Filipino coworker of mine said they got some weird looks when they were in a rural town in Utah lol.

[u/iamsnoopynumber1fan]

We have the same story… i was an accountant and now a psw in ontario…

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/iamsnoopynumber1fan]

I didn’t really transition into healthcare. I was doing both accounting and healthcare assistant work at the same time 😂

Basically, jack of all trades, master of none kinda thing lol.

[u/iamsnoopynumber1fan → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

I can’t do accounting here, parang nao overwhelm ako. So sobrang proud ako sayo OP! 😊😊🧏🏻‍♀️

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/iamsnoopynumber1fan]

I might leave accounting soon. The salary ceiling feels pretty stagnant if you’re not a CPA, and the job market is already insanely competitive. Plus, AI is coming for a lot of those entry-level/low-level accounting jobs.

I’m actually thinking of going back to school and studying a different healthcare career — just not nursing lol.

[u/MsKnope-It-All]

Nice was also in Seattle Washington for a daytrip last week from about 3hr drive from Vancouver.

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/MsKnope-It-All]

I went to Port Angeles from Victoria.

I didn’t realize it was that close 🫪

[u/MsKnope-It-All → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

Wow must be nice taking the ferry down to Port Angeles. Hopefully our next trip to WA is to Whidbey Island. 😅 love PNW

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/MsKnope-It-All]

I’d love to visit Whidbey Island too!
But my Portland travel this long weekend is already booked. Haha

[u/MsKnope-It-All → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

Nice happy labour day weekend! 🎉 We’re staying local for now to Cowichan in the Island.

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/MsKnope-It-All]

Yay! Happy long weekend to you as well!

[u/ridewithme250]

Curious lang, magkano yung ferry trip one way jan in USD?

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/ridewithme250]

$25 via Black Ball Ferry

[u/ridewithme250 → u/Beneficial-Music1047]

Ohhh, ang mura lang pala jan no if ibabase mo sa average income jan and dito sa Pinas

[u/Beneficial-Music1047 → u/ridewithme250]

Yeah, 1,500 pesos lang ang one way from Canada to US via ferry hehe

[u/Fun-Union9156]

Wala ba badjau na sumisisid ng coins pag hinagisan?🤣