So how hard would it actually be to go to Canada,

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

rent an apartment, and just stay there?

[Irish_Dem]

1. You will need a visa. I don't know what Canada does to illegal alien Americans.

I would suggest now is not the right time to find out.

My dream would be to rent a French style apartment in Old Quebec City all summer long.

[Ocelot II]

2. Probably not too hard, as long as you didn't need a job or any government services.

You'd need a visa to be there in the first place, and a landlord might want references or other info that would give you away. You could probably find a cabin in the woods somewhere and just go into town every few weeks for supplies, so it might be quite a long time before they discover that you'd overstayed your visa.

[tinrobot]

3. Right now, you can go for 180 days

One option would be spend 5-6 months in Canada, leave for a few weeks, then come back for another 180 days. Wash, rinse, repeat.

[Chemical Bill]

7. I believe it is 180 days per year...

I could be wrong. I think Mexico is the same. One could go to each for half the year, with a week in Jamaica in between....

[Mark.b2]

4. I go up there 2-4 times a year for work...

When clearing customs at the airport, they usually ask the purpose of my visit and when I’m leaving. Often, they’ll want to know who I’m meeting with.

If you tell them you will be stying for more than a few days, I’m guessing they’ll probe more.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Thanks to all of you for your posts.

I don't think Canada has suddenly started requiring visas for Americans.

And while I'm old, as in trombones years old, I am the healthiest person I know. I don't get sick. I haven't had a cold in perhaps 15 years. I literally never get the flu, as in I last had influenza sometime in the mid-70s, and never since. I don't bother with flu shots, either, although I'm not about to tell anyone else they shouldn't get one. Which means I would have almost no reason to seek out health care.

If I honestly had one wish, it would be that everyone could be as healthy as I am. A lot of doctors and nurses would need to find other work, and some hospitals would close, but wouldn't that be nice?

I currently live in senior living, and I'm shocked, really shocked at how many people here need walkers. Okay, I know they aren't using them without needing them, but still.

I am strongly encouraging My Son The Astronomer to look for a job overseas, once he completes his PhD. Hopefully he'll find one in a country that mom can also go to, but if not, he still needs to leave this country.

[marybourg]

6. We were all healthy, until one day we weren't.

And then some of us suddenly needed a walker.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. I know you're right.

But there are also a lot of things people can do to minimize the need for one.

[marybourg]

11. Including dying young.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. "I currently live in senior living, and I'm shocked, really shocked at how many people here need walkers."

What's shocking about it?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. The shock for me is that many people, apparently most people,

deteriorate a lot starting at age 50 or 60, or even younger.

I was never one to push things like exercise: walking, running, lifting weights, any of that. I do realize they are very good for essentially everyone, but I still never got around to any of them. So I can't make a virtuous claim about anything like that.

I've been thinking a lot the past few days, trying to figure out why I'm so different, why I'm so much healthier than so many others. Certain things are more or less obvious: I have never smoked. I gave up soft drinks about 40 years ago. I eat as little manufactured food as possible. I do cheerfully consume alcohol, probably more than I should.

Oh, clearly weight matters. Virtually everyone I see here has a normal weight. I have only seen one obese person here, which I find interesting. Further proof that being overweight or obese is definitely not good for you.

Meanwhile, I have plans for my 97th birthday. There will be a total solar eclipse that year (August, 2045) that I want to see.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. .

The shock for me is that many people, apparently most people, deteriorate a lot starting at age 50 or 60, or even younger.

What do you mean by deteriorate, and what's your citation?

why I'm so much healthier than so many others.

What do you mean by healthier?

I have only seen one obese person here, which I find interesting. Further proof that being overweight or obese is definitely not good for you.

Wait, what is proof? The fact that you've seen one obese person wherever you're at?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Obese people die early. This is well known established scientific fact. I'm surprised you don't know this. . . . nt

Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2025, 10:47 PM - Edit history (1)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. Oh, dear.

By "deteriorate" I'm noticing that many cannot physically, emotionally, or in practical ways do things that were easier years before. I'm not citing any research, if that's what you mean. You can do that yourself. Meanwhile, I'm seeing that deterioration every day here. Again, because I'm in senior living, it's a lot more obvious than elsewhere.

By healthier I mean: I NEVER get colds or flu. Never, never, never. Well, okay, I had perhaps three colds between 2008 and 2011, when I was first here. Since then, none, nada, zero, zip. I used to have seasonal allergies (hay fever) and they went away a couple of decades ago. I last had flu in about 1974. And I don't bother with the flu vaccine, although I would never tell anyone else not to get it.

iI I go out in the "real world" I see lots of obese people. Obesity has become so common and ubiquitous that we generally don't really notice it any more. Here in my assisted living place, I simply don't see it, other than that one woman. And trust me, she stands out.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Consider Canada; doing interesting astronomy in British Columbia province, Nova Scotia, and Chile the country. . nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. My Wonderful Son The Astronomer

is arriving tomorrow for a week's visit. Not long enough, in my opinion, but I last saw him some 18 months ago, so I can hardly wait. Canada would be perfect.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. I'm thrilled to hear that! I should add U of Toronto to that list. . . nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. Thank you.

He is arriving tomorrow to visit me (hooray!) and I will push him as hard as I can on this.

For me the real issue is that I expect that funding for anything at all in astronomy is going to disappear. My Son The Astronomer does exo-planet research, and that is clearly one of the many things the DOGE ignoramuses know NOTHING about.

He's also extraordinarily fortunate in that he has an independent source of income (read: inheritance from grandparents and other relatives) and so actually does not need to work, were it to come to that. But he is fundamentally, intrinsically, and essentially someone who likes to work, who loves research, who is utterly fascinated by his field/research/learning.

Right now, as he finishes his PhD at George Mason, he's paid to operate the telescope there, which I gather he is pretty good at.

[Aristus]

16. I've had patients tell me they don't get immunized against the flu

because they’ve never had the flu in the past.

I sort of half-jokingly reply: “That’s like saying you’ll never die because you’ve never been dead before.”

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. Unless you get into an immigration program you can't get free health care. . . . nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. I sort of know that.

I have never looked closely at moving there. Perhaps I should.

Although these days, I doubt very many countries are willing to accept Americans, no matter our political preferences.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Canadians know & like Americans. Even Cdn government knows to distinguish btwn Americans & their goobermint. . . nt