Canada

All of this is fair, but I want to add some encouragement to consider more remote parts of Canada.

Most Canadians live relatively near the US border and, unless they have travelled, may assume the rest of the country is "uncivilized" -- not so! I have lived for decades in northern regions of Canada in very civilized communities!

I live in Whitehorse, Yukon now -- it is a small city (~30,000+ people), but very liveable, especially if you like outdoor activities and nature. We have all the basic amenities you could wish for (university, library, plenty of stores, trails, recreation, hospital, good restaurants, etc.) and many advantages you might not think of. I can say similar things of other places I have lived and worked in the far north.

Some advantages include sense of community, good access to health care, lots of good employment opportunities, less stressful atmosphere, welcoming people, grassroots politics, travel connections to major cities, natural beauty beyond comprehension, and, for immigrants, much quicker routes to permanent residency. The north is very diverse and surprisingly cosmopolitan, btw -- not all rednecks and yokels.

Northern communities are great places to get established and build up some capital -- even if you eventually decide to move to southern Canada. The north is chock full of people who came up for one summer and loved it so much they never left.

Especially in the territorial capitals, there are many jobs that don't suck! Federal, territorial, First Nations, and local governments, small and large businesses, and non-profits all hire highly educated and specialized workers to high paying jobs with good benefits (and often union membership). If you don't have Canadian credentials in your field, you may find it easier to get a foot in the door in the north.

Yes, the climate here in Whitehorse is cold in the winter, but very comfortable most of the time. We seldom have more than a week or two of unpleasantly cold temperatures (below -10°C) without a break. We also have real summers. Cold might sound terrible, but it really isn't! Yellowknife is the other largish city north of the 60th parallel and is a bit colder, but still very liveable. Similar can be said for lots of other even smaller communities in the territories and northern parts of provinces.

Are there disadvantages? Sure. Cost of living is higher, but so are wages. If you hate winter, you might have to learn to love it. Winter days are shorter further north, but summer days are longer. You have to hop on a plane to visit the big city, but that is not a bug, it's a feature.

Canada is a great place to live, but don't assume you have to live down south. Forgive the analogy, but northern, rural, and remote Canada is the lemmy to Southern Canada's Reddit!