Hello from British Columbia, Canada

Just purchased a 4Runner & really like it!

 

You look rather smart in that car.

 

That's my wife Betty, and she is smart. She married me, and has given me the happiest 28 years of my life! - Ted

 

Well I got ya beat. Been married 33 years to my High School sweet heart. Is that a 4x4?

 

You sure got me beat on one wife But Betty is my 3rd, and far and away the best, a real keeper and a 4x4! When we're on a trip we dicker to see who gets the wheel next, whether on the highway or off-road. - Ted

 

That sounds expensive. I've always heard "its cheaper to keep her"

I know what you mean about wanting to drive. My Son has a TRD PRO that is amazing to drive on all types of terrain and in inclement weather. I think I'll buy another one in 2018. Heard the new style will be out then.

 

A couple of years after I got a good job in the US, my wife just wanted to move back to Canada, and we parted with no big problem. The second wife was a beast who took me for a big, big bundle. So I was very leery about taking on a 3rd wife, but I knew Betty's family. Her mum and dad were my best friends, and we had ridden our BMWs on trips together. So I knew their daughter had to be a keeper, and I was right! We moved back to Canada in 1999 and are both dual citizens! - Ted

 

That is awesome. Tell me about the Health Care there? Is it as bad as everyone says? Being a dual citizen, where would you go for something serious?

 

Our healthcare is the reason we moved up here in '99. It has gone up, of course, so we now pay about $150 Cdn a month, and that is not each, it covers the both of us. It also covers just about everything; quarterly GP visits, extras when we have a problem, emergencies, hospitals, etc. and we never see a bill. Betty has had 2 mastectomies and breast reconstruction, and a gall bladder removal. I've had 2 cataract replacements, plus other minor things and Betty goes in for her first cataract op next month and the 2nd about 2 months later. Amazingly, we never even see a bill, just a friendly wave from the nurses as we leave the hospital. On top of all that, we own a $350,000 house and never pay any property taxes. They are deferred at about 1.5% interest until we sell, or the kids inherit. It's a pretty good deal for all Canadians. If they had anything like it in the US, we'd still be living there! - Ted

 

That's it. I'm moving. Especially if Hillary wins.

 

Can I Bring all my guns?

 

Sporting rifles are OK, some assault types are banned, handguns not permitted except for criminals, and we had a nice S&W collection that I had to sell before I moved up. Pretty difficult to relocate to Canada unless you're a Canadian, like me. But it is possible if you apply through the proper channels, go thru all the bells and whistles, and wait for approval. - Ted

 

Thanks Ted. No, I think I'll stay put. I was born here, I was raised here and I will die here. My family has a condo in Vancouver, very beautiful but not for me.

You got any modifications planned for your Rig?

 

No mods in sight. The truck came with Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and I don't plan any rock crawling. We just stick to the many miles of forest service roads and other off-road trails here in British Columbia with, perhaps, another trip to the Yukon some day. But I'm pushing 84 now so I no longer plan too far ahead! You really should come up and tour B.C. It is a beautiful and mountainous province, only slightly larger than Texas, but it has a lot to offer tourists and off-roaders. - Cheers, Ted

 

84 is the new 54. You are doing great. I bet it is beautiful up there. I know I would like the summers a lot better. Your color 4runner is very popular down here. You ever come down to Houston we will show you around.

 

I'd love to come south again. But our low cost Canadian health insurance is not worth much south of the border, although it covers 100% up here, with no co-pay. So we no longer travel further into the US further than the short run to see our kid's families in Washington State. - Cheers, Ted

 

To explain; the $150 a month we pay here for government health insurance for both of us, covers everything while we're in Canada. But I have to pay a private insurance company about $1200 a year just to get coverage in the US for me, because of age. And, even then, it won't pay for anything related to my antique age or anything I may have seen a doctor for in the past year or so. In a sense, it's only good if I'm seriously injured in a car wreck in the US and hospitalized. It can be hell to grow old, but it still beats the alternative! - Ted

 

Where about in Washington is your family? I'm on the east side and my sister and her fiancée are on the west side of the state.

 

Son and family in Bellingham, daughters and families in Omak and near Clinton.