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Good or bad, it was depended on your nationality and in which part of the monarchy did you live. Even neighboring nations could live in very different conditions. For example, the position of Czechs was OK - they had their own cultural institution, fully developed educational network, own political parties and they could also use their language in the local administration. On the other hand, the position of Slovaks was bad. Their cultural institutions were banned, the network of Slovak primary schools was significantly reduced, high-schools were closed, there was no university, the administration was Magyarized, they were underrepresented in the diet, they were persecuted even for minimal national demands.Friedrich Daniel says that it was “undoublfully better for most Citizens” than “what came after”. No, it was not. For example Czechoslovakia: more political rights for all citizens (including the right of women to vote in elections), better social system, etc. I can understand that some people were dissatisfied. It is not easy to became a national minority from “dominant nation”. However, also Slovak Hungarians had their own bad experience with "rejoining” motherland in 1938 - their political rights were reduced (compared to Czechoslovakia), salaries were decreased, retirement pensions were decreased, prices were raised, unemployment was higher, etc.

I guess this depends on how one defines a higher standard of living. I was born at South Korea and lived there till an early teen till I moved to United States to live here for more than 20 years. I have been visited South Korea for 6 years in a row, and I have quite few Korean friends both in United States and South Korea. So, here is my take on it.Medical System:Korea is definitely better in terms of accessibility and coverage. For me, if I visit a hospital at US, since I have been kept making monthly payments, my annual basic checkup will be free and most medical payment will be mostly covered by my company, but I still see it is limited and such a hassle to visit the doctor’s office. In Korea, you get a simple cold, then you visit a nearby hospital or pharmacy. Koreans usually don’t understand why Americans don’t visit the hospital for a symptom like cold or flu because they are so much used to it. Heck, even for Koreans living at United States, I saw many of them decide to fly to South Korea and visit the doctors there. That is how cheap and accessible Korea medical system is. However, United States definitely has more funding for medical research and advanced surgeries. And insurance prices can be cheaper or similar in United States if they are covered by companies.Korea wins by a large margin.Retirement System:Once upon a time, most of United States had pension system. Then, companies started to go bankrupt, and they realized that they cannot promise the employees retirement pension benefits. Companies switched to 401K system, which is based on employees’ contributions from their paychecks and some tax savings while the 401K themselves are mostly funds — stocks. United States does have the Social Security system, but it no where going to be enough to sustain your lives after you retire. And United States does have insurmountable government debt, and it is getting bigger and bigger. Is Korea’s retirement system better? Korea adopts a similar system, but I heard it is quite less trustworthy.United States wins by a small margin.House System:South Korea has that world wide unique “jeon-sae” system where you can deposit a huge chunk of money to the house/apartment owner, and you can get it back after 2–3 years later. Wow, that is a pretty money! Awesome, right? Not so fast. The problem with the house system at South Korea is a hyped real estate market where the most rich Koreans became rich by investing in the real estate about few decades ago and got lucky. That is a very inflated and fragile system that can blow up anytime. And everyone wants to live at Seoul, South Korea, where most of jobs are. This drives the house costs up insane, and you have to pay premium for a small studio apartment that costs multiple years of savings in one huge lump sum. Many Koreans cannot afford that, so they end up getting loans from the banks or borrow money from their family. You might say, “hey, that is similar in New York or Silicon Valley. We are also expensive here, and Korea houses look really much cheaper!” The difference, though, is coming from the availability of job markets. Although New York and California are famous states where most Americans want to leave, the jobs are pretty much everywhere. And each city in United States offers some unique vibe of its own. New York is famous for top financial institutions with multi-cultural city vive, Silicon Valley is famous for its hip IT tech scene, Denver is famous for beautiful mountains with a place to ski, Texas is famous for its huge oil industries and great steaks and country musics, etc etc. In contrast, pretty much all major jobs and things are concentrate at Seoul, South Korea, and very few can really afford houses at South Korea. Because of this reason, you can actually own a house in United States if you are earning about middle income salary and willing not to go to San Francisco or New York, but you can barely own a house if you are earning a middle class income. You can, but it will be very hard on you.United States wins because of more flexibility and better future to become a house owner.Career System:This is where United States will absolutely win by a large margin. Yes, Coronavirus is killing the US economy right now, and many became jobless. But United States is a country of entrepreneurs and early capitalism. Because of that, United States built a very strong foundation where a business can fail but still recover. United States offers plenty of jobs because there are gazillion companies out there that pay decent salaries. Of course, I am sort of generalizing for middle class Americans, and things may get slight more difficult for lower class Americans. Yet, there is still American dream (no, I don’t think it is dead), and many Americans relatively can achieve their dreams if they have the ambition, effort, creativity, and passion. In contrast, South Korea is little still early for entrepreneur scene. It might come, but I still that there are still not so many successful startups that turn to become big size corporations. There are conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai, SK, LG, Naver, and Kakao, but there are limits to how many jobs they can create. And the difference in the job salaries and life between the big conglomerates versus those of small/medium sized companies are quite huge. That is why, even you see less unemployment in South Korea, many are very dissatisfied with what they earn and how they are being treated, and they dream to move to United States or else where. Americans should be very thankful that United States offers so many jobs they can apply and get hired if they try hard.United States wins by a large margin.General Life:Seoul, South Korea definitely seems like a city where there are so many ways to encounter new people and make friends. There is a big shopping district like Myung-Dong, a foreigner friendly place like Itaewon, and a center of big corporations like Gangnam. Everything seems so fancy, and the public transport system is world-class. This might resemble what you can expect from a place like New York, but I personally believe Korean subway is much cleaner and better than that of New York. Everything opens pretty late, like 4 to 6 a.m. late, so you can step out anytime to get a food, whether you want a simple soju (Korean sake) with side dishes or more full dinner like Korean barbecues. There are lot of clubs and bars that are open late, and the mountains and oceans are not too far away if you decide to get out of Seoul. Thus, if you dig a city life when you are young and single, I definitely think South Korea is a really cool place to be. The problem again goes back to the career system. Korea culture is heavy on drinking culture and really toxicating work culture if you are working at a corporation. You might like that, but you will always feel as you are stressed out and strained. United States, in other hand, is a country with multiple states that are almost like different countries. In essence, you have a choice to move to other city with a totally different atmospheres. That is a flexibility that South Korea cannot enjoy. Still, I loved the life and vibe of Korea, so I will give a point to Korea on this one.Korea wins.There can be few more ways to judge, but I think each country has pros and cons. On positive sides, United States offers the American dream where anyone can make their dream come true, and there are plenty of jobs and freedoms. South Korea offers the good medical system, an almost free house option (if you have a huge lump sum money), a world-class public transportation, and an excellent city life. But on negative sides, United States suffers from its problematic medical system for all and somewhat boring life styles in few cities. South Korea has problems with the lack of decent jobs, an unstable house market system, and less option whom you can be what you want to be.To wrap it up, there is a common expression that almost all Koreans heard of: “hell Joseon,” which means Korea is a hell. My Korean friends also said this: South Korea is a heaven to live if you are rich. But if you are not, it can be pretty miserable. I will let you decide.

In other Answers, I have commented on various matters an immigrant to Canada may face, depending in particular on where they are going. In this Answer I will focus on cultural aspects.My Answers tend to focus on issues that immigrants from the developing world may find challenging. The great majority of immigrants to Canada nowadays come from a few developing countries, India, China, The Philippines, the countries of the Caribbean, Pakistan, Iran, etc. Immigrants from the “developed” world would see things differently, depending on what country they come from. The number of immigrants from the former East Block world isn't very great. Perhaps an immigrant from Ukraine might feel a special sense of comfort in Winnipeg or Edmonton, because there are so many people of that origin there. However, these are people from families that have been in Canada for more than one hundred years in most cases. How much kinship there would be, I don't know.Generally, I would say to any immigrant, Canada has its share of cultural realities that people do not so much want to talk about. In Canada, it is generally the older, the affluent, the Caucasian, the well-educated, the most urbanized and those with political connections, who present the image of the country to others. However, these people are a minority in the whole population. In fairness to any immigrant, do not be disappointed with yourself if you do not start to perceive a more balanced image of Canada, until well after you get here. It takes time.Working Class CanadaIn Canada, calling someone working class can be taken as an insult. The euphemism “blue collar” isn't considered that polite either. Calling someone a “manual labourer” could also be quite insulting. In fact, the closest I can think of, about respectful terms to describe a working class person, are “industrial worker”, or “trades-person” or just calling them by their particular occupation, plumber, drywaller, automotive technician, tool and dye maker, hospital orderly, bylaw enforcement officer, etc. Not all working class people in Canada are poorly paid, so they are not synonymous with people who are economically disadvantaged.Nevertheless, a large part of the Canadian population is working class. They are not a homogeneous block, and, generalizing certain characteristics to all of them, is risky. However, there are certain commonalities that describe at least part of working class Canada. They tend to be relatively conservative about lifestyles, without being especially religious. Health messaging about not smoking, nutrition, alcohol and exercise doesn't necessarily get through. Not all working class people are strongly in agreement with the rather politically correct, human rights oriented, gender bias free, feminist interpretation of Canada put out by the Liberal Party of Canada governments and parts of the upper middle class. I think that some working class men in particular tend to chafe against this Canada. There are reasons to believe that many working class people feel they are not politically respected or have much influence in Canada (They are probably right.) This tends to drive support for populist movements, some of them rather unenthusiastic about the official version of multiculturalism and fearful of non-Canadian “values” being injected into the country.Currently, we are seeing a little bit of American influence on Canadian working class identities. We see some politicians copying the Trumpist approach, trying to appeal to that sector of the public by railing against the supposedly unfair news media and, supposedly too powerful judges. It won't help working class people at all. I hope the Canadian working class will see it for what it is.I would say to new immigrants, do not take it personally. The number of hard core bigots is relatively small. The working class does not have a Canadian political party that represents them. (The New Democratic Party used to, but in recent years has turned towards “identity” politics and promoting the interests of public service unions, those that represent government employees) The housing cost crisis in the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto Areas has been hard on working class people, who in the past, could live there decently on the salaries earned in unionized employment.I have not seen research on how, immigrants to Canada, take on a social class identity. It would be interesting to see if the lifestyles and attitudes of immigrants in working class jobs, converge with the traditional working class, but the research results could be politically rather sensitive.What Is English-Speaking Canada?It may come as a cultural shock to some immigrants to Canada when they look for the Canadian culture they have to adjust to, and can't find it.Canada is a sort of binational culture. I say “sort of”, because, while the Quebecois have a quite distinct identity, there isn't anything comparable for the majority of Canadians who speak English as a first or second language. The “British Canada” concept mostly withered away decades ago, although Canada retains the British parliamentary system of government.English-speaking Canada has no one political unit that represents it. There aren't too many cultural institutions either. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has French and English-language wings. There are some broadcasting companies and social media sites that originate from English-speaking Canada. They tend to offer a lot of American content, although, strangely, much of the “American” film and TV series content is filmed in Canada, because it is cheaper to do it here.In my opinion this leads to a sort of cultural gap. The Canadian constitution, the Criminal Code of Canada, and federal legislation set a baseline for what is allowed to happen in Canada. But, without “national” cultural institutions to make English-speaking Canadian culture more explicit, there is a sort of semi-acknowledged, kind of under-culture. Some of it is rather modest and rather low-key in nature. Also, it includes elements that many Canadians wouldn't want to boast about.The Canada Of The Suburban, Consumer CultureSuburban living is very popular in Canada. It can be very expensive to live in some of the city centres, but, I believe that there is also an implicit statement. A lot of Canadians have no use for some of the more “urbane” parts of urban Canadian life. They are not especially interested in outdoor cafes, boutique shopping, elite restaurants or high-end shopping. Canadians are relatively well-protected in terms of their “social safety net”, but salaries are not exceptional for a country in the developed world, things are quite expensive and taxes are high. For most suburbanites, a car, or more than one, is essential. So often, an individual or a family's disposable income is limited. Much of the fabric of Canadian non-working, non-commuting life is about comparison shopping and bargain hunting. This takes up a substantial part of all waking life on the weekends. It is almost a culture of scarcity.The Alcohol ParadoxEnglish-speaking Canada has a strong condemnatory tradition about alcohol, at the same that is has a very strong tradition of alcohol reliance. In terms of the battle between the two traditional cultures, one might say that alcohol won in the battle. The most puritanical traditions about alcohol (In the Manitoba of my youth, alcohol could only be had in grim-looking government stores, where you had to fill out a slip of paper, giving your name and address and the name of the beverage you had the moral turpitude to want to consume. Women could only attend drinking establishments in the company of a male escort, and in a special room.) are gone. The angry liquor control laws dissipated over time, you can buy and consume alcohol in various places, and people drink an awful lot. The alcoholism problem is rather visible, but not so much what is called alcohol dependancy.My advice to an immigrant. Hold your tongue about alcohol! Old-stock English-speaking Canadians can take declarations of abstinence as declarations of the dreaded non-Canadian values.They Start YoungWhen it comes to socializing, there is a strong tradition in English-speaking Canada that the generations should not mix. (Mixing is sometimes considered to be a prelude to older people being sexually abusive and young people prostituting themselves.) Young people in particular are expected to live in their own social worlds. Teenagers have one, then young adults. The graduation to legal drinking age can be a very significant day in a young person's life. They tend to go to clubs and private parties where it is considered appropriate to drink a great deal. The age range tends to be from the minimum legal drinking age in their province, up to not much more than twenty-five. The, the transition to the life I describe above, the suburb, the mortgage, payments for two cars, and hunt and peck shopping at the malls. Then finally, the kids are grown up, you finally get them out of the house (The job market is poor, and some of the young people prefer to live with Mom and Dad, pay no rent, and do a last bit of partying, before the mortgage, the commuter job, the shopping mall, etc., catch up with them.) and retire, presuming your pensions are decent.America, Keep Your Distance!The Quebecois have a linguistic barrier against the overwhelming popular cultural output of the cultural blast furnace to the south of us. English-speaking Canadians don't. An immigrant should be impressed by the adroit way individual Canadians control and restrict the cultural osmosis.So, enjoy the American TV programmes and the films (Given so many are made here it creates a great deal of employment for Canadians), and like the “nice” American politicians, talk-show hosts and media commentators, But, carefully filter out the Republican Party (And, hopefully, any Canadian politician who has the bad taste to copy them.), the Trumpianisms, most things to do with the Old Confederacy, pretend you would not do anything that must stay in Las Vegas, and assert that the hockey obsession will defend us against the excesses of American sports. Many Canadians develop an individualized approach. Sometimes it is selective inattention to American things.Can An Immigrant Understand?Frankly, I have seen many immigrants to English-speaking Canada who really don't want to understand. They have made a life commitment to come and live here. Do you want to acknowledge that, the people in the place you have to come to build a new, successful life, are at times difficult to understand, rather strange and live in a way you will never bring yourself to approve of?However, very few immigrants to Canada can hope to live their lives in a cultural bubble. Mainstream English-speaking Canadians may not be as direct about it as the Quebecois, but many of them hate it.Obviously, making a living, finding a place to live and surviving day to day life must come first. But, it is not enough. My best advice is that Canada is not the USA. It is not that iconic “West” that so many Quorans from the developing world like to refer to. It is something else. English-speaking Canadians in particular tend to live, to some extent, in a muted, unspoken reality. They don't necessarily approve of some of that reality. Neither do you have to. But, it is going to be your reality too. The best way to avoid ongoing cultural shock is to accept these things and, like a English-speaking Canadian, accept that your best option is, to live with them in a rather understated, enduring way.Martin Levine