[FortunaMaximus]

You don't actually need to become a citizen to stay here. You can visit for long stretches of time, rent a place to live, get and pay utilities, etc.

It's far easier for students transferring from the US, and you can get a student work visa while at school here, if that's necessary to pay the costs you have while up here The work permits aren't necessary for on-campus jobs though.

You should be law-abiding, have the funds to support yourself, etc.

We're pretty soft on soft drug possession, however for hard drugs, the legal system is pretty strigent.

Gasoline costs are a bit higher than they would be in the US, yeah. Cigarettes too. But food and day to day expenses are comparable to most states.

Violent crime's pretty low, there's less of the whole inner city/suburbia demographics aspect you get in some US cities. Gated communities are pretty much non-existent here, for instance.

Some of our inner cities have an element of nastiness, and there are bad neighborhoods, but even those are pretty safe.

So for those of you in school wanting to transfer, we have some pretty decent schools. For those just wanting a place to stay and play online poker, etc. Just go about renting like you would in the States, and make sure you visit home every once in awhile. It's suggested you visit your consulate and register if you plan to visit for longer than 90 days. Health care won't be free, you will be billed for emergency visits, but I'm fairly sure you can get health insurance packages or travel insurance if you're visiting.

We do have pretty open immigration policies, but you do have to jump through some hurdles to obtain citizenship. It's not required to stay here though.

Hope that helps a bit.