The Border Guide: A Canadian's Guide to Living, Working, and Investing in the United States. 7th ed

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

Perhaps the most valuable advice in The Border Guide is found on pages 3
and 4. Merely crossing the Canada–U.S. border is now serious business,
with grave consequences for those who fail to know the extent of the
power conferred on front-line immigration officers, who, the author
notes, “have the right to act as prosecutor, court reporter and judge
in order to refuse entry to the United States for up to five years or
more to those persons they feel are not telling them the truth about why
they want to enter the United States.”

Keats begins his book with a review of cross-border issues; terse
evaluations of Arizona, California, and Florida as destinations for
those who wish to live or winter in the United States; and a discussion
of cross-border misconceptions about taxes, RRSPs and pensions, interest
rates, estate planning, citizenship, medical insurance, and investments.


The balance of The Border Guide is an in-depth presentation of the
issues initially raised. How ought Canadians, from day trippers to
settlers, exorcise that annoying jingle Keats amusingly describes as the
“Exchange Rate Blues”? What represents due diligence in cross-border
tax planning and non-resident estate planning? Will the American medical
system bankrupt elderly Canadians if they fall ill in the United States?


Subsequent chapters deal with the rewards and risks associated with
investing in the United States. For those who wish to move to the United
States, the author addresses questions of status and procedure. This is
followed by a comparison of Canadian and U.S. taxation policies, and a
discussion of matters that must be considered by those who have crossed
the border and now wish to return to Canada. For those who remain
stateside, Keats includes primers on investing as a U.S. resident and
taking advantage of social security and Medicare.

The last chapter, “In God We Trust,” or “Choosing a Cross-Border
Planning Professional,” is followed by eight useful appendixes. A
variety of maps, well marked with appropriate routes and detailed
itineraries, are also included in the book.