Passport question

[s1m0n]

Unless you're in a border town, you will always get a better exchange rate at a Canadian bank than an american one, because Canadian banks see a whole lot more US money than vice versa.

[Cork]

...our only border...

Apparently the US could share Canada's only land border, but then there's Greenland, for instance, which apparently shares a nearby maritime border with Canada.

Moreover, apparently the Russians more recently claimed to have planted their national flag on the Arctic Ocean floor, directly beneath the North Pole, which then kicked off an international brouhaha involving several other nations, and so perhaps Canada, the US and other nations could eventually have a new maritime border with Russia.

[s1m0n]

Maritime boundaries don't count. However, if Canada's dispute with Denmark over ownership of tiny Hans Island between Greenland and Ellesmere Island ever results in a 'split the difference' compromise, Hans Island will become the only place in the world where you can walk from North America to Europe.

[Cork]

lol

I liked the satire, about the Hans Island Liberation Front, and Radio Free Hans Island.

Yes, if it's split between Canada and Denmark it could make for an interesting situation.

For instance, customs checkpoints on the border, one for each?

[Charlene]

Unless you're in a border town, you will always get a better exchange rate at a Canadian bank than an american one, because Canadian banks see a whole lot more US money than vice versa.

Canadian banks are much more efficient at changing US money than US banks are at changing Canadian currency. And the stores in Canada mostly seem to have a button on the cash register that is programmed to figure the exchange rate so if you pay in US$ it doesn't totally confuse the cashier. But still, you would think Spokane would know how to handle Canadian money better. Especially if businesses expect to lure any Olympic tourists over to this side of the state next year!

[Redwolf]

Unless you're in a border town, you will always get a better exchange rate at a Canadian bank than an american one, because Canadian banks see a whole lot more US money than vice versa.

Canadian banks are much more efficient at changing US money than US banks are at changing Canadian currency. And the stores in Canada mostly seem to have a button on the cash register that is programmed to figure the exchange rate so if you pay in US$ it doesn't totally confuse the cashier. But still, you would think Spokane would know how to handle Canadian money better. Especially if businesses expect to lure any Olympic tourists over to this side of the state next year!

They used to do a good job there with Canadian money. In fact, when I worked for the state tourism office back in the 80s, most motels in Spokane took Canadian money at par, and just about any business knew how to handle the exchange rate (I worked for a while after college at the Taco Time near Northtown, and we saw a lot of Canadian money come through). I'm sorry to hear that's changed...we used to get a lot of serious business from Canada (especially from Alberta, as they were able to get nonresident permits exempting them from Washington State Sales Tax. Even with the exchange rate, at the time the lower cost of some goods in the U.S. made coming down to Spokane to shop a real bargain).

Redwolf