Where is more expensive to stay— Canada or USA?

It’s largely personal preference, it’s up to everyone to decide for themselves. But if all you want is a peaceful happy life than Canada is a considerably easier place to live in. The major reasons being that we have a social safety net that’s broader. Healthcare is available to everyone free of charge. University is still affordable. Housing is more affordable.
I’m going to expand a bit below.
In Canada most healthcare is covered by taxes and our taxes are not very high. In the United States I pay somewhere in the range of $200 a month for my health insurance. I have excellent insurance that covers almost everything – my husbands company contributes to the cost of the plan so that I only pay what I said above per month. Now I have a deductible – it’s somewhere in the $5000 range. What that means is that I have to pay that amount out of pocket before my insurance kicks in to pay for the rest. I have a health savings card that I charge for out of pocket expenses, so far I’ve never had to use anything else. I can write all of the above without sniffling because I can afford this. A LOT of people can’t afford this. And when you don’t have a job that helps with insurance costs your monthly cost if you are lucky can be $500 a month with a $10 000 deductible. Let that sink in for a minute – how much money getting sick in America can cost you. It will cost virtually nothing in Canada.
I paid roughly $6000 CAD per year for tuition at university in Canada. This amount is similar across universities. The best school won’t cost much more than the worst. My hubby paid upwards of $30000 USD per year for tuition in the United States. He went to a really good school. These prices are higher now in both countries but the difference between them is still similar. My little brother growing up in New Jersey had to assess the price of each university he wanted to apply to, some were just too expensive. In Canada the price is basically the same give or take a few hundred, so price is never a consideration for where you apply to.
Living costs – start with rent. This only applies to people living in major cities. I’m going to compare Toronto to Boston and Montreal. In Toronto there are a lot of new condos going up everywhere and many many large apartment buildings. When I worked in property management we had 4 buildings we managed. All of them had underground parking, central air conditioning and heating, a gym and a pool. I worked there in 2015 so prices have gone up but not by too much beyond the cost of inflation. The most expensive one was located mid town near St. Clair. A one bedroom there cost $1575 per month with utilities included. And the apartment’s all had balconies, giant living rooms and bedrooms. The cheapest building (same amenities) located in Etobicoke near the subway cost $1050 for a one bedroom.
In Montreal most places have a similar standard but cost less. Average price for a decent one bedroom was around $750.
Now Boston. Apartments are small and expensive. When I first moved down here I lived in an apartment that looked like something out of eastern Europe and cost $2500 per month plus gas and utilities. I remember having to keep space heaters in the rooms during winter, how there never seemed to be enough hot water to shower and wondered why the light switch to the bathroom was actually in the shower. New York I know from hearsay is pretty similar.