[mabbo]

> staying in Canada to earn $40-50k CAD per year starting

Amazon Toronto starts new grads at like $80-100k last I heard. It's not as good as you can get in Silicon Valley, but rent in Toronto (while still high) is much lower than in the Valley.

[a-priori]

For another data point: I'm an Amazon SDE2 in Ottawa making CA$225k total compensation this year (about 2/3 of that is salary). That's very good pay locally. I'm not sure I can match that anywhere else in the city.

I might be able to get better in the States, even after cost-of-living increases, but what quality of life gain would there be? Would it be worthwhile to have to deal with all the crazy shit with the education and healthcare systems and the politics down there?

So I'm sticking here in Canada. I just don't see the point in moving south.

[toephu2]

"Would it be worthwhile to have to deal with all the crazy shit with the education and healthcare systems and the politics down there?"

I don't know, 325M other people seem to be living with it and are not leaving in droves.

[ttul]

Holy cow - $255K in _Ottawa_... that’s living the dream, man.

[greaseball]

Developers in Toronto are getting a raw deal. The cost of living is orders of magnitude higher than the rest of the country and devs aren't making the difference up with higher wages.

So glad I made the decision to move from Toronto to Atlantic Canada this past year. I'm actually making more money in New Brunswick than I did in Toronto and can afford to own a 4 bedroom house instead of renting a 600 square foot condo.

[hluska]

I have been weighing making a move from Saskatchewan to New Brunswick. When I compare Regina to Fredericton (as an example) though, it seems like I must be missing something. On the surface, pay is generally better, the stacks/companies are more interesting, the location seems amazing, and comparable real estate is less than half.

I know that Regina->NB is dramatically different from Toronto->NB, but is there anything you wish you would have known??

[greaseball]

Might be obvious, but the biggest thing you'll give up in this market compared to cities like Toronto or Montréal is selection. There's some larger companies with satellite offices here (IBM, Salesforce, etc), but not too many startups.

One word of caution about real estate in the Fredericton area; don't buy any property too close to the river. There's usually flooding in the spring from the snow melt up stream and this year was especially bad. I was lucky enough not to be affected, but there's lots of homes taking flood damage right now.

[hluska]

First, I apologize. I know that the river is flooding right now and I asked you 'should I move' questions when you could have been facing a tragedy. That was very selfish of me and I'm sorry.

I'm very glad you weren't affected by the flooding, and thanks for being kind, despite my gaffe!

[greaseball]

No worries, happy to help.

[tonyarkles]

Don't leave! :D

It finally feels to me like things are on the cusp of getting interesting in Regina. Saskatoon's recent acquisitions (Solido bought by Mentor/Siemens, SkipTheDishes) seems to have raised a lot of eyebrows in Regina and there's at least some momentum building to get investors/business folks/tech folks together to start building things. Co-Labs in Saskatoon seems to have been a huge inspiration/wake-up call for parts of the Regina business community.

That being said... I've always had a bit of a longing for Atlantic Canada, and if the jobs are out there... that's pretty interesting!

[sidlls]

What are rents like in Toronto? Are they $700 - $1300 per month lower (the difference of $20k - $40k net of taxes is about that)? If not, it doesn't make sense to work in Toronto.

The same situation exists across the US. For example I can get a mortgage on a nice place in the Midwest that is half my current rent in SV. That amounts to about $24k/year. However I'd have take a pay cut of about $40k gross (or more) for a job with identical responsibilities and to live in a region with far fewer opportunities. It's a net loss.

[digianarchist]

I pay $1750 CAD for a 1 bed + den near to the subway line. It's around 700 sqft.

[sidlls]

Here's a CL search just to show you what you could get on the Peninsula. It's not the city, but it's close enough. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/pen/apa?sort=priceasc&nh...

The "near downtown San Mateo" listing is a 5-minute bike ride from Caltrain, 600sq ft and US$1785. So about CAD$600 more than your rent.

[analyst74]

The equivalent of $1750 Toronto condo (modern high rise with all the amenities) is going to be very hard to find in SV except some of the newer constructions at $3500~4000.

A friend has a one bedroom in San Mateo in the sub $3000 range. The building is very old, no amenities or views to speak of, and not even in-suite laundry.

[sidlls]

Your friend is getting hosed. I have a 3 bed, 2.5 ba 1600 sq ft duplex with a yard near downtown for $4k/mo. It's older, but there's nothing wrong with it, it has a garage and a W/D, driveway, etc.

[digianarchist]

Engineer with 5 years experience earning $117k CAD ($91k USD) in North York. I don't see a lot of jobs under $85k CAD in Toronto.

[cmrdporcupine]

From what I've seen... If you consider stock options and bonuses, you could be making at least double that in the valley.

Canadians getting a raw deal by comparison. Cost of living in Toronto is not half of that of the Bay Area. Most like 2/3rds.

[digianarchist]

What matters to me is how much I can bank at the end of the month. With that in mind I've been looking hard at Austin but I'd need a H1-B.

I'm not willing to lose a quarter of my household income because my wife cannot work.

[setsanto]

Same problem here. I have offers in the Bay Area but my girlfriend would not be TN visa eligible due to her line of work. Rock and a hard place...

[digianarchist]

We just keep applying for the DV lottery. It’s a long shot but my wife qualifies.

I might move on a TN visa with the understanding that my employer converts to H1-B after 12 months.

[dagmx]

I'm kind of in the same boat. Vancouver making 135k approximately (based on 40hr week, since wage is hourly)

Have an offer at a FAANG company that when converted to CAD is the same as what my wife and I make combined.

Unfortunately we'd still lose a big chunk of our household income till she can find work there. Fortunately she's American but still in a relatively niche field so might take some time.

[cmrdporcupine]

Citation needed on the rents. Yes, maybe out in the suburbs, but if you want any kind of quality of life where you're not constantly commuting...