[neivin]

> I think the CoL-adjusted salary is pretty close, or actually better in Toronto.

This is a common misconception, and is promoted by a lot of tech companies in Toronto. It actually frustrates me whenever someone says that the compensation in the bay vs Toronto is the same after adjusting for CoL.

It's really not. You will end up with more absolute savings by working in the bay area, than you will in Toronto in a similar living situation.

[otoburb]

>>It's really not. You will end up with more absolute savings by working in the bay area, than you will in Toronto in a similar living situation.

Almost every expat Canadian working and saving in the US also has a little voice in the back of their mind reassuring them that even if the absolute number of saved US dollars is the same as saved Canadian dollars, there's a really good chance their US dollars will go further [when|if] they move back home in X years due to the historical exchange rate.

[analyst74]

To put things in concrete terms, for a single person living 1br downtown high-rise with one car. Cost of living difference is about 30k higher in SF. At 100-200k range salaries, it's around 50k pre-tax income. (Figures not accounting for exchange rate)

Salary difference between medium no name companies in the two cities are about that much.

[apercu]

I've worked in both the Bay Area and Toronto. Salaries are significantly higher in the Bay Area even counting COL.