Fairly senior dev, US citizen here (20 years experience).
After what I've seen this past year, but more the past month, I will work for peanuts for a path to citizenship in Canada. US in 5 years is not a place I want to be, looking into all options and very serious.
If you have skills in one of the many categories, and with 20 years in tech you should, get the offer. Once armed with an offer from a Canadian company you can handle the visa at the border. For Quebec-based companies you have to have a handle on French but for the rest of Canada it's a skills and education based system for getting permanent residency.
The wage difference for IT workers is often 3:1 or higher in the US economy, as Canada has 1/10th the population with higher ratios of university alumni.
Starting a business in the USA is often far more lucrative, but people usually still incorporate in both countries for tax and liability reasons.
Things like the Canadian youth tax-credits also mean anyone over 28 gets pushed down the list for entry-level positions. The US is far easier to find a reasonable job, and the cultural tradition of entrepreneurship is far better. =3
The lifestyle difference is real but the income difference is enough to sway most people to the US. If Canada can close the gap on that I'd say it can become an even more attractive place for global tech talent than the US because of its overall better livability.
It's not just about the tax rate; make sure you properly understand the residency requirements and where your tax domicile will actually be. Many "digital nomad" visas still have an income threshold or require proof of foreign income, so double-check the fine print.
When you're ready to seriously explore options, NewLife.Help (https://newlife.help) has a solid Move Planner and an excellent cost-of-living comparison tool that can help you weigh different paradises against each other.
Canada taxes on residency, and not citizenship. The number of days in the country directly affects your tax obligations.
If you are a dual US/Canadian citizen, than you may still be expected to file a US return or face fines. Similarly, if your business sells products or services to US customers there are transactional and fiscal state-specific grace levels than can trip tax obligations.
It is difficult to take anyone worried about the US seriously when their solution to protect themselves is to move to Canada.
Not saying anyone's right or wrong but the idea that, should America go psycho, Canada would somehow be okay is a pipe dream. Canada is essentially an outpost of the United States. Yes, I have Canadian family (even old stock "Loyalist" Canadian family) and they all feel the same way.
People need to be real.
If you actually want to be able to declare independence from America you'd need citizenship in a country with actual nuclear capability. France, the UK, China, etc
It's a step improvement: It gets you over the border to a comparable place while being close enough to family for now. The risk of "borders are secure now, nobody gets to leave" is non-zero in the US' future. The way political litmus tests are affecting civil rights here is scary as hell too.
On the military angle, I'd much rather live in a country without nukes. But I'm willing to kick the nuclear blackmail risk can down the road, my own government's threats are way more immediate.
> On the military angle, I'd much rather live in a country without nukes.
That's because the majority of the typical American with these views is extremely privileged and has never actually had to live in a country without nukes. Ukraine is the future of countries without nukes -- forced to choose between great powers or made into buffer zones without any prospects. It's all so tiresome really.
If everyone who wanted to move to Canada actually moved to Canada, Canada would be filled to the brim. It's like the modern day Shangri-la. A mythical land.. far far away.
Fairly senior dev, US citizen here (20 years experience).
After what I've seen this past year, but more the past month, I will work for peanuts for a path to citizenship in Canada. US in 5 years is not a place I want to be, looking into all options and very serious.