[vchynarov]

I agree the economics here don’t make sense, but leave where? The rest of the world has increasingly strange, or at least unattractive, economics too.

The US is a difficult and long process to get a green card. Other English-speaking countries aren’t necessarily better: Australia seems similar in terms of being a natural resource extraction economy with insanely high real estate prices. Same productivity and salary concerns with the UK.

[jjmarr]

It's trivial to move to the USA on a TN1 from Canada compared to any other visa category.

If you have a job letter, you show up to the airport and CBP can issue it immediately.

This includes software development which is responsible for GDP growth. Which is why 80-90% of CS students at the University of Waterloo immediately move to the USA after graduation.

[rdevilla]

> Which is why 80-90% of CS students at the University of Waterloo immediately move to the USA after graduation.

I am familiar with this statistic. It explains a lot about the Toronto tech community, especially versus Waterloo's.

[bluefirebrand]

> It's trivial to move to the USA on a TN1 from Canada compared to any other visa category

Okay, but as a Canadian, why would I? American seems like a shithole. All of my American friends are trying to get out asap

[jjmarr]

There is no tech talent in Canada due to the pay/tax difference and TN1 is good for SWEs.

e.g. Nobody at my office has heard of Gas Town yet. I had to get an invite to a predominantly American Teams chat to discuss it. It's a very draining environment.

Also, senior devs make US$110k and a detached home costs US$800k. I would pay less in taxes and a home would be cheaper relative to income in California.

[bluefirebrand]

I've made a good living as a software developer in Canada and I own a detached home...

Just not in Toronto, Vancouver, or Victoria

But I guess I'm not tech talent, idk.

[david-gpu]

The "there is no tech talent in Canada" folks have their heads buried in the sand. Markham is a tech hub, and so are a bunch of other places. Obviously it doesn't have the scale of the Bay Area, and the salaries are indeed lower than the Bay Area.

Many of us choose to live in Canada for a variety of reasons, and it is not because we couldn't get a job down south. Some of us even had to turn down moving to the US multiple times in our careers, but that idea is uncomfortable for some folks. It is almost as if some people value other things in addition to money.

[brailsafe]

If I could, I wouldn't. The U.S is fine usually to visit, but I wouldn't prefer to live there. Thankfully there are theoretically other alternatives that are much more appealing regardless of absolute earnings. The vibes could be better north of the border, but the U.S gives the ick

[chaostheory]

Non-English speaking country? One alternative is the Philippines. Most of the population is able to speak English.