Well, the cost of living does not matter to the company; the issue for them are the salaries. According this[1], the average salary for a software developer in

Well, the cost of living does not matter to the company; the issue for them are the salaries. According this[1], the average salary for a software developer in Shanghai is 150k RMB. That's like 30.5k Canadian dollars. The average salary for a software developer in Vancouver is more than double of that[2]. Changing the topic... I'm not so sure if Southern Europe is cheaper than Shanghai. The two main cities of Spain rank higher in cost of living than Shanghai, according your link. I guess that defining the "cost of living" is a really complicated problem. [1]: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/shanghai-software-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,8_IM999_KO9,26.htm https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/shanghai-software-enginee... [2]: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/vancouver-software-developer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,9_IM972_KO10,28.htm https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/vancouver-software-develo...