5 ms·

What are the reasons that lead you to believe that? I have lived in both the US and Canada, I prefer Canada.

by ybrah 11y ago

Grishnakh 11y ago
I can imagine reasons a few right away that he would think that: * housing cost is generally higher in Canada, except maybe if you're comparing to the Bay Area in which case it's a wash * cars cost a LOT more in Canada (as does everything else) * tech salaries are a lot lower in Canada * taxes are generally higher in Canada (plus the huge VAT for sales)
- Mikeb85 11y ago
  And you save a shitload of money on healthcare and university. Not to mention, money != quality of life. While I'm not going to argue Canada is the best place ever or that we don't have some issues, the quality of life is still pretty damn good. Certainly not 50% lower than the US or Silicon Valley...
  - miguelrochefort 11y ago
    What do you save on healthcare and university? University is like $3000/year here. I heard it's almost the same in the US if you go to a regular University. Healthcare is irrelevant is you're insured. And if you want access to care or a specialist in a reasonable delay, you have to got the private route, which means you actually pay twice. Considering that 50% of our taxes go to healthcare, I'm paying almost 25% of my income on healthcare here in Canada.
    - ceratopisan 11y ago
      I'm not sure what a "regular university" is. That might be the cost of a relatively cheap community college - i.e. the lowest-end choice in many areas. My uneducated guess is it's about 5-10 times that at private U.S colleges.
      - miguelrochefort 11y ago
        Comparing the price of private U.S. Colleges to public Canadian Colleges is a mistake.
  - Grishnakh 11y ago
    Healthcare isn't that expensive here. Think of your premium as an extra tax: how does the lower taxes in the US plus the health insurance premium compare to what you'd pay in Canada? Now add in the significantly lower salaries. Remember, we're comparing lifestyles of tech professionals here, not average people or poor people. For people who can't afford decent health insurance, Canada definitely seems to have a much better system. But a tech professional should not have much trouble paying health insurance premiums.

What are the reasons that lead you to believe that? I have lived in both the US and Canada, I prefer Canada.

by ybrah 11y ago

What are the reasons that lead you to believe that? I have lived in both the US and Canada, I prefer Canada.

I can imagine reasons a few right away that he would think that: * housing cost is generally higher in Canada, except maybe if you're comparing to the Bay Area in which case it's a wash * cars cost a LOT more in Canada (as does everything else) * tech salaries are a lot lower in Canada * taxes are generally higher in Canada (plus the huge VAT for sales)

Mikeb85 11y ago
And you save a shitload of money on healthcare and university. Not to mention, money != quality of life. While I'm not going to argue Canada is the best place ever or that we don't have some issues, the quality of life is still pretty damn good. Certainly not 50% lower than the US or Silicon Valley...
- miguelrochefort 11y ago
  What do you save on healthcare and university? University is like $3000/year here. I heard it's almost the same in the US if you go to a regular University. Healthcare is irrelevant is you're insured. And if you want access to care or a specialist in a reasonable delay, you have to got the private route, which means you actually pay twice. Considering that 50% of our taxes go to healthcare, I'm paying almost 25% of my income on healthcare here in Canada.
  - ceratopisan 11y ago
    I'm not sure what a "regular university" is. That might be the cost of a relatively cheap community college - i.e. the lowest-end choice in many areas. My uneducated guess is it's about 5-10 times that at private U.S colleges.
    - miguelrochefort 11y ago
      Comparing the price of private U.S. Colleges to public Canadian Colleges is a mistake.
- Grishnakh 11y ago
  Healthcare isn't that expensive here. Think of your premium as an extra tax: how does the lower taxes in the US plus the health insurance premium compare to what you'd pay in Canada? Now add in the significantly lower salaries. Remember, we're comparing lifestyles of tech professionals here, not average people or poor people. For people who can't afford decent health insurance, Canada definitely seems to have a much better system. But a tech professional should not have much trouble paying health insurance premiums.