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Canada confuses me. I feel like the income disparity there is huge. Everything costs way more than it does here in the US and yet incomes seem far lower. I’m sp

Canada confuses me. I feel like the income disparity there is huge. Everything costs way more than it does here in the US and yet incomes seem far lower. I’m speaking based on my experience dating someone in Toronto and also the job offers I turned down from Toronto based tech companies. A salary will be like 25% less but cars are 25% more expensive? Yet I see some really fly automobiles flying around the TO.

doopy-loopy2 6y ago
Google "Canada brain drain"
- whalesalad 6y ago
  What came first, the chicken or the egg? Is brain drain causing the atrophy of salaries or are shit salaries pushing common sense individuals elsewhere?
  - cmrdporcupine 6y ago
    I don't think the brain drain causes the salary atrophy on its own. I think it's a lot to do with lower investment rates, and high skilled immigration to Canada. I'd love to see an analysis though. Base salaries for our industry look like they've been improving lately in the GTA. But not so much for other industries.
MattGaiser 6y ago
> Everything costs way more than it does here in the US Except the big one of health care. Daycare, tuition, infrastructure, etc. are also mostly covered depending on where you are. So a lot more is paid for by taxes. > job offers I turned down from Toronto based tech companies. Tech salaries are much lower here to be sure, but we just have satellite offices of large tech firms beyond Shopify. The brain drain south is a well known issue up here. If it were not for the healthcare nonsense in the USA, I probably would have gone too.
- ttul 6y ago
  There are also these considerations: 1. Canada's immigration system is merit-based. Firms in Canada import skilled immigrants to fill tech vacancies in a way that US-based companies cannot. In Canada, it can take as little as a few weeks to get a temporary work permit for a foreign tech worker. Once they are in the country, they can apply for permanent residency through a provincial program and have PR status (this is like a green card) within a year. 2. Canadian tech firms are generally smaller. It is well known that smaller firms pay less across the board, in all industries, let alone tech.

doopy-loopy2 6y ago

Google "Canada brain drain"

whalesalad 6y ago
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Is brain drain causing the atrophy of salaries or are shit salaries pushing common sense individuals elsewhere?
- cmrdporcupine 6y ago
  I don't think the brain drain causes the salary atrophy on its own. I think it's a lot to do with lower investment rates, and high skilled immigration to Canada. I'd love to see an analysis though. Base salaries for our industry look like they've been improving lately in the GTA. But not so much for other industries.

MattGaiser 6y ago

> Everything costs way more than it does here in the US Except the big one of health care. Daycare, tuition, infrastructure, etc. are also mostly covered depending on where you are. So a lot more is paid for by taxes. > job offers I turned down from Toronto based tech companies. Tech salaries are much lower here to be sure, but we just have satellite offices of large tech firms beyond Shopify. The brain drain south is a well known issue up here. If it were not for the healthcare nonsense in the USA, I probably would have gone too.

ttul 6y ago
There are also these considerations: 1. Canada's immigration system is merit-based. Firms in Canada import skilled immigrants to fill tech vacancies in a way that US-based companies cannot. In Canada, it can take as little as a few weeks to get a temporary work permit for a foreign tech worker. Once they are in the country, they can apply for permanent residency through a provincial program and have PR status (this is like a green card) within a year. 2. Canadian tech firms are generally smaller. It is well known that smaller firms pay less across the board, in all industries, let alone tech.