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The minimum I would accept is $100k CAD. I currently make about $170k USD ($225k CAD), so that's a pretty steep drop that I'm willing to deal with.

bluefirebrand 3y ago
That's fair, just be aware that it's not just a salary drop, it's likely higher income taxes (depending where you're from) and expenses too. Canada has some of the highest telecom prices in the world for instance. There's still a lot to like about Canada. I grew up here and didn't leave, so I'm not saying don't come here. Just making sure you don't get here and are shocked that not only do you make way less, what you do make doesn't buy as much either.
dleslie 3y ago
After Federal and Provincial income tax, EI and CPP premiums, your net pay at 100k CAD would be 68k in Qc, 75k in BC, and 74k in ON or AB. In BC and ON, you'd expect to spend 30k on rent; in AB and QC it'll be more like 21k. So after rent and taxes, BC is 45k, ON is 44k, QC is 47k, and AB is 53k. Roughly. Now you've got to pay for food, utilities, and so forth. That's probably another 30k. It's easy to spend 2500 CAD/mo on just food, gas, electrical, insurance, utilities and so on. Everything adds up fast. So really, after all is said and done, you're working full time for 15k to 20k CAD a year; or 11k to 15k USD.
- amrocha 3y ago
  Your numbers are way off >30K on rent Not unless you're living in luxury towers in rich areas. A 1 bedroom or a studio will rarely go above 2K, even in Vancouver or Toronto. >2500 on food If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most. >gas Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car. If you do need a car where you live, then you're likely saving on rent. >electrical Electricity is dirt cheap in Canada. Never paid more than 60$ even in winter. Other utilities are similar to the US, that'll add up to 200-300 dollars. >insurance Not a thing. Welcome to modern society, baby. I'm sure you can spend that much money if you want to, but that's a choice to live a certain lifestyle. This lifestyle is not necessary. My first job in Canada I made 53K, 37K after taxes. I lived a normal life, studio downtown, going on vacations, drinking and eating out, and still managed to save 13000 dollars in a single year. Later I got a raises to 80K, 120K, and eventually 250K, but my (again, definitely not frugal!) lifestyle never cost me more than 25 - 30K per year.
  - dleslie 3y ago
    > A 1 bedroom or a studio will rarely go above 2K, even in Vancouver or Toronto. Average price of an unfurnished 1 bedroom in Vancouver is well over 2k now.[0] > If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most. I said food, gas, utilities, electrical, and all the other sundries required of living in Vancouver. And 500 CAD on food was achievable pre-pandemic, but inflation hit grocery bills the hardest. I paid for renter's insurance, and extended medical while living in Vancouver. It was worth it, because my storage locker was busted into several times by junkies and we had things stolen that we later replaced. And, if you bike you are potentially liable in accidents. Getting insurance if you commute by bicycle is sensible. > Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car. Taking Translink will still run hundreds of dollars a month.[1] 0: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-rent-prices-january-2023-6332639 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-rent... 1: https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/pricing-and-fare-zones https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/pricing-and-fare-zone...
    - amrocha 3y ago
      Average price includes luxury places. Spend a couple weeks searching and you won't pay the average. Inflation, sure, it's still not gonna be more than 700$. My 500$ figure is literally from 2022. Rent insurance is 30$ per month, anything else is optional and your choice and also not that expensive. That does not add up to 2500 per month. And yeah, I know transit costs money, just get a pass. Work pays for it, and if they don't you can deduct it from your taxes.
      - dleslie 3y ago
        There isn't enough luxury stock across the whole of Metro Vancouver to meaningfully inflate the mean above the median. Looking at New Westminster, the cheapest I see now are all private rooms in someone's suite. Most units are well above 2k.[0] Utilities includes heat and hot water, electrical, home internet, cellular, gym memberships, and so on. I suppose if you never turn on the heater, don't have home internet, never hit the gym, don't make any calls, don't own a car, and only shit at work then you could save a bundle, here. The transit tax credit was eliminated in 2017.[1] 0: https://rentals.ca/new-westminster?bbox=-123.08659,49.11473,-122.76077,49.29597 https://rentals.ca/new-westminster?bbox=-123.08659,49.11473,... 1: https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/deducting-the-cost-of-your-public-transit-passes-5483 https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/deducting-the-cost-of-your-p...
- bovermyer 3y ago
  Keep in mind that I have done my own research and am aware of the numbers I'd be looking at. They disagree with your numbers. For one thing, I don't plan on living anywhere near one of the big cities.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - dleslie 3y ago
    That really is a YMMV outcome, then. Ie, Nanaimo was once a small town in central Vancouver island, with low rents and cheap housing. It's now one of the fastest growing cities in Canada[0] and has some of the highest rents and fastest growing rents in BC[1]. Really, here in Canada the situation is changing _fast_. What may have seemed a reasonable market a year ago could have collapsed into unaffordability by now. Also, as a resident of Nanaimo: be prepared not to have access to Health Care. As a new resident you won't get a family doctor, and the _single_ walk-in clinic stops taking patients early in the morning. The ER is your only option, and often it only has one attending doctor. This is similar throughout BC outside of Victoria and Metro Vancouver. In no small part because of people like yourself, who are avoiding immigrating to the big cities; but also because of people fleeing the cities. 0: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/02/09/nanaimo-population-jumps-twice-national-rate-top-five-fastest-growing-metro-area-in-canada/ https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/02/09/nanaimo-population-jum... 1: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/12/14/rent-prices-in-nanaimo-across-canada-push-higher-into-record-territory/ https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/12/14/rent-prices-in-nanaimo...
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
somerandomqaguy 3y ago
Eh, take it for what it is but when I was in QA, my salary was $52,000 CAD for 9 years of experience. That included doing a lot SDET and customer integration work as well. And that was with a Canadian tech company. You can probably do better but kind of gives you an idea about how big a US vs Canadian gap can get.
- aprdm 3y ago
  QA is paid very poorly in both Canada and USA
aprdm 3y ago
You can easily make double that as a senior eng in Montreal nowadays

bluefirebrand 3y ago

That's fair, just be aware that it's not just a salary drop, it's likely higher income taxes (depending where you're from) and expenses too. Canada has some of the highest telecom prices in the world for instance. There's still a lot to like about Canada. I grew up here and didn't leave, so I'm not saying don't come here. Just making sure you don't get here and are shocked that not only do you make way less, what you do make doesn't buy as much either.

dleslie 3y ago

After Federal and Provincial income tax, EI and CPP premiums, your net pay at 100k CAD would be 68k in Qc, 75k in BC, and 74k in ON or AB. In BC and ON, you'd expect to spend 30k on rent; in AB and QC it'll be more like 21k. So after rent and taxes, BC is 45k, ON is 44k, QC is 47k, and AB is 53k. Roughly. Now you've got to pay for food, utilities, and so forth. That's probably another 30k. It's easy to spend 2500 CAD/mo on just food, gas, electrical, insurance, utilities and so on. Everything adds up fast. So really, after all is said and done, you're working full time for 15k to 20k CAD a year; or 11k to 15k USD.

amrocha 3y ago
Your numbers are way off >30K on rent Not unless you're living in luxury towers in rich areas. A 1 bedroom or a studio will rarely go above 2K, even in Vancouver or Toronto. >2500 on food If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most. >gas Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car. If you do need a car where you live, then you're likely saving on rent. >electrical Electricity is dirt cheap in Canada. Never paid more than 60$ even in winter. Other utilities are similar to the US, that'll add up to 200-300 dollars. >insurance Not a thing. Welcome to modern society, baby. I'm sure you can spend that much money if you want to, but that's a choice to live a certain lifestyle. This lifestyle is not necessary. My first job in Canada I made 53K, 37K after taxes. I lived a normal life, studio downtown, going on vacations, drinking and eating out, and still managed to save 13000 dollars in a single year. Later I got a raises to 80K, 120K, and eventually 250K, but my (again, definitely not frugal!) lifestyle never cost me more than 25 - 30K per year.
- dleslie 3y ago
  > A 1 bedroom or a studio will rarely go above 2K, even in Vancouver or Toronto. Average price of an unfurnished 1 bedroom in Vancouver is well over 2k now.[0] > If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most. I said food, gas, utilities, electrical, and all the other sundries required of living in Vancouver. And 500 CAD on food was achievable pre-pandemic, but inflation hit grocery bills the hardest. I paid for renter's insurance, and extended medical while living in Vancouver. It was worth it, because my storage locker was busted into several times by junkies and we had things stolen that we later replaced. And, if you bike you are potentially liable in accidents. Getting insurance if you commute by bicycle is sensible. > Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car. Taking Translink will still run hundreds of dollars a month.[1] 0: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-rent-prices-january-2023-6332639 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-rent... 1: https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/pricing-and-fare-zones https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/pricing-and-fare-zone...
  - amrocha 3y ago
    Average price includes luxury places. Spend a couple weeks searching and you won't pay the average. Inflation, sure, it's still not gonna be more than 700$. My 500$ figure is literally from 2022. Rent insurance is 30$ per month, anything else is optional and your choice and also not that expensive. That does not add up to 2500 per month. And yeah, I know transit costs money, just get a pass. Work pays for it, and if they don't you can deduct it from your taxes.
    - dleslie 3y ago
      There isn't enough luxury stock across the whole of Metro Vancouver to meaningfully inflate the mean above the median. Looking at New Westminster, the cheapest I see now are all private rooms in someone's suite. Most units are well above 2k.[0] Utilities includes heat and hot water, electrical, home internet, cellular, gym memberships, and so on. I suppose if you never turn on the heater, don't have home internet, never hit the gym, don't make any calls, don't own a car, and only shit at work then you could save a bundle, here. The transit tax credit was eliminated in 2017.[1] 0: https://rentals.ca/new-westminster?bbox=-123.08659,49.11473,-122.76077,49.29597 https://rentals.ca/new-westminster?bbox=-123.08659,49.11473,... 1: https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/deducting-the-cost-of-your-public-transit-passes-5483 https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/deducting-the-cost-of-your-p...
bovermyer 3y ago
Keep in mind that I have done my own research and am aware of the numbers I'd be looking at. They disagree with your numbers. For one thing, I don't plan on living anywhere near one of the big cities.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- dleslie 3y ago
  That really is a YMMV outcome, then. Ie, Nanaimo was once a small town in central Vancouver island, with low rents and cheap housing. It's now one of the fastest growing cities in Canada[0] and has some of the highest rents and fastest growing rents in BC[1]. Really, here in Canada the situation is changing _fast_. What may have seemed a reasonable market a year ago could have collapsed into unaffordability by now. Also, as a resident of Nanaimo: be prepared not to have access to Health Care. As a new resident you won't get a family doctor, and the _single_ walk-in clinic stops taking patients early in the morning. The ER is your only option, and often it only has one attending doctor. This is similar throughout BC outside of Victoria and Metro Vancouver. In no small part because of people like yourself, who are avoiding immigrating to the big cities; but also because of people fleeing the cities. 0: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/02/09/nanaimo-population-jumps-twice-national-rate-top-five-fastest-growing-metro-area-in-canada/ https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/02/09/nanaimo-population-jum... 1: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/12/14/rent-prices-in-nanaimo-across-canada-push-higher-into-record-territory/ https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/12/14/rent-prices-in-nanaimo...

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

somerandomqaguy 3y ago

Eh, take it for what it is but when I was in QA, my salary was $52,000 CAD for 9 years of experience. That included doing a lot SDET and customer integration work as well. And that was with a Canadian tech company. You can probably do better but kind of gives you an idea about how big a US vs Canadian gap can get.

aprdm 3y ago
QA is paid very poorly in both Canada and USA

aprdm 3y ago

You can easily make double that as a senior eng in Montreal nowadays