10 ms·

That will work until one of the Microsofts of the world decides it's more cost effective to move everyone 2 hours drive north to Vancouver than it is to pay thi

That will work until one of the Microsofts of the world decides it's more cost effective to move everyone 2 hours drive north to Vancouver than it is to pay this giant bill. The US is quickly going to learn that there is a rather modern country to the north that isn't in the same financial distress as Europe or most states are. I'd imagine given that, this line of thinking would probably play itself out pdq.

jiggy2011 14y ago
But I thought their financials would be in ruin, what with giving out all of that free healthcare?
- run4yourlives 14y ago
  Don't get me wrong, we will eventually get to the spot Europe is in if we don't make changes to our health care services of one type or another. We have however shown a remarkable ability to vote for people that tell us we can't afford things we can't afford. We took drastic austerity measures in the 90's and we actually voted for it - twice. I'm not too worried about our finances, once people get the numbers in front of them, they tend to be convinced.
  - sliverstorm 14y ago
    A cohort of reasonable voters? You just keep racking up reasons to move there...
    - mahyarm 14y ago
      Vancouver has horrible housing affordability ratios (housing price : income), income is lower at the entry level for software by almost double compared to WA (MS can change that), cost of goods is about %15-%30 more expensive across the board. Housing prices are just now reversing because of stricter mortgage requirements. Interest rates are really low and an interest rate hike is just waiting to happen. The reason why Vancouver is so bad for housing is because wealthy foreign investors see Vancouver as a stable store of value for their money. It's a complicated bank account for large sums of money. Alberta is the money making place to be in Canada, since the resource industry & banking drives over %50 of the TSX. Rent is also a lot better in Alberta. But Canada is not a country right now to be a techie compared to the USA. It's a great place to be in the oil industry although.
      - run4yourlives 14y ago
        I don't disagree with anything you say, but if you are moving from Seattle to AB you may as well pick a friendlier US state. The reason I suggested Vancouver is because of it's proximity. It's pretty much the same place.
  - Vivtek 14y ago
    Europe's healthcare has nothing at all to do with "the spot they're in". The spot is due exclusively to short-sighted compromises in the structure of the Eurozone - the idea was to get into cheap markets and it paid off great for Germany, but now they have to pay the bill the voters are balking. But no, the Canadian healthcare system is not going to pull you under.
kjackson2012 14y ago
You don't know much about Vancouver if you think this is a realistic possibility. Vancouver, BC has barely any tech industry (a few software companies like Business Objects, and EA Sports are up there, but nothing meaningful), and the taxes are high. British Columbia has one of the highest tax rate in Canada. One of my Canadian friends told me that the 50% marginal tax rate started around $65k, although I haven't double-checked this for accuracy. You can't compete between Washington State, with no state income tax, and Vancouver, BC.
- jmtulloss 14y ago
  According to this, it's pretty comparable to the US if you live in California. Higher than the US if you live in Washington under their current tax laws. http://2vancouver.com/en/articles/vancouver-bc-taxes-on-income http://2vancouver.com/en/articles/vancouver-bc-taxes-on-inco...
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  High taxes aren't an issue, since healthcare is free and there is a very strong social safety net.
  - redthrowaway 14y ago
    Also, taxes aren't high.
    - refurb 14y ago
      It's all relative, no? Long ago, when I moved to the US from Canada, I figure out what I'd owe in tax in Canada vs. what I was paying in the US. Keep in mind that I owed a home (mortgage interest deduction) and maxed out my 401k (which isn't a % of income like Canada). I was only making $50K/yr, but I was taking home an extra $5K by living in the US and not Canada. 10% more income is pretty good, no?
      - redthrowaway 14y ago

jiggy2011 14y ago

But I thought their financials would be in ruin, what with giving out all of that free healthcare?

run4yourlives 14y ago
Don't get me wrong, we will eventually get to the spot Europe is in if we don't make changes to our health care services of one type or another. We have however shown a remarkable ability to vote for people that tell us we can't afford things we can't afford. We took drastic austerity measures in the 90's and we actually voted for it - twice. I'm not too worried about our finances, once people get the numbers in front of them, they tend to be convinced.
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  A cohort of reasonable voters? You just keep racking up reasons to move there...
  - mahyarm 14y ago
    Vancouver has horrible housing affordability ratios (housing price : income), income is lower at the entry level for software by almost double compared to WA (MS can change that), cost of goods is about %15-%30 more expensive across the board. Housing prices are just now reversing because of stricter mortgage requirements. Interest rates are really low and an interest rate hike is just waiting to happen. The reason why Vancouver is so bad for housing is because wealthy foreign investors see Vancouver as a stable store of value for their money. It's a complicated bank account for large sums of money. Alberta is the money making place to be in Canada, since the resource industry & banking drives over %50 of the TSX. Rent is also a lot better in Alberta. But Canada is not a country right now to be a techie compared to the USA. It's a great place to be in the oil industry although.
    - run4yourlives 14y ago
      I don't disagree with anything you say, but if you are moving from Seattle to AB you may as well pick a friendlier US state. The reason I suggested Vancouver is because of it's proximity. It's pretty much the same place.
- Vivtek 14y ago
  Europe's healthcare has nothing at all to do with "the spot they're in". The spot is due exclusively to short-sighted compromises in the structure of the Eurozone - the idea was to get into cheap markets and it paid off great for Germany, but now they have to pay the bill the voters are balking. But no, the Canadian healthcare system is not going to pull you under.

kjackson2012 14y ago

You don't know much about Vancouver if you think this is a realistic possibility. Vancouver, BC has barely any tech industry (a few software companies like Business Objects, and EA Sports are up there, but nothing meaningful), and the taxes are high. British Columbia has one of the highest tax rate in Canada. One of my Canadian friends told me that the 50% marginal tax rate started around $65k, although I haven't double-checked this for accuracy. You can't compete between Washington State, with no state income tax, and Vancouver, BC.

jmtulloss 14y ago
According to this, it's pretty comparable to the US if you live in California. Higher than the US if you live in Washington under their current tax laws. http://2vancouver.com/en/articles/vancouver-bc-taxes-on-income http://2vancouver.com/en/articles/vancouver-bc-taxes-on-inco...
enraged_camel 14y ago
High taxes aren't an issue, since healthcare is free and there is a very strong social safety net.
- redthrowaway 14y ago
  Also, taxes aren't high.
  - refurb 14y ago
    It's all relative, no? Long ago, when I moved to the US from Canada, I figure out what I'd owe in tax in Canada vs. what I was paying in the US. Keep in mind that I owed a home (mortgage interest deduction) and maxed out my 401k (which isn't a % of income like Canada). I was only making $50K/yr, but I was taking home an extra $5K by living in the US and not Canada. 10% more income is pretty good, no?
    - redthrowaway 14y ago