Ten years ago I moved from Canada to the US. I was 2 years out of college, and the tiny local software consultancy I worked for went out of business after our clients refused to pay their invoices. (My hometown is notoriously stingy). My two friends/coworkers both took that opportunity to move away, one to Ottawa and one to NYC. At the same time, I had a friend on IRC who worked for Mozilla and she sold me on moving…
Whenever you do these kinds of comparisons US/Canada, remember to add in all of the taxes and fees you have no control of. I have found that Federal taxes are similar between the two countries, Provincial tax > state tax, but social security/medicare > other fiddly taxes. And the private health payments here were less than those at US employers. People often, I think, forget that they pay like 3X for US social security while getting 3X the eventual benefits - that recovers some of the difference. And the deductions for Canadian taxes (aside from mortgage interest) are more helpful, particularly with health-related payments. I would think Alberta looks quite favourable vs. California while Quebec looks bad vs. Texas. But property tax is quite reasonable (4.xK for 550K).
YMMV, but the aggregate cost here vs. where I've lived in the US has been less different than expected. Sales taxes are somewhat higher and the currency is 80% but it's nice not paying drug costs or copays.