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Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

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Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#191

Post by treve »

adomanico wrote: post #154
lcc wrote: post #80

Not if Toronto keeps hemorrhaging talent. I graduated from the University of Toronto last year and can only name 2 of my classmates who are actually working in Toronto now. The rest are in SF, Seattle, and NYC - including many people who have family in Toronto, like me. All of my friends who were seriously working on a startup have moved it to the Bay Area. Many of us would love to move back to Toronto 'eventually',…

Hit the nail on the head. Until Toronto can match the competitive salaries in the Bay Area I will be working in the US.

Kind of surprised that this seems to be the sentiment. I rather live in a place where I make less, but the wealth is better distributed. To me a high standard of living is not just a good salary, but also good living conditions of those around me. If Toronto is to be the next Bay Area, and I have to walk over the homeless to get to work, I'm out of here.

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#192

Post by markeroon »

uiri wrote: post #137

This article is poorly fact-checked: "Queens College" is, I'm guessing, referring to Queen's University in Kingston (since the attendance number cited also matches), which is over 150 miles away from Toronto. I'm surprised the author didn't include the 25,000 students at McMaster and the 20,000 students at the University of Guelph which are both much closer than either Waterloo or Queen's. And if the author is going…

It mentions Waterloo because it's one of the best EE/CS schools in the world.

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#193

Post by kmanraj »

votr wrote: post #60
johan_larson wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waterloo is arguably part of greater Toronto. The local commuter service (Go Transit) reaches all the way to Kitchener-Waterloo. I say "arguably" because it's a two-hour train ride each way, which is pretty brutal.

If Waterloo is part of Toronto, you may as well count in Hamilton, Oakville, and Milton as well. Hell, throw in Niagara Falls.

Those cities are actually part of a geographic region called the Golden Horseshoe Area, which is more comparable to Census Statistical Areas in the US (like the SF Bay Area, Baltimore-Washington Area, and Chicagoland).

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#194

Post by mahyarm »

lewisl9029 wrote: post #155
mahyarm wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to immigrate like all the other immigrants, but since you are German, the permanent resident quota is barely used for your nationality. The USA creates a quota system for green cards and then splits them up on a nationality basis. India, China and the Philippines have a long lineup for visas. The USA creates a quota/lineup system on a per country basis. You have 3 basic options: 1. Work at a European office…

#3 is an interesting option that I hadn't heard of until now. Would this option be available to remote workers? Or is it reserved only for those working with companies that have a physical office in their country as well as the US?

Actually you don't have to be working for the company at all for #3. I think he wasn't working for the company until his green card came through.

Basically it's like applying for a green card normally, except your out of the country and you get the visa with "consular processing". I'm not sure if you can work remotely for the company or not while the green card process is happening.

I think most employers don't want to do it although because your not working for them while it's processing. With a dual intent visa you can work for the company while the green card is processing and your in the US office.

This outlines it: http://www.path2usa.com/employment-based-green-card

*Note: I know technically employers apply for you, not you yourself independently. It's just easier to write it that way.

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#195

Post by querulous »

lcc wrote: post #80

Not if Toronto keeps hemorrhaging talent. I graduated from the University of Toronto last year and can only name 2 of my classmates who are actually working in Toronto now. The rest are in SF, Seattle, and NYC - including many people who have family in Toronto, like me. All of my friends who were seriously working on a startup have moved it to the Bay Area. Many of us would love to move back to Toronto 'eventually',…

toronto salaries would shock most american developers. a startup i interviewed at starts entry level developers at $42k and senior developers were making $70k. i was told my ask of $125k cdn was double what they would consider paying me

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#196

Post by miguelrochefort »

mahyarm wrote: post #148
arez wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you get a green card easier as a canadian than people from europe for example? I'm from germany and know many people who would like to work in the states, but it's really a big problem to get the green card. It takes companies much effort and money to get you in the states for more than 3 months.

You have to immigrate like all the other immigrants, but since you are German, the permanent resident quota is barely used for your nationality. The USA creates a quota system for green cards and then splits them up on a nationality basis. India, China and the Philippines have a long lineup for visas. The USA creates a quota/lineup system on a per country basis. You have 3 basic options: 1. Work at a European office…

Are any of these options available to people without a degree?

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#197

Post by aianus »

treve wrote: post #191
adomanico wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hit the nail on the head. Until Toronto can match the competitive salaries in the Bay Area I will be working in the US.

Kind of surprised that this seems to be the sentiment. I rather live in a place where I make less, but the wealth is better distributed. To me a high standard of living is not just a good salary, but also good living conditions of those around me. If Toronto is to be the next Bay Area, and I have to walk over the homeless to get to work, I'm out of here.

> To me a high standard of living is not just a good salary, but also good living conditions of those around me.

To most it's the opposite. Wealth is relative so I'd rather live in a 3rd world country making $50k than SF making $150k.

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#198

Post by aianus »

uiri wrote: post #137

This article is poorly fact-checked: "Queens College" is, I'm guessing, referring to Queen's University in Kingston (since the attendance number cited also matches), which is over 150 miles away from Toronto. I'm surprised the author didn't include the 25,000 students at McMaster and the 20,000 students at the University of Guelph which are both much closer than either Waterloo or Queen's. And if the author is going…

> And if the author is going to include the University of Waterloo, why not also include Wilfrid Laurier University which is also in Waterloo?

Laurier does not have an engineering department (they gave it up in exchange for UWaterloo promising not to offer business degrees).

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#199

Post by ryanSrich »

treve wrote: post #191
adomanico wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hit the nail on the head. Until Toronto can match the competitive salaries in the Bay Area I will be working in the US.

Kind of surprised that this seems to be the sentiment. I rather live in a place where I make less, but the wealth is better distributed. To me a high standard of living is not just a good salary, but also good living conditions of those around me. If Toronto is to be the next Bay Area, and I have to walk over the homeless to get to work, I'm out of here.

If you're an American you need 6 figures to pay back your $100k+ student loan debt. It's not like these young tech employees are living high on the hog. They move to these tech centers because they have to.

Re: Toronto is poised to become a producer of tech startups

#200

Post by CPLX »

AzzieElbab wrote: post #14
johan_larson wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waterloo is arguably part of greater Toronto. The local commuter service (Go Transit) reaches all the way to Kitchener-Waterloo. I say "arguably" because it's a two-hour train ride each way, which is pretty brutal.

Waterloo is over 100km away from Toronto

Which is similar to the distance between Santa Clara and the Golden Gate Bridge, for what it's worth.
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