This headline is funny. North America is only three countries. One is already its startup center which leaves only Mexico or Canada or both as its up and coming center.
Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
211–220 of 229 posts
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
as well as higher taxes and rapidly rising real-estate prices in both Vancouver and Toronto Taxes are lower in Ontario than California for most people.
Income taxes (maybe). Not VAT, gasoline or alcohol taxes, just to name a few.
Ok, so you're saving 4% on VAT in California - if you're spending $40k/year on non-rent things, that's $1600. Alcohol taxes are negligible. Gasoline taxes in Ontario are higher than in California, but also a negligible difference.
But high earners pay lower taxes in California because the higher brackets are lower and they can purchase a home (interest portion of mortgage is tax deductible).
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#213This article doesn't mention one of the major reasons for talent leaving Canada: if you work there, you need to stomach a 50% pay cut in average salaries vs the US. This is true pretty much across the board regardless of tech niche on the 2017 Stack Overflow Developer Survey[1]: Machine learning specialist: US 108k, Canada 53k (49%) Embedded applications/devices developer: US 100k, Canada 53k (53%) Systems administra…
I was an executive at a SW firm in Toronto for almost 9 years (I'm originally from the US). In order to hire relatively talented people, the salaries were (even in 2007) no where near what you are describing. When I resigned in 2014 the lowest paid developer on a 30 person team might have been making around $80k. Typically salaries were between $88 and $110. While there are a large number of Canadians that have gone…
My sense is the more ambitious Canadian engineers and/or those with high earnings potential will be drastically better off in the US (financially speaking) because the upper end of compensation and access to job opportunity is so much higher, but beyond that it's significantly murkier and highly dependent on personal circumstance.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Condo's are $1000/sqft still. In the suburbs maybe.
Presales downtown are at $2k/sqft.
Sometimes I fantasize about winning the lottery and go browse condos to see what I could buy.....$5M downtown gets you something completely unimpressive, it's really hard to fathom.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's another source, Payscale.com: Software engineer (Canada): $51,000 (C$70,000) Software engineer (US): $80,825 The gap here is smaller ($30k vs. $50k) but still significant. And I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm more inclined to believe two surveys than a random person's claim. [1] http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Software_Engineer/Sa... [2] http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engin…
Canada is a large country. $51k in Winnipeg might be a really nice salary. In the greater Toronto area that would be low.
large by land area. small by population. Who is hiring software developers in Winnipeg?
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not talking about monthly premiums, I'm talking about what it costs when you actually need health care. How much is the deductible, what is the coinsurance rate, how steep are the co-pays, how weirdly restricted are the options for doctors, etc.? "Zero cost full coverage" sounds like the old Microsoft plan, where everything was paid for all the time. That defines "top notch" for me, and most health insurance plan…
I think you're exaggerating the actual cost. I really don't think Google has a deductible plan, and I'd be surprised if the copays are more than $10 or $20. And remember, we're comparing this to Canada where you still have to pay for prescriptions (or at least a co-pay depending on your situation). Very, very few countries in the world actually cover 100% of healthcare costs. All in all I don't really think it's a us…
I wasn't trying to compare countries; I don't know anything about Canada's health care system. I'm just taking issue with the assertion that "the healthcare coverage you will get from any tech company paying 6 figures is going to be essentially zero cost full coverage", because that isn't, according to my experience and observation, actually true.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Healthcare, stability and democracy Healthcare: We're talking about tech jobs. The healthcare coverage you will get from any tech company paying 6 figures is going to be essentially zero cost full coverage. Stability: I have no idea what you are even talking about here, but it would be pretty hard to refer to the US as unstable from the perspective of someone working in a tech job. I suspect you pay too much attenti…
>> Healthcare: We're talking about tech jobs. The healthcare coverage you will get from any tech company paying 6 figures is going to be essentially zero cost full coverage. This is not always the case, especially for small startups. I know engineers who make 6 figures in small startups and pay $1K a month for Health insurance for family of 2 young people. >> Stability. I think what OP refers to is stability of finan…
Same thing can happen in a Canadian election: win without popular vote.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#218Is Waterloo or Toronto better for starting a tech startup?
I'd say Waterloo, getting office rentals are cheaper and overall living costs are cheaper in Waterloo. You also get access to UW and Velocity (shout-out to Jay Shah!).
Toronto has MARS and DMZ and 111 Richmond are a few places to start off. I'd rather take Waterloo over that any day. The real-estate in Toronto is just insane.
Neither Toronto nor Waterloo has the VC's of Sand Hill Road, so if you're on the fund raising track, Waterloo being an hour away makes no difference.
So yea, I'd still opt for Waterloo, just my opinion, others will likely disagree.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't have to be a downgrade in the aggregate. You can downgrade your housing but upgrade other stuff.
That is, if stuff or travel are your main motivators in life. If you'd prefer to raise a family, a 1BR ain't gonna cut it.
No need for the snark; obviously "other stuff" includes things you need for raising a family.
Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is, if stuff or travel are your main motivators in life. If you'd prefer to raise a family, a 1BR ain't gonna cut it.
No need for the snark; obviously "other stuff" includes things you need for raising a family.
Right, but housing is sort of the bare minimum. People in developing countries raise families in extremely cramped conditions, true, but that's not something you can get away with in our society. Children's Aid Society, Family & Children's Services, and many other organizations will intervene in such situations. It'd be especially embarrassing to be put in such a situation just so you can bump up from a high-five-figure-job to a low-six-figure-job by moving to SF.
Beyond that, there's also the issue of schooling. That tends to be a nightmare for people in the Bay Area, due to the districting policies. Many Bay Area parents opt for private schooling, further adding to the expense.