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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

#271

Post by mdellabitta »

refurb wrote: post #245
treve wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I currently live in Toronto, but I didn't buy a house. My monthly expenses would be nearly 30% higher for a morgage and condo fees for the place I'm renting now. I rather invest that in a business. As for people living on the street. According to wikipedia the estimated homeless population in San Fransisco is between 7000 and 10000. The estimated number in Toronto is 5,253 (source: Toronto.ca), but since Toronto has…

The greater Toronto area includes other cities and the suburbs. Not a fair comparison to SF proper. Compare SF bay area to Toronto would be more fair.

I'm not sure any comparison would ever really be fair simply because SF is much more hospitable in the winter as compared to Toronto. That has an effect on homeless populations as well. Compare Vancouver and Toronto and you'll see a similar difference.

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

#272

Post by RyanMcGreal »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #170
gdilla wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happened before in the late 90s. Before the first bubble. What happened then was some slingshot effect, when Canadians go to SF and make $200K for 10 years, and still can't afford a house and are faced with mediocre schools unless they want to commute (which they don't) they may come back.

come back to Toronto where they also can't afford a home? Or live in the suburbs of the GTA and slog it through some of the worst traffic in North America for two hours each way?

Something something Hamilton!

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

#273

Post by nilved »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #272
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

come back to Toronto where they also can't afford a home? Or live in the suburbs of the GTA and slog it through some of the worst traffic in North America for two hours each way?

Something something Hamilton!

I definitely knew who wrote this comment before checking it.

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

#274

Post by aianus »

rayiner wrote: post #237
aianus wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Have you ever lived in a third world country? I lived in Bangladesh until I was 5. Homeless people in SF is one thing. But children begging in the street. Fuck, I don't have the stomach for that.

Yes, I lived in Vietnam (where the median salary is $150-$200 a month) for 6 months on ~$20,000.

It was loads of fun and I enjoyed a lifestyle equivalent to earning at least $250k back in SF. Hotel room in the city center, maid service, bar night every night, motorcycle, valet parking everywhere, restaurants 3x a day, etc.

> But children begging in the street. Fuck, I don't have the stomach for that

There appeared to be a lot less of that level of poverty in Saigon than in SF, but maybe that's because poor people don't live in the city like they do in the US. In any case, my presence there surely wasn't making anyone poorer so I don't feel bad about it.

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

#275

Post by aj0strow »

I moved to Toronto from Seattle.

If you value street fashion, nightlife, music, no driving, etc then the bay area isn't very appealing. I wouldn't move back west until I'm married with kids.

I'm 22, rent a huge apt with two friends for ~$900/m each, live on the main subway line (15 min to work). I couldn't spend more than $4k/m if I tried (bought a roomba, tom ford shades, eat steak and berries).

Some toronto companies I admire:

- https://www.wealthsimple.com/ - http://www.uken.com/ - https://shoeboxapp.com/ - https://www.opencare.com/ - https://tophat.com/ - https://www.pagerduty.com/ - http://www.eventmobi.com/

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

#276

Post by hackerboos »

arez wrote: post #87
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',…

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.

TN visas aren't dual purpose so when it comes to staying permanently Canadians are on the backlog with the rest of the world.

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

#277

Post by hackerboos »

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',…

Could be worse. Salaries in London, UK are even lower than Toronto.

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

#278

Post by gdilla »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #170
gdilla wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happened before in the late 90s. Before the first bubble. What happened then was some slingshot effect, when Canadians go to SF and make $200K for 10 years, and still can't afford a house and are faced with mediocre schools unless they want to commute (which they don't) they may come back.

come back to Toronto where they also can't afford a home? Or live in the suburbs of the GTA and slog it through some of the worst traffic in North America for two hours each way?

Compared to SF? And it's not the only factor. And I didn't say they'd all come back to Toronto. Schools, proximity to extended family, less likelihood of mass shooting, and room in your house for your kids can all be additional factors. If you're established enough in your career, you can work remote for US companies or bring work with you in some other way. Sure, Toronto and Vancouver aren't cheap, but they're more affordable than many places in the bay area, especially for what you get.

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

#279

Post by kevincox »

psycr wrote: post #20
clutchski wrote: post #4

"Toronto is already home to a number of successful venture-backed businesses, such as Shopify, KIK, ..." Fact check time. Shopify's headquarters is in Ottawa. Kik is in Waterloo.

Counter fact check: there's a massive Shopify office on Spadina

Yes, they have a big office in Toronto but their main (and largest) office is on Ottawa.

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

#280

Post by lcc »

edwinnathaniel wrote: post #258
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',…

Is the ratio of compensation really 2-3x? One datapoint: Senior Dev (say Level 1 Senior) base pay is $100k. So are you saying SF will pay this person at least $200k?

Yes. Junior dev base pay in SF is 100k. I know junior devs here making 130k. Add RSUs, factor in the exchange rate... the multiplier is easily 2-3x.
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