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One of my classmates, a software engineer with PhD from UBC, worked for several years in Vancouver. He once told me his salary and was a real shock how low it was. He hesitated several years but finally moved to Seattle. His salary now is 3 times higher than it was before. He owns a home. His daily commute to work takes only 15 min.
Vancouver is a beautiful city (mostly because of geographic location), has awesome Stanley Park, but if you are a young professional not having a fortune to invest into real estate, it has little to attract. And, honestly, Seattle does not differ much geographically. But having 2-3 times bigger salary, lower taxes, cheaper real estate it is much more attractive than Vancouver.
I'm in IT. When I moved from Vancouver to Seattle (because of family reasons), waiting for my Green Card I quickly got a job at quite few levels below what I was doing in Vancouver (senior IT consultant at a top tier firm)...I was shocked that I was basically making the same money (in nominal number of $$$, actually more considering the exchange rate and cost of living...and yes I got health insurance and dental too).
Actually I think the Vancouver is past its peak as the cool and trendy city du jour...its flaws are too evident to be ignored and many young professionals avoid it like the plague. Among globe trotter professionals it has never been that popular in the first place.
Last edited by saturno_v; 07-24-2017 at 12:05 PM..
I'm in IT. When I moved from Vancouver to Seattle (because of family reasons), waiting for my Green Card I quickly got a job at quite few levels below at what I was doing in Vancouver (senior IT consultant at a top tier firm)...I was shocked that I was basically making the same money (in nominal number of $$$, actually more considering the exchange rate and cost of living...and yes I got health insurance and dental too).
Actually I think the Vancouver is past its peak as the cool and trendy city du jour...its flaws are too evident to be ignored and many young professionals avoid it like the plague. Amoug globe trotter professionals it has never been that popular in the first place.
I never considered Vancouver as cool and trendy. Maybe it was cool before I was born... Rio is cool, St Petersburg is cool, Bangkok is cool, heck, even small Pnom Phen is cool. But Vancouver? It is a nice resort town for rich immigrants, but socially lethargic otherwise. Not that Seattle is very different in this regard However one has to pay a huge premium to live in Vancouver.
Yeah - Phuket or Palm Springs.... hmmmmm not a difficult choice for me! I feel like some Tom Yum Soup!
I wish more Canadians would do that and stay out of the US in winter and driving up prices for the rest of us. I wish Canadians would quit Florida and leave it for us Americans. But of course living in an ice box in winter and having not a single decent climate in the country leaves Canadians little choice than to travel thousands of miles over to Asia for winter lol. Sad. I can stay right in the US without the hassle of international travel and enjoy warm winter weather. Canadians not so much.
I never considered Vancouver as cool and trendy. Maybe it was cool before I was born... Rio is cool, St Petersburg is cool, Bangkok is cool, heck, even small Pnom Phen is cool. But Vancouver? It is a nice resort town for rich immigrants, but socially lethargic otherwise. Not that Seattle is very different in this regard However one has to pay a huge premium to live in Vancouver.
I totally agree....I was trying to be particularly nice to Vancouverites ( ) and, to be fair, it definitely had its moment in the spotlight years ago. At its essence, is a city with a beautiful natural setting and very clean....pretty much that is all of it.
Seattle is socially just a bit more alive (no, is not Southern California by any stretch of imagination) and you can definitely feel a lot of more energy (after all is one of the economic capital of the world)
Last edited by saturno_v; 07-24-2017 at 12:03 PM..
I wish more Canadians would do that and stay out of the US in winter and driving up prices for the rest of us. I wish Canadians would quit Florida and leave it for us Americans. But of course living in an ice box in winter and having not a single decent climate in the country leaves Canadians little choice than to travel thousands of miles over to Asia for winter lol. Sad. I can stay right in the US without the hassle of international travel and enjoy warm winter weather. Canadians not so much.
It's not sad at all. Travelling is fun. People who are just looking for sun don't travel to Asia. They are looking for something more. The ones that just want sun go to Florida or California or even Mexico. Costa Rica is popular as well..Belize..etc
It's not 1900 and a country that doesn't have a particular climate isn't really at a disadvantage in regards to holiday destinations. Small world with all those jets.
My situation would be no different in terms of time getting to San Diego that it would be for millions of Americans.
If there is any disadvantage is money exchange rates, but when the US gets too expensive, we go elsewhere and you guys lose out on millions of tourist dollars. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-exchange-rate
I totally agree....I was trying to be particularly nice to Vancouverites ( ) and, to be fair, it definitely had its moment in the spotlight years ago. At its essence, is a city with a beautiful natural setting and very clean....pretty much that is all of it.
Seattle is socially just a bit more alive (no, is not Southern California by any stretch of imagination) and you can definitely feel a lot of more energy (after all is one of the economic capital of the world)
You nice ...hmmmm. LOL
I've never felt the extra energy you speak of in Seattle.
I totally agree....I was trying to be particularly nice to Vancouverites ( ) and, to be fair, it definitely had its moment in the spotlight years ago. At its essence, is a city with a beautiful natural setting and very clean....pretty much that is all of it.
Seattle is socially just a bit more alive (no, is not Southern California by any stretch of imagination) and you can definitely feel a lot of more energy (after all is one of the economic capital of the world)
I find Seattle and Vancouver to be really similar to one another, almost like they are some kind of twins.
Lots of discussion comparing Seattle & Vancouver. Similiar topography/vibe/populace but Seattle trumps Vancouver in nearly every single economic measure...
Important ones...
Local Purchasing Power in Seattle is 51.24% higher than in Vancouver.
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
Vancouver: $2,371.87
Seattle: $4,413.89 +86.09 %
Unemployment rate
Seattle: 2.6%
Vancouver: 5.1%
Last edited by cttransplant85; 07-24-2017 at 10:20 PM..
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However one has to pay a huge premium to live in Vancouver.
not a difficult choice for me! I feel like some Tom Yum Soup!
) and, to be fair, it definitely had its moment in the spotlight years ago. At its essence, is a city with a beautiful natural setting and very clean....pretty much that is all of it.