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If you have a tech job, sure you can afford San Francisco. But if you're like most people? No way. That city is only for the rich, unless you family owned property there 30+ years ago and you still own it or you live in the hood. For the average person believe it or not Vancouver is far more affordable than the City by the Bay.
I agree with you Canada's infrastructure is wanting, but hey look at the US and its 1960s highway system with collapsing bridges, many of its metros having nothing more than infrequent buses for transit over skeletal lines, and a rail system that's stuck in the 19th century.
Get out of SF closest surroundings and rent get much cheaper....it is not true that the only high paying jobs are in tech, absolutely far from it, there are so many other opportunities in other fields (tech related or not) that Vancouver cannot simply match, comparing Van to SF is truly laughable.
It is true that rents levels tells a lot about a place desirability. People flock to SF because of the opportunities that the city has to offer.
Let's say you are stuck with a low paying/service sector jobs.....even if you are waiter or a bartender just in tips you make way way more than Van.
Last edited by saturno_v; 12-18-2014 at 03:36 PM..
Let me tell you something about Victoria, and Vancouver island ferry service.....my experience is quite ancient since it was before my move out of Vancouver in 2002 so maybe now it's better.
I was disappointed there was not a middle of the night service between the island and the mainland, once I did the mistake of not having a reservation in summer and I almost got stuck in the island for one night because I could not get a ride back, traffic was seriously overwhelming the scheduled ferry rides...i spent almost an entire afternoon/evening waiting for an available spot....
Granted, I'm talking a much higher population (and a shorter ride) but it was a very different experience than the ferry ride between Sicily and Italy mainland, pretty much continuous service back and forth, every 20 minutes or so, night and day and by different companies, including a state owned one.
It was weird for such a big island and Victoria is, after all, BC's Capital.
But that's not the point. SFO still needs (and has) people working low wage jobs. Unless Silicon Valley can find a way to build robots that serve coffee and food at restaurants ...... one still needs minimum wage workers in cities like SFO. How do you think that they survive?
The divide between the rich and the poor in SFO is a hot issue.
that is an issue every expensive city faces.
Let the market decide - if low skilled people can't make a living and leave the city, wages will be pushed up gradually. Those companies need people to clean the floor and will pay whatever it takes to hire those people.
Just because there is a big rich/poor gap doesn't mean there is something wrong.
that is an issue every expensive city faces.
Let the market decide - if low skilled people can't make a living and leave the city, wages will be pushed up gradually. Those companies need people to clean the floor and will pay whatever it takes to hire those people.
Just because there is a big rich/poor gap doesn't mean there is something wrong.
Are you kidding me?
Wages have been stagnant and not gone up even in super expensive places like NYC. If what you are saying were true then .. we'd have office cleaners in Manhattan making six figure incomes.
Wages have been stagnant and not gone up even in super expensive places like NYC. If what you are saying were true then .. we'd have office cleaners in Manhattan making six figure incomes.
Regardless, it's still a market reality....more people in a field for the same amount of jobs, drives wages lower...simple.
During the dotcom era, if you could just spell "C++" in a napkin you could get 90K entry jobs....it really happened of people getting jobs on a list of skills written literally on a napkin.
I heard from people in in the industry that during the last building frenzy in Vancouver, sweeping the floor after the carpenter and concrete guys would get you easily $25 an hour.....supply and demand...
Yesterday I wrote a check for $167 to my heating guy for the year check-up on my furnace and air conditioning, half hour job at most....Eddie is definitely not a son of privilege, nor he holds an advanced degree...he was born in Yakima from poor Mexican farmer parents and all he did was going to trade school and opening up his small business.
If you have low wage skills you will get low wage jobs, regardless of how many liberal arts degree you have....
Now, the fact that uncontrolled illegal immigration has driven up supply of low skills people it's another story and it is true, and so it's true that many big businesses love it....and so do all the liberal airheads that want to increase minimum wage.
Wages have been stagnant and not gone up even in super expensive places like NYC. If what you are saying were true then .. we'd have office cleaners in Manhattan making six figure incomes.
But that's not the point. SFO still needs (and has) people working low wage jobs. Unless Silicon Valley can find a way to build robots that serve coffee and food at restaurants ...... one still needs minimum wage workers in cities like SFO. How do you think that they survive?
The divide between the rich and the poor in SFO is a hot issue.
Don't speaketh such - EVERYONE in the Bay area is a Tech GIANT... There is no income inequality there
Things like this - commie, socialist, pinko propaganda.....
For Christ's sake, Pearson doesn't even have a rail link with downtown Toronto until 2015. .
Spring of 2015 and that's only 4 months away lol... Time moves quickly... Hey I agree its been a loooong time coming but the fact is it is practically here the service will exist in short order so should we still be complaining about this one?
no one forces them to live there. It is massive free country and they should find a place right for their needs.
I don't feel sorry for those who refuse to leave Manhattan and San Fran while complaining about the high cost.
I actually work for one of the tech giants based out of Menlo Park, and can say that vast income inequality is very present, very real, and affects not only the low income families but also even young professionals like myself as our rents shoot through the roof. Do I make enough to afford Bay Area's highway robbery rent? Absolutely. Do I feel good about paying a fortune to live in an old match box sized flat? There must be something seriously wrong with me if I think paying $4000 per month for a 2-bedroom apartment is worth my money. That is actually the primary reason why I have decided not to move back to my company's HQ in the Bay Area, even if offered a significant raise.
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