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I am faced with an exciting time in my life and I wanted some opinion on which direction to proceed. I have 4 job offers in the Biotech industry in the cities listed above and have visited and really love them all from visiting.
I currently reside in Madrid Spain where I was born and raised and am leaving my home and family to purse new opportunities in the americas.
Here is what I am looking for in a city.
Best beaches in the summertime
Large cosmopolitan area
Major important biotech industry
Diversity
Educated population, especially in the sciences
Safe
Great restaurants and bars
Futbol-Soccer community for both watching and especially playing
A Top Tier Sciences University to pursue my PhD in the future
One more background on me. Even though I am Spanish by birth both of my parents came to Spain for the Dominican Republic and I am very in touch with my Dominican Heritage. Which of the cities has the best Dominican Restaurants, Grocery stores (not just latin but Caribbean Latin specifically), largest dominican community and spanish speaking population.
So far money wise the job in Boston-Cambridge pays the most, Ottawa 2nd, Kansas City 3rd and Toronto 4th. Is this because Toronto is cheapest of the 4?
Best beaches in the summertime : Boston
Large cosmopolitan area : Toronto/Boston
Major important biotech industry : Boston
Diversity : Toronto
Educated population, especially in the sciences : Toronto/Boston
Safe : Toronto/Ottawa
Great restaurants and bars : Boston
Futbol-Soccer community for both watching and especially playing : Toronto
A Top Tier Sciences University to pursue my PhD in the future : Boston
KC would be the lowest cost of living. Toronto or Boston would be highest. Toronto doesn't have great beaches but you're within driving distance of some very nice spots in the Great Lakes. Don't let the coasties fool you. We do have great beaches too. Boston may be on the water but it's the cold North Atlantic.
Best beaches in the summertime
Large cosmopolitan area
Major important biotech industry
Diversity
Educated population, especially in the sciences
Safe
Great restaurants and bars
Futbol-Soccer community for both watching and especially playing
A Top Tier Sciences University to pursue my PhD in the future
I like Toronto but that list screams Boston, esp. biotech industry + University. The thing about the PhD is if you're in TO and can't get into UofT for some reason, you're screwed. Not so in Boston.
Can't speak of Dominican/Hispanic resources specifically but I'm pretty sure both Toronto and Boston could satisfy you here.
Background: I live in a Toronto suburb, so I'm familiar with it, although not as much as someone who lives in the city proper. I've been to Ottawa for a couple days, but I'm more familiar with the natural areas around it. I've been to Cape Cod and know some things about Boston, but only from what I've read. I know little about Kansas City, other than the fact that it's a mid-sized Midwestern city.
Beaches: There are beaches you can go to in Toronto right in the city and they're not hugely crowded, but the water isn't safe 100% of the time. They have warnings though if they aren't. If you're looking for quality beaches, there are some within day trip distance on Lake Erie, Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay. There's also lots of smaller lakes in cottage country (Ontario) that are clean and have very few people, some of them have sand beaches. I'm not sure how Ottawa fares with sandy beaches, but it's very close to cottage country (Quebec) and Algonquin Park, where there are tons of smaller lakes. Boston is close to Cape Cod, which is great but the water is cold since it's the ocean (Ontario's lakes are warmer). Kansas City is inland, but I have no idea if they have any good lakes or rivers.
Large cosmopolitan area: Toronto definitely, probably Boston too.
Biotech industry: no idea
Diversity: I'd say Toronto
Educated population: Toronto and Boston
Safe: Toronto and Ottawa
Restaurants and bars: not sure, I'm mostly familiar with Toronto which has a lot of independent and multi cultural restaurants. Nightlife wise, Toronto over Ottawa but again I don't know much about Boston and KC.
Futbol: Since it's not the biggest sport in North America, this depends a lot on which city has the most immigrants from futbol nations (Italians, Portuguese, Latinos, even South/West Asians). So I would go with Toronto.
Top Tier Sciences university: Boston. Toronto has UofT which is good for anything and has a good rep. There's other schools in the area like Waterloo which rival it in math and engineering, or McMasters in life sciences, or Western in business, but I'm not sure if there's any other schools that would be big in biotech.
I'm pretty sure Boston has the largest Domican community. Canada doesn't have nearly as many Latin Americans as the United States.
I'm not sure how Toronto compares to Boston, but compared to most Kansas City it's way more expensive, at least for housing. Houses in the city is mostly $300,000+ except for very small houses and bad neighbourhoods. Same goes with many of the suburbs. Only in the more distant suburbs can you find a nice house for $200,000 and in Hamilton (satellite city 70km away) for around $100,000. If you're looking for a single bedroom apartment, it's around $600-$1000 per month in the city and most suburbs and $500-$700 in Hamilton.
Boston is close to Cape Cod, which is great but the water is cold since it's the ocean (Ontario's lakes are warmer). .
Second time this has been stated in this thread so I checked. Average summer water temperatures in Wasaga Beach, ON and Cape Cod are about the same, around 21 C or 70 F.
Cornerguy why did you so convincingly pick Boston?
I can tell you that from the interview visit Toronto, Boston and Kansas City was most fun. I am in Kansas City now and it is a lot of fun.
Which is most expensive to live? Toronto or Boston? Is the reason to salary is lower in Toronto because it is a bargain compared to the other three?
Based on your criteria, Boston would come out on top for money, restaurants, educated population, and availability of top notch universities.
Toronto leads in beaches both inner city and within a 2 hour drive.
Bio-tech? No idea which of the 4 is the leader.
Diversity: Toronto and Boston are both pretty diverse, but Boston likely has more of a Spanish/Hispanic population
Boston also has the advantage of being much closer to other large, culturally-rich centers like New York City and Washington.
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