Canadian visa policies got all kinds of foreigners investing big money into real estate in the city while not creating any actual jobs in the process.
So there isn't much of an economy supporting the city + thus a pretty small talent pool for any prospective startups to draw from...
Unlike SF, Vancouver builds plenty of condo apartment buildings, so if you wanted to buy a single bedroom apartment you could do so for $300k-400k. I'm not saying that's not expensive considering the average income in Vancouver, the real estate market is definitely in a bubble, but it's at least within reach, whereas detached housing prices exist in their own bizarre reality.
[1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/vancouvers...
But aside from money there is the respect factor. I'm not convinced that tech is respected in Vancouver.
So take a triple downgrade and work for business folks who hate you?
Edit: I work for a startup that advertised here in the monthly who's hiring threads.
Edit: one previous job here locally I did the same tests and exposed bugs weekly on my own time, fixed countless authentication bypasses, and plugged a memory leak that had been slowing down the app for years before I was hired and when I asked for a raise or meaningful options the department manager gave me an unbelievable speech about how they don't like workers with only financial goals in mind, said I had no passion for what they were building if money was my motivation and suggested I quit. This was one of the top Vancouver tech industry outfits constantly shilled in the media. My salary at the time was $70k (2013).
Would be very helpful for the community in general, you seem to have a great knowledge to share!
What are you able to tax deduct besides % rent used solely for business?
Lease vehicle?
Top tier talent is just not for Canada.