- raise your family in a safe environment
- not seeing crazy / homeless people in the streets
- being able to buy a house
- health insurance
- public transport / traffic
ect ...
As for that other stuff, it really depends on where in Canada. Don't tell me that the public transit is great everywhere, because it isn't. Canada was built on cars. Some cities, like exactly only Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have good public transit. Many do not.
BTW the amount of homeless people sleeping on the streets in Toronto was a little surprising to me.
Vancouver has the same real estate market as SF. Good luck buying a $1.1m on a $105k senior Dev salary.
As for health insurance, the system works if you have a good job with good benefits.
That's kind of an important "if", though. My mother had a menial job when she was diagnosed with lung cancer and I wouldn't have been able to cover her with my health insurance. She unfortunately passed away but at least the attempted treatments didn't cost us anything.
What do you do if you lose your job and suddenly fall severely ill? Return to Canada?
Besides, the real issue in the US wasn't becoming sick, but becoming chronically ill. That was the big problem with no escape, but ACA has helped reduce that problem.
- Average detached home price in both markets is well above $1M CAD.
- We have our share of homeless people (admittedly though, they are of the polite variety for the most part)
- Public transport/traffic is a joke in Toronto. Absolutely laughable.
That would be a refreshing change from the crime-ridden dystopia of Redmond, WA. /s
- not seeing crazy / homeless people in the streets - being able to buy a house
Let me guess, you live in eastern Canada and have never travelled to Vancouver.
Look, you don't get to cherry-pick one small area of the U. S., an area that pretty much all agree has it's own unique problems, and then compare to all of Canada. Canada has its problems, too, as I point out above. In fact, were one to compare the Bay Area with Vancouver, I'm taking the Bay Area. Better pay, cheaper housing, and no more or less observed homeless than Vancouver. "Yeah, but what about $RANDOM_MANITOBA_TOWN?" Yeah, and what about Indianapolis, IN? At least in Indianapolis, if I lose my job I can go find one tomorrow at another insurance company. It won't be glamorous, but it'll pay the mortgage. Outside of Vancouver or the Toronto area, what am I going to do if I lose my job in Kelowna?
Canada is a lovely country, and I have made a concerted effort to take the steps to immigrate. But in the end, I'm still in the U. S. where I will probably remain. Canada can hand-wave all they want, as you have, but that doesn't fix the problem. Quality of life (which is arguable to begin with) takes a back seat when the mortgage needs to be paid.
When I first visited Vancouver in 2014, there was some woman hitting herself and crying on the bus, and I saw plenty of homeless people.
Other young technical people must be making similar calculations.
I would move back immediately if my family wasn't here in NYC. People have really lost their minds since the election and I'm tired of only ever hearing about politics.
I do agree that a lot of Midwestern suburbs are horribly depressing and conformist, but there's a lot more to the Midwest.
Bike rentals are downtown although I have never used them provided by the city.
I don't seem to have a problem with the burbs like some do. Maybe I am used to it. I like having wide open spaces. I don't like people piled up on top of me. And I like having a car. I can go anywhere. I can head to Branson for the weekend or Omaha. I can even skate out to Colorado if I wish. I'm not stuck taking the slow AF Amtrak or a bus (shiver), car = freedom.
There is no reason that American suburbs are so hostile to walkability. It's very bad for human health (lack of movement and all of the air pollution that cars cause). And of Course sprawling, car-dependent lifestyles are horrific for the planet.
I live and work downtown Toronto and see plenty of crazy and homeless people each day. Especially around my condo in one of the busiest areas in the city.