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Comment by nikolajan | Hacker News Reader

What made Canada special died decades ago, were it not for the strict visa process I would be living in the states (Vermont) right now, with a significantly higher salary (as a principal engineer), a lower income tax, healthier housing market, lower cost of living, and better quality of life.

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Funny thing, I lived outside of Canada for many years though I am Canadian born and raised. I moved my family back for a "better quality of life".

Jokes on me. ;)

I love the land and the people, but, the country itself is a mess. We have already planned our exit.

Where too? It's crossing my mind more and more lately.

What makes Canada strong is its people, whom I love very much.

I wish our gov't served us better, and I try my best to enact change, but it's a fool who thinks any country is without its faults.

I love Canadians. And Americans.

And I've lived in a few different countries in my life. No country is without faults, but, Canada right now is a mess.

>were it not for the strict visa process I would be living in the states (Vermont) right now, with a significantly higher salary (as a principal engineer), a lower income tax, healthier housing market, lower cost of living, and better quality of life.

Western Europe has all those things, is actually welcoming, has sane healthcare, and you don't even need to own a gun!

It doesn't have the salary, eng salaries are significant deflated in Europe when compared to North America

Outside of tech it's not too different. Tech pay isn't even bad, it just doesn't exhibit the massively inflated salaries of the US. Software is an easier, less professional job than most professional fields, it doesn't make sense for it to command preposterous sums. Though American devs don't like having this fact pointed out to them.

> Software is an easier, less professional job

Are you in software development?

Yes, why? Coming from a family of actual engineers, I call myself a developer. Software workers haven't earned the title engineer.

TBH I call myself and most software devs an engineer. It gives us something to aspire to.

Moving from high taxes low pay shortage of housing in popular cities Canada to high taxes low pay shortage of housing in popular citied western Europe I don't think will make much of a difference. Being able to have a gun is an additional freedom.

Canada used to say our healthcare was better but that hasnt been true for atleast a decade. Its more choose your version of crappy. Do you want to oay with your life savings (usa) or your life (canada)

I (born and raised Canadian) moved my family to Canada 5 years ago.

We've been on a waiting list for a doctor ever since. My only option to see a doctor here is to go the emergency room at the closest hospital.

Yah you are paying with your life. Its shockingly stupid because there are lots of good examples to oick and choose from how to do a public payor system correctly (singapore does it best imo but nordics and france are options for examples of better tham here just not best)

If it makes you feel any better, I've been in the healthcare IT field for 20 years. I tried to stay away from the doctors office as much as possible.

Last year I started feeling exhausted 24/7 and tried to make an appointment, but got turned away from my doctors office because my doctor retired and the new guy didn't want to let me make an appointment.

So here I am on a waiting list, in a city where 10% of the population don't have a doctor either. I've been waiting for over a year.

I wish I could change fields, "once you've seen how the sausage is made, you'll want to be a vegetarian"...

Yes. Waited 18 months for a 15 minute cateract surgery that I needed 18 months ago. Should have had my license taken away this past year they were so bad.

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