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Comment by hashberry | Hacker News Reader

C'mon troll, Seattle is where people go to make money. Seattle's tech industry beats Vancouver any day.

Times are changing my friend. Who would I go work for in Seattle to "make money" (if that were actually my primary goal)?

Amazon? In Vancouver now. Microsoft? In Vancouver now. Facebook? In Vancouver now. Startups? Vancouver has our share.

Personally, if I were going to leave the country for a better tech industry, I'd fly right past Seattle and head further south. Sorry, but Seattle just doesn't make sense if you're not already there.

I grew up in Vancouver, lived in Seattle for two years, and agree with all the digs about passive-aggression and the such.

And while Vancouver's tech scene is rising, you should really stop by Seattle some time and see how wide the gap really is, and how far Vancouver has to go to even be within the same league as Seattle when it comes to tech employment.

> "Amazon? In Vancouver now. Microsoft? In Vancouver now. Facebook? In Vancouver now."

Amazon is the only real dev office out of those. Microsoft and Facebook are waiting rooms for Canadian citizenship to permit easier access to the US. It's funny how often these exact companies are trotted out in defense of Vancouver's tech industry when considering why these offices exist in the first place (tip: it's not to access Vancouver's existing tech talent).

> "Sorry, but Seattle just doesn't make sense if you're not already there."

I don't like the city much at all, but where else can a fresh CS undergrad fetch a $100K+ offer without paying $2K a month for a dingy studio apartment? Vancouver's rental market just as expensive as Seattle, and salaries far, far lower.

The tech industry gets better the further south you go along the west coast. Vancouver is not an exception to this rule.

The tech industry gets better the further south you go along the west coast

To a point.

Fair point. Hard to argue San Diego has a superior tech scene than San Jose...

Yea but it does have much higher quality of life.

Though it doesn't hold a candle to Tijuana!

In what way?

I grew up in Victoria, and lived in Seattle for several months. Seattle was literally half the price and twice the wage in all aspects, you'd be stupid as a new grad not to go to Seattle if you grew up in Vancouver or Victoria.

I also found the people of Seattle pretty much identical to people in Vancouver. If you switched out a few street signs you wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference between the places.

Victoria beats the pants off Vancouver, in terms of being a nice place to live (if you can afford it) or visit. I always find Vancouver to be pretentious, crowded, overdeveloped and generally lacking in any sort of charm.

As an ex-Vancouverite, I think it's more accurate to say that Victoria is a nice place to retire rather than a place to live (i.e., make a living).

Agreed. I live mid-island, which is much nicer than Victoria. However I wouldn't be able to live here if I didn't run my own business.

I moved from Toronto to Seattle after finishing school, and it would have be a hell of job elsewhere to make me move else where. I don't know about Vancouver, but software industry in Toronto is in a sorry state right now. Toronto's living cost is well near the most expensive parts of US like NYC and SF. And yet, they pay like you live in Wyoming. And the federal, provincial, and municipal taxes you pay on top of little you make is simply untenable. I encourage Canadian developers to gtfo of Canada while you are young and mobile because it'll get harder when you are older.

As for SF, I think Seattle has its own perks as well. Slightly lower sales tax, lower cost of living in rent and other goods, 0 state income tax in Washington, amazing mountains and interesting beaches. Raw number in your paycheck wise, Seattle is probably lower than SF, but in SF, you pay shitload more on rent and tax.

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