Burger King in Talks to Buy Tim Hortons
online.wsj.com
online.wsj.com
Back in the day soft drinks cost ~.15 for a 32oz/1L serving, which sold for ~1.50 (including cup/straw/ice, Canada, 90s). Fry portions (large) were somewhere in the ~.20 range and sold for ~1.80. Burgers were generally 30-40% food costs (and 30-40% overhead). Not as profitable, but far from unprofitable (given the large volume sold).
It is a common misconception (one I made myself, until corrected). Tims branched into coffee, but their core is donuts. Coffee has opportunities to improve, apparently.
(Yes, refunded, as in if you spend $1 million, and don't make ANY income, you get $500-700K back)
If you're in the SF area, you may remember these billboards from last year: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-10/canada-tells-geeks-...
Seriously considering seeking dual citizenship and looking at Vancouver. I don't know a lot about the process yet, other than having researched the tax consequences.
The US has most of the burdens of a huge welfare state, without most of the amenities.
Also, with regards to tax consequences, the RRSP system is a bit different than the US IRA and 401(k) system. From speaking informally with an accountant in the US, it seems to combine the benefits of both programs, with the intent of encouraging retirement savings.
http://www.ey.com/ca/en/services/tax/tax-calculators-2014-pe...
I was speaking more towards corp tax rates which are 19% in Vancouver, personal taxes are bit higher in Canada, but probably cheaper once you factor medical.
Don't take this as being too lazy to Google; I was hoping to hear some anecdotes about acclimation or something.
I'm from the mid-Atlantic, and I think the weather there was generally "nicer" than it was back home - the Summers aren't as hot & humid and the winters aren't as harsh, but there tends to be more rain in the Pacific Northwest than the East Coast.
Victoria has probably the best climate in Canada but there's not much work there. Vancouver has stuff going on but it's rainier and occasionally gets cold. For a few days each winter, it will drop below zero and in most years there is a dusting of snow although it doesn't last long. Schedule this period (basically January) as vacation time.
Of greater concern is that Vancouver is expensive and rental accommodations are subpar. Forget about buying a house unless you are rich. The transit infrastructure is mediocre and the city is plagued by terrible architecture and a general blandness. This is offset by the tremendous potential for outdoors fun: skiing, sailing, rock climbing (in nearby Squamish), etc.
There are local sub climates like anywhere else of course, so if you're living on the far east coast, or next to the west coast mountains, you'll get worse and better climate, respectively.
My wife and I went to the US southwest a few years ago. When we left LA it was a bearable 115F (dry as a bone). We got home to 21C and had to start the AC because we couldn't breathe - it took us a day or so to reacclimatize, it was so humid.
You also left out how windy our Ottawa winters can be, and how much snow we can get (cf, e.g., http://ottawa.weatherstats.ca/metrics/snow.html)
There's a reason we invented humidex and issue so many wind chill warnings.
(Ottawa is one of the most beautiful cities ever, and was recently ranked fourth most livable city in Canada by MoneySense, after Calgary and two suburbs of Edmonton. Not bad for an urban area of about ~1M with sticky hot summers, frigidly cold winters, and some of the most aggressive drivers ever (we really do need to chill). It makes up for these with a splendid natural setting, ready access to nature and the arts, and only one major source of pollution, the car.)
I must be one of those aggressive drivers because I can't believe how slowly everyone seems to merge onto the 417 :)
"Ah, soul mates", she said, sighing and shaking her head.
(All three of us complain near ceaselessly about how poorly our neighbours navigate the rounabout we've had nearly a year. The ones who stop in the middle to let in others nearly cause apoplexy.)
I am Venezuelan and before coming to Canada the coldest I had been was 12 Celsius. In my first winter, I was living in Sault Ste. Marie which have a twin city of the same name in Northern Michigan. That meant snow at my hip level everywhere and temperatures that reached -40 celsius.
I am living in Toronto area now, and the winter is very milder in comparison. Long story short, I do have funny stories but the main thing I have learned is that human body is able to adapt easily even if you have been in hot areas for a long time.
If I could do it surely you would too :)
In Vancouver, there are a few days a year where there is snow, and everyone is almost as surprised as you would be by it, every time. Other than that, it's very unpredictable, even within a single day. It's normal to have multiple periods of drizzle and sunshine in the same day.
If you require heat, go elsewhere. We had some anomalous heat this summer but it pretty much never gets truly hot. By east coast standards it's sort of in perma-spring.
As for surviving winter, the Scandinavians have a proverb that goes "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." It gets cold, but it's nothing that can't be handled by proper attire and/or a warm car (heat isn't optional, although air conditioning is). Also, in Montréal, it's also technically possible to never go out, as the underground city[1] has connections to residential buildings, commercial buildings and office space.
It gets cold. Very cold. This can be handled, as other commenters have noted, by dressing appropriately.
What is harder to handle is the length of the winter. Somebody joked about the winter going from Nov - Mar. That's a good year. On a bad year, expect Nov - May. It affects everything, no matter how well you dress for it. You have less sunlight in the day to be outside, if you happen to have a good day for outdoor activities. Friends are less willing to go out (there is lots of "hibernating"). You become more reliant on cars and buses if you can't walk everywhere you need to go. If you own a home, enjoy shovelling the driveway sometimes 2-3 times a week. If you're susceptible to depression, it can be particularly brutal.
The problem with Canadian start-ups is the venture capital investment access part. There is a bit of a dutch disease where investors are more interested in resource extraction vs. risky software startups. Which wouldn't be too much of a problem if your planning to bootstrap.
Terrible taxes: I lose about 35% of my pay check to taxes. I don't mind taxes, especially when they go to improving the accessibility and efficiency of our healthcare, but I do mind them going to militarizing our police force and the pockets of bureaucrats as is often the case.
Terrible culture: Canada is notorious for its lasting and continued racism, notably to native Canadians. Right this minute hundreds of aboriginal women are missing that the RCMP has no interest in investigating. Historically, our police have outright murdered aboriginal people for fun (Neil Stonechild, Dudley George) but it's not limited to that group (Somalia affair, Sammy Yatim).
In day to day life with normal Canadians, Native Americans do not experience much racism at all, especially if they live in the city. They get many benefits that other minority groups don't even approach in getting in the USA. The USA's historically discriminated against ethnic groups include natives, but since they are so outnumbered by black and hispanic groups, their plight is ignored. In Canada, the only group that is left to be historically discriminated against is native americans, which is why it's in the national consciousness compared to the USA.
American horror stories of being dropped by their medical insurance or just being too poor to get health insurance whenever they get cancer is as common as car accident deaths. The top cause of bankruptcy is medical bills in the USA. It's hard to say which one is worse.
Any place will have its pros and cons. I'm curious (as a southern california native) what it is from your experience that makes Canada so terrible?
(OK, to be fair, the Maritimes can be one state, so 16 Senators - but Quebec will likely want more in respect of its distinctiveness, so make it 24 Senators. And we'll need at least 2 bilingual justices on SCOTUS, and at least 4 SCOTUS justices will need to have been trained in civil law. Oh, and we repeal the second amendment, of course, then put in place our amendment process. You're just going to love it. But you'll gain from better copyright and patent laws. Not to mention all the comedians who cannot get Green Cards for various reasons. Then again, if it means you keep Celine, we'll stay the way we are, thanks.)