This video series is for tech professionals already living and working in the US, Canada, the UK, or the European Union.

If you're based outside these regions or in an outsourcing heavy market, the data in this video will not apply to your situation.

I do not cover immigration, international job hunting, or topics like how to break into tech without a college degree.

If that's what you're here for, this probably isn't the right channel, and that's okay.

But if you are operating within these markets, keep watching.

There's a lot ahead for various seniority levels and career tracks in tech.

Welcome to episode two of my series, Where to Run, where we look at where tech professionals living in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the European Union are resettling after the past 3 years politely wrecked their career plans.

Last time we talked about the city in the US that are worth considering post layoffs.

And today we're talking about Canada.

This is Daria and this is Tech Make It Real.

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Starting with Toronto tech scene and culture.

I will be comparing Toronto to big cities in the US and I would like to be doing that throughout the entire series as I simply find it interesting to compare the dynamics of different tech cultures across the world.

And I'm not trying to say that one is better than the other.

Toronto is the largest and the most significant tech hub in North America outside of the United States.

No, it doesn't have the raw scale of San Francisco and it's nowhere close to the chaos of NYC.

However, what we do have is the top-notch intellectual talent.

We are a very popular destination for two types of tech workers.

Number one, locals or number two, mid to senior level professionals who already worked in the US and decided to move north either due to lifestyle preferences or to avoid the polarization of the US politics.

And this is because talent-wise, we are definitely on par with the US.

Maybe speed-wise, not as fast as California, but definitely on par with Seattle and Austin.

And number two, many companies in Canada work with the US market or serve the US clients.

For people based in Canada, many roles still have you working very close with the US.

This is actually my situation.

Throughout my entire career, every company that I worked for either switched to the US market or has always focused on the US market.

Quality of talent. Canada has a very strong intellectual capital.

Canadian universities offer excellent education nationwide.

Even smaller schools maintain high academic standards.

Toronto is Canada's undisputed tech capital with a deep bunch of talent coming out of the University of Toronto and the University of Wateroo.

The vibes Toronto tech scene is chill relative to the US and active relative to Europe.

When you come to tech meetups, you will often hear people talking about job search, switching jobs, the typical 9to-5, how many projects they have going on, where they travel on the weekend, etc.

When you travel to the US, you hear a very sharp contrast.

And when you travel to Europe, you all of a sudden realize that there is life outside of work.

I guess the filter that I'm putting on this has to do with the fact that I travel a lot to the US and attend various tech meetups and conferences.

And I can hear it in the conversations.

You come to a typical New York meetup and you'd find six founders, two to three people who sold their companies, a few people from Fang and some PMs building a GBT rapper on the side, people are hungry, people are wired, it's a go go go environment.

People are hungry, people are wired, it's a go go go environment.

If Europe is on the other extreme where you're reminded that work is just one part of life, people don't obsess over growth metrics at dinner, Toronto sits somewhere in the middle.

It's stable, ambitious, but not aggressive.

And the reason why we don't have an international reputation as the tech mecca despite the exceptional quality of talent is because from a financial and structural perspective, Canada simply doesn't support the same level of entrepreneurial ambition.

And this in turn means that the investor climate is very modest.

VC funding volume is a fraction of what you would see in the US.

In 2024, US startups raised over 100 $140 billion versus Canada raised around $7 billion and most of that went to late stage and already US attached ventures.

Capital gains tax here is higher and regulatory hurdles are very real, especially in health tech, fintech and AI.

As a result, many high talent individuals with big ambitions move south.

And there is a reason why people like these gentlemen, both trained in Canada, ended up building transformative companies in the US rather than staying local.

This is heartbreaking to me because I can see how much brains and potential Canada has.

But when a Canadian receives an offer in the US, provided they do not have a very strong political stance and refuse to go to a blue state or a red state for ideological purposes, they will take it up.

Cost of living and salaries. This is a tough one because the economic situation has flipped upside down in the past eight years.

So, please take this with a grain of salt because as someone who lives in Canada, I have seen what has happened to the country and I cannot simply stay unbiased in this case.

Toronto is becoming increasingly difficult to live in.

Our salaries, at least in tech, have remained largely flat, but the cost of living is going up year over year.

Unlike the US where you can find tech hubs in the states with active and rising tax scene and no state income tax, in Canada we do not have such option.

There are three big tech hubs in the country.

All three of them I'm talking about today and none of them is in the low tax province.

Now if you manage to land a fully remote offer and make a Toronto or a Vancouver level salary but live for example in Alberta, that would be a very sweet deal.

But I have to mention that A it's becoming increasingly difficult to land fully remote jobs and B not everybody can survive Alberta weather.

Canada is not a warm country after all.

In terms of salaries, we are mostly comparable to London, UK.

Our taxes are very high and they do eat into the salary.

Conclusion. At which stage of your professional career is Toronto a good choice?

If you plan on building a life and working in Canada and are okay with taxes if you want a calmer, less hectic life but still a tech city with plenty of social activities. If you value highquality talent that you can learn from. And if entrepreneurship or being around entrepreneurs is not your top priority. If you plan on staying employed and building your career in employment.

A few words on layoffs. Yes, Canada has been hit just as hard as the US.

However, despite the size of the country, our tech talent is concentrated in the three major cities.

And with more companies requiring hybrid presence in office, Toronto remains to be the best bet for tech workers post layoffs.

When is it not worth it?

If you want to own a property without being in debt for the next 30 years, settling Toronto may not be a very good choice.

If you want a good and comfortable life before you start pulling in at least $100,000 a year, and I get it, comfortable means different things to different people.

So, here's what I mean when I say comfortable. You can afford rent or a mortgage on a single income without having to have roommates.

If you can eat out at restaurants at least twice a week without guilt, you can take at least two international trips a year.

You can afford hobbies like tennis, music lessons, etc.

And yes, you can still save comfortably.

It is extremely rare to be able to have this combination in Toronto until you start pulling at least $100 to $120,000 a year.

Moving on to Vancouver tax scene and culture.

There is a world of a difference between Toronto and Vancouver in the pace and in the lifestyle.

Vancouver is a peaceful, calm place with beautiful nature.

But again, one's perception may vary depending on what kind of background you've you're coming from and the cities that you've lived in.

Vancouver ranks as Canada's second best startup ecosystem and is globally recognized within the top 50 startups across the world.

Given that the focus of this conversation is on employees and not founders, this means that the job pool you will be focusing on will have a lot of startup roles if that's your thing.

Key sectors include clean tech, life sciences, entertainment such as animation and gaming and blockchain tech.

One caveat though, while Vancouver excels at forming startups, scaling beyond series B remains a challenge with some companies relocating headquarters to the US for growth.

Quality of talent. Vancouver is less diverse on the talent front where people who mostly work in the tech industry either grew up in Vancouver or went to school in Vancouver.

University of Colombia is a great school. It excels in precision medicine and healthcare AI application.

those who love and value the vibe of British Columbia. They want the nature. They want the ocean. They want the mountains.

They just simply want to live there and raise their families there.

Or the ones who get job offers and relocate specifically because they were offered a good contract.

Vancouver is a home to headquarters of Lululemon, not a technative company, but still they're investing in tech division and tech products.

Aritzia is in the same situation.

And for technative companies, Amazon, Hootsweet, and Unity,

the vibes. Think Seattle's chill cousin who does yoga at sunrise, co by noon, and hits the mountains by 4:00.

Vancouver is calm, balanced, and very west coast.

By Canadian standards, the tech scene is growing, but in my view, if I feel like Toronto is a little slow, Vancouver is on vacation.

People there always prioritize quality of life over hustle culture.

you won't find the same cutthroat urgency as San Francisco, New York, or even Toronto.

And that's kind of the point.

People here do care about their work, but they also care about skiing, hiking, and not answering Slack after 6 p.m.

A good friend of mine was saying that it's really difficult to make friends or find a partner in Vancouver if you're not into outdoorsy activities.

So, yeah, very West Coast.

It is perfect if you're craving stability, nature, and a slower pace.

But if you're looking to be in the eye of high growth, hyper competition, Vancouver is a little too zen.

Cost of living and salaries.

This is the biggest downside of the city.

Vancouver's cost of living is ridiculously high for the size of its tax scene.

Rent is on par with major US cities.

Expect to pay $25,000 at least for a one-bedroom condo.

And home ownership is borderline fantasy unless you're bringing in fang level compensation.

And even then, I would say both you and your partner better be bringing home fang level comp.

Groceries and dining out are pricey.

Salaries don't always keep up.

They're usually the same as Toronto or slightly higher, but the cost of living makes the difference insignificant.

So, while the lifestyle is great, your bank account will not be happy.

Conclusion, at which stage of your career is Vancouver worth it?

Vancouver is suitable for people who either get solid job offers where the compensation justifies the move or if you dream about living in the West Coast and are willing to pay for it.

When is it not worth it if you're relocating without a solid job offer or salary that offsets Vancouver's brutal cost of living?

It's also not a good idea if you're in your early career and need to build a strong professional network and gain traction in high growth environments.

And lastly, moral tech scene and culture.

Montreal absolutely has a tech scene and it's more legit than most people realize.

Montreal has deep academic roots and is becoming the Canadian AI hub.

It has a strong presence in gaming, VFX, animation, space tech, deep tech, and clean tech startups.

Startups and scaleups are thriving, especially in SAS and AI adjacent areas.

Montreal gives access to very solid universities and access to French and European markets.

Quality of talent. The city produces most tech graduates in Canada annually with over 81,000 students enrolled in software engineering programs.

Montreal is a hub for AI research with institutions like Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms and over 35,000 AI experts.

Multinational tech giants such as Microsoft Meta and DeepMind have established AI R&D centers in the city.

Montreal's lower cost of living compared to Toronto or Vancouver makes it very attractive for startups and professionals.

Nevertheless, despite the strengths, Montreal faces funding gaps that limit scaling opportunities compared to Toronto VC ecosystem.

The vibes Montreal and Quebec in general is a very special place in Canada.

Montreal's got a lot of taste and elegance, and it's very affordable by Canadian standards.

It is bilingual. It is full of culture. It is buzzing with AI research and gaming studios.

The pace is definitely slower than Toronto, but more experimental than Vancouver.

People in Montreal build really cool stuff and often more out of curiosity than pure capitalism.

If you're into AI design or gaming and have appreciation for French Canadian culture, Montreal has a legit appeal.

Cost of living and salaries.

Montreal is much more affordable than Toronto and Vancouver.

Rent is lower. Dining out is more affordable. Groceries are cheaper.

Compensation wise, it is significantly less than Toronto.

On average, the difference is about $30 to $40,000 for a product manager, a data scientist, or a software engineer.

Now, if you manage to land a remote role and the company is willing to pay you Toronto salary while allowing you to live in Montreal, that would be a fantastic deal.

Montreal is one of my favorite cities in Canada, I considered moving there several times in my life,

but the problem was always the money.

The moment I dropped a comment about relocating to Quebec, I was told that the salary would be adjusted.

So, I sat down, did the math, and for me, for my goals and ambitions, a move to Montreal would mean taking a step back in money and the size of network.

But if I ever decide to invest in real estate in Canada, I'm sure it'll be in Quebec.

Conclusion: When is it worth it?

If you work in science tech and having access to top-notch academia talent is something that matters to you, Montreal is a fantastic choice.

If you're looking for more heritage, more culture, more history than typically present in North American cities. If you're looking for more affordable life while having access to tech scene, but high salary is not your biggest priority, Montreal is a fantastic choice.

When is it not worth it?

If you need constant access to tech network that will propel you forward and help you with connections around the world. If you prefer intensity and hyperrowth culture, if you love the speed and thrive in chaos, Montreal is not going to give you that.

These are the three cities where Canadian tech talent is concentrating after the layoffs.

Tell me what you guys think and if there are any places you're interested to know more about.

In the next episode, we will leave North America and focus on the post layoffs mid to senior levels tech force in Scandinavia.

I hope this was helpful.

Till next time.

Bye.