Having lived all over the world, all over Canada, and in Texas and Cali for many years, I can assure you that Canada is pretty good.
You have clearly never lived in the Silicon Valley if you're talking about housing.
Housing in the Valley is beyond unaffordable. A choice job at Google and you still won't be buying a home.
You're probably young, and single. Your class has always struggled with home ownership. Most couples can afford to get in on the housing ladder by buying and apartment, and in some year, buy a home.
That said - Toronto and Vancouver are distorted markets right now. Everywhere else in Canada is pretty normal and home ownership is similar to most places in the US that are not NYC/SF.
A choice job at Google and you still won't be buying a home.
That's just not true. Housing is very expensive, but a "choice" job at Google pays enough to buy a home. The same goes for Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and the other large companies. Their compensation for mid- and senior-level people is so good that it's difficult to convince them to leave, even for considerable startup equity.
Most devs with a few years experience won't earn that.
You referred to "choice" jobs. Those aren't jobs for people with a few years of experience. Think 5-10 years.
Furthermore, I can assure you that a huge number of people at Google clear $200k per year in total compensation, which includes a high salary, stock, and bonuses. I know people at other companies I've mentioned who do so as well, with less than 10 years of experience in the industry.
There are also plenty of homes that cost less than the median -- in fact, half of them do...
Most devs with a few years experience won't earn that.
How sure of that are you? I don't have a lot of data points, but 3.5 years of experience got me a 270k offer from Google. I find it hard to believe it was _that_ much higher than average.
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Having lived all over the world, all over Canada, and in Texas and Cali for many years, I can assure you that Canada is pretty good.
You have clearly never lived in the Silicon Valley if you're talking about housing.
Housing in the Valley is beyond unaffordable. A choice job at Google and you still won't be buying a home.
You're probably young, and single. Your class has always struggled with home ownership. Most couples can afford to get in on the housing ladder by buying and apartment, and in some year, buy a home.
That said - Toronto and Vancouver are distorted markets right now. Everywhere else in Canada is pretty normal and home ownership is similar to most places in the US that are not NYC/SF.
That's just not true. Housing is very expensive, but a "choice" job at Google pays enough to buy a home. The same goes for Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and the other large companies. Their compensation for mid- and senior-level people is so good that it's difficult to convince them to leave, even for considerable startup equity.
Median home price sale in Santa Clara is 1.25 Million dollars.
That's like $7K a month mortgage payment. $82K/year. You need to be earning $200K to pay that.
There are surely a lot of people at Google earning $200K, but not that many in relative terms. Most devs with a few years experience won't earn that.
If you need to earn $200K to be able to afford a home, I would say that's ridiculous.
Most Google developers are very talented and educated, and will not be able to buy a home. That sucks.
You referred to "choice" jobs. Those aren't jobs for people with a few years of experience. Think 5-10 years.
Furthermore, I can assure you that a huge number of people at Google clear $200k per year in total compensation, which includes a high salary, stock, and bonuses. I know people at other companies I've mentioned who do so as well, with less than 10 years of experience in the industry.
There are also plenty of homes that cost less than the median -- in fact, half of them do...
If you are married, 2 incomes, and reasonable high up the ladder you could eventually get something.
I'm not going to argue that's a reasonable set of requirements to get a house, but it's possible.
How sure of that are you? I don't have a lot of data points, but 3.5 years of experience got me a 270k offer from Google. I find it hard to believe it was _that_ much higher than average.
Average base salary at Google is 128 according to this:
http://www.businessinsider.com/a-google-programmer-blew-off-...
I don't think base salary is a very good measure of compensation at places like Google. Are you suggesting that RSUs and bonuses be valued at $0?