Quote:
Originally Posted by NKC ONE
I understand that a lot of you may feel wages are low in Vancouver. Compared to the rest of Canada, yes maybe but not compared to the rest of the world. Please remember that no one is forcing you to stay in Canada. The world is big and you have the freedom to work anywhere you want and make as much as you want as long as you try. I know that sounds a little scammy siminar-ish BS but I really do feel that as long as you try, things will generally happen. If you don't, well the best you can do is complain about the current environment.
Let's take a relevant example that I have in mind. Mind you, I don't often like to search for a lot of articles or so called "facts" to back my shit up. I just try to talk from the heart and experiences and hopefully gain some good conversations with you guys.
BC's minimum wage is at $10.25/hr compared to HK's $4.22/hr cad. It doesn't take a mathematician to see that's a tad more than double. So tell me, is it more expensive to live in HK or Vancouver? Since this is a real estate thread, we'll assume that housing is our main concern here.
So comparing the 2 cities, which place is more expensive and unaffordable place to live?
If opportunities were equal for both cities, where would I choose to do business in?
If I were to choose a place to work (9-5), which city would I work in?
Let's even say if the pay was the same, where would you prefer to work at?
This topic does not even need to touch the difference of Taxes.
Now let's move on and compare with China which is where my business is in.
Minimum wage in Shenzhen China is now at $2.94/hr cad (it was much cheaper when I started) compared to BC's $10.25/hr cad. I'll tell you straight up that on a daily basis, it will cost more to live in China than it does in HK (housing aside). Gas prices are roughly the same as BC's. Housing has gone up exponentially over the past 10 years.
So without making and statements, I just want you to think about what's worse. Yes it's easy to complain about low wages, high cost of living, etc but there are much worse places and I would even put Vancouver as one of the best, ratio wise. Is Van the perfect place? It depends on how you look at it. Can it be utopia where wages are high, housing is low, population density is low, and still maintain the beauty and resources that Van has?
I'm very open to counter arguments and I welcome any suggestions. Please tell me straight up if you think I'm wrong, don't need to sugar coat stuff for me, I'm a big boy now. We're all students of life.
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for a lot of people, it's not as easy to get up and leave. there's a lot of social and cultural issues to be aware of. and sometimes it's not about the money. sure other places you can make more money, but they say as long as you make above X dollars money doesnt make you that much happier. you can compare with china - and their corruption and pollution and their culture, or you can compare with other western countries. maybe you just prefer canadian culture instead of british culture. lots of other non-monetary issues.
ill take myself as an example. for me, i could easily find jobs now at my age in other provinces and make more (or less). ild say it's relatively easy for me to move within Canada. and i also have some friends or relatives in other provinces.
I grew up ghetto and poor as fck so I wouldn't be able to move to say Europe or US as I dont have any connections. and it's also a big risk to get up and go as I have no social networks in those other places. I'ld be on my own. In vancouver, I have lots of friends and family that can assist and support me.
I would like to move to other countries but in all honestly, it's too risky for me. Unless I can secure the job before I go there, there's no way I would take that chance. A lot of people value security: for work, for friends, for their families.
Is Van the perfect place? I've lived in other cities in other provinces in Canada and I can only compare Vancouver to those other cities. and for me, Vancouver is better due to climate and friends and family. But other cities in the world I have no clue, sure ive visited them as a tourist, but thats like seeing the best parts of the city.