These conversations, which appear every time a post appears on HN that talks about what a great place Toronto is (along with many other places in Canada), make me sad.
Sure but Toronto is expensive and they pay isn't very good considering. If it were people lamenting only being paid $300k instead of $400k then we could be like "it's just money!" but I heard when I was there a few months back CAD$120k is pretty typical for a senior dev, which is roughly $90k USD, and the housing and whatnot isn't all that much cheaper than in big US cities.
There is definitely room for improvement among pay in Canada, but it really is an exceptionalist view to base the pay in USD. Especially so because I always see people convert salary in CAD to USD, then not convert the cost of goods and living to USD as well. There are also certain nuances living in Canada that decrease your expenses compared to the US such as decent public transit (unheard of in the west coast), decent healthcare of which health benefits from the company then boost the healthcare quality way higher than what I was able to find in America, and a much more collectivist culture than America which, in my opinion, is the biggest draw to living in Canada.
On the other hand, there are expenses that are higher! Taxes are higher for one as well as the cost of goods such as groceries. Although, the groceries case doesn't really hold because I find that groceries in SV or Seattle to be higher than where I am now in Canada.
The main point I'm trying to make is that is that straight up converting salary in another country straight to USD is a bad comparison of wealth.
Sure, but i found - as you mentioned - groceries, including conversion to USD, to be more expensive in Toronto than LA. Eating out was definitely cheaper. Rent, for an equivalent place in Toronto is, I think, slightly cheaper, but probably not 50% or so cheaper.
You're right that you need to convert both sides of the equation but I still think that all things considered Toronto pay is pretty poor compared to the US.
Expect to be paid 20 - 30% less outside of the city. That's been my experience. Overall I am financially far worse off with an 'affordable' house in Atlantic Canada. Yes I have a small detached home for ~$250k but I have much less money in my pocket with far less capital gain potential.
An extra $35k salary would easily cover a much larger mortgage, and living expenses aside from the mortgage are almost identical.
The difference in rent or mortgage is easily covered by the city weighted salary, but you still have all the other expenses. Living is just expensive wherever you go, there is no escaping it. I made the decision that at 40 I don't want to be in a condo surrounded by traffic and people any more. It's been a bit of an eye opener and a big adjustment to accept the relatively low salary that comes with that decision.
I have worked remotely and been paid very well which has been good, but startups come and go and when I got to the final round of a more stable position with a large corporation they told me they were downgrading my salary offer by a significant amount because of where I lived.
It doesn't really make a lot of sense to compare currency conversions unless you are buying your raw materials in another currency. I'm not really that impacted on a day to day by the exchange rate, unless I'm in the US visiting family.
But with so many great places in Canada, why not choose one that is both great and offers more compensation, the latter of which helps multiply the greatness?
There definitely is, but at the same time, you need money to have a comfortable life for you, your parents, your partner and your children (and then their children).
There is so much more to life than money.