It's a triple whammy. Compensation is lower, taxes are higher, food is more expensive. Only healthcare is cheaper. It's mostly paid for, prescriptions included, if you work for a company with a decent health plan. Cars are also more expensive overall (ownership + insurance).
they sure are! From the digging around I have done, you can expect a 40% cut from a Bay area salary to Vancouver. The question then becomes, what sort of standard of living could I expect to maintain after taking such a large cut, and that's what I was trying to surface with this calculator.
Ya, I hear you there. That's actually why I built this, was to help calculate that, but there are so many variables in that calculation, I decided to start with I would just figure out what would be left of your paycheque each month and then users can compare against their US bank statements. Its rough, but hopefully its enough to give people considering making a move enough information to decide.