Piero Bosio Social Web Site Personale

@skinnylatte I do have the good fortune of working for a silcon valley company that treats all of Canada as the same payscale, unlike the situation in the US.

There is risk. I was interviewed by Equinix and they wanted to pay me 1/3rd of what I make now for the same role. The salary they claimed I qualified for in Campbell River wouldn't be possible to survive on with today's cost of living and seemed to be aligned to numbers from 2000ish. In 2026, the only difference in cost of living between a major city and a small one in Canada is the rent and value of homes. Food, hydro, all other services are the same. And the rent doesn't scale down much. A 1 bedroom apartment in Campbell River is about 10% cheaper than one in Vancouver, while companies apparently think that means I can live on 60% less.

I just avoid companies with outdated thinking where possible.

The salary Equinix was pitching for someone from Campbell River in my role was less than what my brother makes doing unskilled labor at a local fish plant.

@skinnylatte yeah this is the double edged sword, but as a father of a family of three and the sole income earner, not owning a house meant no chance of retiring -- ever -- and working till I die.

At least with a house paid off there's a chance.

As a renter in Vancouver my raises were just barely keeping up with cost of living. I was barely able to save and inflation ensured that rent prevent any chance of me building savings at a fast enough rate for retirement.

Now that the funds from rent are going to equity in a house, there's a chance. Its slim as all hell.. But I'll take the chance over no hope. As a renter the logical end was living in a seniors home eventually, but those cost more than my mortgage per month.

Paying off a property, no matter how crappy, small or rural, means in 25 years you're only paying property tax, which is always much much much cheaper than rent.

With 4% rent increase per year from landlords in most of Canada, even if I somehow magically saved 1.5 _million_ for retirement, I would only be able to pay for my wife and I to retire for 15 years at _current_ cost of living, and that presumes cost of living stays stable, which of course is absolutely not a thing.