How the hell did that happen? I just read it yesterday when reading an article about Japan having the lowest rape rate in the world.

So should we not worry because most people on HN are males, and therefore won't be raped if we move, or should we worry that if we move we're more likely to become rapists, statistically speaking?

Feel free to downmod me for trolling, I just find it interesting.

I haven't bothered to research the issue, so I'm happy to be corrected. A quick google search finds this source http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=6251 , along with a bunch of far less credible sources. Anyone have good information on this hypothesis?

And we already have a large immigrant population, so you don't have to worry about fitting in. In our bigger cities, you'll likely find entire neighborhoods of people from your part of the world, who speak your language and share your beliefs.

I like warm weather... I'd hate to live somewhere where it goes down to -20C in the winter... and a 25C maximum in the summer isn't exactly thrilling.

I guess you just can't have it all!...

(But the situation depended a lot on where in Canada you lived.)

You may as well ask why people choose to live in Upstate New York.

Few do. Upstate NY is losing population. In fact the whole northeastern edge of the US is losing population, except one county in NH.

If you can meet the requirements, though, there are some areas that are particularly kind to high-tech start-ups. The Kitchener-Waterloo area has become the Canadian take on Silicon Valley thanks in large part to the University of Waterloo (still one of the best math and CS schools in the world, with co-op students more than willing to do internships) and the influence of companies like Research In Motion. Ottawa is still trying to attract tech, even if Corel's glory days are past. Vancouver is a sort of northern outpost of the Seattle area (rainy, no real winter, but it's God-awful expensive to live there). Calgary is another hot spot, but you need to be of a certain temperament to "get" the place. And there's always the Toronto area -- great for amenities, culture and so forth and the de facto capitol of all things business, and there is no lack of code monkeys if you feel you need them. There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself.

Huh? Spadina Ave. in Toronto is lined with startups and tech companies, as is King West (aka 'Liberty Village'). There are tons of tech events in the city (Democamp, etc. See http://yousayyeah.com/calendar), as well a hacker space (http://hacklab.to)

I'm not aware of much hacker activity in the 'burbs other than Markham perhaps.

For companies that have revenues under 500k, the tax rate is only 22%.

If you're interested in Net Neutrality this is what ruins it, divide and conquer by making people stop caring about the WWW and only about their part of the world, it's like China in reverse.

Alternatively, you don't have to worry much about health insurance.

By mid-March I'm ready to pack up and move ANYWHERE the sun shines. Where I live (GTA, golden horseshoe) you can go a solid week without seeing the sun, given the cloud cover.

Conversely, but mid-August I start to wish I lived somewhere a little cooler. Temperatures in the 30s aren't unusual and with 100% humidity it can feel closer to 40 degrees.

If you aren't a fan of extreme temperatures, look elsewhere. If you can deal with them, Canada is a great place to live.

EDIT: Strange phenomenon - in the winter, you pray for summer forgetting about the extreme heat and humidity. In the summer your pray for the winter, forgetting about frostbite and driving your car down a major highway with six inches of snow on the ground. The mind works in mysterious ways.

I didn't actually end up applying. I am not sure how wise that decision is.