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Comment by maerF0x0 | Hacker News Reader

> It's become basically impossible to buy a house as a normal person, even on a higher tech salary.

In the highest demand cities. Move somewhere that is either 1) Building a crap ton or 2) in lower demand

Calgary (albeit Canada in this case, but [Canada is just as bad if not worse than the US with regards to housing](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crea-housing-december-1.631...) is a great example of a city like this. They aren't landlocked and so they can expand as they want. Also a decent sized city, and world class skiing within an hours drive.

My gut tells me people will then complain that the housing market in places like this are not worth buying into as houses are only increasing at the cost of inflation.

IMO Calgary has screwed itself over the long term: they’ve spread out from the city center to an absurd distance, and the cost of maintaining the infrastructure is going to be crippling fifty years from now. City taxes are going to be insane when the water, sewer, gas, and electric systems start to require repair and replacement.

Housing market in places like this are not worth buying because it regularly drops to -20C in the winter here and the economy is heavily reliant on one industry (oil) so even if you work in tech, you will dramatically feel the ebbs and tides of oil prices in the community around you

> because it regularly drops to -20C

Everywhere in Canada but Vancouver/Victoria have -20C in winter.

> the economy is heavily reliant on one industry (oil)

This is the real issue.

> Everywhere in Canada but Vancouver/Victoria have -20C in winter.

But it only happens for a couple days a year in Southern Ontario, even less common near a Great Lake

The complain people from Toronto/Vancouver have about Calgary is that it's Canada's red neck province, and also that there is nothing to do in the city. If you get a remote job, it's probably the most affordable place in canada not in the yukon to live.

There's so much to do if you live in Calgary!

Granted its been nearly a decade since I've been there, maybe covid broke it. But 17th ave, Stephen ave mall, kananaskis, banff, breweries, river bike paths, reasonable food scene (for it's size and not being on an ocean), go to Edmonton for the weekend (it's only a 3hr drive, or a short flight), sylvan lake day trip, lots of conventions/shows on the stampede grounds... THE STAMPEDE!

What is it you're looking for it doesnt have? (or what has change since I've been there?? )

I’ve never been there, I lived in Vancouver for 2.5 years then moved to the us, I couldn’t visit more of Canada since I couldn’t drive at the time.

The common complaint I saw at r/Vancouver and r/personalfinancecanada was that the food scene was lacking compared to those cities, and the conservative/redneckness of the city/province.

I hope you see the funny side of the complaint there's nothing to do there, while also never having been there. :)

Really encourage you to go. It's beautiful, and if you like hiking/mountains you have a "playground in your backyard". After moving to the bay area I was so spoilt and couldnt believe people would drive 3-8 hours (traffic) to Lake Tahoe, when I was used to 1.5 hours and sleeping in my own bed that night.

> Move somewhere..

let me translate..

"Quit your job and leave behind everyone you love"

Life is an economic game. You have to make the choices of what is most valuable and you cannot have, literally, it all.

as an immigrant to the US, i can share that it has been hard to do "leave behind everyone you love", but also I met new people I love as well.

People do move for jobs and leave where they grew up and much of their family lives all the time of course. And, at least for certain types of workers, living where you want to live with fewer job-related constraints is increasingly an option.

Agreed. Feels like my choices are "start a new life somewhere totally different" OR "rent forever". It definitely causes some cognitive dissonance when I weigh that tough choice against my relative well-paying tech job.

I mean that pretty much what every immigrant to the US ever did.

When you're born into a HCOL area, and all your friends and family are in a HCOL area, it's not exactly such an easy thing to just move out to some random cheaper place. For one, I don't even know where to look, there are too many choices and too many of them are shitty places to live. And that's to say nothing of having to start a brand new social life from scratch.

>And that's to say nothing of having to start a brand new social life from scratch.

Many of those who moved to that HCOL area did likewise--which probably contributes to it being a HCOL.

Not saying it's trivial but many people in the US move for all sorts of reasons including people who strictly speaking weren't "forced" to.

I cant think of a single market where lower percentile items are also high percentile quality[1]. Why should places to live be any different?

[1]: and when there is such a case people often play arbitrage or other economic games to close the gap quickly.

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