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My question is pretty vague but i was wondering out of Montreal and Vancouver which one would be better for an entrepreneur?
I am currently going to school in Quebec City, QC. But i have the feeling here that a lot of people (most) only want to work for the government or some type of company.
Also i feel that the administrative stuff in Quebec is extremely slow, and requires a lot of paperwork... things that for a business don t really help in my opinion.
I am also considering Vancouver for a move after school. I know the city is expensive but i have about 6 months of living expenses tucked away... adding to it everyday so i can have a full year of living expenses after graduation.
Basically my plan is to do some type of sales job (real estate and car salesman) for a start ( i don t want anyone else to have control over my income but me) and set up my businesses (internet business or home based business).
It looks to me that most income in Quebec have some type of capping. not a lot of people make in the 100 000 to 500 000 from what i have found in my research so far. i was checking this website that says that car salesman in montreal earn on average about CAN50 000.
While in BC, i heard that it was a lot more and you could make 100 000 and more if you do have the skills.
what would your recommend... montreal or vancouver? for someone who has an attitude of a self employed/entrepreneur.
Okay, I've got experience with both cities, and from the type of entrepreneurial venture you're talking about, really, I'd avoid Vancouver. It's a splendid city but its cost of living is prohibitive for a guy trying to start up a life like you. In this respect, Montreal is a much better option than Vancouver is. My own opinion is that the type of business you're trying to open can be done from anywhere, so you're better off getting yourself established in a smaller, less expensive city, like Sherbrooke, Sudbury, or one of the smaller British Columbian cities. Then, once you've got your business humming, move to a nicer, bigger city because you'll be in a better financial position to handle it. If you've got a nice, established internet business that's doing well, Vancouver has lower taxes so that's always nice, but I do know plenty of Montrealers who make over 100 thousand dollars a year and are happy living in Montreal.
Okay, I've got experience with both cities, and from the type of entrepreneurial venture you're talking about, really, I'd avoid Vancouver. It's a splendid city but its cost of living is prohibitive for a guy trying to start up a life like you. In this respect, Montreal is a much better option than Vancouver is. My own opinion is that the type of business you're trying to open can be done from anywhere, so you're better off getting yourself established in a smaller, less expensive city, like Sherbrooke, Sudbury, or one of the smaller British Columbian cities. Then, once you've got your business humming, move to a nicer, bigger city because you'll be in a better financial position to handle it. If you've got a nice, established internet business that's doing well, Vancouver has lower taxes so that's always nice, but I do know plenty of Montrealers who make over 100 thousand dollars a year and are happy living in Montreal.
That s a nice perspective that i did not see.
Could you let me know what those Montrealers do (industry or job) to earn over 100 thousand dollars a year?
I am in Quebec City right now... i have to say that leaving expenses are pretty low. i lived in New York before so when i can compare and it s a bargain. but every now and then, it seems that they always have some little fees here and there that just push up the price of little things. It almost drives me insane.
I have put about 6 months of living expenses (about $2000 for a month) on the side to stay afloat when out of school. i am looking for some type of self employed work (like real estate agent or car salesman) time to get my business and investing going. So far, my research have led me to believe that those professions are not well rewarded in Quebec contrary to the United States or Western Canada. If i am wrong please correct me.
Montreal is a bigger, more cosmopolitan city. But without being fluent in French, being an entrepreneur is going to possible extremely difficult, if not impossible. Unless you do speak French, the only possibility would be to remain in the West Island(I grew up in DDO). Either way, you would have to make the French print the largest on any signs, as well as English in smaller print(West Island is predominantly Anglophone). Even though the West Island is mostly English speaking, there are still Francophones.
If at all possible, I would suggest returning to the U.S. if you want to run your business.
I'm sure OP can speak French, he lives in Quebec City. Anyhow, those people I mentioned who make more than 100K in Montreal aren't typically running a store that works with the public. The people I'm referring to are stock brokers, chartered accountants, doctors, money lenders, business executives, salesmen of specialized products who usually work internationally, people who do things like invent novel computer programs on their own, etc. Go getters who carve out a niche or learned professionals. These people most certainly exist in Montreal and I have the privilege of knowing many. But, as in all places, the path is a hard one and you've got to have ambition, vision, and talent. You can do this in most places, but Montreal is better than Vancouver simply because Vancouver is where you migrate once you've made it, not when you're making it. It has rich people, but less opportunity for a minnow then Montreal does when you want to become one of them.
I would think Montreal but one thing that is certain.........................you would have to make nearly three times as much to enjoy the same standard of living in Vancouver as opposed to Montreal.
I'm sure OP can speak French, he lives in Quebec City. Anyhow, those people I mentioned who make more than 100K in Montreal aren't typically running a store that works with the public. The people I'm referring to are stock brokers, chartered accountants, doctors, money lenders, business executives, salesmen of specialized products who usually work internationally, people who do things like invent novel computer programs on their own, etc. Go getters who carve out a niche or learned professionals. These people most certainly exist in Montreal and I have the privilege of knowing many. But, as in all places, the path is a hard one and you've got to have ambition, vision, and talent. You can do this in most places, but Montreal is better than Vancouver simply because Vancouver is where you migrate once you've made it, not when you're making it. It has rich people, but less opportunity for a minnow then Montreal does when you want to become one of them.
I do speak French.. it s my native language.
For the people who make more than 100k i kinda knew it was going to be in those professions but a bit surprised.
I Haven t been in quebec or Canada for long so still looking for information. I thought that the taxes in the Quebec Province were the highest and kept most the salary to a certain cap. Good to know some people are making things happen.
Somebody correct me if i am wrong: when registering a business i would need to go through both governments (quebec and Federal) and show proof that I will be doing business in French?
I do speak French.. it s my native language.
For the people who make more than 100k i kinda knew it was going to be in those professions but a bit surprised.
I Haven t been in quebec or Canada for long so still looking for information. I thought that the taxes in the Quebec Province were the highest and kept most the salary to a certain cap. Good to know some people are making things happen.
Taxes have no direct bearing on the gross salaries people get paid. So they don't have a ''cap'' effect on how much people get paid. Of course, they do have an effect on your take-home pay after taxes.
Of course, taxes are not the only thing you pay. For example, the exorbitant cost of housing in Vancouver makes it a much more expensive place to live than anywhere in Quebec - even if you include taxes. You would have to make quite a bit more money in Vancouver in order to enjoy a similar type of lifestyle to what you could have in Quebec with a lot less money.
You seem to be preoccupied with 100k, but 100k doesn't take you as far in some places as it does in others. A 100k salary in Switzerland for example is probably equivalent to a 65k salary in Quebec and a 50k salary in Texas, simply because of cost of living variations.
Somebody correct me if i am wrong: when registering a business i would need to go through both governments (quebec and Federal) and show proof that I will be doing business in French?
I don't see any real issues here. You have to register your business in Quebec and go through the procedures just like anywhere else. Look out your window and you will see tons of businesses that have registed in Quebec. There are hundreds of thousands if not millions and most seem to have survived.
As for language, you don`t have to prove anything. The Quebec government will deal with your business in French just as you would deal in German in Berlin, English in Iowa or French in Geneva. You are required to be able to serve customers in French but common sense rather than the law should tell you this is probably a good idea given where you are. The only case where you would run into problems is if you were stupid and ended up with complaints you did not serve customers in French, or if you did something like force your employees to use only English on the job and one of them made a complaint.
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