Hi everyone, I had a couple questions about the finance industry of Toronto and how it compares to other global cities. I have a few options on where I may pursue a career in investment banking. I have 2 options, NYC or Toronto.
1- The first thing I'm wondering is how the cost of living generally compares between the two cities.
-How do taxes compare?
-How does housing compare near Wall St/Bay St areas?
-How food, retail, transportation compare in terms of cost?
2- How Toronto compares to NYC salary-wise.
I read on another post that people in finance and tech in Toronto make about 1/2 of what people in NYC make. Obviously, people in NYC are going to be making more than people in Toronto firstly due to the Canadian Dollar and secondly due to NYC being a much larger city but is the gap as big as 50% or is it more like 20%? Would I be better off getting US citizenship and moving there for a higher salary?
3- How does job security vary in each city? Job security is usually not that good on Wall Street from what I hear but is it better in Toronto as there are fewer people and it's less affected by economic crashes and so fewer layoffs? Also in Toronto, many people don't go to the buy-side whereas in NYC the majority go over to PE/HF where a lot more layoffs occur.
4- Finally, how does the amount of jobs compare. Like with salary, obviously, NYC has more jobs but I've heard as little as 10 people per year at big 5 banks whereas I've heard GS hires about 90-120 per year. Wouldn't this mean that in a class of 600 people at Ivey, the majority of them who want to get onto Bay Street would most likely not get a job?
So is it worth it to stay in the smaller but slightly safer economy of Toronto but take a comp cut? Or is NYC the destination I should be aiming for?
Any insight from someone currently working in the finance industry of Toronto/NYC would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks very much.