[tpm] country hacker, city hacker

[James E Keenan]

On 10/3/13 10:02 PM, Brandon McCaig wrote:
> Hello,
> [snip]

> locally ever since. Mostly working with Microsoft technologies
> (and hating every second of it; well that's an exaggeration, but
> you get the point). I predominantly develop in ASP.NET/C#
> professionally (against my will).
>


At $job yesterday, I had to review a client written for our API by one 
of our downstream users.  It was written in C#.  It seemed like a much 
more reasonable language than Java.

> [snip]

> - Commutting. I've never driven in traffic as heavy as Toronto,

You obviously have not driven in New York City. :-)

In central Toronto, you do not need to drive.  I have visited Toronto 
most years since 1995.  I park my car in the hotel or B-n-B lot and 
don't use it until I leave the city.  Granted, I mostly hang out south 
of Bloor St, where the combination of metro, streetcar and bus is at its 
best.  In the more northern parts of the city the traffic is quite like 
any other large North American city.  You will get used to it.

> alone riding my motorcycle, being much more vulnerable... Aside
> from the safety concerns, there are the costs involved: repairs,
> insurance hikes, etc.
>

You will presumably be paid in Toronto dollars, not Sault Ste Marie dollars.

> Aside from driving, I don't really know how to get around
> affordably. Taxis are certainly not affordable. I probably spent
> $120 or $150 on taxis in just the day and a half that I was there
> for the interview, and I didn't even go very many places.

I can't recall ever taking a taxi in Toronto.

> [snip]
> I imagine you'd still have quite a bit of walking
> or have to transfer between transit systems to get to your
> destination.
>

Yes, that's a feature, not a bug.

> [snip]

>
> [1] The office is on Wingold Avenue off of Dufferin Street, for
> reference.
>

Granted, this location is quite a ways from the city center.  I suspect 
you will need a car/motorcycle to get there.

(Side note to TPM:  Isn't this near where we held the 
CGI-Application-Framework in Oct 2005?  Further side note:  That was the 
last time I actually used my car while *in* metro Toronto.)

>
> - All the prices seem to be double down there as compared to here
> (and here already seems double what they pay in the USA
> [reference for Uri]).

The Canadian dollar is in a part of the long-term cycle in exchange 
rates where it is high relative to the USD.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

kid51
(who remembers how far his USDs went in Toronto in the 1990s)