I moved two summers ago, from Fremont, CA, to Oshawa, Ontario. I had just lost my job doing IT. I could have spent a month, or less and found another job, no problem. But, I saw the daily grind of commuting to work as a crazy thing all Bay Area people do, and not something, I'd like to do. I even became one of those people that commuted on a motorcycle, and lane split to work. Which cut the commute down to almost half at times, in comparison to the GPS estimate of how long it'd take to get to work, or home. I also was in my mid 30s and had just read an article stating that the average bay area worker burns out in their early 40s. And earning a living in the Bay Area goes up every decade, and the means to earn enough to survive gets harder. So, when I was given the opportunity... or in my case, my GF from Canada, said, either move from Cali to here, and get married, or we aren't going to work... I started planning my exit. I put a ring on her, and proposed. Moved here, to Oshawa, which is outside of Toronto. I've found traffic to be comparable to California. Oshawa to Mississauga before the pandemic was about an hour and half minimum, one way, and upto five and half hours of commuting in a day. All the IT jobs seem to be on the other side of town. With the pandemic now, I'm job hunting, and looking for something on this side of Toronto. Also, IT jobs here make half as much as IT jobs in the Bay Area. So I'm also contemplating a career change. But over all, quality of life is better here. Things cost more, sure, you don't make enough money doing the same job. But, the weekends are slower. There is little traffic on weekends going out to do things. There is more available to do here, and everyone is nicer over all here.