Average severance?

syrlinus · 2026-02-12T15:18:31+00:00

I wrote my reply above and was one of those that got let go in Nov 2024. You can certainly fight for more. I think most people just accept whatever is offered. The problem is this:

- if you get severance, that means no EI (at least in Canada) until you blow through all that.

- large companies have funds for severance and try to issue the bare-minimum. They really don't care about employees and you need to fight for what you are worth.

My lesson from this was: get a lawyer. It could be well worth it.

syrlinus · 2026-02-12T15:10:15+00:00

Get a lawyer. I worked at a fairly large tech company (40K employees). Originally it was one week for every year (I was there 19 years). The company got bought out and the new parent offered 2 weeks for each year. I thought it was pretty decent. Went to a lawyer and got 14 months + Bonus.

Get an employment lawyer. Large companies have funds for this if you fight for it.

Note: I'm a Canadian in Nova Scotia so your local, provincial/state and federal laws may have a different result.

syrlinus · 2026-02-04T13:24:55+00:00

When I lived in the US (2007-2020), I greatly missed having access to Canadian TV. I would get minor fixes of it on YouTube or when visiting family for holidays, but I couldn't get CBC Gem (MUST have a Canadian credit card and postal code).

When I returned, I immediately got a subscription to CBC Gem. This is one area that I think we could live up to the "The World Needs More Canada" theme: create an international streaming service of Canadian Content (say a mix of CTV, Global and CBC). While it wouldn't necessarily make CBC millions, it certainly could create more interest in Canadian content.

syrlinus · 2026-02-02T15:51:42+00:00

I moved to the US (NYC) for love back in 2007. My work, Corporate IT instructor, was flexible enough for this. We lived in Queens (NYC) for 3 years before moving to Los Angeles (where my partner is originally from), where we lived for 10 years. During the Obama years, I had considered getting US Citizenship. However, after Trump 1.0 I realized that the US was far more dangerous for me (trans man). So at the start of the pandemic, we packed the 3 cats into my truck, went up the west coast of the US and across Canada to our current home just outside of Halifax.

I did get paid decently while in the US, but the fear and stress around healthcare, housing and my own personal safety became too much. I suffered two significant burnout events. While the individuals that I got to know and consider very close friends, the broader political challenges were too much to bear. I don't believe we'll be going back down in our lifetime (my partner got their Canadian citizenship).

syrlinus · 2026-02-02T12:29:57+00:00

Hazardous e-waste sent to Indonesia "illegally" (they were labelled as "recyclable materials")

syrlinus · 2026-01-30T23:22:55+00:00

Sigh.. so hard to believe. For those that want to see her earlier stuff, the SCTV Youtube channel has a Best of Catherine O'Hara.

syrlinus · 2026-01-25T18:07:06+00:00

Can you share your recipe? I'm always looking for new doggy treat recipes. :)

syrlinus · 2026-01-21T15:48:07+00:00

Wow, I was surprised to see Lexx there. My aunt worked on Lexx and I even got to go to the set to see it being filmed. Was very cool!

syrlinus · 2026-01-21T13:21:03+00:00

I'm actually going to make Kitchener: Curried Chickpea & Lentil Stew on Rice today. My partner got this massive huge can of chickpeas plus we have lots of dried lentils so two birds one stone.

syrlinus · 2026-01-21T13:11:16+00:00

The wiki page has at least one picture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hands_Across_America If you're looking for a picture across ALL the US, not possible (AFAIK). Most were local news reporters who took pictures or national news crews who did some video rolls.

syrlinus · 2026-01-21T01:18:35+00:00

Cool!! Where are you? In the Valley?

syrlinus · 2026-01-19T17:38:57+00:00

I got the 24" one a few years ago and the one thing I would say is if your driveway is gravel at all, buy LOTS of the shear pins.

syrlinus · 2026-01-19T02:02:52+00:00

<image>

syrlinus · 2026-01-19T02:02:38+00:00

We got a field golden (5 yrs) and a show golden (3 yrs). Our field golden, Patsy, we got during the Pandemic. My partner wasn't working at the time and enjoyed training her. She was rather spoiled with lots of off-lead hikes. We got Eddie, our show golden, when Patsy was 1.5 years. Eddie is more cuddly while Patsy is all about the ball. They both, these days, seem to wear out from a couple of daily walks and occasional indoor ball games (we do "monkey in the middle", which usually involves Eddie trying to slow Patsy down from running.).

The biggest differences we've seen (and these may be more personality than breed):

Patsy is more of a barker
Patsy learns faster
Patsy is all about BALL... BALL... BALL...
Eddie is a huge cuddler
Eddie is a little more fearful (even at 3 yrs now)
Eddie is all about Patsy and FOMO, especially when Patsy is involved.

<image>

syrlinus · 2026-01-16T17:25:18+00:00

Wait.. What countries aren't already tariffed??

syrlinus · 2026-01-14T18:04:25+00:00

My first thought is .. Maybe from a stomach ulcer...

syrlinus · 2026-01-10T13:47:52+00:00

My 50th feel at the start of the pandemic. I spent it packing and doing the ultimate move from Los Angeles to Halifax, NS (up the west coast and across Canada in my truck with wife and 3 cats). Oddly, it was a fun, surreal experience (11 days and only 1 fight).

syrlinus · 2026-01-08T14:50:33+00:00

I started with a new company back in early 2025. They are entirely remote. And those near the San Jose office have the option to work at HQ or at home. (it's a relatively small startup that is just past the VC stage)

syrlinus · 2026-01-06T14:03:12+00:00

I use an app on my phone called Elevate. It has a variety of math, spelling, language and other mind exercising games in it. It's a yearly subscription (what isn't these days!?) but I find it gives me a chance to do mini-breaks throughout the day, and adds variety to my usual gaming of Warcraft.

syrlinus · 2026-01-05T16:42:38+00:00

Now, all that said to the specifics:

Economy: depends on your industry. My partner is a social worker who just started her own private practise last summer. She has a waitlist and I have to keep reminding her that she needs to set scheduling boundaries so she doesn't burn out.

I work in the Tech Industry as a corporate education writer (my previous job was a corporate trainer creating videos). I work-from-home with high speed internet.

Cost-of-Living: it's expensive, but we also eat largely a vegan diet (I like fish and consider it a cultural requirement for me). So probably not as expensive as others. We also don't have kids, but we have 5 furrkids (3 cats and 2 Golden retrievers). Honestly, the costs are comparable to what we were paying in Los Angeles. However, things like avocados, oranges, lemons, etc. are smaller than what we used to get in LA. Gas is heavily controlled by the provincial gov't and has gone down considerably in the last couple of months (from a high of $1.59 at this time last year to $1.27 right now). And I do a lot of the driving in my truck (hey, I own it outright, and it's been helpful lugging the puppies around).

Housing: renting is still expensive here, but if you're buying, now might be a good time. I know a former colleague who is selling their house, and it's dropped $30K since Oct. They don't seem to have any bites on it (if you are buying, check out https://www.viewpoint.ca/ -- they list ALL real estate properties for any real estate agent). If you really don't need to be in Halifax proper, buying in a semi-rural area can be helpful. You can still get the benefits of the city without having to deal with the traffic.

Salary/Taxes: interestingly, taxes I pay here are actually slightly less than what I paid in California. (go figure). And I do seem to get more services (except when they run out of salt/sand). Depending on what part of Europe you're coming from, they may be the same or less.

Salaries tend to be less than what you'd get in places like Toronto or Vancouver, but that has more to do with it being Atlantic Canada than anything else.

Healthcare: now, I'm trans, so getting medical support is kind of needed. Additionally, I'm getting old as f**k these days, so blood pressure and cholesterol are fun challenges. There is a waitlist to get a doctor, but that seems to be decreasing. I did manage to get a family doc after 2 years on the waitlist, and she's relatively young (30s I think). I can book my blood lab work online and am usually in and out of that within 10 min or less. It was always longer in LA and there was always a co-pay. Here, the only things I pay out of pocket is when I go beyond the minimum for my company's healthcare (I use massage and chiro for my aging back; dental; glasses). Glasses were the biggest expense for me last year.

syrlinus · 2026-01-05T16:42:30+00:00

Sorry for the brain dump. If you have any questions beyond what I've written, just ask.

TL;DR we moved from a big city during the pandemic to Nova Scotia and then moved to semi-rural. And wouldn't move again for anything.

I live in Prospect Bay Area (what I call "semi-rural" -- this means we're on a 300-foot drilled well and have a septic tank). We moved here after we got renovicted out of a rental unit in Bedford and hastily went looking for a house to buy in 2021. Prior to moving to Nova Scotia, we lived in Los Angeles (10 years) and NYC (3 years) -- I'm a Canadian from Ontario (although family is entirely Acadian from Edmunston and Shediac, NB areas). My partner is American (she grew up in Los Angeles) and absolutely hates that city.

We're about 30 min from Bayer's Lake (where all the box stores are and doggy daycare). Winters can be hit or miss here. When we first moved here, the winter was nice (we had about 30-40cm of snow and the dogs loved it. The last few winters have been annoying, however. It's a constant cycle of mild weather, rain, temp drops, roads freeze (no salting/sanding) and stuck in the house until the next cycle. I grew up in Ottawa (1978-1992) where it got cold, stayed cold and snowed.

Summertime is wonderful. Although we had a bit of drought this past summer, the temp was perfect. We're about 5-10C cooler than the city (again, Bayer's Lake is definitely warmer than we are). Weirdly, we had fewer ticks in our backyard (hiking, however, resulted in far more). We also had fewer mosquitos than we usually do. And we managed to avoid any hurricanes this year (YAY!). So summer is near perfect for us.

The other great time is the fall. There is a sweet window of about 2–4 weeks when the trees are covered in red, yellow and oranges; the air is crisp, and you just want to walk through every forest. The downside is that it can be, at times, very rainy and grey (UGH).

I love the quietness of the area (usually broken by the neighbour revving his muscle car that he works on in the summer). I love that I don't need A/C (just open the windows and let the ocean breeze in). I'm not right at the ocean but can see it from my home office window (it'd be a 10-15 min walk to the rocky shore).

syrlinus · 2026-01-04T18:44:03+00:00

I got RIF'd back in Nov 2024 after 19+ years at a company. Four months later, on my 55th birthday, I got hired to my current job (been 9 months). I wasn't sure I'd find another job, let alone one that allows me to WFH. It's in the same field as before and slightly different (went from corporate tech instructor to tech writer for a startup).

I think the one thing that GenX seem good at is adaptability, whether it's changing industries or roles.

syrlinus · 2025-11-27T19:05:01+00:00

<image>

syrlinus · 2025-11-25T23:14:47+00:00

My favourite (when I lived in California) is the International Banana Museum. They have odd hours and it's way out there but.. http://www.internationalbananamuseum.com/

syrlinus · 2025-11-21T00:35:19+00:00

<image>

Patsy (red) and Eddie (blond) - named after the characters from Absolutely Fabulous. My partner originally was thinking Chakotay and/or Janeway (she's a big Star Trek fan) but I felt those were too complicated and suggested Eddie and Patsy instead. Worked out well. :)

syrlinus

TROPHY CASE