There’s a reason people move here – for the lifestyle. If we didn’t care about lifestyle we’d probably live somewhere less interesting!

However, I have found the entrepreneurs around here (myself included) be quite hard working. Once we have a stake in the business we are willing to work hard – but this enthusiasm doesn’t always get passed along to those that we hire, who are happier to collect a paycheque and do other activities as their passion.

I get the impression that in Silicon Valley, Scotland, and Germany the employees are likely to work a lot harder than in Vancouver – not to mention Japan or Taiwan where working morning to night is a cultural thing.

I think painting all of Europe with one big brush is probably bit hasty – France and Spain may have a reputation for afternoon Siestas and long lunches, but the colder and poorer countries tend to work hard.

One major reason that entrepreneurs leave Europe is that their income taxes tend to heavily discourage “getting rich” – the more you make, the more heavily you are taxed. In Canada and even more so in the USA Entrepreneurs are encouraged with special tax loopholes designed to help innovators reap big rewards for their work.