Everyone on Pakistani Reddit wants to leave. I stayed, and earn from Canada.

The thread everyone has read

Spend a week on any Pakistani subreddit and you’ll see it. “How do I get out?” “Is it even worth staying?” “Germany or Canada?” The replies are a mix of visa tips, bitterness, and the odd uncle telling everyone to be grateful.

The numbers say it isn’t just Reddit gloom. In 2025, 762,499 Pakistanis left for jobs abroad, about 5% more than the year before, according to Bureau of Emigration figures in the Finance Ministry’s monthly outlook (The Hitavada). That count only covers people registered for work abroad. Students and families come on top.

How many want to go? It depends on who’s asking. A 2022 survey by PIDE, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, found 37% of Pakistanis would leave if they got the chance, and 62% of young men aged 15 to 24 (PIDE). Phone surveys by Gallup and Ipsos put it closer to a quarter of young people (Nukta). Either way, that’s millions of people with one foot out the door.

Why people go

I’m not here to tell anyone to stay. When PIDE asked people why they’d leave, money came first. Then came equal opportunity and respect: 44% said they wanted more respect (PIDE). That one stays with me. People aren’t only leaving for salaries. They’re leaving to be treated like they count.

The ones who go don’t abandon us, either. Pakistanis abroad sent home a record $41.6 billion last year (Gulf News). That money pays for school fees, weddings and roofs all over the country, probably on your street too.

So leaving is a fair choice. My point is smaller: it isn’t the only one.

The option the threads skip

I live in Hafizabad. I work for a Canadian firm that handles bookkeeping, payroll and operations for small businesses over there. I joined in November 2023 as its first employee.

My working day starts at 5 pm, which is 8 am in Toronto (7 am once their clocks go back for winter). I log off around 2 am. In between, I’m on the same files, the same calls and the same deadlines as someone sitting in Ontario.

Here’s the maths the “how do I leave” threads rarely do. An unfurnished one-bedroom in the City of Toronto rented for C$1,947 a month on average in August (liv.rent). Add transport, groceries and a winter coat. Someone who moves there spends a big share of a Canadian salary just on being in Canada.

I earn from that economy and spend in this one. I live in my family home, I eat at my mother’s table, and the money I’d hand a Toronto landlord goes into our own house instead. Low costs also buy something less obvious: room to take risks. I can build side projects and write this site without worrying about next month’s rent.

What staying costs

It isn’t free, and I won’t pretend it is.

The hours. My workday is everyone else’s evening. Family dinners, weddings and cricket matches happen during my shift.
The power. Load-shedding doesn’t care about a payroll deadline in Canada. A UPS is part of my job.
The town. A small city has a small social life. Plenty of people my age have moved to Lahore, Islamabad or abroad.
The rupee. Money saved in rupees quietly loses value every year, so savings have to sit in something that holds up.
The single thread. One employer in one country means one point of failure. If that job goes, the income goes with it.

I’d still take this deal over a one-bedroom in Toronto. But it’s a deal, with a price.

If you want to try it

You don’t need a computer science degree. I studied mass communication. What you need is a skill a small business abroad will pay for, and the habits that make them trust someone they’ve never met.

Pick a paid skill. Bookkeeping, payroll, admin, customer support, writing, design. Choose the one people already pay for, not the one that sounds impressive.
Learn their tools, not yours. If Canadian bookkeepers use QuickBooks, learn QuickBooks.
Work their hours. Being online during their morning is worth more than any certificate.
Be boringly reliable. Reply the same day, flag problems before they grow, and write everything down.
Start with one. One client or one job, done well, becomes your reference for the next.
Fix your setup first. Backup power and a second internet connection, before the first deadline, not after it.

Staying isn’t a vow

I didn’t stay because I think Pakistan is fine. I stayed because, right now, it’s the better deal for me: a real career, a low cost of living, and my parents down the hall instead of on a video call.

That could change, and that’s allowed. Staying isn’t a vow. It’s a decision you get to make again every year.

So if you’re writing your own “how do I get out” post tonight, go ahead. Just add one more option to the list before you hit post: get paid by the world, and live here on purpose.