You cannot go wrong with either office. However, I think Canada might give you the edge mainly because it is closer to the US where a lot is happening in the crypto space, unlike the middle east. 

Answers to your other questions : 

• Ask your local HR about MBA sponsorship, there will be a difference in country and it is best to know that before you commit
• I really would not worry about taxi or food reimbursement, they always provide enough so you are not worried about that and can focus on work instead
• Projects vary a lot, each location can have interesting or non interesting ones depending on what you like. However industries will depend a lot on location. ME is Oil and Gas heavy or a lot of work with investment funds, Canada can be more diverse depending on where in Canada you are
• Yes it is definitely possible to work on US projects when in the Canada offices of McKinsey - it happens a lot.

Best,

Udayan

Hey there - congrats on the offer. 

Outside of what you have mentioned do look at a few things.
1. Speak to people about the culture of the different offices 
2. They are VERY different geographies and your lifestyle would be very different. Do understand the differences and what they mean to you as it might not look important at the outset but it can get to you
3. The types of clients that you will have. Qatar would probably be a lot of saudi based public sector work 

To address your needs 
1. Crypto - For this you probably want to do projects in financial services and it would be good to learn which office has a higher concentration of Fin Serv projects. I would say that crypto start ups will start springing up a lot in MEA in 2-3 years so you will have a good opportunity to switch. 

2. Money - From friends working in Mck Canada/ US/ MEA - The take home savings in MEA is more due to the low taxes and additional allowances given 

3. Projects - The list that you have mentioned are probably more in Canada as you will also be staffed on a lot of US based projects. However it also does depend on where in Canada, Calgary does a lot of oil and gas work. Qatar will be doing a lot of public sector work. So speak with people in both your offer offices to understand the project mix. 

Congrats again on your offers! Good luck with the decision 

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer!

You need to decide the 2-3 most important things to you and go from there.

A few thoughts:

1. Qatar has a tax rate of just 10%, and is much cheaper than Canada (so, more savings).
2. The crypto space barely exists in Qatar. Canada is better for this, especially with close proximity to the US
3. Tech projects - Canada/US, but talk to each office to better understand their specific projects
4. Culture - this is important…where do you actually want to be

Good luck with the decision!

Hi there, congratulations on securing not one but two offers! This is by the way the first time I hear of this as an ex-McKinsey AP, kudos to you! 

Some considerations:

• I cannot comment on the perks in either office but you should bear in mind the income tax: none in Qatar vs. considerable one in Canada, plus the cost of living is likely higher in Canada (use numbeo.com to cross-check this)
• The Canadian office is collaborating a lot with the US office: in my time in the NY and SF offices, I had dozens of colleagues commuting from Canada to work on US projects. Similarly, the Gulf office employees spend a lot of time in Saudi as the major economy in the region - you should consider if this is attractive to you
• Regarding choice of projects – you can influence this if you join the Mckinsey Digital practice, but otherwise in the first year or two will depend a lot on the project pipeline for the office. With the economy being what it is, cost-cutting projects are not unlikely in either location… That said, it doesn't hurt to be explicit to your Staffing colleagues that you want to do digital stuff
• Finally, regarding crypto – there is a McKinsey Crypto practice that is North America-centric, whose leader is in Boston and a few more key people are in SF, NY etc. You are much more likely to interact with that bunch out of Canada than out of Qatar

Good luck to you! Either way, this will be great :)

If you want to learn about digital… Canada.

Living expenses… I bet they are higher in Qatar. So Canada again.

It is possible to be staffed for US projects, and that will be easier from Canada than from Qatar.