2018: cost of living in Calgary, AB?

[yelllow]

Hi all,

We're a family of 3 (2 adults + 1 baby), moving (immigrating) to Calgary, AB this year. Searching for info on REAL monthly expenses for a moderately living family in Calgary?

There's a lot of info about cost of living in the internet (e.g. numbeo, expatistan) to frame the overall picture. But it would be much better to get this info from those, who REALLY live in the city today and know the specialties...

To make it easier, lets suppose that we:

• Rent 2br+1bath apartment (SW or NW, 20 min by car / 40-50 min by public transport from downtown), some moderate place, no shining luxury ; do we need to pay anything except the rent?
• Own one car (no loans, just ownership costs - taxes, repairs, gas, insurance); my husband commutes to the downtown both by car + by public transport, while I only need public transport;
• Eat mostly at home (vegs, meat, fruits, milk, no alcohol); once a month go out (cinema + restaurant);
• Use unlimited internet (speed 80 Mbit or above) + two cells (at least 4 Gb of data, preferably unlim calls. Sorry, but we're still shocked that incoming are not free). Do not need TV or home phone.
• Insurance: do we need additional health insurance except for the one provided by Alberta? I yes, what could be the minimum cost for a family of three (dentist, optometrist, prescriptions, ambulance)?
• Kid's services: e.g. daycare, public school costs, babysitter hourly rates, sports for kids...
• Haircuts for men/women/kids (girl, if it matters) and nail services
• Anything essential in Calgary, that I haven't mentioned...
• Taxes: read that there's a 5% GST, which should be added to all prices that I see on web sites and at the shopping stores. Is that right?

I understand that there are other costs (like clothing, travelling, medicines), which occur but are not as much essential as the ones above, besides they are subject to personal preferences. So I do not ask about them.

We would appreciate any info, and thanks in advance to all !!!

 

[steaky]

1) Utilities may or may not be included in the Rent

 

[ladybug8888]

Hello,
I will try to answer your question based on my experience

• Rent 2br+1bath apartment (SW or NW, 20 min by car / 40-50 min by public transport from downtown), some moderate place, no shining luxury ; do we need to pay anything except the rent?

You can rent 2br+1bath apartment for 900 dollars + bills. My friends were renting apartment for 900 and with bills they closed up to 1150.
You can rent a basement with 2br for 900 or even less including utilities.

• Own one car (no loans, just ownership costs - taxes, repairs, gas, insurance); my husband commutes to the downtown both by car + by public transport, while I only need public transport;

Oil change 60dollars done every 5000 km. Insurance is expensive and it depends if you bring any insurance history from your home country, your age etc.. For 9 years old car (worth 7000dollars) with 10 years insurance history I'm paying 160$/m. I'm driving 60km daily monday till firday and for that I'm spending between 180-200$ per month on fuel. (I'm not counting weekends because it deffers to much)

• Eat mostly at home (vegs, meat, fruits, milk, no alcohol); once a month go out (cinema + restaurant);

Food - 2 people at my home (we are not saving on food, preffer to buy high quality but not getting creazy about it, cooking at home) 700-800$/month. Cinema - 13-16$ per ticket (depends, which cinema you go - CrossIron Mills Cineplex - 16$, Crowfoot Cineplex - 13$)

• Use unlimited internet (speed 80 Mbit or above) + two cells (at least 4 Gb of data, preferably unlim calls. Sorry, but we're still shocked that incoming are not free). Do not need TV or home phone.

Bell - 2 Cells with shared 5GB and no limits on call and text in Canada and US - 160$. I don't know about prices for internet at home.

• Insurance: do we need additional health insurance except for the one provided by Alberta? I yes, what could be the minimum cost for a family of three (dentist, optometrist, prescriptions, ambulance)?

It's good to have benefits because they can pay your bills for dentists (Dentist are ridiculous expensive). Lots of employers provide you with benefits but you still need to pay half for it. Example 50$/month for 2 people. They cover dentist, optometrist, some of the prescriptions and other specialists, even naturopaths.

• Kid's services: e.g. daycare, public school costs, babysitter hourly rates, sports for kids...

Daycare 800-950 depends on age of a child. Home day care you can find for 600$. Sports for kids - YMCA monthly membership for 2 adults is 117$, for a child 0-11 years - 30$ there are no litmits of use, for some of the activities you just need to book ahead. Realy worth it and we have a new centre just opened.

• Haircuts for men/women/kids (girl, if it matters) and nail services

Haircuts - woman - starting at 30$ depends on the lenght of hairs and hairdresser skills and experience. I paid for my hair cut and dying 150$ but you can get it cheaper.
Man - it's always cheaper than woman

• Anything essential in Calgary, that I haven't mentioned...

I don't think there is something else that would surprise you. But time is expensive. You waste lot of time on driving and waiting. Calgary is a busy city and most of the people are escaping it after they save enough money to move and buy a house in smaller cities.

• Taxes: read that there's a 5% GST, which should be added to all prices that I see on web sites and at the shopping stores. Is that right?

There is no tax added to food

I understand that there are other costs (like clothing, travelling, medicines), which occur but are not as much essential as the ones above, besides they are subject to personal preferences. So I do not ask about them.

We would appreciate any info, and thanks in advance to all !!![/QUOTE]

 

[avro1959]

Hello yelllow, thought I could be another data point for you to complement the information that ladybug8888 shared.

• Rent 2br+1bath apartment (SW or NW, 20 min by car / 40-50 min by public transport from downtown), some moderate place, no shining luxury ; do we need to pay anything except the rent?

This is pretty much my situation. We stay in a 2br/2ba apartment in the SW, right beside Mount Royal University. 15 min to downtown by car, paying $1400 monthly. Most apartment buildings the heating and water is covered, but you have to pay for electricity which is generally $50/month in Alberta. Typically 2br apartments range from $1350 to $1600; I haven't found any in the SW and NW for less than $1300 to be honest; and I can say that with certainty because I've been looking for a place for my mom who wants a 2bd apartment in SW or NW. I do agree with ladybug8888 that if you wanted to settle for a basement or a shared form of accommodation, that would be cheaper. You could get that for $900 to $1100. Source: prior to staying in my current apartment, I stayed in a 2br basement (very small sq. footage) for $920 per month. I didn't quite like the experience though - basement living is an acquired taste and can sometimes be a bit depressing. I would recommend a regular apartment in a condo building. RentFaster website is your best friend.

• Own one car (no loans, just ownership costs - taxes, repairs, gas, insurance); my husband commutes to the downtown both by car + by public transport, while I only need public transport;

I'm 27, with 6 years driving experience and I pay $150/month for insurance. Gas is about $180-200 per month, and I drive about 50km return daily for work. Honestly, I hate commuting in Calgary, but my spouse works in Mount Royal so now only one of us has to commute by car since we live right beside the university. If you can, find a place close to work. Commuting is a soul-draining experience that needs to be avoided. No taxes on a car, just a yearly registration fee which is $85. For repairs and maintenance, I budgeted $100 per month, but that's because I tend to do a lot of preventative maintenance as well, aside from regular oil changes. A place like Knibbe Auto does an oil change and an inspection for $130ish which can be done 2-3 times a year.

• Eat mostly at home (vegs, meat, fruits, milk, no alcohol); once a month go out (cinema + restaurant);

We eat out quite often so have budgeted $600 for groceries and $300 for eating out. If you're not going to be eating out much, then yes perhaps $700-800 is more realistic for groceries. For entertainment, ladybug8888's estimate is right. I include Netflix in my budget which makes my total entertainment budget about $45/month.

• Use unlimited internet (speed 80 Mbit or above) + two cells (at least 4 Gb of data, preferably unlim calls. Sorry, but we're still shocked that incoming are not free). Do not need TV or home phone.

Between Shaw and Telus, they always have offers for internet that lock you in for 2 years. They're about $100 a month for 150mbps, with discounts typically for the first 6 months as an incentive. 2 year contract is okay, as long as you know you're living here for that time; they'll move your service if you move between houses. For cell phone, Fido offers reliable plans I find - $60/month for unlimited calls with 3gb data, $70/month for unlimited calls with 5gb of data. For most of these plans, you'd never pay for incoming calls. That's only the case for pay-as-you-go services.

• Insurance: do we need additional health insurance except for the one provided by Alberta? I yes, what could be the minimum cost for a family of three (dentist, optometrist, prescriptions, ambulance)?

What ladybug8888 said; also you can get Alberta Blue Cross plans if you don't have an employer plan.

• Kid's services: e.g. daycare, public school costs, babysitter hourly rates, sports for kids...
• Haircuts for men/women/kids (girl, if it matters) and nail services
• Anything essential in Calgary, that I haven't mentioned...
• Taxes: read that there's a 5% GST, which should be added to all prices that I see on web sites and at the shopping stores. Is that right?