Cost of Living estimations for new immigrants

[cyronn]

Most interesting. Esp the part about needing air conditioning I thought Canada was cold!!

 

[Ufa6174]

Researching living costs in Toronto, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that it is not as expensive as I anticipated, though perhaps my judgement is far from perfect after living in London for a few years. One_Topsy's link indicates about a 1/3 reduction in living costs in Toronto compared to London.

Though the more important question, which I need to investigate soon, is what are pay levels like. If anyone is able to weigh in on this that would be great also. Say an Associate level consultant in London gets you £50K-£55K p.a., what is the comparable remuneration for a similar role in Toronto? 1 GBP is about 2 CAD.

 

[eddie_in_NL]

a couple of weeks ago I attended a presentation from United Way about their programs to support those in need. It is mostly about Calgary, but probably comparable to other major cities (read expensive).

- minimum wage here in AB is ~11.20 $/hour. This makes to around 2000$ per month if working full time.

They say roughly 1 in 10 calgarians are considered "poor". (At least by Canadian standards). I asked them what is the definition of being "poor". They said anyone sustaining a family would need to earn at least 17$ an hour. This is 3000$ per month for one person working full time.

In Calgary a basement suite starts at 1000$ per month, so these numbers feel right to me. This is what I would budget for if I was moving here now. If you're single and frugal, perhaps you can live comfortably with less, but otherwise it is not realistic to budget much less than this.

Obviously, being poor in Canada is nothing like in third world countries (including my home country) where people sometimes don't even have food to eat, so I acknowledge that.
Some useful links:
Rentfaster.ca will give you rental prices in Calgary and Edmonton.

Makethemonth.ca is an online poverty simulation from United way.

 

[paramjeet122]

Hey Guys,

Dont know if posting in this thread would yield much, doing so however to avoid duplicate thread creation.

I am 32, with a decent job in customer service operations(senior manager), earn good enough & pay almost no tax owing to house loan, and other tax saving tools.

My wife is a home-maker, since we have an infant to look after, she could start working again in a couple of years.

So, looking at settling in Toronto, is it advisable to go on considering following points:

1) Top paid managerial jobs in Toronto in my occupation(best match) are giving around 50K $ on an average
2) I am almost making half of what one gets in Canada....as quoted above in point # (1)
3) First few years, especially months are extremely gruesome, as everyone needs to start afresh in Canada

And most importantly...

4) The consumer prices & house rental...i.e overall cost of living in Canada(Toronto) is almost 2.5 times that of India(Non Metro A Class town) & The salaries are just about 2 times only. If I have taken this correctly, I shall be in fact shelling money out of my savings to survive and financially this does not make a good proposition.

Please guide if the above calculation is right or needs some change...

I am basically looking for an equation on :

a) Cost of living in Toronto vs New Delhi
b) Salaries in same NOC in Toronto vs New Delhi

Lastly, just advice if possible, if it is at all a wise thing to migrate to Canada given my current profile.

Thanks in advance
Paramjeet

 

[DigitalDestiny]

@paramjeet122 ... relocating to a new country is a tough decision always.

Initially, Getting a managerial job in Canada is going to be difficult in comparison to a technical job. But you need to look down 5-20 years down the line. Truth is we will have to struggle there as we have to start life from scratch, it's our next generation that is going to reap the benefit of our present efforts.

If you are in a comfortable position, making good money and overall satisfied with life then perhaps immigrating might not make much sense. But if you are willing to take risk for a possibly better future (if not for you, at least for your kids) then you can go for it.

Again, it's going to be your decision and only you & your spouse can best decide

 

[paramjeet122]

@paramjeet122 ... relocating to a new country is a tough decision always.

Initially, Getting a managerial job in Canada is going to be difficult in comparison to a technical job. But you need to look down 5-20 years down the line. Truth is we will have to struggle there as we have to start life from scratch, it's our next generation that is going to reap the benefit of our present efforts.

If you are in a comfortable position, making good money and overall satisfied with life then perhaps immigrating might not make much sense. But if you are willing to take risk for a possibly better future (if not for you, at least for your kids) then you can go for it.

Again, it's going to be your decision and only you & your spouse can best decide

Thanks mate.... It's the hunch that says.... Come to Canada. If I put it to some rationale..... It says stay back, build some more skills and leverage currently possessed.

The 'Hunch' is fed by great scenery....one of the best people around and human development index.

Let's wait for some more directions before calling it done.

 

[Udayesh]

following, good topic

 

[Rkhurana]

it Always depend on your personal way / style of living, but i am writing you what you can expect in alberta.

ok
if u want to live in a basement u can find a basement for 2 rooms @ 1000 $ bills included

if u want to live in an appartment / condo 2 rooms about 1400-1500 bills included

about 50 bucks internet and cable

35 bucks minimum mobile charges ( if u have one )

about 90 bucks car insurance (depends which car u wanna have )

gas about 120/170 ( depends how your job is far from your home )

groceries about 500

so total (Always depend on your personal way of living ) 1400+50+35+90+150+500= about 2200

then you pay for your car registration every year about 80 bucks, gym vary from 50/70 bucks monthly.
you can buy good used car from 2000 + ...

bank account free of cost in BMO, for 1st year.

cheers

I have heard that car insurance is pretty high in Toronto , around 400-500 $/month...
is it true...
this post suggests that car insurance will be only 90$...
can someone please help...

 

[vivekforbes]

I have heard that car insurance is pretty high in Toronto , around 400-500 $/month...
is it true...
this post suggests that car insurance will be only 90$...
can someone please help...

Car insurance is very high especially in Toronto. If you are a new driver, it would be around 400$ per month. If you are living outside the city or small other provinces, then you pay around 100 - 200 per month.

 

[canadianrrk]

hello all,

Iam a single applicant, may i know the rent estimate in Toronto if i prefer all inclusive accomdatn for non basement.

Rough estimate of monthly expenses would be highly appreciated.......single, non smoker, teetotaler.

cheers,
Rrk.

 

[ldrbjp]

Very nice topic.

I heard people share apartments/houses. Meaning, a family renting a 2 bedroom apartment would give out one bedroom in that unit to another person, single or couple, based on their preference.

Its a very common practice here in Singapore. Is it true in case of Canada?

 

[Ayuula]

Hi all, can we update this thread. Can anyone provide more recent info on the monthly expenses for a family of 4 in Canada (a 2 and 5 yr old)?

 

[grapehair]

I guess this thread may prove to be very useful to folks making plans to land or those who've landed already. Any insights would be much appreciated!

 

[DelPiero07]

The answer is dependent to where the applicant is looking to settle.

 

[Ayuula]

The answer is dependent to where the applicant is looking to settle.

We are open but considering Alberta and Ontario because of hubby employability chances. He is a construction project manager, I intend to work from home for now, at least till he lands a meaningful job.