Cost of living for single new immigrant in GTA

[SS66]

Hello all,
I would like to know how much does it cost for a single mature healthy person to live in GTA in general. Could it be possible to live under 1500 CAD monthly? (Considering that the accomodation will be shared with others, and with dependence on public transportation without owning a car). I know it depends on each person habits and preferences, but what I need to know is a rough estimate of the cost that will be enough to make ends meet and provides at least the basic needs for normal living.
Your feedback will be highly appreciated.

 

[vehla_ji]

As u said depend on each person living standard but I can say under 700 I use to live in hammar collz area.

 

[Jalex23]

Hello all,
I would like to know how much does it cost for a single mature healthy person to live in GTA in general. Could it be possible to live under 1500 CAD monthly? (Considering that the accomodation will be shared with others, and with dependence on public transportation without owning a car). I know it depends on each person habits and preferences, but what I need to know is a rough estimate of the cost that will be enough to make ends meet and provides at least the basic needs for normal living.
Your feedback will be highly appreciated.

I lived with less than a 1000 monthly... it can be done...

Living in Alberta, Edmonton.

 

[SS66]

As u said depend on each person living standard but I can say under 700 I use to live in hammar collz area.

Thanks for answering and +1 to you.
But as I understood your comment, you meant 700 CAD for accomadation and not including other expenses (Food, transportation, etc.)? So could we say that a range of 1200-1500 CAD monthly will be a resonable budget to cover all living expenses for a single person in GTA?

 

[SS66]

I lived with less than a 1000 monthly... it can be done...

Living in Alberta, Edmonton.

Great, thanks for answering and +1 to you.
But could you give more details to help me get the whole picture. How could you manage to live with less than 1000?
If you could summarize how much you spend on accomadation, food, transportation, etc... I'll be very grateful.

 

[rawdah]

Hello all,
I would like to know how much does it cost for a single mature healthy person to live in GTA in general. Could it be possible to live under 1500 CAD monthly? (Considering that the accomodation will be shared with others, and with dependence on public transportation without owning a car). I know it depends on each person habits and preferences, but what I need to know is a rough estimate of the cost that will be enough to make ends meet and provides at least the basic needs for normal living.
Your feedback will be highly appreciated.

Yes, it is possible to live under 1500 CAD for a single person in GTA.

 

[k3ndy]

Great, thanks for answering and +1 to you.
But could you give more details to help me get the whole picture. How could you manage to live with less than 1000?
If you could summarize how much you spend on accomadation, food, transportation, etc... I'll be very grateful.

It is cheaper to live in Alberta than in the GTA.

Having lived in Toronto/Mississauga for the past 7 years, I can say that you can definitely live with under $1500 monthly.

Assuming that you are living with 1 other person in a non-downtown/central location, you can probably get rent for about $700. Let's add another $50 for potential extra utilities. Metropass (TTC transit monthly pass) for about $150. Let's assume a cellphone bill of $75. Food for about $300 for the month.

That would add up to less than $1300.

Then again, I used fairly big figures for cellphone bill and not everyone needs a metropass.

 

[mrbeachman]

I am pretty sure I lived under 1500 a month in Toronto when I was alone and miserable. Yes, it is definitely possible and I was even paying my mortgage/condo fees which was around $1000 a month. Mind you, I was self employed and did not even need a transit pass because I would just walk everywhere. So this is the easy part. The hard part is will you be happy living like this? I was extremely depressed in Toronto and have left it for good.

 

[vehla_ji]

Thanks for answering and +1 to you.
But as I understood your comment, you meant 700 CAD for accomadation and not including other expenses (Food, transportation, etc.)? So could we say that a range of 1200-1500 CAD monthly will be a resonable budget to cover all living expenses for a single person in GTA?

thank you for +1

700 included my all expense my rent was 300 and rest 400 was my monthly food and all other need. phone bill was 30 now 37 so kinda same. u can manage your expense by cutting phone costs by not going with huge or big companies. try to get a low income travel/transit pass. yes 1200 is to much for single person like me

 

[SS66]

It is cheaper to live in Alberta than in the GTA.

Having lived in Toronto/Mississauga for the past 7 years, I can say that you can definitely live with under $1500 monthly.

Assuming that you are living with 1 other person in a non-downtown/central location, you can probably get rent for about $700. Let's add another $50 for potential extra utilities. Metropass (TTC transit monthly pass) for about $150. Let's assume a cellphone bill of $75. Food for about $300 for the month.

That would add up to less than $1300.

Then again, I used fairly big figures for cellphone bill and not everyone needs a metropass.

I am pretty sure I lived under 1500 a month in Toronto when I was alone and miserable. Yes, it is definitely possible and I was even paying my mortgage/condo fees which was around $1000 a month. Mind you, I was self employed and did not even need a transit pass because I would just walk everywhere. So this is the easy part. The hard part is will you be happy living like this? I was extremely depressed in Toronto and have left it for good.

thank you for +1

700 included my all expense my rent was 300 and rest 400 was my monthly food and all other need. phone bill was 30 now 37 so kinda same. u can manage your expense by cutting phone costs by not going with huge or big companies. try to get a low income travel/transit pass. yes 1200 is to much for single person like me

Yes, it is possible to live under 1500 CAD for a single person in GTA.

Thanks all for your valuable feedback.

 

[keesio]

The biggest cost will be rent/accommodations and that will vary greatly depending on where in the GTA you live. You said it will be shared accomodations. How much are you allocating to rent?

 

[SS66]

The biggest cost will be rent/accommodations and that will vary greatly depending on where in the GTA you live. You said it will be shared accomodations. How much are you allocating to rent?

Hello dear Keesio and thanks for answering.
Actually, it is still a prelimenary plan cause I am still in my home country and haven't passed yet through the whole immigration process. Anyway,
If things go smoothly, I can allocate 500 - 600 CAD $ for rent at maximum cause my budget is limited. I searched online on Kijii, gottaarent, etc...(especially through ads of Mississauga and Brampton regions) and found that I can at best rent a room in an apartment with this small amount of money. What do you see?

 

[keesio]

You should be able to rent a small 1BR or bachelor apartment room for $600 if you are more outside the Toronto main area. For that price closer to downtown, you will need to share accommodations or rent a small basement bachelor unit. There are many such accommodations downtown near Universities since they cater to students on a tight budget.

Note that Brampton and Mississauga is pretty far from the Toronto core. It is inconvenient to not have a car, but it is possible. Do you need to commute to the Toronto core area?

 

[SS66]

You should be able to rent a small 1BR or bachelor apartment room for $600 if you are more outside the Toronto main area. For that price closer to downtown, you will need to share accommodations or rent a small basement bachelor unit. There are many such accommodations downtown near Universities since they cater to students on a tight budget.

Note that Brampton and Mississauga is pretty far from the Toronto core. It is inconvenient to not have a car, but it is possible. Do you need to commute to the Toronto core area?

Your words are encouraging as It is really good that one can find a private accomodation in GTA with such a limited budget. I thought any rent will start from $ 900-1000 a month even for a basement or a small bc apartment, so I was considering sharing with others. Thanks for these valuable information.
In regard to commuting, I don't think I will need this so I am also considering areas that are somewhat far from the downtown as they will be more economical and cheaper for renting.

 

[Jalex23]

Great, thanks for answering and +1 to you.
But could you give more details to help me get the whole picture. How could you manage to live with less than 1000?
If you could summarize how much you spend on accomadation, food, transportation, etc... I'll be very grateful.

Sure.

I lived in a house with other 3 guys, so my rent was 525 and I had everything, cable, internet, room in the fridge and my own room.

Then 90 bucks in the bus pass.

And 200 bucks for groceries.... this was kind of tricky but stick to rice and chicken... rice and fish.... rice and tuna.... rice and sardines.... keep it as low as possible.

100-150 for incidentals

That's about it... I even managed to go for some beers once a month with my friends...

I lived like that for 2 years. Now I can't manage to keep it under 3.5K hehehe

I thought any rent will start from $ 900-1000 a month even for a basement or a small bc apartment, so I was considering sharing with others. Thanks for these valuable information.

Don't live alone... renting your own place is costly. Also you are responsible of paying bills... which add to your monthly budget.

IMO if you are in "saving" mode, living alone is a great way to throw your money away.