Cost of living in Toronto and funds required for a family of 2+2

[jaymak1]

hi everyone,

I have done short landing in Toronto in March 2012 and now planning to immigrate permanently towards end of this year with my family. When we came we were informed that to be comfortable for first 6 months of immigration, you should have atleast 16 to 18,000 CAD for a family of 2 adults + 2 kids. Considering current costs of living will that amount be still sufficient for surviving in 2014-15? We are middle class family and do not dream of living a costly lifestlye unless we can afford...but as informed by few friends the basic necessary costs would be atleast 3 to 3500 CAD per month (1000 CAD for rent and 2500 CAD for other expenses). We are planning to find accommodation in Toronto North York...

Also wanted to know about Child Benefits for my 2 kids aged 4 and 10. How soon can we start getting the same? I read somewhere that I need to file Income Tax returns bf4 asking for Child benefits? Should I file IT return w/o being present physically in Canada?

Thanks a lot for any inputs.

Best regards,

Jay

 

[esbex550]

hi everyone,

I have done short landing in Toronto in March 2012 and now planning to immigrate permanently towards end of this year with my family. When we came we were informed that to be comfortable for first 6 months of immigration, you should have atleast 16 to 18,000 CAD for a family of 2 adults + 2 kids. Considering current costs of living will that amount be still sufficient for surviving in 2014-15? We are middle class family and do not dream of living a costly lifestlye unless we can afford...but as informed by few friends the basic necessary costs would be atleast 3 to 3500 CAD per month (1000 CAD for rent and 2500 CAD for other expenses). We are planning to find accommodation in Toronto North York...

Also wanted to know about Child Benefits for my 2 kids aged 4 and 10. How soon can we start getting the same? I read somewhere that I need to file Income Tax returns bf4 asking for Child benefits? Should I file IT return w/o being present physically in Canada?

Thanks a lot for any inputs.

Best regards,

Jay

In order to file I/T returns, you need a SIN card. Also, you need a canadian address where they will send your NOA. Also, one has to have CAD18,000 to CAD20,000 while they land as it takes some time to get your desired job. Cost of living is expensive if you stay in island city of toronto. But you think of staying in suburbs like mississuaga, brampton, oakville then its little bit cheaper than toronto.
good luck

 

[mrbeachman]

I have lived in North York before buying my own place. Even back in 2007 I don't remember seeing anything for $1000 that would fit 2 adults and 2 kids. Just before I moved out of the country I visited my ex who still lives at Graydon Hall (it is a relatively cheap apartment complex in North York mostly occupied by immigrants) and the area has developed quite a bit thanks to Asian money and is now even more expensive to live there.

BTW, she now pays close to $1100 for one bedroom in this relatively cheap area.

 

[buliwyf]

Hi jaymak1,

You're friend is correct, you'd need about $3,500/mo.

For $1,000/mo you can rent a basement apartment; the basement of the house of the landlord. It would be quite small for a family with 2 elementary school kids, but I suppose you can always move to a better place once you get a job.

Being a basement of a house, most probably, the location will be in a residential area. You'd want to have a car. Expect to pay, at the very least, $350/mo for car insurance. You don't want to rack up your monthly costs, so I suggest buy an old car worth $2,500-$3,500; you can always buy a better car (maybe a brand new one) once you get a job.

As for benefits, since you're new, you'll be considered "low income" (even if you land a 100k/year job today) for the tax year; this means your kids will receive full child tax benefit from Ontario ($400+ each) on top of the Universal Child tax Benefit ($100 each). Be sure to apply for it right away (your wife should be the one to apply). Go to this website: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/cctb/menu-eng.html. This means you're kids will be providing you about $1,000/mo family income.

You need a T4 slip (income slip from an employer) to file for a tax return, so this means if you get a job now, you'll need to file your tax returns next year.

Good luck!


P.S. In my experience, bringing $25,000 and getting a job on the 3rd month of landing would be the most comfortable scenario. I myself brought the minimum of $18,000 (family of 3) and it barely made 3-months! Canada says the minimum settlement funds will last you 6-months without a job. That is pure BS! (unless you get a decent job on the 1st month)

 

[clubcanada]

@buliwyf:

P.S. In my experience, bringing $25,000 and getting a job on the 3rd month of landing would be the most comfortable scenario. I myself brought the minimum of $18,000 (family of 3) and it barely made 3-months! Canada says the minimum settlement funds will last you 6-months without a job. That is pure BS! (unless you get a decent job on the 1st month)

the quoted amount by CIC is basically an average across the country. Believe it or not but outside the metro areas there are quite cheap places out there. However, if you decide to settle in GTA you obviously have to bring much more.

@ jaymak1:

We are middle class family and do not dream of living a costly lifestlye unless we can afford...but as informed by few friends the basic necessary costs would be atleast 3 to 3500 CAD per month (1000 CAD for rent and 2500 CAD for other expenses). We are planning to find accommodation in Toronto North York...

1,000 CAD for rent in North York looks a bit on the lower end unless you go for a 1-bed room apartment. But overall 3,000 to 3,500 CAD for a family sounds reasonable (without a car). You should also consider that you will need health insurance for the first months as well.

Also wanted to know about Child Benefits for my 2 kids aged 4 and 10. How soon can we start getting the same? I read somewhere that I need to file Income Tax returns bf4 asking for Child benefits? Should I file IT return w/o being present physically in Canada?

Building your financials on social benefit is not a good start. No offense but it's awkward to ask for social benefits without having paid a dime on taxes in Canada. this is a good reason for Canadians to be against new immigrants. Thanks for feeding the anti-immigration supporters....

 

[steerpike]

I dont know about Toronto, But i know in the Vancouver area you can get good deals if you really look around. Ive seen 2 bedroom apartments in metrotown area for only $600/mo, which is only 30min by train from downtown. New West and Surrey is even cheaper. I'm sure you can find similair deals in less "sought-after" areas of Toronto.

I would get some place really cheap to start off with because you dont want to run out of money before you find a job. You can always move once you get established.

Just my opinion.

 

[clubcanada]

@ steerpike:

I dont know about Toronto, But i know in the Vancouver area you can get good deals if you really look around. Ive seen 2 bedroom apartments in metrotown area for only $600/mo, which is only 30min by train from downtown. New West and Surrey is even cheaper. I'm sure you can find similair deals in less "sought-after" areas of Toronto.

I would get some place really cheap to start off with because you dont want to run out of money before you find a job. You can always move once you get established.

Not sure whether you have kids as the OP has. In this case you might reconsider moving into the cheapest neighborhoods as there is a reason why they are so cheap...

 

[jaymak1]

Thanks a lot to all of you for your replies...

Most of the posts will certainly help me plan in a better way....during our short landing of 1 month we got SIN and our Health cards as well.

I agree that w/o paying a dime I should not expect for Social benefits....might give a reason to people against new migrants...but I would just like to point out that contribution to Canadian economy would be sizeable if you calculate the amount of funds that new immigrants bring in from their own countries every year....just calculate the number of new immigrants x 25,000 CAD every year....besides welcoming new immigrants is one of the solution to ageing population....more younger aged working population will certainly contribute to the economy as well.

I hope to give my family a better life and also wish to contribute in the best possible way to Canada too...growth has to be mutual.

 

[steerpike]

@ steerpike:
Not sure whether you have kids as the OP has. In this case you might reconsider moving into the cheapest neighborhoods as there is a reason why they are so cheap...

As a child i lived in poor city neighbourhoods, and in wealthy suburbs. I was riding public transit by myself by age 8. I found in the city, if you stayed out of trouble, trouble would stay away from you. But in the "good" suburbs (White Rock) there were lot of a extremely bored teens, with nothing to do but drive around in their parents SUV looking for vicitims. Theres also something to be said for kids learning some life skills and some street smarts. Not to mention the crushing conformity and materialism.

We all have different experiences growing up, but for me the poor city neighbourhood was 100% better than the rich suburb.

 

[clubcanada]

@steerpike:

As a child i lived in poor city neighbourhoods, and in wealthy suburbs. I was riding public transit by myself by age 8. I found in the city, if you stayed out of trouble, trouble would stay away from you. But in the "good" suburbs (White Rock) there were lot of a extremely bored teens, with nothing to do but drive around in their parents SUV looking for vicitims. Theres also something to be said for kids learning some life skills and some street smarts. Not to mention the crushing conformity and materialism. We all have different experiences growing up, but for me the poor city neighbourhood was 100% better than the rich suburb.

I don't know your background nor your situation. However, growing up in the "good" suburbs and going to the "good" schools would have opened you a lot of doors. I assume that most of these kids you described from the past most likely doing very well these days. So how do you know that this wouldn't have been better?

Let's face it, property prices in Toronto are closely linked to "quality" (or let's say reputation) of schools in the neighborhood. Many home buyers base their decision on this when they select a house or apartment. This doesn't mean that a "bad" school won't provide you a future/career but the chances are lower.

@jaymak1:

I agree that w/o paying a dime I should not expect for Social benefits....might give a reason to people against new migrants...but I would just like to point out that contribution to Canadian economy would be sizeable if you calculate the amount of funds that new immigrants bring in from their own countries every year....just calculate the number of new immigrants x 25,000 CAD every year....besides welcoming new immigrants is one of the solution to ageing population....more younger aged working population will certainly contribute to the economy as well.

I see your point but I don't agree. Ageing population is an issue but Canada is a very rich country due to natural resources, which probably could afford to solve this problem by temp workers for example. Canada provides you a chance to live in this great country. In addition, the country spends a lot of money already for getting the new immigrants integrated (including free health care plan). There are millions of people who would love to take your PR instead, including a lot of comparably quite wealthy people.
Again, it's not meant to be an offense but I would re-consider your plan if you're not able to fund yourself without social benefits. One aspect might be to change plan and leave the family back home until you've settled (secured a job, explored the environment, etc.) - this will provide you much more flexibility and will increase the chances to find a job.

 

[jaymak1]

I see your point but I don't agree. Ageing population is an issue but Canada is a very rich country due to natural resources, which probably could afford to solve this problem by temp workers for example. Canada provides you a chance to live in this great country. In addition, the country spends a lot of money already for getting the new immigrants integrated (including free health care plan). There are millions of people who would love to take your PR instead, including a lot of comparably quite wealthy people.

Again, it's not meant to be an offense but I would re-consider your plan if you're not able to fund yourself without social benefits. One aspect might be to change plan and leave the family back home until you've settled (secured a job, explored the environment, etc.) - this will provide you much more flexibility and will increase the chances to find a job.
[/quote]

I agree to what you say, we will surely not immigrate to Canada only to utilize Social benefits offered by the Government.

I can very well fund my family's expenses... but when a person takes such a critical decision, he takes into consideration all the PROs and CONs ... I agree that there are lots of richer people who are crazy to get the PR ... but if there was no shortage of working people the Government would have never opened up Immigration to Outsiders...

Thanks a lot for your time in this healthy discussion and offering genuine guidance.

 

[clubcanada]

@jaymak1:

... but if there was no shortage of working people the Government would have never opened up Immigration to Outsiders...

The skilled worker immigration program has been radically trimmed down over the past years. In discussion was even to close it down completely and fill the labor shortages through other means. Just to be clear: There is no labor shortage across all Canada. There are some areas within Canada such as SK which have shortages (these areas aren't very attractive to most people). However, GTA's unemployment rate is somewhere between 10 and 12%...

 

[ovasquez1]

I have lived in North York before buying my own place. Even back in 2007 I don't remember seeing anything for $1000 that would fit 2 adults and 2 kids. Just before I moved out of the country I visited my ex who still lives at Graydon Hall (it is a relatively cheap apartment complex in North York mostly occupied by immigrants) and the area has developed quite a bit thanks to Asian money and is now even more expensive to live there.

BTW, she now pays close to $1100 for one bedroom in this relatively cheap area.

I agree, we have an apartment in the East York area, one bedroom, about 1100$, very clean, close to downtown, utilities and amenities included. It's a great deal.

hi everyone,

I have done short landing in Toronto in March 2012 and now planning to immigrate permanently towards end of this year with my family. When we came we were informed that to be comfortable for first 6 months of immigration, you should have atleast 16 to 18,000 CAD for a family of 2 adults + 2 kids. Considering current costs of living will that amount be still sufficient for surviving in 2014-15? We are middle class family and do not dream of living a costly lifestlye unless we can afford...but as informed by few friends the basic necessary costs would be atleast 3 to 3500 CAD per month (1000 CAD for rent and 2500 CAD for other expenses). We are planning to find accommodation in Toronto North York...

Also wanted to know about Child Benefits for my 2 kids aged 4 and 10. How soon can we start getting the same? I read somewhere that I need to file Income Tax returns bf4 asking for Child benefits? Should I file IT return w/o being present physically in Canada?

Thanks a lot for any inputs.

Best regards,

Jay

A friend of ours, got a basement apartment for the same price, newly remodeled, 3 bedroom for the same price. you might have better luck with a basement apartment.