Is cost of living in Canada 20% higher than USA?

[Ordinary]

Is cost of living in Canada 20% higher than USA?

 

[jairichi]

Is cost of living in Canada 20% higher than USA?

Depends on where you live in US & Canada.

 

[jamason]

Is cost of living in Canada 20% higher than USA?

It can't be compared easily. Of course, it is slightly higher. To me, first thing that will appear costlier when you convert usd to cad. if it $1 in US, it is $1.3 in Canada.

 

[kvrforum]

Is cost of living in Canada 20% higher than USA?

Not true.

I'm from USA. I moved to Toronto only a month ago.

Everything's a lot cheaper in Toronto. Apartment and food in general are much cheaper.
I paid 800 USD every month for a studio apartment when I was in USA. That equals to about 1200 CAD.
Right now, I'm paying only 550 CAD a month for nearly identical studio apartment.
I'm paying only 50% of the price and getting the same or better things.
Food is much cheaper as well when you convert that into USD. You will pay 2-3 USD every time you eat at a restaurant in Toronto.
That is impossible in USA. You will pay at least 10 USD if you go to an average restaurant.
The only thing you can get for 3 USD in USA now (besides McDonalds) is a frozen hot dog at Tedeschi.

When I was in USA, I felt like I was losing my dollars so quickly. But I don't feel this way anymore in Toronto.
Financially, I feel more secure here.

However, it's true that you will have less opportunity here than in USA because there are no big companies like MSI, Apple, Microsoft, Yamaha, Casio, LG, HTC, Lenovo, Asus, Google which were founded in this region (except for Blueberry and Sierra Wireless). There are not many international corporate like that and many of the companies here are built for domestic purposes.

I recommend moving to USA when you have at least a half a million dollars to invest in your business or you have a significant vision in succeeding in business.
Otherwise, you will lose money. You will pay so much more money for the same things which you can get for much cheaper price in Canada.
Unless you're ready to make a lot of money in USA, staying in Canada is better.
The only exception is when you go to cheaper and desolate areas in USA. Then you won't be charged to so much money. But when you live in a region like that, you'll not necessarily get better things than living in Toronto.
Apartments in desolate California area are not too expensive but I would prefer to be in Toronto city area for the same price.

 

[legalfalcon]

Also add the cost of medical which is free in Canada, and schooling and college is inexpensive as compared to the US.

 

[wildemam]

Simple answer is YES. Direct everyday life is more expensive in Canadian money (not if you are earning your income in the US of course).
However, the health system pays off. The educational system is great. The social benefits are wonderful. The society there is much more peaceful and cities are safer. You'd feel it is worth it!

 

[saravsingh1]

Not true.

I'm from USA. I moved to Toronto only a month ago.

Everything's a lot cheaper in Toronto. Apartment and food in general are much cheaper.
I paid 800 USD every month for a studio apartment when I was in USA. That equals to about 1200 CAD.
Right now, I'm paying only 550 CAD a month for nearly identical studio apartment.
I'm paying only 50% of the price and getting the same or better things.
Food is much cheaper as well when you convert that into USD. You will pay 2-3 USD every time you eat at a restaurant in Toronto.
That is impossible in USA. You will pay at least 10 USD if you go to an average restaurant.
The only thing you can get for 3 USD in USA now (besides McDonalds) is a frozen hot dog at Tedeschi.

When I was in USA, I felt like I was losing my dollars so quickly. But I don't feel this way anymore in Toronto.
Financially, I feel more secure here.

However, it's true that you will have less opportunity here than in USA because there are no big companies like MSI, Apple, Microsoft, Yamaha, Casio, LG, HTC, Lenovo, Asus, Google which were founded in this region (except for Blueberry and Sierra Wireless). There are not many international corporate like that and many of the companies here are built for domestic purposes.

I recommend moving to USA when you have at least a half a million dollars to invest in your business or you have a significant vision in succeeding in business.
Otherwise, you will lose money. You will pay so much more money for the same things which you can get for much cheaper price in Canada.
Unless you're ready to make a lot of money in USA, staying in Canada is better.
The only exception is when you go to cheaper and desolate areas in USA. Then you won't be charged to so much money. But when you live in a region like that, you'll not necessarily get better things than living in Toronto.
Apartments in desolate California area are not too expensive but I would prefer to be in Toronto city area for the same price.

Detailed note, helpful!!

+1 for you!!

 

[kvrforum]

Simple answer is YES. Direct everyday life is more expensive in Canadian money (not if you are earning your income in the US of course).
However, the health system pays off. The educational system is great. The social benefits are wonderful. The society there is much more peaceful and cities are safer. You'd feel it is worth it!

Not just that.

If you don't have a Green Card (American PR) in USA, it will cost you more than $100,000 legal expenses plus five to ten years to get it.

Getting a green card in USA is much harder than Canadian PNP or EE.

Canadian government asks less than total $3500 in application fees and strictly it doesn't require a lawyer.
In USA, the story is different. Green Card process can easily suck 10 years out of your life.
Many people I knew in USA had to wait 7 to 10 years to just get that card....
Also, American Citizenship will be issued five years after you get the green card whereas Canadian Citizenship will be issued in one to two years after PR. So, if you're unlucky, you will spend 10 to 15 years of your life battling with USCIS (American CIC).

www.vox.com/2015/6/23/8823349/immigration-system-broken


Read this article.

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"I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American. I've failed.
by William Han on June 23, 2015
I have lived in America for the past 15 years. I have two Ivy League degrees. And I am on the verge of deportation.

Despite being an "honorary American," as I have often jokingly introduced myself, I am in fact a citizen of New Zealand. I was 18 years old when I first came to America. I still remember the excitement I felt when, very late at night, my flight from Auckland touched down at JFK. Americans may romanticize New Zealand for its natural beauty, for being Middle Earth, but we from the small country often dreamed of the metropolis, longed for its culture, its opportunities, its sense of being the center of the world. And I was about to be a part of all that.

I had come to America to attend Yale. Barbara Bush, President Bush's daughter, turned out to be in my class. I spent four dutiful years there and graduated with honors, initially majoring in math and physics before switching to the humanities. (Later I would from time to time regret this decision, as immigration rules are somewhat more lenient when you have a degree in "STEM" — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — although even with STEM graduates the immigration system is badly dysfunctional.)"

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Everything he says in this article is true. This is exactly what I have experienced in USA after my college.
When compared to American immigration, Canadian immigration is heaven.
This is why America has 12 million illegal immigrants. You become an illegal immigrant even you successfully finish attending a good college in USA.
You get two Ivy league degrees which costs $480,000 (6 years of attendance) and work 10 years only to be never recognized as an American. Even if you were brought to USA at an early age, you will only get DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status, not an American with a citizenship.

If you want to immigrate to USA without this kind of procedure, you have to give $700,000-$1,000,000 to American government and wait 10 months to a year. That's called EB5 immigration program... but if you have a half a million dollars, why not live as a millionaire in Canada and save all that money?? That's too much money to just give away to somebody whom I will never meet and talk to.
www.uscis.gov/eb-5

 

[kvrforum]

And universities in USA charge five times the tuition fee of Canadian universities which have similar international academic reputation.
I attended an American university but It's hard to tell if it worth that much more money ($50,000 a year). All of my American friends had to loan a lot of money to pay their tuition fee. Of course, they were all on debt. It will take them 10 years to pay all of them off.
If you get into Harvard or MIT on a full scholarship basis, I would recommend you to go there though.


money.cnn.com/2013/07/15/pf/college/student-loan-army/

Read this CNN article:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I risked my life to pay off $108,000 in student loans"
McGregor graduated in 2008 from the University of St. Thomas law school in Minnesota with $108,000 in student loans.
After several months of job hunting, and with the threat of a deeper recession looming, McGregor decided to enlist in the Army.

"I paid off $108,000 of law school loan debt," said McGregor, 31. "All I had to do was put my life on the line."
McGregor knew what he was getting into. When he joined, he was told there was a "100% chance" he'd be deployed overseas.
"I was just being realistic. I'd be paying those loans off forever and I knew interest compounding would make (the total) go up," McGregor said. "I couldn't think of any better options."
He deployed to Iraq for two months in 2010, and later to Afghanistan from May 2012 to March 2013.
His first convoy in Iraq was attacked by an RKG-3, a Russian anti-tank hand grenade. He and his colleagues were regularly fired upon in Afghanistan. One of his buddies lost his legs to land mines. He also lost friends in Afghanistan.
By all accounts, McGregor did things backwards. Most people join the military first, usually after high school, and then go to school. The GI bill picks up most of the tab for veterans who attend public universities and up to $17,500 for those at private colleges.
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This is not too far from my friends in USA. Many of my friends work with so much more knowledge and more advanced equipments for their jobs in USA only to struggle with debt and bills.
I met many Canadian people here who don't deal with such problems with much easier occupations.

 

[Musikwala]

A lot of these stories really echo with me quite well. I was in the US for about 8-1/2 years. Went there for higher studies in 2000 from India and racked up all kinds of student debt and loans. Struggled to find my first job during the tough economic climate of 2003 and then finally I found a break with a small company, 9 months after graduation. I changed jobs twice after that and bounced from one H1-B to another H1-B, all along hearing promises of Green Card from these companies but not a single one actually taking concrete steps to process my PR.

Finally, the horrid 2008 recession hit America and I lost my job because the stupid employer couldn't see the need for an Industrial Engineer when they had to tighten their belts. I furiously applied for jobs left, right and centre for the next few months, determined to find another employer to sponsor my H1 before my status expired. But the climate was unbelievably difficult! Luckily I found a job through a contact but in South Africa and I was forced to take it and leave the US.

Best thing was I was able to pay off that US student debt very quickly after I started working in South Africa. Been here now for almost 7 years and I'm trying to get back into North America. Hopefully Canada works out. And I'm not entirely sure I'll try to get back into US in the long term. Life in Canada may be better overall.

 

[BalaJi-2015]

We are still here in USA. Nothing is guaranteed here except waste of money you earn. Only better thing is weather in middle and south USA. USA is just for tourism. Apart from that nothing is good here. I've been to Ottawa , Canada once. I love the people and food over there. Cost of living to earning ratio is so so far good than USA. More peaceful community n everything till your retirement is guaranteed. People here on visas in USA are struggling a lot with lot of employment rules. It's not that easy to get selected in H1B visa, even after that, getting employer to sponsor your green card when you try to switch jobs is even more difficult. So most of the people are getting exploited by their employers. For example my wife is working for the same company for 7 years without the possibility of switching jobs and still we have to wait for another 7 years for green card minimum. Adding to that US government has increased visa filing fee and there are situations building up here that American citizens should be given top priority in companies which obviously they got to do. So lot of job insecurities are rising. And moreover bringing your lovable parents to you is top priority in Canada and recently they've increased the cap to 10000 parents per year which is a highly appreciable move. Canada is matchless in almost everything except the aforementioned weather and tourism. Am sure still there is lot of room for development in economy in Canada like bringing up new tech companies whereas in USA it's more or less becoming saturated since not much new jobs are getting created nowadays. I've also seen a lot of people moving from USA to Canada because of a much transparent and people friendly government. So, coming back to your question Canada is always cheaper than US in all the aspects i.e expenditure during employment , during citizenship processing and even after your retirement and the ease of doing them in Canada is the best in the world. For instance, here in US, just for an FBI PCC we got to wait for 4 full months. Doing medical for a person is $400 per adult whereas in Canada it's just $160 - $180 CAD. All the best with your application.