Moving to Canada with PR, few queries in comparison to Australia

[Silvi6]

With total cost cutting, you can survive with 2K. You can rent out a small basement apartment, which in Scarborough should be max 1K.
Indian groceries including spices are readily available in Toronto. You do not have to necessarily go to an Indian store.
You even get Kurkure in Walmart. lol. Scarborough is also covered by Toronto Transit Commission. It's part of what we call Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Buses are quite frequent. Don't expect to be able to do a lot of shopping, movies and eat-outs though. In 2K you will just be managing to scrape through.
High level breakup:
Rent - 1K. A small basement apartment. You usually get fridge, stove (Induction), oven, microwave, washing machine with the house. So no need to buy these.
Groceries - 300-400.
Phone for both and home internet - 100. Basic phone plans. Slower home internet (20mbps or so).
Calls to India - You can use google hangout. It's 1 UC cent a minute. Or else, get a vonage phone for 20odd dollars a month for unlimited calling.
I am not a heavy phone user, so I use Google voice. A 10USD recharge normally lasts 2-3 months for me. Calling within Canada and US is free.
Transportation - 200. I have considered 140 for your pass, and 60 for your wife, for her occasional TTC rides.
Public transport is decent, if not extraordinary. Where will be your office. I can give an idea of travel times based on that.
Misc (like one off movies- night outs and a bit of shopping) - 300-400.


Let me know if you need any other info.

Bingo ..Thats gr8. You got me. Told me every bit of what I was looking for.
I think my office will be in Scarborough town center. So whats your thought on travel time ?

Thanks a lot
Silvi

 

[alok4best]

Bingo ..Thats gr8. You got me. Told me every bit of what I was looking for.
I think my office will be in Scarborough town center. So whats your thought on travel time ?

Thanks a lot
Silvi

I don't think you will spend more than 30 mins travelling one way.
With your own car, this might even come down to less than 10 minutes.
Scarborough is an affordable suburb, compared to core of Toronto.
Also, if that's your thing, there is a significant Indian community there as well.

 

[Silvi6]

I don't think you will spend more than 30 mins travelling one way.
With your own car, this might even come down to less than 10 minutes.
Scarborough is an affordable suburb, compared to core of Toronto.
Also, if that's your thing, there is a significant Indian community there as well.

Thanks Alok. Thats great

 

[anandg12]

Cost of living in Toronto is cheaper than Sydney and Melbourne.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&country2=Canada&city1=Melbourne&city2=Toronto&tracking=getDispatchComparison

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Australia&country2=Canada&city1=Sydney&city2=Toronto&tracking=getDispatchComparison

 

[milo2015]

Hi Silvi
May i ask what made you move from Australia (Melbourne) to Canada (Ontario) ? ofcourse,i see you have a job lined up but i heard from friends and family the salaries are pretty higher in Australia.(I know downtown core area is very expensive but you can always live in suburbs)

I know someone who moved from Toronto to Melbourne (suburbs) and is really happy and says quality of life and the infrastructure is way way better than Canada (Toronto area specifically)

P.S

Your auto insurance will be very very high, when i first moved i paid $430/month as new driver.Ofcourse,you can shop around and can get something cheaper.

 

[Silvi6]

Hi Silvi
May i ask what made you move from Australia (Melbourne) to Canada (Ontario) ? ofcourse,i see you have a job lined up but i heard from friends and family the salaries are pretty higher in Australia.(I know downtown core area is very expensive but you can always live in suburbs)

I know someone who moved from Toronto to Melbourne (suburbs) and is really happy and says quality of life and the infrastructure is way way better than Canada (Toronto area specifically)

P.S

Your auto insurance will be very very high, when i first moved i paid $430/month as new driver.Ofcourse,you can shop around and can get something cheaper.

The first reason was number of jobs in Australia are less as compared to Canada.
I am in IT, people in Australia thinks if you get 1-2 recruiters calls in a month that is great. We don't even get an email for weeks.

2nd reason is I am getting a company transfer to Canada. I feel the compensation would be same.

Salaries in Australia are not that higher if you see its minimum wage which is 17/hr and people like me with 7-8yrs experience in Java development get 60k-70k in start without local experience.


I really like Australia, didn't want to leave but didn't get anything here to settle down. Don't want to take a risk of leaving my job and search it here without job when I have a offer of transfer to Canada.

I keep getting emails from recruiters in Canada, once in a week which is way better than Australia. In Australia, sometimes recruiter will meet you first before forwarding your profile to any client.


Thanks
Silvi

 

[milo2015]

Thanks Steaky. I think insurance is cheaper in Manitoba. May be I can get a car insured from there and drive it in Toronto.

Thanks Steaky. I think insurance is cheaper in Manitoba. May be I can get a car insured from there and drive it in Toronto.

But then you'll have Manitoba drivers license. Here ,you'll be asked to show proof of ID everytime you visit govt offices (Service Canada,Service Ontario etc.) and many other places that i dont remember at this time.

If you get caught in accident at fault you wont be covered by your insurance provider.

Ottawa has very cheap insurance ,i as new driver paid around $160/month(which reduces $20 to $30 each year if record is found cleaner) and within couple of months moving to Toronto area it went up $300 more.

in my opinion and experience (Toronto area) is

1. Too much overcrowded(reflects from public transit,doctor clinics,hospitals,Govt offices,housing,automobiles etc.)
2. Quality of life is not good though good economic opportunities compared to other parts of country.
3. Bad drivers and traffic jam
4. housing and rental prices
5. People are not as respectful as you would expect (even immigrants to immigrants). My experience was very different living in other parts of Canada i.e. very pleasant.

***Used CARS are very cheaper compared to Australia.

There are other things as well that you'll know with time.

You'll survive in $2000 if you stick to absolute needs and avoid wants. Be mindful when sharing residence with others and have everything on paper and be clear on terms and conditions.

As you have already lived in Melbourne ,so you'll know rest of the drill.

Good luck

 

[milo2015]

The first reason was number of jobs in Australia are less as compared to Canada.
I am in IT, people in Australia thinks if you get 1-2 recruiters calls in a month that is great. We don't even get an email for weeks.

2nd reason is I am getting a company transfer to Canada. I feel the compensation would be same.

Salaries in Australia are not that higher if you see its minimum wage which is 17/hr and people like me with 7-8yrs experience in Java development get 60k-70k in start without local experience.


I really like Australia, didn't want to leave but didn't get anything here to settle down. Don't want to take a risk of leaving my job and search it here without job when I have a offer of transfer to Canada.

I keep getting emails from recruiters in Canada, once in a week which is way better than Australia. In Australia, sometimes recruiter will meet you first before forwarding your profile to any client.


Thanks
Silvi

Thank you Silvi for the details. That makes sense. I myself from IT/telecom field (Networking/service provider side). I assure you'll have floods of opportunities because of your java background as its in demand and not many java guys here and staffing agencies always look for one.

 

[alok4best]

The first reason was number of jobs in Australia are less as compared to Canada.
I am in IT, people in Australia thinks if you get 1-2 recruiters calls in a month that is great. We don't even get an email for weeks.

2nd reason is I am getting a company transfer to Canada. I feel the compensation would be same.

Salaries in Australia are not that higher if you see its minimum wage which is 17/hr and people like me with 7-8yrs experience in Java development get 60k-70k in start without local experience.


I really like Australia, didn't want to leave but didn't get anything here to settle down. Don't want to take a risk of leaving my job and search it here without job when I have a offer of transfer to Canada.

I keep getting emails from recruiters in Canada, once in a week which is way better than Australia. In Australia, sometimes recruiter will meet you first before forwarding your profile to any client.


Thanks
Silvi

That's right. IT/ITES certainly has more opportunities in Canada. I was getting interview calls even in December, which is normally considered a freeze period for IT jobs. The only downside is that most of the IT jobs are concentrated in and around Toronto. Which means that although not impossible, but it's certainly tough to find a job in a small town and live surrounded by nature, in case you have had enough of living in cities.

 

[Silvi6]

Thanks Guys. This gives me more strength.

 

[ldrbjp]

What's the next best place to Toronto when it comes to IT professionals?

 

[alok4best]

What's the next best place to Toronto when it comes to IT professionals?

Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary.