Moviong from India to Toronto/ Cost of living/ Salary

[Kartik1824]

Me and my wife are from India and I got an opportunity in one of the big MNC in Toronto. We have no kids yet and my wife is not working. Our lifestyle is pretty decent here in India. We are in the process of making decision so any help would be appreciated.

I have been offered $75000 (annual salary before tax). Our biggest reason to move to Canada is to save some money.

I have the following question:

- How much will I get per by-weekly as my take home salary?
- How much money we'll be able to save if we just spend on rent, groceries, phone and transport?
- What life would a salary of $75K provide in Toronto, Canada?


Thanks!!

 

[NetMecca]

Your question is not a simple question to answer unfortunately as the amounts you get out varies from province to province and no doubt how you view your lifestyle will also have an affect on this.

Depending on where you settle and what types of employer driven addons you contribute to (e.g. RRSP (pension), possibly medical), the compulsory stuff (taxes etc) aside, you can expect to get out about 55% - 65% of you gross salary.

$75,000 is a pretty decent salary, though depending on where you live, (property probably being the most expensive part in Toronto especially), you may be able to live fairly comfortably. Far out of town or close, apartment or house, buy or rent. Car new or used, lease or buy. All factors that will influence how much you have left.

Pretty difficult to say.

Again depending on your lifestyle it might be fairly tight and a second income would not hurt.

Keep in mind that Toronto is one of the most expensive cities in Canada to live in. May have to account for that.

Hope this helps at least a little.

 

[foodie69]

I have the following question:

- How much will I get per by-weekly as my take home salary?
- How much money we'll be able to save if we just spend on rent, groceries, phone and transport?
- What life would a salary of $75K provide in Toronto, Canada?


Thanks!!

1. Net is $59'148 = $2274 bi weekly
2. no one but you can tell
3. again, depending on where you live and other expenses you may have

 

[scylla]

I agree. It really depends on your lifestyle, where you want to live (i.e. in the city or farther out), how often you eat out, if you want a car and how nice a car, how often you buy new clothes, etc.

$75K is OK IMO but not great given how expensive it is to live here.

Sites like this will give you an idea of how much stuff costs here:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Toronto

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/toronto

 

[Kartik1824]

Thanks guys for responding and sorry for not providing much details. As I said, our priority is to save money but not compromising on basic things. I have come up with some estimate and still need your opinion on this. Please correct or add anything if required.

Items Monthly Expense for couple Max
Apartment $1000-$1200 $1200
Internet/Satellite/Cable $120-$150 $120
Cell phone $90-$120 $120
Heat/Hydro/Water $100-$120 $120
Transportation $150-$300 $200
Groceries $400-$500 $500
Total $2260

I am expecting to get around $2200 every bi-weekly after all tax deduction. We are planning to use public transport and not planning to eat out more than twice a months. Thanks for your help.

My expectation is to spend one pay check on living and save the second pay check every month. Let me know your thought if this estimate is reasonable or I can cut down some of the expenses.

 

[scylla]

Again, depends on your lifestyle.

I don't see any expenses that you can cut down on. If anything, some of them are too low.

A $1K to $1.2K apartment won't be a great apartment. Either it will be small, or outdated, or not in a great location. So again, depends what you're used to and how much you're willing to compromise.

$200 per month is too low for transportation. If you're living in downtown Toronto, you'll be looking at around $300 per month. If you live outside of Toronto and have to commute via go-train, it will be higher than $300 per month.

There are also additional costs you haven't factored in. For example, you'll want to get insurance to cover your personal belongings in your rental apartment. You haven't factored in anything for clothing or other household needs. Are you going to travel at all annually to visit family back home? You need to factor that in.

 

[NetMecca]

I agree. A little low on budget items.

Need home insurance - $100/month
You buying a car? If you live a little outside of Toronto, car is essential.
Car $100 - $400/ month depending on car
Car insurance $100-150/month
Car maintenance $20 / month
Groceries probably closer to $500-$600 / month per person.

Also keep in mind that winters in Canada are very cold. If you are accustomed to warmer temperatures, expect that your clothes will not work. You will have to buy some winter clothes and especially shoes.

With no credit score in Canada you will probably also have to put down some deposits for services like internet, phone and even Hydro (electricity). Over time you will get your deposits back, but it does take a bite out of your budget, especially since these are initial costs you may not have anticipated.

Anticipate some setup cost, and be sure to budget for it.

Hope this helps

 

[scylla]

I would revise to this at a minimum (again, depending on lifestyle it could be a lot more):

Apartment $1600
Internet/Satellite/Cable $150
Cell phone $150
Heat/Hydro/Water $150
Transportation (public transit - no car) $350
Groceries $1000
Other (clothes, insurance, travel, household, etc.) $500
Total $3900

 

[Kartik1824]

Thanks again everyone for such prompt response. Based on the responses, now my biggest concern is finding an apartment. I am looking for 1-bedroom apartment. Also Just more details: My future organization is taking care of all the relocation expense. So I can ship all my household thing from India on company expense including furniture and full kitchen stuff without any electronic items.

I was looking for some apartment online and looks like in the range of 1200-1300 I can get some decent apartment not very far from downtown.

Can you please tell if these apartments has any hidden cost involved other than utilities (Heat/Hydro/Water)?
Do I need to pay any deposit other than first month rent?
How much would be the deposits for services like internet, phone and even Hydro (electricity)?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[scylla]

Apartment deposits are first and last month rent.

I would add a couple of hundred dollars to the rental units you are seeing online. Rental units are in short supply in Toronto and it's quite possible you'll need to go above budget. Landlords will give preference to people with established work histories in Canada.

Also, you most likely will not be able to secure an apartment before you arrive. You should expect to spend additional money your first month here on temporary accommodations before you can secure something long term. Note that sites like kijiji and craigslist do have rental scams. So be careful.

 

[keesio]

Thanks again everyone for such prompt response. Based on the responses, now my biggest concern is finding an apartment. I am looking for 1-bedroom apartment. Also Just more details: My future organization is taking care of all the relocation expense. So I can ship all my household thing from India on company expense including furniture and full kitchen stuff without any electronic items.

I was looking for some apartment online and looks like in the range of 1200-1300 I can get some decent apartment not very far from downtown.

Can you please tell if these apartments has any hidden cost involved other than utilities (Heat/Hydro/Water)?
Do I need to pay any deposit other than first month rent?
How much would be the deposits for services like internet, phone and even Hydro (electricity)?

Thanks in advance!!

I think you should be able to find a decent 1 BR apartment for $1300 that is fairly close to the core, or at least close to the subway for easy access to downtown. Most decent apartment buildings include all utilities as that is included in your rent. But if you rent a fairly new condo, then you may have to pay utilities.

 

[alok4best]

Thanks again everyone for such prompt response. Based on the responses, now my biggest concern is finding an apartment. I am looking for 1-bedroom apartment. Also Just more details: My future organization is taking care of all the relocation expense. So I can ship all my household thing from India on company expense including furniture and full kitchen stuff without any electronic items.

I was looking for some apartment online and looks like in the range of 1200-1300 I can get some decent apartment not very far from downtown.

Can you please tell if these apartments has any hidden cost involved other than utilities (Heat/Hydro/Water)?
Do I need to pay any deposit other than first month rent?
How much would be the deposits for services like internet, phone and even Hydro (electricity)?

Thanks in advance!!

A lot also depends on where do you plan to rent? Downtown or Suburbs. Also how far you live from office.
If you live and work downtown, you can probably walk to your office (1-2KM) and save on transportation costs.

Rent also varies widely through different parts of Toronto. A small 1 bedroom condo in heart of downtown can cost around 2K to rent.

In any case, you will need something in the range of $3000-3500 bare minimum.

 

[keesio]

A lot also depends on where do you plan to rent? Downtown or Suburbs. Also how far you live from office.
If you live and work downtown, you can probably walk to your office (1-2KM) and save on transportation costs.

Rent also varies widely through different parts of Toronto. A small 1 bedroom condo in heart of downtown can cost around 2K to rent.

In any case, you will need something in the range of $3000-3500 bare minimum.

Instead of a condo, I'd strongly recommend The Rosemont Residences. I lived there for several years. I moved out only a few months ago after I purchased a condo. I was renting a 640sq 1BR for about $1750 (unfurnished). It is a very nice and well maintained building that is in the heart of the Entertainment District downtown. The management and maintenance staff were excellent.
http://rosemontresidences.com/

A well managed and maintained apartment building is much better than a condo IMHO.

The Rosemont is considered a "luxury" class rental building. You can find 1 BR rentals for under 1500 in downtown Toronto. I've also lived in the Maples apartment in the past. Another well managed building downtown area. Not as nice as the Rosemont however - but more than acceptable for most. The rent has gone up a bit since I last lived there long ago. But rent for 1BR is 1450.
http://www.themaplescomplex.ca/

For both buildings, hydro/water/heat was all included.

The further you move out, the more affordable it will be. If you leave the downtown core, I'm sure you can find decent 1BR in the 1200-1300 range without issue.

 

[fatani]

Me and my wife are from India and I got an opportunity in one of the big MNC in Toronto. We have no kids yet and my wife is not working. Our lifestyle is pretty decent here in India. We are in the process of making decision so any help would be appreciated.

I have been offered $75000 (annual salary before tax). Our biggest reason to move to Canada is to save some money.

I have the following question:

- How much will I get per by-weekly as my take home salary?
- How much money we'll be able to save if we just spend on rent, groceries, phone and transport?
- What life would a salary of $75K provide in Toronto, Canada?


Thanks!!

I think you can get 2 bedroom condos with all utilities included in $1300 in Mississauga.

Rent $1300 all utilities included

Groceries $500 (my uncle is living in mississauga with a family of 4 and he said that groceries cost $500 roughly per month)

Transport $350 for 2 people TTC passes are $141 per month it covers all toronto areas except extra charges for downtown toronto so suppose extra $70 because it is excluding downtown toronto and some monthly taxi expenses as well.

Extra Shopping $300 Like some clothes or household items or things for personal uses.

Going out biweekly for dinners or other things $300.

So if we calculate all these amounts 1300+500+350+300+300 = $2750 let add another extra $50 to make it $2800.

So roughly your expenses will $2800 with decent life style and if you are getting $60,000 after tax you will save around.

Income per year $60,000
Less: Expenses per year $2800×12 = 33,600 make it 34000
Savings = $26,000

Decent savings.

 

[Kartik1824]

Hey Guys, Thanks for such wonderful responses. It was a great help. I am planning to fly in mid February. Hoping to get a smooth start. However, I will be sharing my overall experience in details so that other can be benefited from my experience. Looking forward to meet some great people.
My personal id is : kartik.srivastava24@gmail.com. Feel free to reach out to me for anything