Cost of living in Canada? Please help!

[siddharth18 0]

Folks, I require your help. My wife and I are thinking about immigrating to Canada from Dubai and looking at Toronto, Montreal and other major cities. Can anyone help me figure out the cost of living inyour personal experience. Please let me know.I really need this info to make my decision as I dont know there. Can we survive on $2000 there per month. I need to know how much money to bring and to allocate to household budget as we will be looking for jobs there. I am a Database Administrator for a software company. My works for a bank

Cost of Living Per Month

Cost of Living (rent) : 1 Bedroom -

Food for 2 people -

Fuel - How much is gad per gallon there usually? -

Cable TV -

Electricity/Gas -

Healthcare

Other Expenses -

Any additional info/experience is appreciated.

Thanks

Sid

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://forums.serbinski.com/index.php?sid=...69e26b292b2d1cc

Has a forum with immigrating to Canada. Not sur eif it is easier or not. Thought I heard it was even harder, but I could be mistaken.

[Krikit 1,163]

$2k per month is not much but, yes, you can survive on it. Depending on your knowledge-base, a DBA position makes a good income so you would make much more than 2k/mth. I would suggest you contact some head hunters to market your skills and discuss your options.

Canada is on the metric system so gas currently fluctuates at around $1.00 per litre..... about $4.00 per gallon. Rent is pricey. I would budget for a minimum of $1,000 per month.

Edited June 18, 2006 by Krikit

[Cristy 4]

Really going to be tough to survive on that in a big city like Toronto or Montreal.

[girl 37 7]

It's even worse in Vancouver.

[Canuck Carrie 1]

Having just moved from downtown Toronto, I can give you a rough idea

Folks, I require your help. My wife and I are thinking about immigrating to Canada from Dubai and looking at Toronto, Montreal and other major cities. Can anyone help me figure out the cost of living inyour personal experience. Please let me know.I really need this info to make my decision as I dont know there. Can we survive on $2000 there per month. I need to know how much money to bring and to allocate to household budget as we will be looking for jobs there. I am a Database Administrator for a software company. My works for a bank

Cost of Living Per Month

Cost of Living (rent) : 1 Bedroom - minimum $750 and you don't want to walk around at night, budget $1000 for a nicer area

Food for 2 people - shop at No Frills and you can do it for about $200/month, shop at Dominion or Loblaws and you can double that amount

Fuel - How much is gad per gallon there usually? - don't drive but it was between 90 cents and $1.30 a litre before I left

Cable TV - Basic cable is about $50. My internet and about 50 channels was $100/mth.

Electricity/Gas - Electricity every 2 months was $68, this was without an Air Conditioner and only for electricity as heat and water were included in my rent. Do not get an apartment with electric heat!, that will easily be $200/month

Healthcare -

Other Expenses -

Any additional info/experience is appreciated.

Thanks

Sid

Really think twice about Toronto, it's not a cheap place to live. Public transit is about $100/mth per person if you work 5 days a week, crime is getting out of hand, rents are finally stabilizing but are still on the high end for a decent apartment, there is no parking etc.... It does have it's good points though but it depends on what you're looking for out of a city.

Edited June 18, 2006 by Canuck Carrie

[Flames9_RN 358]

Bigger the city, more the expense, but more jobs!! I lived in Greenwood NS for a few yrs while in Air Force. 1 bedrom apart was only 350 a month, but was a small place, and not really that many good job oppurtunities.

[Buttons 0]

Folks, I require your help. My wife and I are thinking about immigrating to Canada from Dubai and looking at Toronto, Montreal and other major cities. Can anyone help me figure out the cost of living inyour personal experience. Please let me know.I really need this info to make my decision as I dont know there. Can we survive on $2000 there per month. I need to know how much money to bring and to allocate to household budget as we will be looking for jobs there. I am a Database Administrator for a software company. My works for a bank

Cost of Living Per Month

Cost of Living (rent) : 1 Bedroom - 1000-1400

Food for 2 people -

Fuel - How much is gad per gallon there usually? - $104 a litre

Cable TV - 59 a month

Electricity/Gas -

Healthcare

Other Expenses -

Any additional info/experience is appreciated.

Thanks

Sid

[no one 0]

Having just moved from downtown Toronto, I can give you a rough idea

Folks, I require your help. My wife and I are thinking about immigrating to Canada from Dubai and looking at Toronto, Montreal and other major cities. Can anyone help me figure out the cost of living inyour personal experience. Please let me know.I really need this info to make my decision as I dont know there. Can we survive on $2000 there per month. I need to know how much money to bring and to allocate to household budget as we will be looking for jobs there. I am a Database Administrator for a software company. My works for a bank

Cost of Living Per Month

Cost of Living (rent) : 1 Bedroom - minimum $750 and you don't want to walk around at night, budget $1000 for a nicer area

Food for 2 people - shop at No Frills and you can do it for about $200/month, shop at Dominion or Loblaws and you can double that amount

Fuel - How much is gad per gallon there usually? - don't drive but it was between 90 cents and $1.30 a litre before I left

Cable TV - Basic cable is about $50. My internet and about 50 channels was $100/mth.

Electricity/Gas - Electricity every 2 months was $68, this was without an Air Conditioner and only for electricity as heat and water were included in my rent. Do not get an apartment with electric heat!, that will easily be $200/month

Healthcare -

Other Expenses -

Any additional info/experience is appreciated.

Thanks

Sid

Really think twice about Toronto, it's not a cheap place to live. Public transit is about $100/mth per person if you work 5 days a week, crime is getting out of hand, rents are finally stabilizing but are still on the high end for a decent apartment, there is no parking etc.... It does have it's good points though but it depends on what you're looking for out of a city.

I'm currently still living in Toronto (the Scarborough part... heh) and your estimates are about right!

To the OP: another way to save is to cut out luxuries that you don't REALLY need for the first little while (e.g. cable TV -- I seriously haven't watched TV in years and years. There's no time for that. If you want free entertainment, hit the Toronto Public Library for DVDs galore. The TPL's a fabulous resource!!). If you can find a job within biking or walking distance, that's a bonus. Other places to shop would be Asian supermarkets (cut-throat prices) and maybe Costco (if you buy in bulk and share with friends).

I love Toronto and I'm going to miss it when I move to California... if you're good with squirreling funds away like I am, then you should be ok :-)

Bigger the city, more the expense, but more jobs!! I lived in Greenwood NS for a few yrs while in Air Force. 1 bedrom apart was only 350 a month, but was a small place, and not really that many good job oppurtunities.

Not necessarily. Right now I'm teaching high school in a tiny, tiny town outside of Toronto called Port Perry. I was shocked when I discovered that renting a bedroom within someone's house would cost me $600+/month.

So now I commute. 1+ hr each way.

Thank goodness the school year will be over in 2 wks' time!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Of course there is always exceptions and some provinces are more expensive than others!!

[chocolaterie 0]

Yeah I agree with the above responses. It really depends on how you use your money. It's expensive in any big city. Just don't live beyond your means. I never rented an apt in downtown Toronto, but many of my friends who moved out after high school did. They spend around 800/month on a one bedroom. But you can rent a basement apt for around 600. Just make sure to do a lot of research and price comparison.

I would recommend using public transit, it maybe a little pricey, but gas + ins + car maintenance will cost you more.

[Reba 2]

I used to live at the edge of Little India in Toronto (along Gerard from Coxwell Ave to I dunno how far) Here's a website for info http://www.mastindia.com/toronto.html Not a bad neighbourhood really, I would/could walk around at nighttime and didn't feel threatened or anything. I'd usually end up having to walk because bus/streetcar service in the middle of the night is sparse, and I'd rather walk a few blocks than wait half an hour for the next bus

There's a very large Indian population in and around Toronto.

Anyhoo, cost of living in Toronto is very high. Average rent for a (very) small apartment is over $1000 per month, plus utilities (hydro, water, gas, cable etc). There's public transit tho, so you probably won't need a car unless you want to work in the 'burbs off the transit grid. Gas, as someone else mentioned is about $1 per litre (or more and rising according to me Mum).

Food costs depend on where you shop, but if you moved to Little India, there are a lot of Indian groceries, so you'd be able to find familiar stuff.

I liked living there, its not downtown, but its close. Downtown would be even more expensive, into about $2000 per month rent min. To drive or take transit downtown is about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on time of day. Traffic can be hectic at rush hours.

I have no idea what the Tech jobs market is anymore, I've been away for nearly 2 years and got laid off my Tech job in Sept. 2003. Average salary for IT positions (if you're certified) are probably well over $50,000 per year now. Enough for 2 to live on frugally. I lived quite well on $52k per year, for just myself. Paid my rent, car loan, and insurance etc with lots left over for entertainment and whatnot. It would be tough for a family to live on much less, but it can be done. With 2 of you working, you should be fine.

Canadian immigration for individuals works on a points system. You get points for your chosen proffessions, education level etc. Here's the website for CIC http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html

I've known some people that it took less than 6 months to emmigrate to Canada, and still others that it took a few years. Processing fees are expensive, plus there's a landing fee when you arrive. Recently dropped from $975 per person to just $450. At least PM Harper has been good for something

Good luck!

[Jersey Girl 2]

The most important thing to remember about living in Toronto is that 50% of your income will go to some tax or another. It's easy for a middle class techy with a decent job to pay 46% income tax. After that, there's a 15% surcharge (called GST) on just about all the goods and services you use daily.

Torontonians who go to Dubai come back with wonderful stories about how it's the L.A. of the middle East. Not at all like Canada. So the culture shock may be worse than the climate change. Got boots?

[Reba 2]

actualy, the GST is only 7% and there is also a Provincial Sales tax of 8% for a total of 15%. Not all products are charged PST, but all products are charged GST.

Income tax rates table is below:

Federal tax rates for 2006 are:

15% on the first $36,378 of taxable income;

22% on the next $36,378 of taxable income;

26% on the next $45,529 of taxable income; and

29% of taxable income over $118,285.

From Revenue Canada website. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxrates-e.html

I made $52k + at my last job in Canada, my tax rate was 26%.

[Jersey Girl 2]

If he's considering Toronto, he'll need to add Ontario Provincial tax to the Federal income tax (same chart, scroll down).

6.05% on the first $34,758 of taxable income, +

9.15% on the next $34,759, +

11.16% on the amount over $69,517

While Canadians may see income taxes coming down gradually, it's a shock to someone coming from a country that has no sales or income tax.