scrubbedexpat091

Typo. Should be 55,000 less as we (GF and I) will bring in about 35k combined this year.

I had 35k on my brain and didn't complete my thought apparently or type the right numbers.

Apologies.

I'd love to make 55k even, so I wouldn't complain about that either...lol

Juggernaut1064

Holy ! Cant be easy in Vanc on that money ? I'm a recruiter in Edmonton and well i cant say an exact figure but around double your combined income. If i had to move there i would want a lot more, as most say "BC" stands for "Bring Cash" lol i did look at Vanc before i came here but property in the DT area is insane !

BristolUK

Okay, I'll just cancel the begging letter.

Still sounds a bit of an improvement from your other posts about moving.

($21.5k was the most we ever had for family of four)

ExKiwilass

i agree 90k is doable in Van and am a bit bemused by some of the responses on here. I know we've survived on far less.

The CITY of vancouver is expensive but it is cheaper in places outside the main city to buy.

not2old

big city living (within the central core) in Canada can be expensive. Rural & other communities less expensive. Jobs at around minimum wage which most folks are doing is what Canada is.

OK, so a small percentage of the population make the $75K+... to them, great. Make hay while the sunshine, save a bit for when the ceiling caves in

For folks like Bristol, Jsmith & many more, Its a struggle, yet managable

In the meantime, the OP may get a laugh reading the responses on here

scrubbedexpat091

But you have to go so far now, may as well find a job not in Vancouver...lol


Yikes. That would be super hard if not impossible around here for 4 people.

Yes, this year is seeing some improvements, provided nothing weird happens, we may finally get completely back on our feet.

xxdb

It's a "high" salary compared to other individuals, the average of whom likely receive somewhere around 45-50K. That said, if you're expecting to live on that and also pay for a family it'll be pretty tight if you're expecting a UK style "middle class" lifestyle (i.e. decent sized house, two cars and an annual trip away). Likely on that you will feel like you're a working stiff and you'll definitely be counting your pennies. Unless, that is, your other half is making at least the "average" 45-50K. If that is the case then you'll be doing just fine.

My experience is Calgary: my salary was 90K five years ago and I was the sole breadwinner and I don't remember it being easy at all.

xxdb

You could for sure "survive" on far less. But why would anybody come to Canada just to survive? I can't speak for others but I wouldn't want to be here unless I was making enough money for it to be worth it. Otherwise why wouldn't I go back home where I can make good money?

el_richo

And will be even cheaper soon

xxdb

Yeah but if you're unemployed it won't matter if the houses become cheaper because you *still* won't be able to afford them. And it's swathes of people being made unemployed that cause house prices to drop. Sellers setting price at the margin and all that. So you shouldn't gloat. Unless you have a ton of cash to spend and are going to mop up the bargains. In that case, kudos to you for being astute and my sympathies to those who will lose their shirts. Literally.

el_richo

Maybe the banks should make people take an exam on contingency planning before giving them huge debts with little liquidity to their name.

BristolUK

Does anyone do that?

If you can do that, by all means.

But there have been a few folk over the years who have been lucky enough to meet immigration requirements and who've had little or nothing going for them in the UK for whom little or nothing in Canada may actually be better.

scrubbedexpat091

I didn't come from the UK but from the US, however I don't have much here, but overall I am better off in Canada, largely because wages are higher in Canada for low end jobs when compared to the US. (example I make 16/hr in Canada, my company is continent wide and has numerous locations across the US, the pay for my position in California is min. wage, some states it's as low as 8.00 per hour)

Things do cost more in Canada, but the lack of having to pay hundreds of dollars per month for health insurance + who knows how much in co-pays and out of pocket because of deductibles and such.

I am not rolling in money, and we do struggle, but our struggle in the US would be a lot harder.

Canadians see low prices in the US and some think its all grand down there, but they tend to forget wages are lower, so really it kind of evens out in the end.

scrubbedexpat091

Buying a home seems a gamble these days. People needing 25-30 years to pay it off, and how can anyone possibly plan for 30 years and assume they will be able to make enough over 30 years to make the payments?

We have a 5 year loan on the car and it scares me since we can't possibly predict what will happen over those 5 years.

I just don't get why people have an obsession with owning. I'd buy if it were cheaper then renting, but renting is cheaper by a lot, and a lot easier to rent then to buy since you don't need a nearly 6 figure income to rent....

xxdb

"since you don't need a nearly 6 figure income to rent...."
I wonder what you must be renting because far as I can see rent for a house is somewhere north of $1700 a month.