bodgerx

A predictable response.

I've done my research, I know plenty that live there - I know whose opinion I value. I certainly don't value yours. You are on my ignore list.

Oink

Maybe you should have done that a few posts ago instead of commenting on something that has nothing to do with you.

Alan2005

I'd agree with this - I reckon around that would be the minimum to have the kind of standard of living in Vancouver that is worth emigrating for. (Banks encouraging us to blow all our money on real estate so they can then take pretty much all of our future earnings for themselves are to blame.)

JonboyE

OP says he is on 35k in the UK so $63 is a multiplier of 1.8 so it should buy roughly the same.

Where does the OP live now, and do they rent or own in the UK. If he is living in Greater London and renting he might find his material standard of living roughly the same. If he is currently living somewhere cheap he might find it a bit of a come down. It also depends if what the family likes to do for fun is expensive.

I don't know Toronto at all but if he was heading to Vancouver and intending to rent I would say that $63k is doable, at least in the short term, but it leaves very little for fun or emergencies. Perhaps the bonuses will help.

Plenty of families get by on $63k a year. Whether or not you want to emigrate for the lifestyle $63k buys is something else to think about.

Oink

What does it cost a family of four to live in a major Canadian city?

Given:

Mortgage
Taxes, fees, utilities
Car/s payment
Insurance
Petrol
Food
Entertainment
Clothes
Family holidays.
Children's sports/school/activities
Christmas

I'm suspect there's more.

Novocastrian

Add beer, other booze and ciggies. That's about $1000 per month right there. Might be a bit less if it weren't for 'er in there.

London Mike

I never know whether you can chip into a thread with another (related) question, so apologies if this is poor form folks!

We're moving to Toronto next June and trying to pin down areas based on means etc. For those who are living there or have lived there, what's the maximum percentage of one's gross monthly salary you would allocate for rental/mortgage (we're renting first of all) given all other typical taxes, fees etc? I know it's context specific (how many kids, cars etc) but is there a general rule of thumb people could advise from experience? I imagine experiences in Calgary and Vancouver are probably quite similar so any thoughts on this generally would be appreciated.

Ta.

BristolUK

Don't forget the other threads where families of four have found it comfortable on less than $20k

Alan2005

My rule is to not go above 35%. Plenty of people do though, some go up to 60 or 70%, but they are asking for trouble.

Alan2005

This is only possible if you are mortgage free. You've gone on about this before, but $20k is just not possible for the vast majority of people and in fact their mortgage or rent will often eat that up entirely.

London Mike

Cheers Alan2005 ...

BristolUK

Except that in those other threads that I mentioned people have referred to their inclusive of heating rents of $1000 a month.
So add $12k to our $20k and you have net income of $32k.

Perfectly manageable and many on these forums have testified to it despite what the majority think or expect.

And our less than $20k was paying for heating too, so a net income of $32k, all inclusive rent of $1k a month and we'd have been living in 'luxury' rather than mere comfort.

For some reason some folk (nobody on this thread but there has been on others) don't seem to like that others can do well enough on less.

Alan2005

$12k in rent will push the the salary required to $40k given that you need to pay tax before you pay rent. I don't think it would be a pleasant existence in Vancouver or Toronto.

G77

I'm not sure I'd want to live in T.O. on that amount with a family.... I'd say it's just about do-able living somewhere like Ajax, still going to be tight though I'd say.

Even in Windsor (pretty much the cheapest of the cheap places in Ontario for property), renting a nice place wouldn't leave you with much change out of that.... I earn more than that, rent a modest 3 bed detached have one car between us and we're not exactly rolling in left over cash!

It's a starting point in a new country I guess - but I'd consider long term if you have the potential to increase it. If that's at the top of the bracket for your profession then I'd have to think twice about it.....

BristolUK

Sure...but the salary mentioned was $23k above that.