iainpgn

Hey guys, just doing my research and looking at some average costs in Canada and each provence. Could anyone help with;

Monthly grocery shop for a family of 4?

Average cost to run a family car/month?

Average house hold bills and rent for a 4-5 bed house?

Thanks for all your help guys

iaink

Hi, Welcome to BE.

I moved this to the main area. It would be immensely helpfull if you could narrow the location. Canada is huge. Ontario alone is bigger than France AND Spain combined.

This is an often discussed topic, its probably worth searching the existing posts. Then there are the wiki articles too that contain a wealth of information.

iainpgn

Thanks for the reply,

I am looking at Ontario in or around a large town or city, toronto or ottawa

Also open to other suggestions on the eastern side

el_richo

Go on the store websites and check out prices of things you normally buy.

Go onto property rental sites and check out prices in areas you like.

iaink

My corner of Ontario (small town between TO and Ottawa)

About 600-700 a month on groceries, not counting booze. Kids are 5 and 9. Few luxury items in there.

Cost to run a car, about $200 a month on insurance for 2 vehicles (with 13 years accident free here), for a newcomer it might be $400 for one vehicle. Plus about $500 a month on gas. I do about 60km a day commute/ school run as I live out of town. Thats for what would be considered gas miser vehicles here, a 1.8 Civic and a 2.5 Subaru

Bills, too many to count. Monthly electric is $120, Phone (land line) 35, Property taxes (160) Heating Oil about $200 a month! (and my 1800 sq ft home is relative small and well insulated)... I'd add more but its depressing... Home insurance another $100 a month.

On the plus side my mortgage is laughably small by UK standards.

R I C H

Provide more specifics - likely mileage, size of vehicle etc, or you're going to get meaningless replies.

FWIW, here are some figures for me:

Only 2 of us in the household, we spend c$600 p/mth on basic groceries. We don't skimp on anything or fuss about with coupons. Wine/liquor would be in addition to this.

Car - 2011 Golf GTI, full NCB, $110 p/mth to insure. 60km round trip commute each day, 38mpg average. Gas was 96.9c/l last week this week it's $1.19/l
Truck - 2010 Ford F150, full NCB, $105 p/mth to insure. 22mpg.

House - 6 bedroom, 4,750 sq/ft, 4 acre property. Property taxes c$2,200 p/yr (out of city limits, so no garbage pick up, fire coverage, or water /sewerage supplies). Monthly hydro bill is $200. No other utility bills. Home insurance $105 p/mth.

If you're renting, property tax is normally included, sometimes utility bills are too. I rent a 4 bed property (3,000sq/ft) for $2,500 p/mth, all bills included.

iainpgn

Thats great, just what we are looking for. Would you say its equal if not a little better value compared to the UK?

We love Canada especially Ottawa and TO, we had a road trip holiday there and spent time looking round etc. Really want to move but got to do the maths. Did you move out with the kids?

iainpgn

Thanks

iaink

I came here for a job offer, and met the wife here. Kids were born here.

On balance I stay here for the relaxed lifestyle, finacially if you have a decent job in the UK you are probably better off there than here, depending on how expensive the property is where you are.

The only real financial advantage I have here is that I could buy a home on a single salary here and my mortgage is low. That wasnt the case as a Jnr Engineer in the UK. That almost certainly isnt true in TO or Ottawa anyway where house prices are more in line with UK expectations.

iainpgn

Cool, I am currently serving in the RAF as a mechanical technician. So would be looking for a Engineering job. I say TO and Ottawa but we like the idea of a town on the outskirts, looking for a good community for the kids. A lot depends on where the work is.

HGerchikov

We live in Oakville, just outside of Toronto so one of your identified locations. We are a family of 4, run 2 cars and live in a 3000 sq ft house. Grocery bills around $600pm, Hydro $120 pm, Gas probably about the same (can't find a bill at the moment), insurance (cars and home) $360 pm, and property tax $1000 pm. Additional costs are phone, internet and cable TV (if you get it), approximately $100-200 pm depending on the service you get.

Auld Yin

and property tax $1000 pm.

I know Oakville is more expensive than most other areas in the GTA but $12,000 a year in property taxes for a 3,000sq.ft house is somewhat excessive.

HGerchikov

I know it is terrible - actually we only pay it over 10 months so it is just over $10,000 for the year.

Aviator

And they say BC is expensive - 10 acres. 2700 sq foot home+barns $1400 a year property tax. My buddy has a new 5200sq foot home on 2 acres and pays only $4000 a year.

JonboyE

We pay less than $4,000 a year for a 2,500 sf house on a decent sized city lot. Property tax in White Rock is expensive. A few blocks away in South Surrey the tax would be less than $3,000.