klavillian

Hi

I've been offered to be reassigned to Richmond, BC from North East England with my wife and two young kids. I'd be the sole earner and earn $100,000 Canadian.

I'm trying to understand if we can afford the move by building a budget and was wondering if anyone could help me with understanding the costs I could expect?

Things I need to know are:

- What type of deductions should I expect on salary? More interested in the type of deductions rather than values.

- We'd rent accommodation so other than monthly rent are there any other mandatory costs I'd have to consider?

- Any other things you have to pay for monthly/annually other than the above? (I'm thinking of taxes etc rather than utilities).

- At what age does state education start?

- Any places I should avoid living?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

rivingtonpike

There are a few extremely helpful ladies on here who can give you loads of information specific to Vancouver.Ex Kiwilass always has good info' Welcome though!

I do know it's a fairly expensive city to live in - especially if you're coming from the North East where I would imagine housing costs alone would be significantly less. However, $100k isn't too bad. I would imagine you could live reasonably well and have fun on that salary. Richmond has a high Asian population. I'm not sure what impact this has on schooling in terms of demographics. School starts with Kindergarden - Your kid has to be 5 before they can start that following September.

klavillian

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm sure the little one will love staying home with her mum for another 2 years!

Oakvillian

some deductions and other costs to consider (by no means an exhaustive list)
- provincial and federal income taxes
- EI and CPP contributions (Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan - together broadly equivalent to NI in the UK, payable at a fixed percentage of earnings up to a contribution ceiling, so for a $100k salary you'd max out on contributions by about half way through the year and get a couple hundred bucks more in your second-half paycheques)
- car insurance: compared to UK rates, this can be cripplingly high. BC has a mandatory provincial scheme for basic coverage and private-sector top ups
- non-provincially-covered healthcare costs: Canada's govt-funded health coverage doesn't work quite the same way as the NHS. It's provincial rather than federal and I can't speak in detail about BC, but you (or frequently your employer) would be advised to consider supplementary coverage for stuff that the BC plan won't pay for.
- obviously housing costs will depend on what you rent and where, but consider whether you'll be renting furnished or unfurnished, whether utilities are included, what sort of cable/phone/internet package you'll need
- will you want to travel around or fly home much? Internal flights in Canada are expensive. Transatlantic flights from Vancouver are expensive (and long...). It may seem really obvious, but don't forget that Canada's a seriously large country - although petrol's cheaper, you'll likely drive further in a car with a bigger engine!
- Other costs (food, clothing, etc) are broadly comparable to those in the UK.

I'm sure there's tons more. Take a browse through the Wiki (link at the top of the page) for a load of useful hints & tips.

Lychee

If you're going to live in Richmond (I lived there), I would consider Steveston, the fishing village. It's an authentic, real community where you get to know the shop owners, the locals, etc. There's also a bit of history and character there, and it's walkable.

Most of Richmond has turned into bland, suburban sprawl, rezoned into cookie cutter townhouse and condo developments... BUT there are some rather beautiful residential neighbourhoods tucked away off the main roads, which the casual visitor to Richmond wouldn't know to exist.

Look up Steveston, Westwind, Seafair, and South Arm as possible areas. Anywhere west of No 1 Road is generally very nice.

Look up homes on MLS.ca and use Google Street View frequently.

klavillian

Thanks for the tip, will check it out. Anywhere outside of Richmond area that is nice and reasonably priced that you can recommend?

Lychee

Richmond is located on Lulu Island, a river delta island in the mouth of the Fraser River. Anywhere outside of Richmond will have you travelling over bridges or under tunnels, which are bottlenecks during rush hour.

Cheaper places do exist. For example, Marpole in Vancouver might be cheaper, but traffic would be horrendous, and Marpole is drab. Ladner, the little village in Delta, south of Richmond across the river, would probably be cheaper, but I would not envy a Ladner-Richmond commute daily, as it involves a drive through the Massey Tunnel - not fun!

I would seriously consider a cheap place in Richmond itself before considering a commuting lifestyle. Richmond is big enough - there's a wide variety of housing.

In reality, to get cheaper housing than Richmond, you'll have to head east to Delta or Surrey.

klavillian

With regards to provincial and federal income taxes - do you pay both or just one? I'm used to the UK system of income tax + NI so the idea of federal and provincial tax is very confusing and can't seem to find anything that explains this in a simple way.

klavillian

Great advice, that's really helped. Thank you.

Martin the cdn expat

Richmond has a huge Chinese population, to the point you can find shopping
centers with no English signs.

Surrey has a bad reputation.

I think you may find very little in Vancouver and the surrounding communities
is 'reasonably priced'.

Delta and Ladner won't be too bad, or the little communities like Steveston
would be ok.


The simple answer is you pay both.

christmasoompa

Try the Wiki, which links to info - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Income_Tax-Canada

HTH.

JonboyE

Yes, $100,000 is a decent salary and, unless you have expensive hobbies, should be OK even if your wife is a stay at home mum.

I spend a lot of time in Richmond (I am there now) and know it well. You don't have to live in Richmond even though you work there. However, it is an island and is connected to the mainland by 5 bridges and a tunnel. Rush hour can be, er, fun.

As rivingtonpike says above, roughly half the population is of Asian ethnicity of some sort. (Asian means someone who looks Chinese, not Pakistani.) In addition, there is a huge shopping area call Asia West in north Richmond which attracts Asian shoppers. Hopefully this is not a concern for you, but it is for some. If I lived in Richmond I would look at a district called Steveston in the south west. It is the fishing port and has a lot more character than many of the rather bland residential sub-divisions.


Oakvillian has covered the statutory deductions. There can be others: contribution to a benefit plan, company pension, union dues and so on. You will have to ask your HR people.

It depends on the type of accomodation and what you negotiate with the landlord. Property tax (like council tax) is almost always included. In apartments utility costs are often included, but rarely are in a detatched house. The rental contract must specify what is and what isn't included. A landline, TV and internet connection is usually at your cost. Think around $150 a month if you want a bundle of all three.

Monthly Medical Services Plan (NHS equivalent) premiums. About $135 a month for a family. Some employers pay some/all of this. Many employers have extended benefits plans to cover some of the things MSP does not. Some employers expect you to make a contribution. If there is still time to negotiate your employment package these are two things to work on.

With a young family you need life assurance so make sure your current policies will pay if you are resident in Canada. If not, buy more when you get here.

Car insurance is expensive. Even if you prove your no claims (endless threads on this ) you will pay around $150 a month.

It is one year later than in the UK.

There is good and bad everywhere. The North of Richmond is quite industrialized so may not be the best. I would not advise renting sight unseen from the UK. Landlords can have an inflated opinion of their properties and photos can be very deceiving. ontracts are usually for one year. You should see in person before signing a contract.

JonboyE

For an employee there is very little difference. Your emplorer deducts tax and other statutory deductions and gives you your net pay. At the end of the year you file a tax return and, for most employees you might owe a few dollars or get a refund.

rivingtonpike

Will you be working in Richmond all/most of the time? I would agree with JonboyE - Steveston is quite nice. On the whole (never lived there so only ever a visitor) I wouldn't describe Richmond as a pretty city. The roads are wide and busy/noisy. I seem to remember plane noise is a bit of a pain. Mind you, good proximity to loads of other nice places for the weekend though!

What are you coming here to do - work-wise?

rivingtonpike

Would your company assist financially with the relocation expenses? If they will this would make a huge difference to the feasibility of moving. If you have to pay everything yourselves, and the move is only for a finite period of time, it can get very pricey!

What an adventure though! Most of the people on here have done - or are doing - it.