Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Hi

I'm hoping to come over to Calgary at the end of this year on Study Permit (Bow Valley College). My family will also be coming - partner and two children (ages 6 and 2), so I have many questions that I need help with please.

Firstly, as I will not be working how much would you say my partner needs to earn to support a family of 4? Our funds from the UK are very limited so will be renting.

My partner works in pest control in the UK so if anyone has contacts with pest control industry in Calgary can I have details please.

I've looked on this site for cost of monthly utilities but they seem several years old now - have prices gone up much now. I've estimated about $700 per month, is this reasonable?

Also one of my children will be 6 at the end of the year - can she start to attend school then, or does she have to wait until next Sept? by which time she'll be nearly 7!

I've looked for nursery fees for our youngest child and there doesn't seem to be much info - what are the prices for full-time day care? I've heard they are dearer than the UK. Are places hard to come by?

My college is on 3rd Ave SE so any advice on decent(ish) areas to live near there would also be great.

Thanks for your time and apologies for so many questions but your help is greatly appreciated.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

With little equity from the UK I wouldn`t want to be earning less than $60,000, even then, things will be tight.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

I'd think seriously about whether or not this is do-able to be honest.
Two kids- one in full time child care, all the costs associated with school, rent, utilities, etc plus it sounds like you'll maybe need 2 cars (plus insurance)...

We're a family of 4 (two kids are 3 and 4), have one car, and my wife is a stay at home mum. If I had to pay for another car AND child care, we'd have packed up long ago because we wouldnt be able to afford it.

Not sure how much your partner is expecting to earn, but I dont even think the $60k mentioned by AC would be enough.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

For child care alone, you are looking at anything from around $600 to $1500 month, depending on whether you go for a dayhome (private, home based) or daycare (like a nursery). Apparently places are easier to find than they have been in the past but it might take you a while to find somewhere that you like which suits your child.

Does the college have any internal/subsidised child care for its students at all?

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

We were on a study permit and open work permit when we came and it was very difficult. We had no mortgage and a $30000 income but had to use our savings to get by. We live in Ontario which I gather is less expensive than Alberta. We had medical insurance through the college but it was for emergancy treatment only, so no dental, routine stuff. I was able to work after 6 months otherwise we would have been sunk. As it was with just the of us it was miserable.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Do ya think that a pest controller is going to make $60k p.a? I don't.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/rep...l&display=wage

some info here

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Calgary can be a very expensive place to live if you are not on a good income. For rental properties you can try www.rentfaster.ca . If you want to be close to the college you might want to look in the SE memorial drive way. The cheapest you are going to look at is a 3 bed basement suite for about $825 with utilities of about $130 month. Shaw tv with internet and phone up to about $150 month depending on what package you choose. There is the Albert Park Daycare Centre close by as well.
As for pest control employment in Alberta I think you need to be licenced.

I hope this helps, if there is any thing more I can help just give me a shout.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Here is some more info and a couple of job postings

http://www.travailleraucanada.gc.ca/...ng=englang=eng

I have seen Pay rates from $13.50 to $15.00 hr in Edmonton up to $25 - $30 hr in Fort Mac.. If you are on the lower scale you will find it very hard going with a family of 4.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

I'll echo the comments of the other posters it'll be very tough.

Here are some utility figures for you, our home is relatively small by current standards at 1050 sq ft and was built 37 years ago so is not up to current insulation standards. We also keep it relatively cool compared to other people at 68°F during the day and 62°F at night in the cool and cold months. We do have air conditioning but it is used quite infrequently.

Rates for 2009 average per month January through December
Electricity $71.37
Natural Gas $88.90
Water $39.92
Sewer $31.87
Total 232.06
Tax $11.60
Grand Total $243.66

Rates for 2010 Average per month January to July
Electricity $65.91
Natural Gas $95.39
Water $33.76
Sewer $29.11
Total 22.17
Tax $11.21
Grand Total $235.38

We have our Internet, Cable TV and Phone with Shaw Cable

Basic Cable & "HD Plus" package / High Speed Internet $87.95
Digital Phone Lite $29.95
Total $117.90
Tax $5.90
Grand Total $123.80

Long distance charges to anywhere in North America and to the UK are 4 cents a minute.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

At our daycare in Calgary a place for a 2 year old would be $875 per month. I assume this is fairly standard.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Cost of living is generally lower in pretty much every regard in Calgary than in the UK, the only costly thing is real estate but the market has sagged lately. Renting used to be an expensive proposition but once again not a problem at present. Also don't use the word "firstly" in Canada, people say: "first".

Contact the city is probably your best bet, bit of a different situation in Calgary compared to the UK, first of all gun ownership here is much more common so there's more DIY pest control, the second difference is that Calgary is a monolithic entity, there are only a handful of other municipalities around the city so if you want a job in pest control, I'd say trying to get a job with the parks division would be the place to start (they do advertise frequently). Gophers are a real problem here.

Depends on what you're including but even including cable TV that should be easily enough.

Can start at any time but better to start at the start of the school year, obviously. Bear in mind in Calgary the schools have been under pressure because of all the new arrivals, you have to be careful where you live so that your children don't have a really long bus trip to school.

Once again, under pressure for the same reason.

Bow Valley College is within spitting distance of the crappiest area of Calgary (East Village), they're trying to renovate it but basically that end of downtown and some of the NE area of town above it are the crappy areas (hard to generalize, some of it is actually quite posh by the river, go a few blocks west into Kensington and that's one of the nicest parts of the city). People here use "bad" area but compared to a "bad" area in the UK there is no comparison, I would be perfectly happy to live in Martindale for example. Also there are plenty of condos and so on a bit further west into the downtown area that are within walking distance that are perfectly fine.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Alberta is cheaper than Ontario by a fair distance, we only have GST for example, no HST. The principle difference is real estate, but I would have thought rental prices in downtown Toronto would be just as bad if not worse.

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Re: Calgary - Cost of Living
 

Really? I thought everyone said it was $$$$ there