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Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Old Jun 4th 2009, 3:38 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by James Martindale
Do you like apples???

By the way do Mod's get paid?
LOL, there isnt enough money in the world that could compensate us for this, so consequently they dont bother trying...

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Old Jun 4th 2009, 4:10 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by iaink
LOL, there isnt enough money in the world that could compensate us for this, so consequently they dont bother trying...
Ok I wasn't sure if when you said you were working on your day off it meant you had to come on here!!!
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Old Jun 4th 2009, 10:35 pm
  #48  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

[QUOTE=pgtips
Please do not under estimate the initial moving cost associated with emigrating. I always advise people to have a minimum 6-12 months living expenses tucked away in the bank, and that is aside from money for property, car etc.[/QUOTE]

I agree with the huge cost of initial cost of emigration which you do not realise how much it costs until you emigrate.
Cost us around $40K to move to Calgary in 1997( we spent first year in a rental). 2 year later and another $25K to relocate to Ontario. Return back to England(2005) and get settled again £30K($60K).

So the trip to Canada and back again to the UK cost us at least $125K.

This was our experience.

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Old Jun 5th 2009, 2:21 am
  #49  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

To the OP: it does sound like it's going to be tough for you, however, I suspect Canada has way more opportunities than Cyprus in the long run, so go for it.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 8:36 am
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by Kiwilass
To the OP: it does sound like it's going to be tough for you, however, I suspect Canada has way more opportunities than Cyprus in the long run, so go for it.
It isn't as tough as people are making out. I mean this is an expat forum so most people have experience of moving countries with various degrees of success but why people are trying to plant such big barriers in people's minds about moving is quite disturbing. There are alot of risk averse people here clearly.

I think they will be successful with $25,000 back up easily because

1/ I've been there and done it with far less.
2/They don't have children
3/Cyprus is way more expensive than Canada
4/Her husband has family to stay with there so has time to find a much better job than they are aspiring too.
5/This young lady does not sound work shy and is prepared to put in the hours and effort to make it work.
6/ Two people can live comfortably on $25,000 for 6 months easily.
7/Yes there is a recession but she has already made it clear they are prepared to start at minimum wage and work up. Maybe if aspirations were higher it would be more difficult to secure work and they would have to settle for less and then they would find it harder- but this is not the case.
8/As previously mentioned her husband has family and can also network for a job which is very powerful in Canada aswell as a network of people to help them settle quicker.

Anyway I'm off now- nothing further for me to add here other than I hope you all have good weekends!
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 9:23 am
  #51  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

[QUOTE=iaink;7633762]Do you think i wise to take that tone with a moderator? SERIOUSLY?


I fear the power has gone to ones head!
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 9:31 am
  #52  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

I lived on a grad student stipend in downtown Toronto, and know what it’s like to struggle financially. It can be consuming to be that poor, that aware of the cost of everything. Having said that, it’s your attitude that will make the difference – money really isn’t everything. There’s a lot of great info in these posts about hidden costs that you may not have considered but on the whole I’ve found the posts rather negative. I hope it’s increased your determination to make it work for you and your hubbie.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 9:58 am
  #53  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by James Martindale
It isn't as tough as people are making out. I mean this is an expat forum so most people have experience of moving countries with various degrees of success but why people are trying to plant such big barriers in people's minds about moving is quite disturbing. There are alot of risk averse people here clearly.

I think they will be successful with $25,000 back up easily because

1/ I've been there and done it with far less.
2/They don't have children
3/Cyprus is way more expensive than Canada
4/Her husband has family to stay with there so has time to find a much better job than they are aspiring too.
5/This young lady does not sound work shy and is prepared to put in the hours and effort to make it work.
6/ Two people can live comfortably on $25,000 for 6 months easily.
7/Yes there is a recession but she has already made it clear they are prepared to start at minimum wage and work up. Maybe if aspirations were higher it would be more difficult to secure work and they would have to settle for less and then they would find it harder- but this is not the case.
8/As previously mentioned her husband has family and can also network for a job which is very powerful in Canada aswell as a network of people to help them settle quicker.

Anyway I'm off now- nothing further for me to add here other than I hope you all have good weekends!
I see most of the replies are clearly answering the OPs "worst case scenario" questions. Not really risk averse, more real life views and experiences.

The OP also says they have 25kCAD to help start up but doesn't want to use any of it for day to day expenses. I see most of the replies showing that set up costs (apartment down payment, car purchase, clothing, furnishings etc that the OP stated they want) will easily reduce the 25kCAD.

The OP stated they were looking to buy property and have kids within a few years. The worst case scenario shows that's not easy for them to achieve financially. The replies are stating that fact.

Also the outgoings list the OP posted missed out a few hidden extras that would obviously take their monthly outgoings over their limit or at best not leave room for savings and/or emergencies.

We could all say "Yeah come over, your life will be great and better than what you have now. You risk breaking yourselves but it worked for some so will obviously work for you". But that would be the wrong thing to do and unfair to the OP even if it does make them feel better.

In reality, the OP may find work way above minimum wage which makes this a pointless exercise, although that's not guaranteed.

Maybe the OP can live with family in Canada while working in order to establish themselves with the minimal outgoings during the transition period.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 12:39 pm
  #54  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

All this talk makes me wonder how I ever made it. I arrived here 40 years ago with $168 and a suitcase !

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Old Jun 5th 2009, 12:47 pm
  #55  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by Simon Legree
All this talk make me wonder how I ever made it. I arrived here 40 years ago with $168 and a suitcase !
Our suitcase got lost along the way. We had skis, a cue, the clothes in which we stood and two thousand pounds of debt. We got lucky but the people I trampled to get ahead didn't. My guess would be that for every immigrant who starts in poverty and rises above it there's another who starts with nothing and goes down from there.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 12:59 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by dbd33
Our suitcase got lost along the way. We had skis, a cue, the clothes in which we stood and two thousand pounds of debt. We got lucky but the people I trampled to get ahead didn't. My guess would be that for every immigrant who starts in poverty and rises above it there's another who starts with nothing and goes down from there.
You're right. I knew a few people in Oakville that came with nothing. Some were almost certainly refugees from post WWII Germany. One of them owns a fair chunk of the downtown.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 1:16 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by Souvenir
You're right. I knew a few people in Oakville that came with nothing. Some were almost certainly refugees from post WWII Germany. One of them owns a fair chunk of the downtown.
Certainly such people exist and there's no harm in dreaming. However I'm not comfortable with the expectation of success nor with the notion of an aspirational society. Some people are lucky, some are not, it's no more the case the penniless immigrant now owning property earned that fate than it is that the "old slut on junk laying there almost dead on a drip in that bed" earned another one. If we go any distance toward lauding immigrants who's fate was success we, by implication, denigrate those who's fate was different. Start down that road and you get people voting to cut taxes for the rich just in case they do turn out to be the next Tom Vu.

If the OP wants to take a chance, fair enough, but whether or not they'll be able to find better than minimum wage jobs before their money runs out is
anyone's guess. It's a bold gamble.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 1:22 pm
  #58  
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

looks like im up shit creek .... i was looking to spend a year or so in toronto/canada to "bum around" while finishing off my studies, we'll have a little more than the OP's CAD$25k but it sounds as if we'll be struggling unless we can obtain decent work
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 1:27 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by phat-dave
looks like im up shit creek .... i was looking to spend a year or so in toronto/canada to "bum around" while finishing off my studies, we'll have a little more than the OP's CAD$25k but it sounds as if we'll be struggling unless we can obtain decent work
Depends. The OP has pretty high expectations; their own apartment and a car. I know a few post-doc researchers, they're paid poorly but manage ok because they live like students, a room in a shared house, a bicycle, lots of beer. Academics, and students, have the advantage that they don't have to dress up and commute, significant expenses if you're trying to get out of poverty.
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Old Jun 5th 2009, 1:46 pm
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Default Re: Can You Get By In Toronto Earning Minimum Wage?

Originally Posted by dbd33
Depends. The OP has pretty high expectations; their own apartment and a car. I know a few post-doc researchers, they're paid poorly but manage ok because they live like students, a room in a shared house, a bicycle, lots of beer. Academics, and students, have the advantage that they don't have to dress up and commute, significant expenses if you're trying to get out of poverty.
we dont expect to be out partying every night and living too extravagantly and i kind of had these figures worked out, roughly:

- $2000/m for furnished 1bedroom downtown
- $100/m for internet/mobile phone
- $900/m for food ($30/day x 30)
- $150/m for travel/health insurance
- $150/m for hydro
- $1000/m ($250/wk) to just piss up the wall
- $150/m for public transport

total = $4450/m or $53400/pa
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