Siouxie

Well it gives you a bit of an idea, it's not completely accurate but not far off.

deise1980

You see this is the point iv been trying to make ,going by that comparison between calgary and cork the difference between the two is only marginal if anything .So if i was taking home 800cad/622 euro per week living in cork i could VERY EASILY manage to support my family whereas people are saying ill need double that why if the cost of living is the same as in cork Ireland ?

rgds
Deise

Novocastrian

Quite. Not a chance.

ExKiwilass

except on that website they're talking about monthly incomes that are considerably more than yours will be. $1,300 per month is one thing when you're earning over $4k a month, but you won't be, will you?

PMM

Hi



Here is an example of rental costs at Le Couer a city owned housing Co-op in Vancouver. http://www.lecoeurhousingco-op.com/M...embership.html

deise1980

True I wont be earning that much but the 3200 i quoted will be the very min we will earn i figure its best to do figures in worst case scenario .As i said were just considering all the options right now .Its a pity if we dont go because I got offered a job willing to help me with LMO and PR which I know is very difficult but obviously not paying enough .
Rgds
Deise1980

Siouxie

£400 is $636.60 Canadian at today exchange rates... so are you sure you are going to have $800 a week take home? Have you taken into consideration all the stoppages? You have Federal tax, Provincial tax, IE, CPP - you could try this payroll deduction calculator to give you an approximation. http://www.paycheckcity.com/canada/c...alculator.aspx then you also will have deductions towards your health plan (if the company provide one) and possibly a company pension.

It really depends on if you can find housing at a reasonable cost, and if you are going to require 2 cars - those are the two biggest expenses.

Theoretically, basing it on $800 a week, 3 weeks wages are going to pay for your accommodation (if you are looking for a house), monthly utilities and phone/internet, insurance and gas for your car, leaving one week's wage (per month) to pay for everything else - bus fares, food, clothing etc etc.

You need to make sure you have a cushion, financially, particularly for the first 6 months. There have been many who have had to return to the UK.

deise1980

Looks ok for an interim period of time until you find your feet .I found a directory list of those organisations in calgary and here is a link for just one of many offering rent from 1000 a month for 3 bedroom house including ,heating ,water,sewage etc http://www.sacha-coop.ca/PDFs/Co-ops...letreeWest.pdf so add lets say 250 for food a week and another 100 per month for other utilities thats only 525 per week spent on food ,bills and rent leaving around 300 dollars a week to cover everthing else like clothing and one off payments for things etc so going on that after doing the maths it looks very achievable but then alot of people are saying the opposite(which im very greatfull for the feedback) so im really stuck and so unsure ,I think either way il come over on my own for few months and sample everything for myself .
Rgds
Deise1980
I just thought there might be the odd family outthere that have experienced that type of housing in calgary or surrounding area .

Alan2005

Your budget makes no mention of running a car. Also what about going back to the UK to see family etc? Flights for five people will be a significant percentage of your salary. Also health care - is your job offering any coverage?

Generally not ex-pats. This is going to sound harsh, but people don't usually emigrate to live on low incomes in housing co-ops.

deise1980

I have asked the boss to check with payroll what my take home pay will be and they said about 570-580 weekly and like i said my wife will need to work PT to bring in around 200 net at least ,we wouldn't even have considered moving unless she works part time so that would make 800 net a week . If we were to get one of those houses including some of the Utilities for 1000pm and another 200 for other bills and lets say another 1000 on food making that 2200pm leaving 800 a month for all the other things like buses and some clothes if needed obviously not every week but the point I'm making is it can be done that way on paper ? I am under no illusions that things don't always go according to plan ,I will of course have some savings with us not loads but a small bit .
Rgds
Deise1980

deise1980

Thats exactly how alot of people are livin in Ireland at the moment including myself with absolutely no sign of it getting better in the next 5-10 years the economists are saying .So the thought behind my madness is why not be in the same position or even a little better over there albeit with no family or support I know but at there maybe a brighter future for my kids i.e more job prospects after 3rd level education etc .
just to give you some perspective of what its like here at the moment our local mcdonalds advertised for one counter staff position and received 800 applications and the person that got the job is a fully qualified accountant of 25 years that out of work at the moment who competed against approx 20 trades people for that position .
Rgds
Deise1980

JonboyE

You said earlier that you will be paid almost double the minimum wage. The $575 a week take home pay is the net of $18 an hour for 40 hours for a person with no deductions. If you have a wife who is not earning and three kids you will get about $82 a week more.

Because of the way the tax system works for every dollar your wife earns you get to pay 25 cents more tax up to her earning $11,000 a year.

nikki dreaming

My experience , what may work out on paper is not the reality, it is expensive here to live , I don't live in Calgary but it all swings in roundabouts , houses here are cheaper/rent here than in Calgary but other expenses including taxes are higher.

We didnt move here to be rich but for a more standard work / life balance lifestyle , 3.5 yrs in we are absolutely no better off financially , though earning slightly more than the uk, times can be v tough right now and it takes a lot to try and see the light, but I hope it will get there in the end.

I hope you can make it work for you, sure , you need a minimum income along with the right attitude and ability to make sacrifices in the short term for long term gain, whilst everything is still v tight for us right now the balance of lifestyle still wins over our position in the uk, but this is unique to every family.

Really truly continue researching like you are up and ensure you are okay with what you are looking at before committing

The numbers you are looking at for me personally are worrying , we only have 1 car, dont do holidays currently, rarely eat out, cook meals from scratch and cannot afford to put kids in all the clubs/sports etc, actually only one, we live a very simple life right now, however we are truly ok with this, if you move and end up in this position not truly accepting this as the way it could be for some time then it could bring issues.

Re the rich part lol, not truly , however there are a few people here that were fortunate enough to Make the move when times were good in the uk, which may have resulted in them achieving a very different position to others . Like i said this was never our motive to our move, our motive has been achieved but to no positive financial perspective. Be very Clear what your motives are for considering the move and try to be as accepting as you can for the short term the down side, at this time when looking at calculations be realistic as to what you can get by on, eg groceries even cooking from scratch are v expensive compared to uk

Good luck with your decisions

Mynsey

I'll try and give you a quick breakdown based on experience, young couple, no kids.

Rent $1200 (heat and hot water included)
Elec $20
Food $650 (not including alcohol)
Car insurance $100 a month (3rd party only, full no claims discount, one car, old banger!)
Public Transport $100
Fuel $100 a month (could easily double this if doing much driving)
Basic cable and internet $50 (this was a super cheap deal with Telus, usually you'll hear people paying twice that and more)
2 cell phones $50 (will get you the most basic basic phone and plan - typically a standard cell contract would be $60+ a month)

$2300 for the most basic of basic for 2 people. You could probably do food for 2 adults and 3 small kids for the same $650 so let's say this is the budget for family of 5 if all kids are under 6.

So $900 left a month based on above. This could be down to $600 a month if you pay typical rates for cable and cell phones. Did you want to run 2 cars? Knock that down some more.

But let's say you have $900 left - might sound like it buys a lot, but it doesn't.

Want to go out for a meal $60 a pop (no alcohol, no frills, no kids!)
Bottle of wine from the liquor store $12 for a cheap one. 24 330ml beers will set you back $50.
Clothing is expensive.

In summary, it's doable, but you'll be fairly skint. Which is fine, as long as your going in with your eyes open.

Oh and you were asking what jobs pay $80k? It amazes me some of the jobs that pay over 80k here - like policemen and nurses earning 6 figures (inc overtime - but still).

Hope this helps with the planning!

deise1980

Thank you have been very helpfull as have most people on this site . We hope to get away with running just the one car for first few certainly . That's why choosing the right house for price/location is of paramount importance to us and will be the deal breaker i think . We maybe Irish but we rarely drink alcohol and none of us smoke . With our current lifestyle we don't get out for a meal very often due to not having a babysitter so our lifestyle may not change much at all if anything it may improve . Like yourself were not moving to get rich ,as long as we have enough to feed well ,pay bills and our kids not want for anything in within reason then we are quiet happy as i said our main motivation is for our kids to have better opportunities after school and University as they will have little or none here if we stay . . The impression i get from people here that if you don't have 3rd level qualification or. professional trade you cannot survive surely in modern society that cannot be correct . Not everyone has a degree or trade I'm sure there are people working in production lines in factories with there wifes working pt in supermarkets etc doing ok in life not getting rich but not being poor . I have been quoted that a family of 5 would need to bring in 100k a year just to have a normal life surely that's crazy and also cannot be right ?Maybe I'm talking to a lot of upper class people here that are used to that kind of lifestyle which I'm certainly not ?
Rgds
Deise1980