Philg87

Hi all,

I am interested in moving over to Canada. However my wife has queries over the cost of living.

Is anybody able to offer any advice on the cost of living.

Thanks in advance.

Phil

christmasoompa

Are you moving from the UK or somewhere else? A lot will depend on whereabouts you are going to (and where you're coming from). If you have a hunt around you'll find lots of threads with useful info in, there's a very long running thread about Groceries in The Maple Leaf which is a good place to start - obviously only look at recent posts in that thread though as the cost of everything has gone up recently, same as everywhere else in the world, so the older posts will be very out of date.

I'd look at visas as the first step and see if you would be able to move, if so then do a bit of research on your likely salaries in the area you want to move to (use the JobBank website for averages across each province), and then you can work out if you that would be enough to give you a decent life in Canada.

Good luck.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE.

It very much depends on where you want to live. Anywhere in the Toronto or Vancouver area is outrageously expensive. As Christmasoompa stated above, your first step should be finding out if you are eligible for a visa.

Tumbling_Dice

If you are considering Nova Scotia it has also become fairly outrageous. We are considering a move to Ontario and have noted that the rentals are on a par in places like Guelph and London with Halifax, which has a much smaller economy, less earning power (outside of public service) and higher taxes. A quick calculation shows you that you can retain about $3k more in taxes on $60k, for example, in Ontario compared to here. House prices in NS, given that they are glorified garden sheds, are ridiculous. Go to Reddit Halifax to see some of the discussions on the cost of living here.

BristolUK

That's odd. I'm constantly reading how people are moving in this direction from Ontario, pushing up housing costs here but still much less than there.

btar

You might find Numbeo informative - Cost Of Living Comparison (numbeo.com)

BristolUK

I never have

CanadaJimmy

Yep Numbeo is all based on user submitted data so often out of date and inaccurate.

Cost of living is basically the #1 political issue in Canada right now, alongside housing costs (which are a huge part of the cost of living problem). Rents have basically doubled in the past decade while wages have only increased slightly, and in the past 3-4 years groceries have gone up around 25-50% too due to inflation.

It’s possible to get by in Canada, and still do alright if you can manage a household income of $125k-$175k if you have an in demand profession, but for those without experience working in Canada it can be very hard to earn anything close to that.

Atlantic Xpat

Why are Halifax houses, in particular, "glorified garden sheds"? If you mean because they are wooden, constructed largely from 2x6 framing, plywood or OSB sheathing and vinyl or wooden siding outside then that's pretty much true for all of Canada.

BristolUK

I can remember when $60k was the "doable but not not much in the way of luxuries"
But it depends on many variables.

When it was $60k our family of two adults plus two teens had around $15k net.
People used to say "yes but you have no mortgage" which was true enough but ignored the fact that it didn't mean free housing; Buildings insurance, property tax and water can still be a hefty chunk.
I remember calculating that something like another $500 a month - $6000 a year - would have provided adequate rental accommodation, so $21k would have seen us okay.
Net income, of course, but well short of the net income that $60k gross would have given.

I find something similar now. The figures are different obviously, but a similar formula to adjust for the difference between rental costs and owner occupied costs, leaving us as financially well placed as now would see us with $67k net.
That looks about $95000 gross

I find it similar to the discussions in the UK where there's a Visa requirement of, what is it, income £38k and people say "it's not that much" seemingly unaware that 75% of the population earns less.

Average Canadian household income is $98k. Alberta is alone in being the only province where it's higher than $100k.

For some reason Brits need a higher amount to live on than Canadians

BristolUK

And they survive all kinds of weather extremes. It's as if Canadians knew what they were doing.

Almost Canadian

As an integral part of my job, I get to see how those living in Canada are actually living day-to-day. It is not a pretty sight. With the exception of public sector workers, few have any form of retirement savings and most have eye-watering amounts of debt, particularly those on higher incomes. I dread to think what is going to happen in 20 or so years time, when they have to retire.

Of all the couples that I have dealt with, perhaps 3 of them looked like they were going to be able to retire. The rest appear as though they will be working until they die and won't be leaving much to the beneficiaries of their estates.

MooseFM

Another perspective is finding a job, all Canadian employee's seem transfixed on anyone, who may have top qualification, but if you don't have this "Canadian experience" you won't even get replies !!

Hemlock

I think I get the gist of what you are saying, but are you talking about employees or employers?
Assuming you mean employers, it is not so that all employers will not entertain someone without 'Canadian experience'. For the brief time I was an employee, I had several job offers before arriving in Canada with zero Canadian experience. As an employer, I don't give a hoot where an employee has experience is from. There is a labour shortage and getting a job is not that hard for those who want to work. Although the pay scale may not be too their liking always. I was working for way under what I got in the UK for several years. It was a means to an end. There are some industries that North American experience is a distinct asset, however there are many where it makes little to no difference.
Employers in North America, rarely (if ever) respond to applicants who have not been invited for an interview. Often they don't follow up on interviewees who were unsuccessful. It may seem odd, or even rude, but this is the way it is and locals accept it as normal. There is no way to know the reason someone is not invited for an interview, or offered a job, unless the employer tells them (which likley they won't). Too many folks get over sensitive to the no 'Canadian experience'.

MooseFM

Understand some of your comments, I was basing my post on the fact that last year we had friends who came over on ETA which allows them to look for work under a Government scheme during Covid which allowed ETA visitors to look for work. This scheme was extended till end of this year. One applied for 82 jobs, not one reply, the other applied for 68 jobs, not one reply despite the Covid ETA being explained. Another family member, 25 yrs + in the finance world, Master's degree etc etc, 18 months to find a job with some of the top Banks just ignoring her applications.....

I am only saying that the country needs good hard workers and we are missing these people due to this "Canadian experience" but good to hear as you say, you dont mind where potential employees have that experience as long as its relevant.



Both friends went back to the UK very disappointed as they both had degree's in HR etc