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Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Old Jan 9th 2006, 12:55 pm
  #16  
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by chrisparr
If I manage to get a job in the same sector as I am in now, will it pay the same after exchange in Canada ( exaexample0,000 here, earning CAD$60,000 when I move)?

Big questions that won't have an answer until the last minute.

Chris
60K CAD is an "average" figure for IT here in my experience.

80K CAD I would say is "good"

100K CAD "high, but not entirely impossible" especially if you have business analysis experience in oil/gas.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 1:01 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by CalgaryBlade
60K CAD is an "average" figure for IT here in my experience.

80K CAD I would say is "good"

100K CAD "high, but not entirely impossible" especially if you have business analysis experience in oil/gas.

Thanks for that info.

I would consider myself above average, or at least I am where I work (who knows what inter continental standards are like), so I would hope for something around the 'good' mark, but if someone wants to offer me CAD$100K + who am I to argue

Thanks again

Chris
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 2:31 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by chrisparr
Off the top of my head, our mortgage is £129,000 on a £148,000 house. The payments work out at about £720 a month.

That is about as much as we want to pay here, and the big unkunknownout any move to Canada, is "will I be able to get a good enough job to have a house of at least the same standard?" (we have a early 70's semi BTW).

If I manage to get a job in the same sector as I am in now, will it pay the same after exchange in Canada ( exaexample0,000 here, earning CAD$60,000 when I move)?

Big questions that won't have an answer until the last minute.

Chris
I've just looked at google earth and they have scanned my area in higher detail. If you type (or copy and paste):

53 50' 40.04"N, 1 56' 57.30"W

on the fly to tab and zoom in, you will come down right on top of my house. It's a cool piece of software that, and it's free!

Chris
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 3:42 pm
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Talking Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by DavidWright
As a Canadian living in the UK since 2000, I find the cost of living
to be a lot cheaper here than in Canada with one
exception.... property.

Most things seem to cost double in Canadian dollars what you'd pay in British pounds....
Night out with meal, wine and drinks afterwards...
100 pound versus 200 dollars.
Theatre Tickets 25 pound versus 50 dollars
Cinema tickets 6 pound versus 12 dollars
Weekly food shop for 2 people 60 pound versus 120 dollars
Pint of beer 3 pound versus 6 dollars

Wages however do not reflect this....

UK minimum wage approx 4.80 versus Canadian minimum wage of 7.25
UK police officer start salary 21k versus Canadian 33k
UK Civil Engineer av. 43k versus Canadian 60k

Certainly, if it wasn't for the high cost of my mortgage I think I'd be much better off financially in Britain.
At this stage I will not dispute all of your costings David but I will just make a few observations :
1 - It is no use comparing cost of individual items by converting £ to $CAN because 4 months ago £6 would have been $14 and now it is only $12. To get a fair comparison you can only compare the average families disposable income in each country.

2 - The most expensive things in the UK are Rent/Mortgage on property for the average person, Living Expenses like Food & Drink, Council Tax, Petrol/Diesel, Heat and Light, Water, and all the other things like Sky TV, Mobile Phone, Life Insurance, BUPA (If you pay it) and on and on. Each individual should work out these things for themselves before they emigrate anywhere.

3 - I don't know how many, but there are going to be a certain number selling up in the UK and able to buy outright in Canada and maybe even upgrade there size of home in the process (Good Luck to those who can do that). Therefore many will have lower expense on property plus I believe from another thread that the equivalent of Council Tax over in the Promised Land is nowhere near as extortionate as over here, as low as 20% of the cost in UK.
4 - Some UK people pay inordinate amounts on fuel for transport and that at present is a lot more reasonable (say 45p a litre if you want to convert to £ again at $2 to the £1)

As to costs for other things maybe all you Guys already out there could actually give us an idea of these because I think many people reading Davids post may be s**tt**g their pants at what he has written. Lets get a fair overall view of this, and it may of course differ region by region.

Last edited by Garfielduk; Jan 9th 2006 at 3:54 pm.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 3:56 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

I don't think that the equivalent of council tax i.e. property tax is any cheaper. Where we live it is about 1% of the assessed price of the property a year. Which for us is $3K. We do get a home owners grant of $470 whih offsets this a bit but as I recollect we didn't pay as much of this for council tax.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:03 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by love_it_here
I don't think that the equivalent of council tax i.e. property tax is any cheaper. Where we live it is about 1% of the assessed price of the property a year. Which for us is $3K. We do get a home owners grant of $470 whih offsets this a bit but as I recollect we didn't pay as much of this for council tax.

If what you are saying is correct then the other post I read where someone living in Canada said theirs was $400 is either living in a house that is valued at $40000 or mistaken or telling porkies !

But is it the same in every province ?
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:08 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by love_it_here
I don't think that the equivalent of council tax i.e. property tax is any cheaper. Where we live it is about 1% of the assessed price of the property a year. Which for us is $3K. We do get a home owners grant of $470 whih offsets this a bit but as I recollect we didn't pay as much of this for council tax.
Yep, property tax is eye watering in Canada. For a house of the same value as the one we had in the UK the property tax is $4000 vs £1400. But this is a special lower rate for our developemnt because we don'e get all the usual services, which instead are covered by our bare land condo fees. If we were in Cochrane itself, based upon the pecentages I have been quoted it would have been more than $5000 :scared:
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:09 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Not everyone comes to canada with the equity of their UK home. We came with debt! It took us two years to save up the 5% we needed to buy a home here.

We have a $300K mortgage, which costs us about $1650 a month to finance.

See not everyone is mortgage free but still we came!
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:11 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by Garfielduk
If what you are saying is correct then the other post I read where someone living in Canada said theirs was $400 is either living in a house that is valued at $40000 or mistaken or telling porkies !

But is it the same in every province ?
I pay about $400 ($461) a month in council tax on a house worth about $400,000 (taxation value $350,000). I pay about $800 on a house worth a little more, say, $475,000, but I don't know what the assessed value is. These houses are 28 miles apart so tax varies widely by municipality, not just by province. The two factors are the assessed value, which is usually the actual value as of last year or the one before, and the mill rate, that is, the % of value charged as tax.The mill rate is determined by local politics.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:15 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by Garfielduk
If what you are saying is correct then the other post I read where someone living in Canada said theirs was $400 is either living in a house that is valued at $40000 or mistaken or telling porkies !

But is it the same in every province ?
Depends when and how accurately assessed there property value was, whether its in town and services, or rural minimum rate, as well as if they are running a business from home in which case some is a tax write off I think.

If you have lived somewhere for years and the assessment is low relative to market value, and you can write some off I can see how its possible, or if you live somewhere in the middle of nowhere its possible too.

I pay about $1400 a year, a friend in town is paying three times that and appeals all his assessments. I just keep quiet about mine, but he lives nearer the top of the housing market and pays for the privilege in his 5000+ sq ft.

I would say somewhere between 1000 and 2500 was the norm, tax rates will be manipulated to get near there based on the assessment, so % rates in cheap property areas will be higher than % rates in expensive property areas, otherwise everyone in Toronto or Vancouver would be bled dry at 1.5%! Property density has to be a factor too, in rural areas costs must have to be a bit higher as fewer residents are paying for the same omount of snow removal as in a higher packed area with more residents?

Last edited by iaink; Jan 9th 2006 at 4:18 pm.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

My property tax is $3700 per annum
gas $95 a month
Insurance $238 a month
Food (for one) budget $350 but usually spend less than that
Mortgage $1300 per month
Water and Electric $180 a month
TV and high speed internet (includes movies) $120 month
Cell Phone $85 a month
Travel $180 month

Generally have a slightly lower standard of living than the UK. I am buying less shoes.

However, I can still save $500 a month, and the financial situation should improve somewhat when I get my shiney new job!
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

But on a more positive note, where in the UK can you get a complete oil change, including new oil filter and a new air filter for a largish 4x4 for £22?

As most posters have said, there is probably not much in it except for housing and new American cars. Even so, housing prices in the more populous areas of Canada are catching up pretty fast. Waht makes it easier for many of us at the moment is that we are fortunate to be able to bring a large chunk to profit from the sale of our UK houses, and many of us end up mortgage free, although we have not chosen to be so. Just make sure that a mortgage free life is not your only reason to come to Canada, or you will probably end up very, very unhappy.

Where we really gain (for those wanting a less materialistic outdoor life) is quality of life. Priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, where is all that snow in the Rockies that we came here for.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:19 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by Posidrive
But on a more positive note, where in the UK can you get a complete oil change, including new oil filter and a new air filter for a largish 4x4 for £22?
Where in the Uk would you want to drive a largish 4x4!
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:25 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by iaink
Where in the Uk would you want to drive a largish 4x4!
Driving in Bucks is like driving in Calgary. If you drive a small car you get killed when the inbred upper class plonker in the 4x4 drives into you while dreaming about murdering inoccent pheasants. It's necessery for survival.
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Old Jan 9th 2006, 4:28 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living, Canada Vs UK

Originally Posted by Garfielduk
If what you are saying is correct then the other post I read where someone living in Canada said theirs was $400 is either living in a house that is valued at $40000 or mistaken or telling porkies !

But is it the same in every province ?
Dunno, but if it helps, we have just received our municipal tax demand for the year. They want a total of $1,924 off us, for the year. That is based on a valuation in mid-2004 of 144k (which is way less than we paid for the place and a lot less than we could sell it for).
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