stevethompson

First, can I just point out again that the figures I've used are entirely made up. I don't think that if I was on a salary of $1000 per month I'd be in a position that my employers would transfer me from the UK rather than employee a recent graduate. What I said was that the CHEAPEST rent I've found would be 54% of my TAKE HOME salary. Then I said, "for example IF I am paid $1000 then the rent would be $540... " etc. As I've said before, I'm trying to get help with understanding the costs of living. To me, it looks like I'm getting a bad deal from my employer and I am looking for advice to either back that up or shoot it down. At this point, not one person has told me - as with many other postings - whether or not they have found Canada more expensive than the UK BUT 7 people no less have critisised my maths which, on double checking, still holds.

Rant over, back to the question...

Living in K-W - optional. Working there - not optional. Apart from Guelph, everthing else is ****ing miles away though. I like the idea of a six hour communte as much as I like the idea of spending most of my income on rent.


It's a little bit more than that. Not much more though.

The cheapest property I found that isn't a complete dive was $1,950 WITHOUT utilities. In fact, I haven't found any properties with utilities included.

[/QUOTE] Rent is 51% of income. [/QUOTE]

OK, you state that in a matter-of-fact way. Here's another question - is that common? Do people pay 50% of their salaries to rent a house? Maybe that's where I'm getting confused. My UK salary is above the national average

There's two, 10 years and 10 weeks.
Yes
Not with a 10 week old.

Canuck Fan

Fair play, each to their own dbd, I'm not materialistic I guess, I'd rather have mountains, a nice beach and excellent transit links close by any day over a flatscreen TV and a humma (examples only of course).

Atlantic Xpat

I think we're all trying to help. If you don't like the way we do it then you have a choice to find help elsewhere.

If you are living comfortably on above the national average in UK then stay there. $70kish for a family of four would not be comfortable in K-W IMHO.

stepnek

Although my wife is Canadian we moved from the UK to avail ourselves of a cheap house and be mortgage free not for some whimsical "lifestyle". The lifestyle of affording to live was what we were looking for. If it wasn't for the lack of a mortgage then I'd find things really expensive here. My brother and Mum are visiting from England at the moment and they think it's expensive too! I didn't expect that because I thought with their british pounds that they'd enjoy shopping here.

It's true that I don't live out west by the rockies or anything but open spaces and lovely mountain views don't cut it if there's not enough money around. Not for shallow old me anyway and I have a nine year old car and I don't have a really big TV!.

dbd33

I commuted there from Mississauga. Horrible. If you like the idea of rural living you have lots of options but, agreed, there's not much choice of urban locations near K-W.


I didn't mean to imply that utilities would be included in the rent, just that they had to be included in the calculation.

The only renter I currently know is my daughter, she and a friend pay $1800 for a semi in Toronto, she makes about $60,000 so, if she rented alone that would be about that proportion. I'm surprised that rents are so high in K-W, but perhaps you have higher standards than I do.

bazzz

Neither would £35k in London... backtracking from what he's said here, his rent in the UK at the moment is £408 pm which sounds extraordinary.

stepnek

My own personal opinion is if you don't have a real passion for living here then don't go for it. My limited three year experience says that without arriving with a large sum of cash or having a great salary then it's expensive to live here.

There you go and not a single criticism of your maths.

dbd33

My definition of "stuff" is a bit elastic. The "stuff" I've been able to have through moving has mostly been tuition fees and mistresses rather than objects but the idea's the same. In the UK the cost of houses is such that I would not have been able to fund the same things.

Atlantic Xpat

I'm with you. I want to live where I do as it's where my wife is from. Financially with both of us working we are about the same off as in the UK because Teachers are well paid here in comparison to UK. (Mrs AX is the teacher.) For me alone, I'm currently earning way less than I did in the UK in a 'smaller' job. It's a source of some frustration but ultimately because a) between us we do OK and b) I want to live here it works.

I do have a big screen TV though!

dbd33

www.mls.ca lists 16 houses for rent in K-W for between $800 and $2000. 790886 and 721571 don't look at all dumpy. 714418 is furnished and might be a very good place to rent short term while finding your feet.

I think your estimate of K-W rents is too high.

Cookie

It seems that high rent is a main obstacle but it's usually the same in the UK in the private market. Rental of a small one-bedroom flat costs more than my mortgage for a 3-bedroom house. Our council tax back home for our house was more than 3% too (and we had a pretty good income). We paid 2400 GBP per year in UK and our home taxes here are $3200 (own well and septic). Step outside the town boundaries and they reduced drastically to under $1000.

I checked out www.mls.ca and there are two houses for rent which look nice - starting at $1200 per month plus utilities. I then used the mls mortgage calculator and worked out a mortgage for roughly the same monthly outgoing and you can gat a $200,000 mortgage @ 6% over 25 years.

gryphea

OK. I'm not in canada yet. I did understand your maths- but I am amazed at some of the ratios. I was amazed at the car ratio- as from our research cars are cheaper there than here, in fact the new cars we looked at are 2/3rds the price. Now I understand that thats only if you have pounds rather than dolalrs but your salary in dollars is comparable to pounds.

If your rent in Canada would really be 51% I think that is too high and I wouldn't be happy about that either, not with a family of four to support..

We are off to Calgary on a WP. I agree with Judy, you need a decent relocation package. There is the slightest possiblity that they are employing you because you are cheaper (but I have no knowledge of the IT market). Company transfers do not have to get an LMO and in some ways the LMO is a check that they are paying you the commensurate rate, as you are by passing that check, it could be that they might be trying it on slightly.

I would go back to them with your calculations and see what they say.

There may be some tax fiddles you could do out there (there seem loads of wierd allowances) and you may get a lump by going in the middle of our and their tax year BUT this thing needs to work medium to long term which means full canadian tax years.

Gryphea

Souvenir

I don't think we've yet explored why the OP's employer has made this offer of a move to the Canadian office.

Canuck Fan

Because Ronald McDonald are opening up tons more outlets!! silly billy

stevethompson

OK, OK. Enough with the PMs

My take home Canadian salary[1] is $4133.

That's per month.

Thanks for the postings about the properties to rent. I did touch on this in an earlier posting but I wanted to repeat it. Renting is the short term solution. I can't see any bank in Canada giving some bloke off a plane a 100% mortgage so I need to save some money to get a mortgage. If I'm spending most of what I'm earning on rent I'm not going to save much. Believe me (please) I'm not after a TV in every room, three cars and gold plated cooker. I'd just like to save enough money to either come home when the work permit runs out or buy a house when I get PR. However, my employer has appointed a company to help with things like finding houses and schools. The email I received the other day which started me doing all this maths says

"I have been looking at house rental costs and they range on average $1800 Canadian dollars on up to $2000. In some cases we have been able to find them for less, however, they are small and older homes. and of course we can find them for more."

Of course I'm happy she can find them for more. Just the news I need.

My employers (someone mentioned this) do provide a "fund" when I arrive of one months salary. However the terms are that everything has to be expensed and it can only be used for... "Car rental, furniture rental, storage rental, telephone hookup, work permit costs, driver licence re-issues and any mortgage penalty or other costs relating to selling your house in your contry of origin." No mention of a TV or a rental deposit in there.

[1] Based on my understanding of Canadian tax bands and RRSP contributions. Could be a bit either way.