I am young(ish) (mid twenties) with no real assets, with my car being the most expensive thing I own; I would be really appreciate it if anyone could give me an idea of how much it would cost to get started in Canada (Quebec preferably). I haven't a job yet and I have heard people saying you need $30k to 'setup' i.e. buy furniture, eat, you know the necessities. I am getting a little scared! I am looking for basic living not buying a mansion and a ferrari.

any experiences would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks,
Thom.

I arrived with nothing but a couple of suitcases and a golf bag and $5k signing bonus ten years ago.

That was enough to get a deposit on an apartment and a down payment on a car and to buy enough furniture and pots and pans, crockery etc etc to get by and still have something in the bank. Having a job waiting and no family to consider took a lot of pressure off though.

Depends what you are aiming for, and whether you need a safety buffer to cover you while you try and land a job.

As a single person you can take chances that people with a family would be mad to consider, so I would say you don't need nearly as much as you think you do.

Since arriving I have gained 1 wife, 2 kids, 3 cars, 3 additional golf-bags, 4 cats, a pension plan and a moderate mortgage on a house in the country. Progress?

Hi Thom

I really think as long as you have money to pay for a few months rent and some basic bits of furniture you'll be fine. We moved over with not much more than $1,000.00 and shipped over a few boxes of personal stuff. Just be prepared to live simply for awhile and don't expect to instantly replicate the standard of living you have in the UK.

What she said!

We arrived 2 suitcases and $2000, now have car (s) house (rented) furniture (mostly crap) big tv (cooooool) and good friends.

You cannot expecft to get back what you had over in the UK instantly but its fun kinda building up again - a bit like leaving home for the first time!

That is exactly what it is like, learing everything all over again. Different terminology and there are just some things you don't call people here.
We live in a metric country, buy lumber by the foot, gas by the litre and paint by the gallon (US at that).

I arrived with: two suitcases, $2.5k and a dream.

That is so true and can be a real challenge for some.

Although most paint we've bought recently has been by the liter.

Which is the equivalent to a US gallon.

If you aren't bringing any wife or kids with you, just slum it! Hopefully you'll have a job to come to (CBC today.... they're short of taxi drivers... can you drive??) which is sort of essential if you have no savings.

I'm in Quebec and renting, and we were not asked, and have never seen the requirement for a deposit. One month in advance is generally enough, and if you're prepared to live in a not great (but not bad) area, I'm sure you'll pick up a studio for a few hundred CAD a month.

Make sure you have a return air ticket, then if it all goes pear shaped you can head back!!

If I were your age again, I wouldn't think twice. I'd be on a plane tomorrow. All part of "growing up".

Good luck.

We arrived 2006 on BUNAC WP, fresh from finishing our MScs with 20kg (+ a bit) of luggage each thanks to cheap Fly Zoom flights and £2k.

I did have a job lined up though.

My company paid for my new WP, PNP and PR costs, but we used money that we saved up as we went along to pay for Mr L2S's.

We used most of our savings for our first month's rent, then people at our companies took pity on us and gave us lots of their old pots and pans.