How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Happy New Year everyone.

Trying to research quality of living and am trying to work out cost of living.

I have 2 and a half job offers in Auckland, Surrey (just outside Vancouver) and the half in Calgary :cool:

At the mo
3 bed victorian terrace, Vectra V6
Monthly
Housing (mortgage, tax, insurance) £560
Utilities (gas, elec, water) £70
Car (insurance, tax, service, fuel) £190
Food £95
Excl luxuries

I just wondered how it would compare with people in the above areas.
I live alone, so i know the bills are low!!

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

We've been looking into this too. We've been looking at Vancouver Island as far as properties go. Property looks to be around 50-60% of the equivalent house here (though most of the properties on Vancouver Island have Ocean or Mountain or Forest views, which would attract a healthy premium over here in England).

Cars - I've had a quick look tonight - a Chevrolet Impala V6 3.5 which seems to be a bigger Mondeo type thing is about £11750 wheras the cheapest 1.8 Mondeo here is £15995.

Fuel - I found a site for gas (petrol) in Toronto where the highest cost was £0.41 per litre (think unleaded is £0.89 per litre here).

Food looks cheaper - some of it obscenely so. Stuff like Coca Cola, Nescafe and Toilet Rolls are a lot cheaper. (Struggled to find an online site though to compare to Tesco / Asda etc).

Not looked any further than that yet, though we want to find out cost of healthcare, dental care, opticians, education etc etc. I believe there is a basic Health Service, but I've no idea how much health insurance is.

From what I've found (not looked too much into it though) - wages are less over in Canada compared to the UK. However, they'd have to be a lot less to cancel out the benefit of the cheaper cost of living.

We've only been looking into this for a short while so I may be off the mark!

HTH :)

My first post - Excellent forum by the way :D

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

This has been discussed quite a bit in the past and an excellent way to get a quick overview and a lot of info is to use the search function - halfway up the screen on the right.

Welcome! :)

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

For information on Alberta - Judy in Calgary - is your best bet. I know for sure that she has just done a great posting about alberta health care and includes alot about what is included in it.

I agree - think it was yonk - with doing a search as most of these topics have been covered before and if i am not mistaken not too long ago.

Have a read through and then ask more specific questions as I think it is easier to get all of your info together that way

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

The other guys are correct there was a thread a while back particularly about costs of food shopping and it seemed to indicate that it was generally much more expensive in Canada than you might think.
I believe you cannot change the costs into pounds like you have done and you have to base your assumptions on earning dollars and the best way is to assume $1 = £1 in terms of earnings/spending power which means that for example fuel costs are very similar really.
We are going over tomorrow for 2 weeks so will be looking into these kinds of things in much more detail ourselves.
Will post any useful things we find when back.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Even if you don't attempt to adjust for earnings it's not as cheap as it looks on holiday. Less obvious items such as car insurance are very expensive. The cars are less well engineered and the distances greater cancelling out the lower cost of gas, when we were in England in November we giggled at the low cost of operating the rental car there (Fiat Punto) compared with the Honda here.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Absolutely agree. Anyone who moves here and plans their financial life around dividing everything by 2.23 (or whatever the rate is) is in for a tremendous shock. The only exception IMHO is if you are earning piles of cash here (which most of us arent) or are a gentleman(lady) of 'independent means' with an income in GBP.

During my trip back to UK last year I was 'mazed by how cheap a lot of things were. Materially, with the exception of a bigger house, I was probably better off in UK than I am in Canada.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

In broad terms I think property is the big win; after that it's a wash.
Emigrating provides a one time cash infusion so long as you don't buy a house (or mansion) here that costs the same as the house (or flat) you sold there. You can upgrade a fair bit in terms of space and features and be better off. However, if want to go back you're in big trouble. If you don't have a house in the UK to start with then emigrating (to Canada) doesn't make much of a difference financially. There might be other reasons to do it, of course.

Now, can anyone help with gas consumption in Canada? We drove very gently for a tank of gas and managed 270 miles on 57 liters, is that better or worse than the 38mpg shown on the Fiat's computer?

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

270 miles on 57 liters! If your car is telling you that you averaged 38 mpg for this journey then it could well be incorrect.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

No, no, the Fiat we rented in England had a computer and showed 38mpg. The Honda we're enduring here has no computer but seems to use a lot of gas. It had just been serviced (35,000 mile service : $2300 btw) so we drove very carefully for a tank and got 270miles, it took 57 liters to fill but I can't do the sums to work out how much that is in English money.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Thanks for the info so far.

I've seen some other £1=$1 posts but was wanting a local breakdown on what my equivalent would be there so I could work out what percentage of my wage would be left every month.

I'm hoping using percentages would be a more accurate way of looking at finances:rolleyes:

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

270 miles or Km's? This is a US spec car right? 57 litres is around 12.8 imperial gallons so that would give 21 miles per gallon. Not impressive for an effeminate SUV crossover at all.:D

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Apart from restating the advice to use the search function to aid your research, percentages is one way to get an idea of cost of living. But, first you need to understand what income you expect/will settle for and what that means after tax, CPP, EI etc. This will all vary depending on where you live.

The 'ouch' factors in moving to Canada are Car Insurance (mine was upwards of $3k pa. for two years running and is still $1850 this year), fuel/heating/electric costs and the stupid purely Canadian things like paying for incoming cellphone calls etc.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Miles. ****ing thing; as soon as we move it'll be gone.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

My apologies, I got the wrong end of the stick.The Honda has roughly a 15 gallon tank. This would mean the Honda was averaging about 18 mpg. Their are 3.78 litres to a gallon (American gallon slightly more than European gallon I believe!) This is a rough estimate though as I do not know if the car was completely empty or still had some gas left. Plus there is the reserve tank to consider which I do not know. Plus Canada's gallon may differ slightly from the American gallon. But even so you could not of been averaging more than 18-23 mpg. To answer your question of cost, where I live in England gas is 86.9 pence per liter. Again it varies enormously but based on my local gas prices it would cost you £50.00 to fill that particular vehicle. Or just over $100 given the exchange rate.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

my little renault clio used to do 10 miles/litre and I am heavy on the pedals. thats around 40 miles/gallon i think.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

I've heard a few people talk about paying for incoming calls on cellphones. Surely this depends on who you use. I can't imagine this is the norm...my girlfriend who is Canadian does not pay for incoming calls on her cellphone. I agree with you about car insurance.....Ouchhh.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

I've found the cost of living here to be either the same as the UK and some things are a lot more expensvie. Food is expensive here……..canada may look a lot cheaper if your still in UK and converting from pounds into $$$ but the reality is when you start making a CDN salary its levels out.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Well, enough with the Honda. Since we're about to move I've been looking at the average bills for a small three bedroom detached house in Toronto. Some average month bills (obviously your mileage may vary):

property tax $400
house insurance $100
electricity $140
water $100
internet $37
gas (heat and cooking) $160
TV $45
car insurance $170/car
transit pass $100/person
phones $500
life and disabilty insurance on one person $450

when we move we'll eliminate the TV bill as the programming is awful so we never watch it, we rent videos instead even if the videos contain TV shows; who needs the Sopranos in four minute chunks interrupted by adverts extolling the grippiness of toilet paper brands?

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Yes agreed with the NA brands but BMW VW Audi Infiniti Acura Nissan Toyota all on par with Euro and if not a far better spec, fully kitted and blinged out, well equipped for Canadian winters, better value for the $ IMHO.

Even some of the NA brands like Jeep have far better spec than Euro in comparison for model and $.

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Oh, I most strongly disagree. The Honda is shocking badly designed and built compared to the American Fords I usually drive. A real step down. It's much more softly sprung, it has vague steering and pieces fall off, I can't imagine they could peddle it in Europe.

How are any of these vehicles equipped for Canadian winters? What equipment would one want for a Canadian winter anyway?

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

For food shopping, i cant give an accurate picture fo the two of us are we are still stoking up with staples etc. but when we live with friends for 4 of us we budgeted $180 a week for food, cleaning stuff, cat food and chocolate. We lived will on that shopping in IGA and the butcher and pet shop of course. Gin was extra!

Car insurance costs loads, house insurance is less, life insurance more.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Well your beloved Element has to be a flawed example, the runt of the Honda litter ? I'm sure they're as lightweight in the Autonomous Eurozone as they are here. I'm sure I saw a few back in thr UK way back.

Regards the others.... Auto & cruise for the long highway driving, lil things like trip computers, arm rests, better spec generally. Bigger engines as standard + 6 cyclinder adds a touch of luxury (traded against consumption, natch).

For winter, bigger rims/tyres, all seasons. No skinny lil rag tag tyres and yes, things have moved on since a rusty 1999 Neon with 14" rims and skinny summer tyres.

SUV's have far more standard pieces of kit and lil bitty extras come as standard compared to the AEZ. Then there's the greater likelihood of one buying truck/SUV in Canada which is about more accessible pricing for the amsses and thus people's ability to [generally] cope better in winter despite their atrocious driving skills and lack of spectacles.

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

<shh......>

block heaters

</shh......>

;)

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Er, OK. Obviously, having driven through umpteen winters here using a RWD convertible on all season tyres I don't see any of the above as being necessary. I don't live up a mountain though.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

At the risk of seeming unmanly I confess that I don't know if any of the vehicles I've had have been so equipped. I've never looked.

I have thought of something for winter though, a big squirter fluid tank, the Explorer one was tiny so we had to stop to fill it as often as we have to stop the Honda for petrol.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Ahh. ON winters. I'm a BC dude, dude. The Big Country :D big hills, big trucks, big people, the big life. :zzz: Sorry forgot this is Canada, there are numerous different worlds under one banner. Must unthink my one-dimensionalism.

NB forgot heated mirrors and heated screen washers, essential for winter survival.

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Here's ours for the last eleven months averaged monthly.

property tax $170
house insurance $45
electricity $45
water/sewer $50
TV/internet $100
gas (heat and cooking) $125
car insurance $185/2 cars
transit pass $75/person
phone $40 Land line only including long distance (we don't make a lot of calls). No cell phones.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by dbd33

property tax $400
house insurance $100
electricity $140
water $100
internet $37
gas (heat and cooking) $160
TV $45
car insurance $170/car
transit pass $100/person
phones $500
life and disabilty insurance on one person $450


Here's ours for the last eleven months averaged monthly.

property tax $170
house insurance $45
electricity $45
water/sewer $50
TV/internet $100
gas (heat and cooking) $125
car insurance $185/2 cars
transit pass $75/person
phone $40 Land line only including long distance (we don't make a lot of calls). No cell phones.
__________________
Perfect, this is what I was after, thx guys
$500 for phones dbd:eek:

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Residents of Ontario may not have big lives but the Honda is on Colorado plates and the LC is on Utah ones so we can pose like we're out west. We just don't need armrests and trip computers to do it.

Never tried them.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Pretending doesn't cut it. ;)

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

I'm a bit lazy about those because I write them off anyway but that breaks down as:

A daughter's cell, $100.00 plan including many minutes.
My cell, less minutes, $75.00 plan.
"Exes" cell, emergency plan only $25.
Another daughters cell, emergency only $25.
OH's cell, same as mine $75
Home phone, quite often used for long distance $200.

Cell phone coverage is a big issue for us. The Bell network in Ontario is pretty crap so the chance of having an emergency in a car and being able to use the phone is minimal. I should really get rid of the $25 plans.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

I bin to the west. This is our group on the annual mountain hike. That's the Hermit's Trail, a day and a half out of the Grand Canyon Ranger Station.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Shucks dbd it only made #6.

http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayprodu...tp/gaycars.htm

Interesting description...

"6. The Honda Element - Motorized lunchbox for homos. Veridict: Gay and tree-huggy at the same time. What a bonus. Instead of 1,2 and Drive, gear shift shows Sashay, Saunter, and Skip Merrily.
Mondo gay."

You gonna sell it ? $2k for a service, jeez.

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Cool. Wrangler-wearing neo-survialist campfire escapism.

I liked your pix of the ghost towns. We'll plan to do the Kootenays ghost towns soon. Will avoid the cultist camps though :eek:

Rich.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Our costs per month, small 3bed semi, 2 adults and 1 toddler:

property tax: can't remember, but steep when compared to more expensive property in Calgary
elec: 20
phone: 28 (no long distance/overseas calls, just line rental and local)
mobile: 55 (for 2 phones on best of worst partner plan)
gas: 60 (avg'd over year)
water: dunno
food: 400-500
car ins: 120-ish, 1 car
petrol: 300
house insurance: dunno
extra property insurance: 55

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Ah, but on the scale of vehicles for lesbians does it beat the Subaru Outback?
Is anything more dykey than the Outback?















PT Cruiser, perhaps?

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Not just yet. Our move is quite a lifestyle change and much as we'd love to dump it there's a lot else going on, so for the moment it's the devil we know. I did take it to the Ford dealer to discusss trading it and was surprised that they weren't bothered about the US spec, they knew all about converting vehicles. If we get to the autumn without going bust it'll turn into a F150.

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

Thx biiiiink, at the mo it looks pretty comparative the UK percentages, but will be earning a bit more which is good.

Any basic info on federal and provincial tax rates on wages guys??

Re: How much to live, cost breakdown.
 

We're not survivalists, we take collapsable wine glasses. We do camp a lot in Colorado and Utah though. This time last year we were here: