Hey there just need some advive!!!!
I've been offered a job as a journeyman plumber in surrey Vancouver, the rate of pay is $25 per hr plus hol pay & health care, this is based on a standard 35hr wk which works out at $875. would like to know how much tax etc i would pay and also wot i could rent would prefer house to apartment! also wot standard of livin i could expect. Just to clarify i am single so no wife or kids to drag along!!!

Hello, phl4, and welcome to the BE forum.

The Wiki article on Renting has links to many websites that you can use to check out rental prices in Surrey, BC and surrounding areas.

You may find the Wiki article on Vancouver helpful. (It covers the Greater Vancouver Area, not just the City of Vancouver.)

There are links to tax calculators in the "Income tax rates" section of the Wiki article called Taxation.

The discussion thread entitled Cost of living compared to UK Alberta and N Scotia contains links to other threads about cost of living.

You may find it helpful to join Brits2Vancouver, and pose these questions there as well.
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Got offered similar for carpenter, then employer backed out anyway, but think it would be a struggle financially to say the least.

A house to rent seemed to be around the $500, food for a family of 4 probably 200, thats most of the wage gone.

If I can only attract that sort of pay, we are going to have the wife out working 2 jobs

But we have 2 kids, so 4 people going not your situation of one person, as a single, probably would live on that just fine, families, well if anyone can tell us how they survive?? great!!

From what I can tell, carpenters in Calgary earn extra money from moonlighting.

I'm told that a carpenter can make a lot of money from taking on a private job to develop someone's basement, for example.

There are a couple of challenges from a British expat's point of view, however.

1. If you're here on a temporary work permit, the work permit usually ties you to a single employer, so it's illegal to work on the side.
   
   
2. It takes time to learn the system, market yourself, become known, etc. Recently I met a carpenter with years and years of experience. He's actually in the process of extricating himself from carpentry and getting into other things. But he told me that, towards the end of his carpentry career, he'd figured out the system. He specialized in installing IKEA kitchens. He said it was much easier work than he'd done before from a physical point of view. He also worked regular hours. He worked weekdays only, no evenings and no weekends. And yet, because he'd tapped into a nice segment of the market, he actually earned more from doing this easier work than he'd earned from doing the harder work. Go figure.

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I've remembered something else, stevebarry.

If you can get into a position where you're running a business and employing other people in the construction industry, you can do very well.

The man from whom we bought our current house at the end of 1999 was a Danish carpenter who had immigrated to Canada decades earlier. He had arrived with nothing but his skills. By the time we met him, he owned a company that refurbished office interiors, and had done very well for himself.
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thanks everyone for the advice, i am gonna hav t consider it carefully, i mean i live a comfortable life here in uk, but am abit fed up with working all the time and the way this country is heading!! wil certainly chck out those websites! Can anyone tell me wot Surrey is like to live and where would be a reasonable place to look within travelling distance to surrey?

Don't know much about BC, but in addition to the tax calculator which Judy pointed you to, remember you have further deductions for EI (Employment insurance) and CPP (Canada Pension Plan). Your deductions really add up here! Also, someone mentioned a figure for rent and food, which seemed very low. We own our home in Winnipeg, but from what I have seen (and Winnipeg is very cheap on property) you can't rent much under $700 and we spend $600 a month on food for a family of 5. Also, remember that insurance, especially on cars is way more expensive in Canada. Another thing to keep in mind is medical costs. There are no free state dentists, and you pay full price for prescriptions (not the 6 pounds NHS fee) unless you have a medical plan

Susan

Use the forum's search function to look for threads in which Surrey has been mentioned.

Then, if you still have questions about Surrey, start a thread with Surrey in the title. People may not see your questions about Surrey in a thread titled Job Offer.

By the way, Surrey and its neighbouring communities are described in some detail in the Wiki article about Vancouver.
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Hi , I am currently in the process of moving to Van . Fingers crossed . It may be fairly soon . Checkout www.vancouver.craigslist.ca for rent costs . I think you would get a good 1 bed apartment for @ $1000 a month . This would be your most costly expense . Surrey seems to be one of the most reasonably priced areas there . I was going to head there . Be careful where though as some areas are not so nice . I get the impression that $25 an hour is about average for many Trades . Maybe with some overtime you could bring your wages up . Overall I think a single man could live on that much . Of course this depends on what you spend ....

A smallish townhouse would cost @ $1300 a month in Slurry .

$25 ph is a reasonable starting rate for a journeyman plumber. Once you have a year or two of Canadian experience I expect you can earn a lot more.

I know one plumber quite well who immigrated from Eastern Europe about 10 years ago. As soon as he got permanent residence (and Canadian Journeyman status) he gave up his employment and set up as a sub-contractor. Three years ago he was charging $45. When I spoke to him recently he said there was so much work about that he could pick and choose the jobs he wanted to do and could charge whatever he liked.

Back to the present, $25 ph will net you $675 a week after tax and other deductions. It's not enough to rent a house IMO but would be OK for an apartment.

Do read the wiki on the Vancouver area as there is nothing about Surrey that I can add here that isn't there.

I pay between $25 and $30 an hour here in Nova Scotia, but most of the time they can charge what they like. Often just giving a price per job. Good plumbers are in demand as are most building trades. We have to wait ages to get them, but everyone is in the same situation.
You can rent properties from around $450 upwards. Check out Halifax kijiji for rental ads.
http://www.novascotialife.com/
I would have expected BC to pay more with living costs much higher etc.

$25 is poor wages for a plumber. You would need to double that to have a decent standard of living in Surrey. I looked at the area 2 bed apartment min $800. $1200 for a decent single family home.

Rubbish . I know someone in trades living in Surrey who earns @ $900-$1000 a week take home . He has wife and 4 kids . Has townhouse he pays $1300 a month for . He says its a fine/quiet area . He has an OK standard of living . Has yearly midweek pass for Grouse Mountain and goes snowboarding every Tue. night . Has told me that he cannot be foolish with money but does OK . I think that if he can do OK with 4 kids on $1000 a week that a single man does not need $1600 a week . All depends on whether your idea of a good life includes a new car every 2nd year and other luxuries but I certainly do not think a single man would need $1600 a week to be comfortable . $25 an hour as mentioned before is about standard for a tradesman starting off in Van .

By the time hes paid his taxes he going to be taking home approx 650 a week!
so 2600 a month. -1000 for rent 200 for utility bills! 60 telephone internet! food 150 a month. clothes ect! personal items average man spends 15% of monthly salary on clothes and gadgets according to mens health. Probably left with about $700 - 800 a month. that s if he doesnt need car and insurance on top! Also if he ever wants to travel to the uk to see family! which most of us do! will be at least $2000 round tip including spending money! Which i agree you can get by! but id push for $30 an hour at least!