Gunfitter

Hi all,

could anyone give me a ball park figure of the Kamloops monthly living costs, compared to the UK.

This would be for a family of 4.

UK Mortgage - 570 pounds (4 bed det)
UK Gas & Electric together 119 pounds
Water - 47.5 pounds
Council - Tax 115 pounds
Car Tax - 208 pounds, (per year), and going up soon! (V W Passat)
Food bill average - 80 pounds per week.
Sky TV - 45 pounds

These are just a few of my main living costs in the UK.
Any other advice on living costs in Kamloops would be welcomed.

I am worried that BC may swallow any benefit that I may gain from the UK, in the higher tax rate that this provence has over Alberta, for example.

R I C H

I find living in Kamloops to be comparable overall in terms of living costs to the UK (I lived in Worcestershire).

You'll be hard pushed to get equivalent figures to those you quote - evveryone's circumstances are so different. For what it's worth, mine are below (for a married couple) - sorry I've no breakdown for individual elements:

Mortgage - $3,200 p/mth (2 houses, 32 acres and business)
Gas & Electric - $650 p/mth (total for both houses and business)
Water - $100 p/mth (2 houses, and business)
Council - $500 p/mth (2 houses, land and business)
Car Tax - $0
Car insurance ('07 Ford F150) - $128 p/mth
Food bill average - $200 p/wk
Cable TV/internet - $140 p/mth (1 house)
Telephone - $100 p/mth (1 house + business)

The figures mean very little without knowledge of how much income you'll have, how much equity you have to put towards a new home, whether you can afford a car outright, or need finance etc. If you've got some specific questions about life in Kamloops, feel free to drop me a line.

Gunfitter

Hello Rich,

thanks for the reply.

I would probably have 100,000 - 130,000 pounds to bring with me.

The employment that I would be looking at would be the same as in UK, a Mechanical Fitter/Technician. I believe the closest to this profession in Canada would be an Industrial Mechanic.

As for salary not to sure. However in Calgary this type of job is advertised between C$ 50,000 - C$ 70,000. In Kamloops?

I'm not sure how much percentage will be taken out pay as Income Tax.

Your monthly out-goings seem higher than I expected.

Alberta_Rose

Yes but ...... don't forget ...... TWO houses AND a business AND 32 acres of land .....

I don't think you're anticipating that are you?

Rich_007

The guy is running a business. For domestic:

Mortgage - $1,000 to $2000 p/mth depending what you buy, get some online mortgage quotes based on how much you expect to spend
Gas & Electric - $110 to 400 p/mth summer versus winter
Water - $25 to $40 p/mth as above
Council - $200 p/mth on mortgage payments or annual payment around $2k
Car insurance - $100 to $300 p/mth depending on cover, driving record, no claims history
Food bill average - $200 p/wk
Cable TV/internet - $140 p/mth
Telephone - $50 p/mth

This is approximate - depends on your lifestyle, level of comfort, house and vehicle type.

R.

Rich_007

Salary, knock $10k off norms - $40k to $60k depending.

Try this:

http://www.ey.com/GLOBAL/content.nsf...7_Personal_Tax

The whole thing about 'taxes' is relative. Who really gives a half a crap when you can walk about in shorts in March and get a base suntan when the cowboy hatted hole-digging goofus rednecks are still shovelling their driveways ? Depends how you view life.

R.

Coffeepot

Thanks for the calculator i have been looking for that

Danny B

I have been making notes on our expenses since moving to Kamloops, these are only relevant to us though. Here goes, all per month:

$250 Property Tax
$265 Childs Pre School
$50 Water Cooler rental & Gym membership
$60 Utilities
$115 Hydro
$75 Gas
$70 Phone, TV & Broadband
$12 HSBC Bank Charge

Don't forget to include; if applicable,

Mortgage payment
Car loan(s)
Car insurance (for us it's $1,000 per year per car)
Car running costs ie-fuel, servicing, winter tyres etc. (for us it was $1900 for 8 tyres, $40 per tank which lasts about 2 weeks)
Food for the family (I find this much more expensive than in the UK)
Clothes for the family
MSP (Health Insurance)
Dental expenses?
School trips (skiing, trips to Vancouver etc)
Money for lunch at work ($4 day = $80 month)
Money for entertaining (wine beer, etc)

It's not cheap, I reckon you need a combined salary of about $80k to live a comfortable lifestyle running 2 cars with 2 children.

We are living pay cheque to pay cheque each month until my Wife starts work later on in the year, roll on September...

If I didn't bring my equity with me from my UK house I'd be screwed.

Gunfitter

Thanks Danny B,

wondering was the pre school a one off payment?

How long have you lived in Kamloops?

Do you have any regrets?

Does the quality of life out way the costs, in your opinion?

Danny B

Unfortunately the pre School is one of those fancy Montessori Schools and the cost is per month, for 3hrs per day, 5 days per week.

We moved here July 07, absolutely no regrets, I wont bore you with all the reasons why we moved out here but so far so good. Our children have settled in nicely, I got a job relatively quickly, and we found a nice house in a nice part of town.

That quality of life question is a hard one to answer. Some people think that having mountains & lakes around you gives you a better quality of life, I do not.

We are not an outdoorsy type of family, maybe that will change over time but we enjoy living here for the simple things in life.

My journey to work is 15 mins, I start at 8am, have a 1hr lunch and am usually home by 4.15pm.

I can go out for the day and leave my house unlocked, my kids can play with other kids in the street and I'm not worried where they are. It's those kinds of things that for us, define the quality of our life.

I hope that helps

Gunfitter

Thanks again Danny,

and I'm glad that you seem sorted out. I hope I will eventually feel the same way.

I lived in Canada from May 95 - May 97, Medicine Hat. Both the Boss and I absolutely loved it.

I found that I was miles better off with the cost of living, compared with the UK at that time.

Twas a bit on the parky side in the winter, although I don't think this would bother me, I think it would eventually get on her nerves.

We have been to Kamloops only once briefly, in 1996. Whilst on vacation.

I saw Kamloops as maybe an improvement on Medicine Hat. If thats possible.

However I realise things change, and that Alberta is a bit cheaper.

bazzz

Yeah, but you'll notice that R I C H likes to brag about how, err... rich he is, disguising it as helpful advice, when really it's irrelevant. Still, fair play to him. If he had that amount of money I'd be pretty smug too.

Danny B

I realise you are just trolling, but for anyone reading this who actually believes the crap that pours from your keyboard
I can assure you that Rich is the complete opposite of smug, I have seen how hard he works and shovelling shit is nothing to be smug about.

Rich_007

That's not what I observe. Some people do have very odd attitudes. It's coming from deep insecurity, envy, or small man syndrome. Maybe that's a part of why Brits are so maligned....they despise happy successful people, even their own kind. I think it stems from the Thatcherite children, they're like nasty furry mammals with teeth and fangs that eat the rest of the hatch during nesting, guaranteeing their own survival, but in a hollow, meaningless, empty manner. Their life is full of ennui, and they want yours to be, too.

Kamloops Rich is the embodiment of a successful migrant - busy, happy, and willing & able to share his experiences with others.

Keep on with the help and advice, Kamloops Rich.

R.

Tangram

ditto is what I have found too.