Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Oh goody, I already live in Chelsea, so there should be very few shocks for me ;). Also, I don't drive, don't have children and I'm vegetarian, so all I need to figure out is how to find the money to pay for the wine, which I noted was VERY expensive when I was over there.

This is what I'm hoping to do. From my research I get the impression that although you should definitely expect things to be tight for at least a few years, the couples who are both working full-time (on this board and others) seem to be doing quite well, and often better than they were in England.

Can I expect my cats to develop an expensive interest in sports :D?

I don't want to move to Canada because I'm hoping it will be just like the UK but bigger/cheaper: do all that sodding paperwork and spend all of that money in the hopes of more of the same? You'd have to be crazy.

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Hi some of you say costs are high but still better quality of life?

in what way is it a better quality of life?? (more time to yourselves/better working hours/more outdoor life)?

am considering moving to Toronto.

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Cant speak for others, but far less stress (no crime, cheaper property, next to no sitting in traffic) More to do outside, Lots for kids to do, friendly outgoing people mostly. Work hours about the same, but Im pretty much left to m own devices to get it done, so no "bad boss" stress either for me.

You can tell I dont live in Toronto. Well, I guess there is more for kids to do in Toronto...but its not necessarily the kind of stuff I want my kids to do :scared:

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

thanks for your reply.
if you dont mind me asking, in what way is it not necessarily the kind of stuff you want your kids to do (in toronto)?

in a bad way?

is toronto different in terms of crime, people and traffic?

thakns!

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

I dont live there, but I expect there's all sorts of trouble to be found, as well as a bit more choice of the good stuff too. Not much in the way of gangs around here, but not much choice in entertainment, or gigs or clubs either.Based on what some people here say, and the folks I work with there have to say about it, I would day so. Im in no hurry to live there if I can stay here!

Think of Toronto as like London, and you wont go far wrong...except the archetecture is not as interesting.

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

We have been here -lived out west and now facing the Atlantic- for 26 years and my experience with Canadians and the media is that they compare our lifestyle to that of our neighbours down south and come up with what a better and more socially beneficial life is here compared to the US. Well, wake up Canada, there are other countries we can compare ourselves with and we are still here because effectively we have a life sentence - we cannot afford to move elsewhere because property prices are much higher back in the UK and the US and the cost of living here creates great difficulty keeping up with the savings. My house taxes here are $9500 a year and no relative in London, UK or Sydney, Australia pays anywhere near that much and all own houses that are 3 times the value of mine. Insurance for my house is nearly 10 times what these same relatives pay. Someone mentioned that yes the gas may be cheaper but we have much further to travel and $1.22 litre is not that cheap any more. I am amazed how food prices have gone up here and so are my relatives. We try to buy organic food -not as easily available because the government here never confessed to the public that we were eating rotten cannibal meat up to 1996 when the animal by products then had to be taken out of animal food :eek:, and it so expensive here.The regulations of dairy products is ridiculous and right now I am paying $26 kilo for non organic striploin. Car insurance is much cheaper in the UK, including for our teens-$600 extra per child we paid here; my relatives only paid 75 pounds. Heating bills- well, we are not living in an extremely cold climate any more and with an R2000 home we still paid $3000 last year for our heating/hot water and that was keeping house temp at 18 degrees Celsius. It is worth a trip back to the UK to buy your clothes: decent men's shirts at M&S are only 15/20 pounds and the same quality here ( with the pleats on the right side of the shirt sleeves, please, Canadian stores :rolleyes: ) about $60+ tax. You can even get different size men's socks in the UK - not here, all one size only. The same George t-shirts for 2/3 pounds in the UK are $8 +tax here in Walmart. :confused: To finish my rant the income taxes are despicable here- average salary people - nurses, police, teachers are all in the highest bracket provincially and federally. Why do we allow our governments to get away with this? I think Canadians are nice people- they only get rid of their anger on the hockey rink with their huge support of "Hockeyfighting"- and just keep plodding on through life. :rolleyes: There is also much more vacation time available in UK-EU regulations. And finally I know several Brits who have reached retirement age, between 55 and 63 and have gone back to the UK because the social benefits are better for older people than they are here( as bad as they seem to be in the UK, notice very little is brought to our attention over here of what help is available to us when we retire) and they pay less taxes on their income. Several couples I know are now able to save money again and have greater lifestyles because all the basic costs are much cheaper. And those of you considering moving to the bigger cities welcome to the hour traffic commuting, no different to the UK.
Canada is lovely and the air to breathe is better than London but it is more expensive here and there are some awfully cold winters. Maybe we would have chosen a European country if we had to do this again but certainly would not come to Canada - too expensive, and not Australia- too hot and too far.

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

wow that rant is enough to turn me off toronto completely!! ;)

we were choosing between toronto and Oz but as you say australia is just too far...

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

That rant was not about Toronto.

I dont know anywhere round here (also not Toronto) paying $9k property taxes who is not living in a $1M+ property. Maybe Liana needs to move somewhere more reasonable.

Comments on insurance, cost of clothes, lack of vacation time etc are valid, but my property taxes are <$2k, and I pay 26% total contributions to the government, compared to my brother who hands over 33% on a similar income in the UK. I can also get perfectly nice shirts for $40, good as anything i bought in the UK. My socks fit just fine, so I guess I just hadnt notices the monosize issue.

I also dont think anyone living in the Uk will complain about the cost of beef in Canada, and I'm sure some people will welcome only an hour to commute. Used to take me 45 mins to get 10 miles from one side of Norwich to the other, and that was 9 years ago. Cant imagine its got better since. No one paying well over £ a liter is going to cry about us paying over a $ (Its $1.03 in Belleville today, was $1.07 on Friday)

My (other) brother is moving as its taking his wife over 2h each way to commute in London. His new house in Woking is over £600 thou for three beds with a small garden!!!! I doubt his air is any better or worse than the air in Toronto anyway. One big smog cloud most of the summer.

Oz and Canada are a bit chalk and cheezy. and remember, Australia, is full of Australians, while Canada is full of Canadians :D

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Yes what a rant :D Unfortunately all facts. We came to Canda because we were passionate skiers but in hindsight we should have gone to Germany or Italy. Toronto is a boring looking town. Walk round Canary Wharf and you will see exactly what it is like. And if you have a property in the UK don't sell it - keep it as a safety net. Europe values its history and most of the cities have attempted to have good conservation areas; here in Canada most cities were going through economic problems in the 50s and 60s and lots of the historical aspects have disappeared. Only Quebec City is up to the standard of European cities- and if you speak French it is a lovely place to live and work.It gets lots of federal government money- bit like Scotland :D

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Please don't be put off. Unfortunatly there's far too much British whinjing & whinning on here, most of it is just BS :rolleyes:
I can't give you any info on Toronto, but I'm sure someone will be able to give you some real info, not just the freaky shops that only sell one size socks ;)

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

thanks and i welcome as much information as possible about toronto!! positive too please!!!

thanks everyone!

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

Erm....its fairly near Niagara Falls and has a big tower that family and friends can also visit.....


Erm......


.....anyone?



Oh, yes, its convenient for the international airport.

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

hehe i have been to canada a few times so have visited all the tourist spots! thanks..

i meant information on lifestyle, standard and cost of living etc!

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

A $60,000 salary here will put you in the highest income tax level and that is an average salary for all government workers. I can't move from here because this is where our work is and my house is lovely but only 4500 sq ft and of course the taxes here are maybe peculiar to this city only, but my house is probably just below a million in value but nowhere near the 1 to 2million pound properties my family have in London or the $2 million properties owned by relatives in Australia - they are all beautiful houses and mush cheapere to maintain. If you want lower income taxes go to Alberta but then one would have to spend much more to purchase property. I don't know where you get your $40 shirts from but they are probable 50/60% polyester. Try getting a decent 70% cotton shirt from even Moores and the regular price would be as I quoted and if you check out the manufacturing they are no way near as well made as those in the UK and I think that is because lots of men here don't wear suits every day to work as they do in the UK, unless you work on Ottawa or downtown Toronto. Anyway let me know where you shop please :)

Re: Misconception on cost of living
 

:scared: I'm sure you will struggle on :rolleyes: