Fionhun

I know it's not something everyone will want to comment on, but can you give me a rough idea of what would be considered a "good" salary in Alberta? Is the cost of living much cheaper than the UK for food, gas, utilities etc? Have been told recently that 40,000 CAD is pretty much like 40,000 GBP when cost of living taken into account but after reading the thread on take home pay I am wondering if we have been painted a somewhat rosy picture!

Hubby's projected income is more than 40 k p/a anyway but wanted some expert input

Also, when it comes to moving over is there a bottom line amount to bring, I understand the more the better but just wondered if there is a point where it is really not feasible?

Has anyone ever taken a 'pay cut' to move over and has it worked or not?

Sorry for all the ? just want to carry out a little fiscal viability research, don't want to make such a big decision with blinkers on or my head in the sand

iaink

"Good" really is going to depend on what the job is. $40k working in McDonalds is good, as a cardioligist though it sucks. You might get paid enough to get by comfortably, but if the person at the next desk is getting 25% more to do the same job, you wont be too happy anyway.

That $ = £ thing is very out of date now too I'm afraid, I expect a recruiter told you that maybe?

Property might seem cheap (although maybe not in Calgary anymore), but everything else with the exception of petrol costs pretty much the same here as in the UK, some stuff is cheaper, but some living expenses are a lot higher. The exchange rate is what?, over 2 to 1 at the moment.

The average household expenditure in Alberta is in excess of $70k per annum according to stats canada, and thats using 2004 data. House prices in some areas may have doubled since then.

However, there is more to life than money. There are more than a few "cost of living" type threads here , the most recent one was called "misconception on cost of living" ...its over here Only you can really decide how much you can get by on. I wouldnt want to live here with an income much less than $50 or 60k, but people do, and everyone has different tollerance levels and expectations.

poll72000

You can search the threads for cost of living. I know there was a big discussion about it a couple of weeks ago.
I would think $40 K a year was a bit tight for anywhere in Can. We are a family of 5 with one wage and just get by on $54 K . Wouldn't change it though. The most important thing when you do come out is not to keep converting to GBP (thinking everythings cheap) once you start earning $$ they stretch about as far as your GBP does now.

burton bunch

Don't ever apologise on this site for ?'s. Most of us have new ones everyday.

We are also having to take a pay cut. My hubby is an accoutant and has been offered a starting salary of CAD$ 75k which compared to the uk is about CAD$ 15K per year drop in salary. However this is not a huge problem for us we will hve to be more thrifty if you know what I mean and buy more stuff in bulk it's the quality of life for us and our kids which means more that CAD$ 15K.

Before anyone says "wish we had that as a salary" I know that we are not in a disadvantage scenario and appreciate that people will not be getting that amount of money.

I have friends out there who make very little more than that off two businesses and do more tht fine and have a 2000Sqft house, 3 kids, trailer and motor boat and two vehicles.

My opinion is that it is what you make it. You either sit on your butt and say no not gonna do it because of x y and z and spend the rest of your lives saying what if.

Butch Cassidy

60-70k is a struggle for a family of 4 in Calgary.
HTH

dbd33

I came to Canada for twice the money I was being paid in the UK. I can't see why anyone would come here other than for more money as the move entails giving up abstract things; family, history, beauty. To me moving only makes sense if that loss is balanced by the ability to buy more stuff and that means being paid more, not less.

I pay more than $40,000 pa in spousal support. I'm not well off and the recipient is not well off; that's just not a lot of money.

Steve_P

I am retired and my wife and I live quite comfortably on about $45,000 per year before taxes.

BUT we don't have a mortgage and at present we don't have a car payment. We could afford the car payment but a mortgage payment with todays housing prices is very much out of the question.

If I were younger and had children living at home I wouldn't want to be trying to survive on that figure, people manage to do it, however I'm not sure how.


Cheers
Steve

iaink

On the other hand you also gain a lot of abstract things too, and even some material things.

more space, different weather, less stressful lifestyle, new experiences.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder too. But I too came here for more money, although Im not sure what happened to it. I dont even have an ex to blame!

Fionhun

Thanks so much for all the replies

Hubby will start around the 70k mark and may also be able to earn overtime on top. I would also hope to find a job, preferably in SEN (see SEN jobs thread) but will take anything if it means the family are fine.

Feel better for all the comments - yes there is more to life than money but its hard to think that if you are lying awake at night worrying about it!

However I think if we are given the opportunity we will MAKE it work Thanks everyone.

dbd33

If one lives in east end Toronto and drinks in the Feathers the lifestyle is barely different from that in Camden Town except that Toronto is certainly uglier than London. I have become experienced here though, I can't argue about that.

hudd

This was our experience moving to Calgary

We moved to Calgary from Suffolk in 1997. First job was $40k p.a compared to a £40k+ p.a in the UK. Found basic living costs(housing, food, car etc) were 85% of my take home pay compared to about 45% in the UK.

In the UK (1997) our bills were £460 per month against $1265 a month (mortgage, heating, electricity, council tax, water/sewage, home insurance and TV etc). We purchased a 4 bed house just outside Calgary which was not much bigger as we had in Suffolk(250 sq ft more).

I had kept some records for comparison when we lived just outside
Calgary 1997-1999
Food/household stuff $900/mth against £360
Council/property tax $1900 pa against £600
Electricity $100/mth against £25
Heating $150/mth against £40
Water/Sewage $75/mth against £40
Petrol $200/mth against £60

Junk food was cheap, i.e burger & fries. cheaper goods in Walmart/Dollar stores etc. Quality goods found expensive.
You travel more distance p.a due to size of country, its hotter and colder so you use more power than the UK.

We supplemented my income using saving for over 2+ years.

$70+k in Alberta is more realistic for a family income if you expect a reasonable lifestyle at shown in Stats Canada.

We returned to the UK in 2005 and found many of our bills are lower than when we lived in Ontario. The biggest downside for us is the loss of Real Estate assets after being out of the UK housing market for 9 years.

I hope this help you.
hudd

Stuarty

I am not going to Alberta for the money, I am going for the opportunity it gives a 40ish man who want's new challenges and a better than average chance of making a good life for self and family. My Police Sgt's wage plus my wife's Superintendent Physio's wage was way way in excess of what we will start out on in Westlock( me in sales and wife a basic physio), but the potential out there is limited only by ourselves. IMHO money should never be the source of life changing decisions, you cannot ignore the drive to have a good lifestyle but money is only a small part of that (and maybe a big truck )
Just my tuppence worth.
Stuarty

Fionhun

I hear what you are saying and if it was just me and my OH there would not be a second thought However we have two girls (11 & 14) and want life to be better for them also. They have mixed feelings as can be expected and I want make the transition as easy as poss for them which means we have to consider how we are going to make ends meet.

I am sure we can make it work with the info we have received so far but we have been bitten in the past and this time want ALL info we can.

Forums like this are invaluable for getting just the kind of inside info we are looking for.

If given the opportunity we will definately go - like Nietzsche said "That which doesn't kill us .......

hudd

We moved to Alberta for lifestyle after spending 3 weeks on holiday and thought it looked a great place to raise a family. Our aim was to enjoy what it had to offer and we were not looking for the mega buck jobs.

Our problem was that we moved there in the late 1990's and the job market took a dive. I can remember the time when (AMOCO)BP oil laid off 600 Engineers in a week.

I had to take a job which at the time was not far off an Univeristy Engineering graduate was making and try and keep a family of four to a reasonable standard of living.

You do need a decent salary to enjoy Canada and maybe run that large 4x4 you have been dreaming about. If you used to a £40k+ family income you will not be able to have the lifestyle/quality of life you aspire too on $40k.

If they job market was good when we moved there, most likely we would still be living in Alberta. I agree it a beautiful place to live if you can afford to live there.

Steve_P

Well put and it is a pretty dismal place for those who are unable make ends meet.

Our provincial government is not too hospitable towards the needy.

Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you.

Cheers
Steve