Ed.D

@Julien

Hello!

I'm being offered a job in Vancouver on C$70,000 and I currently live in Manchester, UK. I'm trying to work out if that's a realistic salary for a single person to live comfortably in Vancouver. That converts to around £40,000, and for sure, I couldn't live on that salary in the UK on my own.

I know tax rates are less in Canada e.g. 20% on a $70k salary (I think) rather than the 40% I was paying here (I was on £56k), and my outgoings would be less in Canada. The employers in Canada have said it's not as straightforward as just converting the costs but it'd be great to hear from anyone who's done the move.

For example it looks like average rent for a 1 bed apartment in Vancouver is around $2000-$2500, and after tax on a $70k salary in Vancouver, if I've used the right site to check, income would be around $4500, which leaves under $2000 left for everything else - bills, food, travel etc, (ideally some savings too). Looking at prices for groceries it does look like the cost is about the same day-to-day as the UK, so I just don't know if what I'd have left is realistic?

Any help appreciated, thank you!

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

If your current salary is £56k then $70k is nowhere close. The general advice on the forum is for at least 1.8 times your UK salary for a similar quality of life so that would be just over $100k.

Have you checked to see if that’s a fair wage for the job? To get a visa you’ll need to be paid at least the median rate for it, so if it’s a lowball offer you may not be able to move anyway. What NOC code/job is it?

Those in Vancouver will be able to tell you for sure but my guess is you could live on that salary, but it may be tight and you may not want to move for a life where you can’t afford to take advantage of all the things Vancouver has to offer.

Also, not sure where you’re reading that your tax rate would be 20%? It might be for the Federal rate but what about your provincial tax and other deductions such as EI etc? I’d use a tax calculator to check your actual rate, I suspect it’ll be nearer 30%, so probably similar to your UK rate (you’ll only pay 45% on a small proportion of your salary - your rate will be much less overall).

The lovely folks in Vancouver will be awake soon to help I’m sure. Best of luck with it.

Ed.D

Thanks for the help, I'm using the tax calculator on Turbo Tax (forum won't let me link it) that shows after tax for the year it's approx $54k, which I'm then dividing by 12 to give monthly income after I've put money away for tax. Is that right?

Not sure what the code for the role is but it's a Senior Designer job for a website, but now I've googled the averages in Canada for senior designers it's showing me between $90-100k, am I being low balled? £40k is low for a senior designer role even in the UK where it'd be closer to £50-60k, but I've been told salaries may be comparatively low compared to the UK so I shouldn't expect as much?

Ed.D

Correction - the $90-100k was just searching senior designer, this is actually senior graphic designer which is coming out at $60-80k

christmasoompa

Yes, that sounds about right - more than 20% then, 30%ish? So similar to your tax rate in the UK and no advantage really.

If salaries are lower for that job in Canada than the UK (I've no idea) then I guess you just have to do some careful calculations and work out if it would be worth it - your cost of living is likely to be higher in Vancouver than Manchester.

Are they offering you much of a relocation package? That may well make a big difference too.

Ed.D

Yeah, I did some more detailed calculations today looking at tax, utilities, internet, phone, then general day-to-day costs - food transport etc, and $70k really leaves nothing left to save or pay easily for extra things like weekend trips or flights home. Living in Vancouver wouldn't be incredible but as you say, not if I can't afford to live a good life there and do the things I'd want to do.

No relocation package as far as I'm aware, so maybe I need to do some bartering!

christmasoompa

You absolutely do! It's going to cost you £10k minimum to move, the more you can get them to contribute towards that the better.

Best of luck.

JonboyE

I think this is a fair summary. $70k will give you roughly $4,475 a month after tax. A one bed apartment in Vancouver costs over $2,500 a month these days, up to $3,000 downtown, so you will have less than $2,000 a month for everything else. Perfectly doable if you really want to try living in Vancouver and are not too fussed about much else. It is not a material standard of living most emigrants seem to aspire to.

JonboyE

The basic combined federal and provincial tax rate in BC is 20.06%. This is on income up to $48k. With the personal tax allowances the tax on $70k is $11,533 or an effective rate of $16.48%. There will be CPP and EI on top of this for total withholdings of $16,290 or 23.28%.

christmasoompa

Thanks for checking that. Almost identical to the UK then, just did a quick calculator and looks like 26.8% overall on the OP's UK's salary of £56k.

Seems the salary on offer in Vancouver is $27k ish less than the OP is on currently, hopefully s/he can negotiate that up. I'm not sure I'd move to Vancouver to take a pay cut personally.

Ed.D

Thanks for the replies all, it’s a tough one to weigh up. For context - I was made redundant in Nov last year from the £56k role, and while the Vancouver offer is a step down in salary, the job is a once in a lifetime opportunity at a company I really want to work for, so I’d regret it forever if I didn’t take the offer. Plus, I’m very outdoorsy and always wanted to live abroad.

But, the last thing I’d want to do is move somewhere and be living hand to mouth and not be able to do the things I want to do, or mess this prospective employer around.

Anyway, it’s good to get a better understanding of the figures and tax though and to be realistic. Maybe I can find extra income somehow if I move!

christmasoompa

That does help actually, in which case I think I'd say push for as much relocation as possible and try and get them up on the salary, but I'd go for it. Particularly if it's an employer you've always wanted to work for, as who knows what that could lead to. Just make sure that you have enough money to do those outdoorsy things you want to do - would be awful to move and then have to sit in a bedsit not able to afford to go out anywhere!

Worth noting though that if you move on a work permit, you can't work for anybody else on it (you're tied to that employer), so there will be no chance to top up your salary unless you get Permanent Residency. Do you have property in the UK you can rent out maybe? That could be a good way to give you a bit more income if so.

Best of luck to you.

scilly

Does the offer from the company include any health benefits??

Medical and dental costs can be very high if there is no such benefit package.

One other thing to consider is that the vacancy rate for apartments in Vancouver is very low, and many people are unable to find one even if they can afford the rent, so you might have to look at neighbouring cities in Metro Vancouver. That would add transportation costs.

Ed.D

There is a decent benefits package on offer that includes healthcare, so that's a bonus.

On the work permit - I wouldn't be on one so would have some freedom to find extra income, no property to rent out in the UK though.

And that doesn't surprise me on the competitiveness of the rental market - same as in the UK!

Thanks

christmasoompa

What visa would you be on then? IEC?