Move to Windsor?
 

Hello,

I am not a British expat as such, but came across this forum whilst doing research about a potential move to Windsor.

Just to introduce myself quickly, I am Anthony, 28 from France. I have been working in London for 3 and a half years now, and my company is currently preparing a package offer for me to move to Windsor for a few years as an expat.

I have been doing some research about life over there, but I guess some more updated views would be welcome in terms of lifestyle .. most importantly, how safe is it? I would be moving there with my wife, so I guess I prefer to be cautious.

Also, I would be grateful if someone could give me an idea in terms of cost of living, i.e. is there any rule of thumb to know roughly the equivalent salary of what I am currently earning in London. Found a cost of living comparator on numeo website, but not really sure this is fully accurate.

Kind of new with the expatriation process (and what to think about during my negociation), so I guess any tips on anything would be really useful!

Thanks in advance.

Anthony

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Certainly your rent/accommodation will be cheaper unless you dramatically upscale.

To protect yourself I'd want the exchange rate of $1.8 to the GBP then I'd think you may be a little better off.

What is your profession and what do you earn? What have they offered you?

I've never been to Windsor but a friend owns a winery down there. It won't be anymore dangerous than London and is very close to the US border.

I do here that the kids in the US head up to Windsor to get drunk a lot because the age limit is lower.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Thanks James, really useful.
Just to be sure, when you say "to protect yourself I'd want the exchange rate of 1.8CAD" do you mean fixing the rate?
I do work in commodity trading business (agricultural commodities) and I earn 42k. Converted into CAD at current exchange rate it would be around 77k .. I am still waiting for the firm offer from my company (likely to arrive next week), but I would imagine there would be a slight increase in salary. It looks comfortable, but obviously I would have to cope with only one income as it will quite likely take time for my wife to find a job .. So basically is 80k enough to live comfortably for two people?

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Yes. I think $80k in that part of the world is pretty good.

You can check out real estate and rentals here. Home

You can rent a 2 bed place for around $1200 per month and your take home would be $4,600 per month.

You'd have a reasonable life style on that salary and once your wife starts working you'd be pretty comfortable and probably able to save quite a bit.

To help you with some other costs. Your hydro will likely be around $90 per month. Cable and wifi $140. Cell phone with data around $80 per month.

My car when arrived with repayment and insurance was $550 per month. Fuel will depend on how much you drive.

So I'd anticipate your disposable each week to be around $600 to $700 after your costs. Food is marginally more expensive here.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

You can do most of your shopping across the border in Detroit and fill the car up while you are there. This will save you $$$

4 hours drive to Chicago, now that's a bonus.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Brilliant thanks a lot James it's a lot clearer. Just have to wait for the official offer now but at least I know that even without any "extras" we should be alright ..

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

hi bats thanks for the info, do you live yourself in Windsor?

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

No but I know someone who lives near there. They shop over the border. it looks ok, a little dull and remote but that's Canada for you.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Hi,

Actually got my offer, and would like to get a bit more details regarding average utility costs in Canada .. so from what James is saying, should be as following basis a 2 bedroom flat:
- $90 for hydro
- $140 for cable and wifi
- what about gas and electricity ?
My company offered me a utility allowance of 92GBP / month, but I have the impression it won't cover all the costs, so trying to get a better view on it.
Thanks in advance!

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

In the case of a flat this, and hydro, would usually be included in the rent.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

The Hydro mentioned above is your Electricity and Water combined.

Our house has a large addition which is heated and cooled separately to the main part of the house so we have two furnaces and two air conditioners. Our annual hydro is approx $1530 and annual gas $1044. Combined monthly about $220. Its very difficult to compare utility costs as different people run their homes in very different ways. Some people keep their homes at sauna levels in the winter and ice blocks in the summer, others don't and it makes for a large variation in costs.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Is it really? Hydro in Ontario IME means electric. If you own a house the water & sewage bill comes separately. Perhaps it's different in a rental?

To OP Anthony; Windsor, although a bit economically depressed, has one of the milder climates available in Canada outside of Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. It's still a bit shit though.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

In Peterborough city we had Hydro and water in the same bill. In the county they are separate. So I spose it depends.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

In my region, Halton, which covers several towns in the area the Water Bills are sent out by the Hydro Company with the Electricity Bill. I sort of assumed it was the same everywhere, is it not? Who do you pay your water charges to?

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Here up north in Ontario hydro is just electricity. We're on a well but if we were in town, we would pay water and sewerage charge as part of property tax to the municipality.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

We pays water bills to the municipality, hydro to Hydro One.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

In Richmond Hill electricity bills go to Powergen (or something like that) while water & sewage bills are paid to the Town.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Everything is relative.

$80k in Windsor is far better than GBP42k in London, IMHO... if it's a suburban lifestyle you're after. Don't expect the amazing culture found in London. Or be able to jet off to fabulous holiday locations for Ryanair prices.

Car insurance will be a shock. For a new immigrant like you, it can easily be $300-$400 per month per person.

Novo calls the weather "a bit shit", but compared to the climate of say London, or (considering you're French) Nord/Pas De Calais or Meuse, it's probably fantastic. Windsor has more sunshine hours than Bordeaux or Toulouse, same summer temperatures. Winters are obviously cold and snowy.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

I meant Windsor, not the weather. It's in Canada so of course the weather is shit.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

California or Cote d'Azur it ain't, but I enjoy the weather where I am - Southern Ontario. Heaps of sunshine, and every season is radically different so you never get bored. Only 3 months in the year are gloomy: Nov, Dec and Jan, and that sure beats the 9 gloomy months you get in the UK :)

And even in gloomy December, Toronto gets double the amount of sunshine hours compared to London. That's still not a lot, of course.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Jolly good. Dream on. Gloomy it may not be, but December, January, February, March and April are totally unacceptable.

If you're lucky it may be OK in the second half of May until the end of June but then it becomes unbearably hot and humid until mid-September.

After that, six whole weeks of Fall until the whole f***ing shit starts all over again.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

I love February. Although dark by Canadian standards, it's already sunnier than May or August in the UK (percentage-wise). It's also the driest month.

I guess my taste is influenced somewhat by growing up in one of the most rainy and cloudy places on the planet.

A chacun son gout.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Thanks a lot for all the information, extremely useful. I was actually also wondering about the cost of having a car, so thanks for that too FlyingDutchMan. A company car is included in my salary, but it seems public transport in Windsor is quite limited, which means my wife would need a car too. So you would reckon $300-$400 / month just for the insurance?

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Hello! I have finally accepted the offer, so I will likely move to Windsor in October. I would like to start looking at potential housing opportunities, but I am struggling to find many websites with rental offers. What would you suggest? I am currently looking on mls.ca and kijiji. Any other websites would be highly appreciated! Thanks! Anthony

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Try Apartments for Rent: Find rentals in Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver – GottaRent.com

Edit, I checked they have several Windsor apartments, not many houses but a previous post suggested you were looking for an apartment.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Thanks HGerchikov, weirdly though I receive an error message when trying to go on this website .. something like "ERROR the request could not be satisfied. Generated by cloudfront". Will try to find a solution with that. Thanks anyway!

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

I got the same error message. viewit.ca has a bunch of apartments for rent in Windsor though.

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Website is gottarent.com

Something weird happened with the link, sorry

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

There's this one too www.rentalguru.ca

Re: Move to Windsor?
 

Hi there.....I haven't been on here for a while, moving house etc.....just wondered wot was happening and came across this thread.....I live down here in Windsor (well the outskirts in Amherstburg) I am 10 mins from Windsor.....anything u want to know about the local area ask away....i'm in my late 40's and are a family of 4....we are all British, moved over here 13 years ago when my boys were 5 and 7....if u need any help with areas, where to shop etc....