thepeacock

ok so my guess is a Canadian earning $45k per annum is much better off than a person in the UK making £25K p.a. right?

el_richo

If the person in Canada is living downtown Vancouver whilst the person in UK is living in small town Yorkshire then i would say no.

thepeacock

so you picked the most extreme case as opposed to the average... So on average.......

If I lived in Merthyr Tydville £25k I'd be a lord...

el_richo

Ok, in all seriousness, it is a very subjective question and would rely on specifics to glean a realistic answer.

Where would life be located on such incomes?
What is considered "better off"?
What lifestyle are you used to (rural, city, dining out, cars, how many kids, etc)?
And so on.

mrwilson

I was kinda hoping someone would say, you know what mrwilson, C$40,000 will buy you the same kind of things in Regina that your £25,000 is buying you right now in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Many people have mentioned that the cost of living when all said and done, generally evens out as the same UK v CA, so with that in mind, I should hope to achieve the equivalent salary to be able to afford a similar lifestyle. I didn't think it was as cut and dry as to use the exchange rate (which has closed 20% over last 10 years) to work out what I salary I should look for. We will be taking savings which will help plug any gaps, and my wife will look for work which will increase our household income. But we cannot rely on her gaining employment.

el_richo

I'd suggest you do some in-depth due diligence into where you're looking live in Canada. Find out the cost of property/rentals in the areas you like. Research the cost of utilities in the area/province. Look into grocery costs. Home/Car insurance costs. Vehicle running costs. And so on.

How much does the above mean you'll need to earn (after tax) to live the way you'd be happy?

You get the drift.

Atlantic Xpat

Well MRWilson howabout doing this:

Find out what take home pay is on $40k CAD by using the taxtips calculator here: http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/taxcalculator.htm

Work out what you will need to spend on rent/mortgage (www.realtor.ca will help on this).

Work out whether you will need to buy a car. Likely yes. Only you know whether you will be bringing funds over to cover this or not. Used cars are not cheap in Canada so figure spending at least $10k.

Resign yourself to spending $2-3k p.a. on car insurance.

Figure spending $300 a month (averaged across the year on heating/cooling)

Figure spending $100 a month or so on TV / Internet. (could be less, could be more).

Assume groceries will largely even out with the UK in cost. Some you win, some you lose.

See what that all leaves you with on your $40k. How does that compare with your budget/standard of living in the UK? You can now answer the 'is this going to work question'.

mrwilson

Thanks everyone for your ideas and help with external websites on this subject. I really appreciate your time.

airbornesapper

I don't agree with the blanket statement on car car insurance.

I do know Newfoundland can be expensive and certainly many personal factors come into play, but our current cost is 1100 bucks (maximum no claims applied) for full coverage on two vehicles registered in NB.

Last year our electric bill (heating by electric) was 2400 bucks (house is 2000 sq ft + basement); the house is certainly well insulated.

bodgerx

You are in Vancouver though aren't you? SK is probably cheaper to live in...

Rob_999

It really varies, but no on average I don't you'd be much better off on $45k in Canada. A multiple on salary for someone moving from like to like (eg London to Vancouver) and wanting same standard of living would be in the 1.8 to 2 range.

PeterF

Also where in SK?

I'm in Saskatoon. I find food shopping here is quite expensive when compared to Ontario.

Renting a property can be quite expensive too. Dependiong on what you want and where.

JGK

I've recently moved from Ontario (just outside GTA) to Saskatoon would agree with the commented about prices (for some items). However, I,m paying less in rent than I was when I rented in Oakville 3 years ago. I'm also in one of the expensive areas for rents.

PeterF

Don't forget that Saskatchewan is as close you can get to a communist state as well.

Evertything is controlled by the local governement, I thought Ontario was bad for competition (or lack of it), here is worse.

Novocastrian

Which communist state is Saskatchewan close to? Montana?