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Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Old Nov 15th 2018, 2:19 pm
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Default Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Hello everyone,
Background:
I've recently started a post to discuss relocation packages as I'm in early stages of planning to relocate to Vancouver on a 18-24 months contract. I've created a separate thread to discuss cost of living and budgeting for a family of 2 adults + baby + dog living in rented (furnished/unfurnished) Townhouse in Zones 2 or 3 (near enough to Sytrain station). Whilst I've not secured a job offer yet, I intend to transfer from my current employer to a sister company in Vancouver and am in process of justifying my role, intentions, timescale, benefits and cost savings. The next step is to come to Vancouver for a couple weeks in Dec to carry out an audit and put together a proposal (including salary expectations). The role it self falls within Implementation Project (IT) Management, specialising in Logistics sector.
Next Steps:
Put together a relative budget for cost of living and relocating to Vancouver based on current/desired lifestyle to understand if the income (after tax) is achievable with single salary as my wife will focus on looking after our daughter. I'm now reaching out to my fellow expats living or have lived in BC/Vancouver to give me some guidance on whether or not my estimates (based on a similar lifestyle currently in UK) are realistic based on my family size and preferred location. Also if there are hidden costs I've missed or need to be aware of before I move, please let me know. I'll be happy to share this template afterwards if others find it useful. Thanks in advance!

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Old Nov 15th 2018, 3:41 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Great template, and glad to see I am not the only one who budgets annually - I do this for all my known annual expenses so we know on a monthly basis how much we need to put aside each month.

A couple of small things I would add are tires for both cars, most people will change out summers or all seasons for winters so allow about 1500-2000 for tires each year. Maybe not in Vancouver but certainly in the Interior where we are. Also suspect house insurance will be much higher. Do you ski? Factor in annual season passes for the family if you do. As for furniture dont let anyone tell you it isnt enough, for sure it all looks low for new furniture which I find very expensive here, but we made do with used stuff from facebook marketplace and kijiji etc for the first few months which we got some absolute bargains! $50 for a couch and loveseat anyone!? $40 for a sofa-bed for the basement suite. An unused queen bed free from an elderly lady who had it in her spare room and was moving to a single room. If you arent too picky of course.

Ref the car insurance you will get a maximum of 8yrs no claims in BC. And make sure you follow the ICBC instruction for what they want as evidence to the letter, and I do mean absolutely precisely, they do not budge on their requirements and the wording required. If you havent already check this https://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving...residents.aspx . It can be hard to get UK insurance companies to understand what you need and why but do persist or you will be stung with much higher insurance.

Good luck!
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Old Nov 15th 2018, 3:55 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Thanks, noted. As we're only planning on the one car, it should be a bit cheaper, but also surprising how high the cost is compared to UK. It may be part of the lease agreement but will check. If I'm renting, I'll only need contents insurance. I do snowboard and MTB so yes, will factor it in for my wife and I.
In terms of furniture, I've gone to Ikea online and added 28 items into basket which gave me the final number of around $5k but yes, I've no issues with second where possible (just not my mattress :O). Great tip, will review the link provided.
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Old Nov 15th 2018, 4:07 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Snow tires are mandatory outside the LM and Fraser Valley.
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Old Nov 15th 2018, 8:36 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

As Aviator says, you HAVE to have winter tires with either the M+S (mud+snow) or the better in snow ones with the mountain+snowflake mark if you intend to travel outside the Lower Mainland .... and that means going up to Whistler, or even up to Grouse Mountain, Cypress Bowl or Seymour Mountain in the Vancouver area, as you will be far from popular with others if you get stuck in your car because of the wrong tires. Plus the police issue fines for that.

The season that you have to have winter tires suitable for snow is October1 - Mrch 31 (April 30 in some areas).

If you are renting a house with garden, you will have to maintain the garden, including the grass outside the property and on the boulevard between the sidewalk and the road if you are in Vancouver ....... that means needing garden equipment such as lawn mower, spade, if not supplied by the owner OR paying for someone else to do the work.

As a guide, we now pay $80 month for someone to mow our grass twice a month inside the garden and on the outside strips and boulevards as we are a corner house.

Do you use re-usable diapers or disposables?? Did you include the cost of those?

Dry cleaning?

Cost of laundry supplies, etc.

How often do you intend to dine out at $150/month? Would you need a babysitter for that time ............. estimate $10-30 an hour for an evening babysitter depending on how many people are offering it and how old they are.
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Old Nov 15th 2018, 10:10 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

I was a bit blown away at $14,400 for takeaways and dining out! $277 a week on eating out.
Dentist, even with extended health it is not all covered 100%.
Clothes and groceries might be a bit light.
Glad not to be on the receiving end of your gift giving!
Hobbies seems light too, but depends what you do I guess, maybe not much time between all those vacations. A winter pass for grouse is $825 per adult.
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Old Nov 15th 2018, 10:20 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

$50 a week for alcohol will buy you 4 CHEAPIE bottles of wine and that's it. You know your drinking habits, but we wouldn't make it to mid-week that for sure!!
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 3:08 am
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Aviator ............... Commonly only 2 weeks of vacation, much to the distress of most immigrants!
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 3:37 am
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Don't forget snow removal / de-icing of steps / pathways too - occupants are responsible for the path to the front door and the sidewalk in front of the property if you live in a single family home - plus you'll need to do the driveway if you have a vehicle.. so that means at absolute minimum snow shovels and salt (and boots) - or if you have a corner lot potentially a snow blower. https://sci-bc.ca/snow-rules/

If you don't have a 'benefits' package to cover the cost of medications etc., then $50 may not get you much if any of you becomes ill and requires medications (prescriptions). You have to pay the full cost here unless you have a benefits package through your employer (which you quite often have to contribute towards) and you may still have a percentage to pay on top.

$300 may not buy you much garden furniture, it's not cheap - unless you intend to get a few canvas folding chairs and a plastic table from Canadian Tire or Walmart, lol. Don't forget a sun shade especially with a little one. You may want outside toys - a slide / paddling pool. You'll also need a few gardening tools, a hosepipe and money for plants / plantpots. Don't forget a bbq and a cooler!

Bedding, sheets, pillows, duvets, towels, tea towels, washcloths - basic essentials can all be found at Walmart - or even Amazon.ca (if you have Prime, even better!). Kitchen small appliances such as toaster, toaster oven, coffee maker/cafetiere, microwave, kettle, food mixer etc., - either Walmart or Canadian Tire. Don't forget Glassware, Cutlery, Crockery, Pots, Pans, kitchen utensils, can/bottle opener; baby equipment such as a high chair, stair gates, plug covers. Also basic cooking supplies.. it soon adds up. The only things provided in a rental (apart from AirBnB properties) will be the Fridge/Freezer and Stove - and if you are lucky a washer and dryer - but you might have to factor in laundry costs if you don't have them. Also might be an idea to factor in an amount for cabs - you may not always be home when your wife needs to get somewhere.

Factor in basic winter clothing for you all.. but wardrobes are generally built in here, so no need to purchase them. A couple of dressers - and hangers galore - together with 'night stands' and beds should be enough. You'll need bedside lamps too - and lamps for the living room - there's often no central ceiling light in the living room / lounge

Last edited by Siouxie; Nov 16th 2018 at 4:55 am.
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 4:25 am
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

If in a townhouse complex with a strata probably wont have much snow shovelling as the strata should be taking care of such things.

Winter tires in BC dont really mean a true winter tires, BC accepts all season M+S with the minimum tread as a legal winter tire even though really they are not a winter tire, and perform poorly on the mountain highways, fine within the lower mainland though for the most part.

Can also get all weather with the snow flake which are better then all season M+S and can be used year round.
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 7:01 am
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Wow, some great advice here, so here we go (will add these comments to original image):
@Scilly
generally I do my own gardening (mowing lawn, etc) and my wife tends to take care of the cleaning, laundry, etc (although I help out where I can). Nonetheless, I will factor in $200 per quarter/bimonthly for gardener and cleaner just in case things get out of control and add gardening equipment to Relocation costs. We use disposable nappies and are factored into groceries. Dinning out and baby sitting above are accounting for this, but we’ve some good friends in Langley who’ve offered to help.
@Aviator
You’re right, $14.4k pa does seem excessive, but when broken down I think it’ll covers us, so:
Takeaway dinners 2x $30 pw ($60) + Work lunch 5x €12 pw ($60) + Wife & baby lunch out 2x $15 pw ($30) = $150
Dinning (& Drinking) out 2x $75 pw = $150
Alcohol = 1x bottle of wine + 6x pack of beers = $50
Dentist in UK we still pay £50+ towards fillings on NHS so I’ll need to have a reserve fund for this and medication, will aim to put away $50 pm and may have to take a hit on a specific month but adjust other things down (ie dinning out). Although I’ve been advised to stock up on prescriptions and get dental/medical check ups before We go.
Clothes we’ll be shipping over (inc winter jackets etc) and generally we don’t go through clothes that quickly (only baby)
Hobbies, (what hobbies now that we’ve a baby :P) not sure on this one either but basing it on spend currently
Gifts - secret Santa with $20 limit, can’t go wrong lol! We don’t do huge gifts to each other and most of money now goes towards baby (captured in toys section) we just have weekend breaks instead (captured in holidays) and also we won’t knkw many people to give gifts to (I’ll be damned if I’m expected to ship presents back to UK)

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Old Nov 16th 2018, 3:12 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

As a side note for dentist, a friends wife is in for $20,000 for her dental work, none covered by any dental plan.
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 5:40 pm
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We have Dental Insurance, and it seems to cover between 50-80% of treatment .............. about 60% covered for each 6 monthly check-up and clean, %age for other treatments varies greatly.

That's about the same percentage coverage as the package that OH had through his employer before he retired.

I should point out that his employer only paid 50% of any premiums, whether that was for the BC MSP, Extended Health or Dental, so there was a monthly deduction from his pay cheque. If I remember correctly that amounted to over $100 a month for a family of 3 (it's a lot of years since that).
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 6:23 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Originally Posted by scilly
We have Dental Insurance, and it seems to cover between 50-80% of treatment .............. about 60% covered for each 6 monthly check-up and clean, %age for other treatments varies greatly.

That's about the same percentage coverage as the package that OH had through his employer before he retired.

I should point out that his employer only paid 50% of any premiums, whether that was for the BC MSP, Extended Health or Dental, so there was a monthly deduction from his pay cheque. If I remember correctly that amounted to over $100 a month for a family of 3 (it's a lot of years since that).
Some things, such as implants and associated work are not covered at all, nor is cosmetic I believe, so dental can be pricey.
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Old Nov 16th 2018, 9:58 pm
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Default Re: Cost of Living Vancouver (2018)

Originally Posted by Aviator
Some things, such as implants and associated work are not covered at all, nor is cosmetic I believe, so dental can be pricey.
not everyone needs to budget for dental work though. It depends on each individual's situation. I for example spend $130 per year on cleaning and a check-up. I have done that for the past 15 years in Canada and the previous 20 in Europe. I have no crowns, no fillings, nothing. I have no private insurance for dental either. I am not budgeting for dental work for the future . Should I lose a tooth because of old age some day, I'll probably have it done though :-) Not like some Canadians who you can pay a nice compliment by saying "nice tooth.."
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