What is a decent salary?
 

hi again everyone, I feel like I'm constantly posting on here so bear with me......my husband will have his formal job offer arriving beginning of next week for a inter company transfer to the GTA. He has been told by the canadian boss that it will be minimum 80000 CAD plus company car. Is this a good salary for a family of 4? This will be a minimum total salary as my plan is to also work but want to wait until our children are settled before rushing to work but just wondered if this salary was decent enough to start with?

We would be looking at renting a 3 bed house around Burlington but happy to look at Kitchener also.

Any help greatly appreciated.......again!

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

800,000 is quite a lot. On that money you could eat out every week.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I wish it was that much.......:rofl:my brain is frazzled. Obviously meant to say 80000 CAD!

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

We are a family of 4 with 2 school age children and could not live on that wage in the GTA, not sure about kitchener,

The GTA is expensive, I would try push for more if you can.
Your take home pay per month will be about 4800, Rent could easily take up half of that.
If your living out of Toronto (TTC) you will need to run a car as well as your partner (we don't own one so not sure of the cost)

I note you said you may start working too, you will have to look at the cost of daycare for after school and for the long summer (unless the kids are old enough to stay home alone) - I found this cost eye watering for acceptable programs and decided it was cheaper to stay home.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Yes that is a decent wage, and if it is to be topped up by your extra income you should be fine in regards to 'surviving'.
You would certainly get a bit more for your money in Kitchener, but there is a reason for that.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Thanks for the info. Yes he will be pushing for more regardless of what gets offered. He will get getting a company car so at least there will only be one car that we need to pay for.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Thanks for the info. Would be interested to know the reasons for Kitchener?

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Burlington rental prices have gone up a lot over the past year or so, you can expect to have to pay $1900-$2500 for a 3 bedroom house.

https://www.rentcompass.com/burlington-houses-for-rent

I don't think 80k for family of 4 living in Toronto would be enough, but if you are going to live outside of Toronto it may be. Have you checked the expected salary is the average/above average (glassdoor or indeed.ca would help you ascertain this) for Toronto?

You can use the taxtips calculator to work out his nett income: TaxTips.ca - Basic Canadian Income Tax Calculator for 2017 and earlier years

He may be liable for tax on the company car, I believe.. and I wouldn't want to be driving to Toronto every day - so perhaps look for somewhere near to the GoTrain or similar? Do make sure you will get 'benefits' (dental, medical, medications, glasses) included!

:)

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I suppose basically, in my opinion Burlington would be nicer place to live compared to Kitchener.

Where would your husband be working? Commute times will be, or should be a big consideration

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

No one on this forum would get out of bed for less than $150k a year.

$200k if you live in Vancouver :rolleyes:

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I don't think anyone would bother to move to Canada for much less.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

When converted to sterling, I'm on 3x what I earned in uk. But it took me a year and two changes of employer to get that. If you live in Calgary, almost everyone things they are entitled to and should earn over $100k for unskilled work. Amazes me! Clearly many don't.

For your information, truck drivers will earn substantially more than $80k

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I have been slapped for saying similar things in the US forum, with San Francisco and greater NYC being the areas that $200k really doesn't go very far even though it sounds like silly money. The truth however is that a family of four will be watching their pennies on $100k even in a relatively lower cost area, and won't be able to afford much of a holiday or return to the UK every year.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

It's not just that. Who'd move to Canada from the UK and put up with rubbish schools, climate, restaurants and the general dull naffness of the place unless you were going to a make a packet?

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

For the OP's sake, it should be mentioned that OInk tends to be a bit of a wind-up merchant... take what he says with a very large pinch of salt!

:p

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

The average salary in Toronto is $58k so yes it is decent.

However with 2 kids you'll likely need a second income stream if you want to save and get ahead.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Thanks for all your input.
A lot of the salaries mentioned seem to be huge and totally not within the reach of us at the moment. I'm guessing that you are in totally different employment fields as 150000 CAD is about 3 times the average wage of my husbands industry and researching my husband potential offer is already way above the average. This salary is about £12k a year more than what he earns here in the U.K And there is certainly the scope for progression with the inter company transfer to Canada.

Obviously totally understand and can see in research that we have done that rental prices are expensive.

We are not planning on living in downtown Toronto. His office will be based mainly in Kitchener but they also have offices in Mississuaga that he would need to go to occasionally but Kitchener will be the main one.

We will keep researching but 150-200k is absolutely loads of money to us and totally not in our reach so can only presume this wage is in a different industry altogether.

Good luck to you all with that salary.

Not envious at all.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I think there might have been 1 or 2 posts about wages in this thread slightly exaggerated aka taking the piss about not getting out of bed for less than 150,000;)
The average Canadian wage is around $50,000 but certain markets like Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary skew the figures. Toronto is an expensive city compared to somewhere like Regina, Winnipeg or Halifax.
[Updated November 2016] Statistics Canada recently updated their report on average salaries across the country, and it seems we’re taking home a little more than we were in 2015.

As of September 2016, the average wage for Canadian employees was $952 a week – or just under $50,000 a year. This represents a 0.4% increase over the same period last year.
https://careers.workopolis.com/advic...ges-right-now/

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Thanks for that info. Really appreciate that info.

Really just wanted to know if we could 'survive' on that salary temporarily. I will be wanting to work for my own sanity at the very least but ideally wanted to wait until kids are happy and settled before rushing off out to work.

It seems that we can certainly survive so that's good.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

But the people who survive on that sort of salary are local people, who usually have a vast support networks of family and friends not new immigrants who have none.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

You should be very careful about using the current exchange rate to calculate income and personal expenditure because the exchange rate has been quite volatile for reasons that have nothing to do with day to day expenditure or income levels, such as concerns over brexit and the fact that the Canadian dollar is heavily influenced by the price of minerals and commodities. So when the price of oil, coal, iron ore, timber, etc is high the Canadian dollar rise in value and Canada looks expensive, and when the price of commodities falls so does the Canada dollar, but that doesn't make Canada a cheaper place to live.

In other words that £12k you referred to above may be entirely illusory.
I have told them the same thing in the US forum, because it is equally true. ... Not least because they have granny and grampa to provide free daycare for infants and after school care for their children.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Hello All, I am the husband in question, so I am going to add some info with regards to the offer within Toronto, aka Kitchener.
The intra company transfer is for a role as an applications engineer for a UK based company.
My role will be customer facing, si the package will include a company car, my office location will be in Kitchener, however I will not have a regular commute as I will be visiting customer premises.
The first offer we received was 80,000 CAD plus company car, obviously I will push for more.
We will not have the family network for childcare etc, so my wife will have to do the lions share of this, plus finding suitable part time work for extra cash and to integrate into the local communities.
However please note, that we also do not have 'free childcare' here in the UK as grandparents are still working themselves, so this is a cost we already face.
We have cash behind us of just over 40,000 CAD which we hope is enough for a deposit for a house.
My main concern is that we do not relocate and be worse off financially because of this.
House rents, car insurance costs and food costs are the main concern, is it possible to be sensible with these costs, ie we already food budget in the UK with certain supermarkets, can this also be easily done in Canada?
$4800 will roughly be our income each month, and I would like to be able to put money aside regularly. Can this be done?
We are trying to build up the most informative picture we can to assist with our decision.
We have visited Canada once before and thoroughly enjoyed it, we are excited at the opportunity, but I am also fully aware of the realities of life.
Informative info you guys can pass on is priceless for us.
We are not looking for get rich quick methods in Canada, just an honest wage for an honest days work and integrate into the communities.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Welcome...it would be best if you opened your own account. It gets a little confusing otherwise. ;)

Thank you.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Push for a lot more. See below.

Sorry but $40k is peanuts for a deposit. You might, just might be able to get a $250K -$300K mortgage on the above salary. You can't buy a home for a family of four for that in Kitchener, even less so in Burlington.

With no information about your present salary and location, I can't comment on that.

HTH

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Honestly, I thing that is good salary, many immigrants would trade with you in an instant. If you are really good at your job, you will be able to negotiate your salary, to have a car thrown in too is a huge bonus, insurance and stuff to go with that is crazy expensive here, so good for you for getting that perk. It is quite unusual to get that in Canada.

Seriously though, don't try too hard to get the deal of the century until you are established, if you can integrate and be of such importance that you are irreplaceable, then you can ask for more, but don't destroy your hopes of the new life before you have made it here. Struggle by with what you have, which I am sure you will manage and then play your hand when you are in a position to negotiate. Good luck.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Hello :)

Could I ask you please to sign up with your own username? It saves a lot of confusion regarding 'who' we are talking to.. many thanks. :)

Kitchener is going to be a bit cheaper to rent in than, say, Toronto or Mississauga (as you are aware) but from searching online, there doesn't seem to be that many 3 bedroom houses available at present. Whilst Milton does have a fair few, you may want to keep Burlington in mind as there are probably more things to do and more opportunities for finding part time work. It's a lovely town, in my opinion. You could also consider Hamilton, which tends to be cheaper than Burlington and is only a little bit further.

Are you planning on renting initially until such time as you have Permanent Residency?

Vehicle insurance is a killer here! Do make sure that you bring proof of being accident free to reduce the premiums. There was a post the other day about which companies were prepared to accept UK experience when considering premiums which you might find useful: http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...idents-904594/

We have a great 'groceries' thread that may be of help in ascertaining costs.. there are 'expensive' grocery stores and cheaper ones (usually a subsidiary/part of the same chain as the expensive ones). To give you an idea of basic costs, it may be helpful to look at some of the flyers: https://www.save.ca/flyers?gclid=EAI...SAAEgJKV_D_BwE
https://flyers.smartcanucks.ca/

There are subsidies and tax credits available for children: https://www.ontario.ca/page/tax-cred...ople#section-1 but child care can be very expensive; if you children are of school age then there are before/after school clubs that can help reduce the costs. [url]http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/sport/afterschool and www.edu.gov.on.ca/kindergarten/whathappensbeforeandafterschool.html/after_school.shtml

Hope that gives you something to be going on with..

:)

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Definitely. With minimal effort - no more than comparing flyer prices and going to where the best prices are that week you can save at least 25% against normal prices. If you're prepared to do two shorter trips in a week instead of one 'big' shop - easy if rival stores are not far apart or one is near where you travel for work - you can save as much as 40%. Basics - like Milk, butter, sliced bread, coffee, eggs etc are often cheapest in the big drug stores

I'm not sure what the rules are on when you would qualify but I input your $80000 in the online child benefit calculator for two kids 8 & 10 and the monthly amount of $435 came up.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Although worth noting that if the OP is moving on a TWP (as seems to be the case), they wouldn't get that to start with.

OP, in case you've not already discovered it, this Wiki article may be useful reading. Intra-Company Transfer-Canada : British Expat Wiki I assume you'll be applying under the 'specialised knowledge' category so be aware that it's the most scrutinised category, and you will need to prove the points outlined in that Wiki article.

Good luck.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

If the job is mainly in Kitchener, with trips elsewhere, you could consider living farther out. I work in Guelph. At one time, most people I worked with commuted there from Toronto. Then Toronto became too expensive for immigrants and new recruits lived in Guelph or Kitchener, then they were too expensive and people lived in Cambridge. Now Stratford is the fashionable location. I would not wish the hell that is Cambridge upon anyone but Stratford, the little I see of it, seems pleasant enough.

It's impossible for anyone else to say if $80,000 is enough for you; we don't know how you live now or what you hope to achieve by leaving. It's not more than getting by money for a family of four but maybe that's enough for a start in a new place.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

When we "landed" in September 2017 we had a look at Kitchener/Waterloo area to buy property. Guelph a university town close by was more to our liking. House prices in https://www.zolo.ca/guelph-real-estate/trends Guelph average around $500K for a 3 bed property which roughly equates to £300K in Sterling. With a salary of $80K you are going to need more of a deposit to buy a house in Canada.

Prices in https://www.zolo.ca/kitchener-real-estate/trends Kitchener are similar, but only 52 houses sold last month with more than 650 new listings. So it looks like the Buyers have dried up and prices could drop over winter.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

In some parts of Canada.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Yes.

There are parts of Canada where $80k will still buy a palace.

Kitchener is a decent enough place. It's had a small house price boom in recent years.

A quick search on Realtor shows over a hundred 3 bedroom properties under $400,000 that are all in or very drivable to Waterloo.

Given the OP will not have the cost of a vehicle to concern him then there is less pressure on the pay check.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

How is it confusing?

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Often people complain that they don’t know which person they are talking to. It can and often does get very confusing.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

But what if he had not said he was the husband how would you have known then?

Please respond by email, if you do not receive this email please let me know :)

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Maybe not with the first post or so. Anyhow...it’s an unwritten rule that we ask people to open their own account...not piggyback on someone else’s.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

If you're looking at the move as an opportunity (career progression, adventure, lifestyle etc) then a modest initial salary (for GTA) may be fine. It's a good idea to price out a rental house and then see if the remaining monthly budget will be adequate to survive. In general groceries are slightly more expensive than in the UK, mobile phone contracts much more expensive, petrol cheaper (but longer distances) and prescription charges on medications. Kids activities, which you will probably want to do, also add significantly to the budget.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

Thanks for confirming that. We are looking online all the time and seem to find lots of 3 bed houses under the 400k so thought we were gong mad when being told it's not the case.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

My husband posted from my account so it all came from the same person.

Re: What is a decent salary?
 

I know I was just having some Sunday fun and I think separate accounts work better.

To the OP, I don’t live in Canada so cannot get specific on that subject matter but offer this. Many people choose to emigrate around the world for a myriad of reasons. Those who do so with responsibilities such as families, and who are voluntary emigrants, have imho, a careful course to chart. I think for the average UK emigrant if you are already comfortable in your lifestyle there is very little that another first world country such as Canada can offer you that you do not already have on your current doorstep. Any move will inevitably require some form of sacrifice whether it be money, friends etc. Thus the impetus to move must be something stronger than apples to apples, i.e. a desire for new experiences or a belief in building a newer/ different future for you or your family or just the sense of adventure. Howver, be under no illusion there will be changes, differences and with those challenges and difficult decisions to make along the way.
With the responsibilities of a family I would consider very careful a move (which it appears you are doing) and as others have said allow a % or calculate those costs which you already take for granted in the UK, because with all its warts the UK does provide some very enviable support systems for its ‘members’ whether in the form of money or pure support. Other countries are not so enlightened.
Of course there will always be those who emigrate through circumstance and those who are blindly blithering along and survive. It’s when we carefully consider the realities they create trepidation. A definite leap of faith is required at some point.