Can anyone please give an idea on average monthly bills please. We are a family of 4 and we are trying to work out if hubby's salary will cover most of the bills.

Any info would be great.

Many thanks

hiya, where is it that you are hoping to settle

Search for "cost of living" in the Canada forums and you should get an idea what you are looking for. Its really a "How long is a piece of string?" sort of question without a lot more detail. Some people squeek by on $30k a year, others cant make ends meet on $100k

What area of canada, how big a house, will you have equity to buy outright with, what sort of lifestyle are you looking to live etc etc.

We are only going for approx 9months and will be looking to rent in suburbs of Vancouver. We expect it to be a bit more of a financial struggle but are going for the experience.

Cheers

Vancouver is often mentioned in the cost of living threads. B.C. is widely thought to stand for "Bring Cash"

Theres two of us and we spend $5400 per month (however we have bills in the UK to still pay, 2 trucks and go out every weekend and smoke).

So that includes all utilities here, rent and living expenses, gas, food the works plus mortgage and bills back to the UK.


We are in Alberta and not a major city either, but are lucky to be bringing in a nice monthly wage!

Just curious, how much does smoking cost (not to be judgmental, just want to know)?

We live in Calgary. 1000 sq ft 50 year old house (not including basement). Original furnace.

Gas - $130/month this year (monthly average over the whole year)
Electricity/water/sewer/garbage - between $110 and $150/month
Phone - $65/month (plan includes evening long distance within Canada)
Cable/internet - $95/month
Two Cell phones - $35/month each
Property Tax ~ $1700/year
Insurance (car and house) - $160/month

We buy a pcket of 25 per day and that lasts both of us so I factored $9 x 7 x 4 so around £250 per month.

Is okay to be judgemental too - I enjoy smoking though the cutting down bit is because we don't smoke in the house and at -20 of an evening we tend not to go outside until we are really desperate for one!!!

You can't put a price on staying thin and looking cool.

So if I wanted to start would you recommend the patch?

Pirates are even cooler, so definitely.

lol that reminded me of some stickers you could buy from 'tinternet.

You know the warnings on UK ciggy packets - smoking seriously damages your health - blah blah, well you can get ones to stick over them in the same typeface which say things exactly like bazzz has just quoted!

I think one says "Smoking is big and clever" too, they are very funny.

Isnt the coil meant to be more reliable than the patch?

Depends where you put it

I'm also in Calgary see post number 9 in this thread for my costs.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=497667

Quick note the car insurance is for two cars a 1999 Toyota Corolla and a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Cheers
Steve