Cost of living in Canada

Hi there all
we are looking at taking a job offer in Grand Cache and were wondering what the cost of living is like up there, with regards to housing ( house to rent/buy) Vehicle costs and then food etc, with it beig a small town one wonders if the prices are very high. What is the tax rate, we are waitig for salary conformation, should be $128 000 per annum, is that good? can one live a comfortable life style on that type of salary?
thanks forall your help
toye

i am living in india . and i wish to migrate in canada  i am computer hardware engineer (9 +yrs. of experience). want to know about cost of living in canada. and what salary i wl get? which city is good to live? as pleasent weather (not more cold)

Welcome on Expat.com, Toye and Shan0

Don't hesitate to browse tbrough the forum which already contains a lot of information.

Cheers and good luck
Arlette

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me the cost of living in Canada.I am from India and will move to Canada in near future.

I would also like to know that if two persons are earing than is it possible to stay with non earing parents(4) and a kid?so it is possible to survive 7 perople(including 1 kid) when only 2 are earing.

Please help me with my question.

Thank you.
Trupti

montrealgeek wrote:

Hi, this is Eric. I am living in Montreal downtown. I have been living in Montreal for about 5 years. Before I lived here, I have stayed in Vancouver for a couple of years.

As for living expenses, I believe Montreal is much less than those in Vancouver.

For house or apartment, I believe Vancouver is much higher. To buy a house in Vancouver, it will cost you 1M. In Montreal, an downtown apartment,say 2 bedrooms, is about 350k. you can see the difference. Well, I rent an apartment with 1 bedroom in downtown, the rent is 660 per month. In Vancouver, it is at least 1200.

Transportation is fine. Both cities are similar. Now in Montreal, the monthly Metro pass is 68.50, a bit cheaper than as that in Vancouver. Of course, if you need go to south shore or Laval, you have to pay more, pretty much same as go to Richmond or Burnaby when you are in Vancouver. Recently, Montreal launched a new Bixi program, which is very convenient to use bicycle to reach any place in the town with a few bucks. The details are available at www.stm.info for Montreal, www.translink.ca for Vancouver. If you are driving a car, as I know, the insurance is much cheaper in Montreal than that in Vancouver. The gas used to almost same. However, Vancouver has an extra tax on gas since last year, it will be cheaper in Montreal. Now it is about 1$ per litre.

Grocery expenses in Montreal is much amazing. Thanks to a blog I found, which listed every week's best deals at most grocery stores in Monrteal. The blog is montreal-grocerystores-saving.blogspot.com. My grocery bill is about 180 per month. In Vancouver, it reached 300 per month. BTW, I feed only myself.

Entertainment is almost same. Cinema is about 12 per movie. A beer in pub is about 7. My bill of cell phone is about 50, internet is about 500 per year. I have no TV bill at all.

I do not shop a lot. So I have no idea of any price difference of two cities. My friends in Montreal tell me a lot of discount information, but I am too lazy to try.

Hey Eric:

Your info seemed to have helped me answer few of my questions. Thank u.

gigi87 wrote:

hi everyone. me and my family want to move to canada. I  need to know some things so i would really appreciate it...

how much (per year) in university education for a PRC holder??

what is the average proffessional and non-proffessional salary?? like if someone is working the cashier in a supermarket do they get paid enough to support themselves??

how much money do you need to buy a car?? (if the transportation is so costy would a good used car be a better alternative??)

how hard is it for immigrants to find jobs if they were educated outside canada??

Education:-
tuition fees/yr/semester/10courses=5300C$
books/supplies=1500
live in campus (room only)=5000-7000
meal program = 2000-4500
living expenses=2000-5000

Average prof (depends what field) 60000-125000/yr
non prof= 35000-45000/yr
cashier= 12-15/hr (not really sufficient)

Car: new toyota corolla= 18,000; 3yrs old=10,000

Job in general is available, but what kind of job and at what pay(is a different answer).

Work experiences and education obtained abroad are not really recognized. To be more precise I need to know more about your education details, so i can guide you.

all the best

Welcome to Expat.com, Yafmil and thanks for your input

really useful topic .. I'm moving to Toronto next year and those informations can help me a lot !

I am heading to vancouver in July/August next year and was wondering which is the best place to stay in vancouver. I will be relocating from Dubai with my husband and 4 year old son.

Would appreciate advice on jobs, schools, cost of living etc.

Regards,
Michelle

Hi Michelle! I suggest you to start a new discussion on the Vancouver forum.

Thank you and good luck
Christine

We currently a resident of India ,but we are soon to be a Canadian Resident as we are already in possession of the Permanent Resident Visa.
Currently me and my spouse are working for one of the Leading banks in a Back Office Profile.
We are planning to come down to Canada in the month of Apr 2011 and reside in Toronto ,just will appreciate we can get some kind of  guidance for Jobs and rental for apartments ,and if any contact references then nothing like it  .

I live on the East Coast in New Brunswick, these costs would be similar in Nova Scotia and on Prince Edward Island.

> It is possible to rent a very comfortable one bedroom apartment for 500$ a month or a two bedroom for around 750$ a month. For those who prefer a house, prices can range from very affordable (around 100 000$) to around 250 000$, on the higher end.

> It costs two dollars to ride the bus or you can get a 20 ride punch pass for 18$. Cabs are really overpriced. I've payed 20$ to go a few kilometers when there was no traffic.

> An average person could buy groceries for a month for 150$.

> Prescriptions for birth control, allergy pills etc... are roughly 30$ a month. You could expect to spend 350$ on medical prescriptions without insurance, around 150$ on eye care (if applicable) and 230$ for dental services (more if you need major work).

> University prices in Atlantic Canada run the gamut from very affordable (12,000$ a year including tuition, all fees, health and dental, bus pass, meal plan and residence for Canadian citizens) to more expensive (20,000$ a year all included) International students pay a considerably higher tuition (roughly 3x the tuition of a Canadian citizen.)

> Since you have to heat your home in the winter (usually electrically in new houses), you could expect to pay 150$ to 300$ a month, depending on the size of your home and your needs, but less in the summer (unless you have air conditioning).

> You can get pretty good package deals, for example, 99$ a month for 12 months with Bell to bundle your home phone, high-speed internet and digital television. You can get a good cellphone plan for 25$ a month. I have Koodo, they have pretty good pick and choose bundles to build your own plan for as little as 15$ a month.

> I've never payed more than 20$ in a restaurant for a meal, but I'm a vegetarian. There are, of course, higher class restaurants that cost 50$+, those are mostly steak houses and the such. The good news is, a seafood dinner, like lobster, comes cheap here in the Maritimes.

> You could expect to pay 2$ or 3$ for a beer, or depending on where you go, 5$. Coffee is cheap mostly everywhere in Canada, Tim Horton's on every corner, you can get a coffee for about 2$.

The East coast is especially friendly, the kind of place where even in the city you smile at the people walking down the street. Moncton was named the most polite Canadian city in a study by Reader's Digest. Essentially, it's a really pleasant place to live.

Whoa! this page has a lot of info on the living expenses of places in Canada, many thanks Julien
In a year  I plan to move to Ontario, if Winnipeg doesn't work out. I see that this page has the move views and replies so far, better chances for replies
 
  I am an African post-grad student currently living in India, I plan to get a student visa for a short term IT course in Ontario.
What I wanted to know is:-
   
  1. How are the IT(networking) job opportunities there, and if I get an offer letter from a company - with or without internship, can I extend my stay there?

   2. If a family friend is willing to help me move there, by way of sponsoring me - should he/she already be a Canadian citizen or will it do, with just having the permanent residency?

  3. When I am there, and I already have my permanent residency, will I be eligible to apply for my spouse to come and live there with me, or will I have to wait till after I've become a citizen?

Many thanks,
Muammed B.

Appears like shifting to Canada isn't easy at all! The system is such as to extract max. money from the citizens for everything like high mortgage, insurances, taxes, inflation, etc. Only in exceptional cases is it wise for people to shift there. This includes people that are really not well in their country of origin (war, famine, epidemics), working couples, highly paid professionals, ... Underpopulated Canada needs to do enough to retain the newly landed citizens! I know lots who have returned in their so called 'third world country' of origin because ... life is better there!

Hi there,

This topic is great! Thanks everyone for contributing.
Is Waterloo considered an expensive place to live?
Is it possible to work downtown, but commute to a more laid-back area for the wife and kids? Does that make things more expensive?

Hello Everyone,

i need some help and advice please!

I am definately moving to CANADA in the 1st week on January!! & I am having problem deciding on a company that would ship all my stuff to canada.  Mostly clothes & books & shoes.

Any cheap & good shipping company out there that you can recommend please.


thanks a million

@ Adesh - You are completely off-topic

I have replied you in your other post. And please do not copy-paste same messages in different forums.

Hey all, I've been living in Toronto, Ontario for 18 months now and I'd like to share a few things. Fist off I moved from England and had a bit of a shock when I needed a mobile phone and a bank account. Cell phone plans are a complete rip off here and the banks actually charge you to use your money. I'm with TD bank and I was allowed to have 8 free transactions to start off with. Now I pay a monthly subscription which gives me unlimited transactions. (Great)
Rogers, Telus and Bell think its right to charge you for incoming calls and messages. They will charge you through the nose and stick you on a 3 year contract that you can't get out of. Its a sorry state of affairs.

On the bright side, they really are the only things I can find wrong with Canada.

> accommodation prices - I pay $850 for a basement in Yonge and Eglinton. (Possibly one of the top 5 areas in Toronto)

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...) I use the TTC which is due to be updated soon with new trains. Its $3 each way regardless on where you are going. I pay $112 a month on their discount plan. Other than that I use zipcar (www.zipcar.ca) I pay $75 a month with them to have access to a car when I need it. They pay the fuel and the insurance. Its for winners!

> food prices (per month, how much does it cost you?) Food is expensive because I shop in downtown Toronto locations. I'd say I spend $100 a week on average. Sometimes more. (For 2 people)

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance) I get this through my work.

> eduction prices (if you need to pay) - N/A

> energy prices (oil, electricity) I have to pay for my own electricity which is expensive in my eyes. (I have baseboard heating) rough cost is $100 a month.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone) I have a cell phone and internet and I pay $120 a month. I spent a long time on the phone arguing a good price with Rogers. My buddy pays $250 for a full TV, Phone and Internet package.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant - A meal for 2 will usually set me back $80-$100 inc drink.

> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub - I don't often drink so I couldn't say for beer. I get my coffee at McDonalds and it costs $1.50 with a free refill. A bold coffee at Starbucks will see you $2.50.

My main rule when I'm comparing most items is 'half it'. I.e A meal for 2 in an average restaurant in England would have cost me 40-50GBP ($80-$100).

Cost of living in canada is really high indeed. i was living in Ottawa canada and that is my home town, and the price of everything seems to go up. It is because it is expected that every household is a dual income, meaning both the husband and the wife work. This is partly why the price of everything is high in canada. Everything is expensive...

EngineerPro wrote:

I have been living in Calgary for 14 years and my wife for 2 years (I got married in my home countr). If you put in the effort and plan your career smartly while being patient that things take time, you will be rewarded. This is indeed the land of opportunities. I got university education and Canada and then went on to build a career here and could not be happier.

I am an expat. I have been to several different countries for both business and personal recreation purposes. I would say, I have always found Canada to be the most well-rounded place to live.

Ofcourse, salary as well as living expenses will vary greatly since Canada is such as huge country and there are so many different places where the economy is completely different as well as the infrastructure and population which all influence the living conditions.

I will give a bit of my own background:

Education: University of Calgary (BS. Software Engineering)
City: Calgary, Alberta
Average salaries in Calgary for professionals: $70,000 - $150,000 per annum (depending on your skills, experience and field).

My own salary: $100,000 per annum as a Software Engineer (includes stocks, shares, benefits, bonuses).

My workplace: Engineering department of largest communication company in Canada (Shaw)

My condo cost: $280,000 for a 950 sq-ft Condo (2 bedroom, 2 washrooms) in one of the best places in Calgary.

Condo fee: $306 (includes everything except electricity).

Electricity bill: $45 - $50 per month

Internet bill: $28 per month for high-speed ADSL

Digital TV cost: $50 with DCT included

Car insurance: $123 per month (with 7 years of driving experience. I am 32 years old).

Grocery bill for me and my wife per month (we cook at home with eating out twice a week): $170 - 200 for all

All in all, I am completely debt free and living costs in Calgary are low. As people know Calgary is the fastest growing economy in Canada. It has a huge range of different types of professional companies basing and working here so the opportunities available are very diverse. However, Calgary's economy mainly depends on Oil and gas.

That is why I chose Calgary as despite not being the most exciting city, it is extremely safe, peaceful, cheaper to live in compared to most North American cities and the salaries are as high as many of the strongest economies in North America.

Any questions are welcome.

are you sure about $200 for food per month?
I was told approx $600 for 2 people per month...

[Moderated: No free ad on the forum]

It's beautiful to see so many people, contributing their time and interest in sharing their lifestyle with everyone. Great!

hi i m planing to go to canada to study next year(university) and i don't now any one there so any advices??

How are the job Opportunities in Aviation. I am an Aircraft Technician.

Hi malik113,

You should start a new topic on the Canada forum. Thank you

------------------------------

Hi cartawien,

could you please avoid your caps on the forum? Thank you.

hi everyone.Im immigrating to CANADA (Quebec)in 1 year time. i am single and have no contacts yet in Quebec. i would like to get some contacts who could help me and guide me through the various steps in getting an appartment, job etc.... is it difficult to obtain a job in Quebec. I am in the Chemical engineering field.

Regards

David

Hi everyone.how much money need for a month.

Hi everyone
realy is very interesting this post!.
well im looking for studient who live in Vancouver, to knows how much does spend to live? For example if I will live in a hostel o resident studient... Because is probably that iŽm going to Vancouver on Dicember to work for one year, and i would know the cost of life in these case.

I've been living in Windsor, Ontario for last 5 months. For those who don't know where it is, it's across the border from Detroit - look it up on a map.

I live near the university. This is a nice neighborhood, nothing special about it except for a lot of students living in the area. A lot of south and east asian students.

If you're a student, you might like to rent a room in a house, should not be more than $300 per month for a room in a decent house. Some like to rent apartments, can cost up to $600 for a single bedroom apartment. Rent for a full house will be around $1200 including utilities.

I'm vegetarian and try living a modest life. Never had to spend more than $100 on food for whole month. Joseph's Farm Market is the place to go for vegetarians. Your monthly expenses could reach as much as $150 if you like a regular dose of pop and coffee and eating outs.

You can buy a (used) bike, price should not be more than $200. Bus rides to most places downtown should be within $2. If you're like me, you might like to take a walk or ride your bike along the riverside instead of a bus or car ride.

Will be glad if someone finds it useful.

Jimmyjack wrote:

Rogers, Telus and Bell think its right to charge you for incoming calls and messages. They will charge you through the nose and stick you on a 3 year contract that you can't get out of. Its a sorry state of affairs.

Agree. None of the countries I've lived before charged me for incoming calls. This actually takes some time to get used to. I've had to train myself in text communication to cope up with this. I usually buy 1000 text messages for a few $ and that lasts longer than a month.

Hi everyone,

I recently came across this great article while I was looking up some information on the cost of living in Vancouver, where I want to relocate in a couple of years. It is very detailed and also applies pretty much to the rest of Canada. Here is the link:

2vancouver.com/en/articles/what-is-the-standard-vancouver-living-cost

Cheers!

I currently live in Montreal, QC. Here is what I know from personal experience :

> accommodation prices
A studio on the island of Montreal can go from 500$ to much, much more if you choose something downtown. There are some neighborhood to avoid as in any big city but those 500$/month can
get you a small studio with heat and hot water included. You can find a little bit cheaper if you take time to look into it but I wouldn't recommend it as it is mostly in neighborhoods like Verdun which can be pretty sketchy at night. For a single bedroom apartment, you can add 100 or 200$ on the rent. Overall the rent is not that expensive compared to Europe.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
The Opus card costs 77$/month and gives you unlimited access to the metro and all buses on the island. Going to Laval is more expensive as you have to purchase either another card or a ticket. A round trip to Laval will only cost you one ticket though as going is still covered by your Opus card but coming back will require you get a ticket.
There are not many metro stations (nothing compared to the Parisian metro for example) but a lot of buses, even at night. Cabs are not that expensive compared to other cities, around 5$/km. So taking one to go home after a party would not be unreasonable.

> food prices (per month, how much does it cost you?)
I'm vegan and single so I pay around 150$/month. But I'd say a non-vegetarian person would spend around 200$.
A few examples (prices not including taxes, sorry):
Coffee is 7$ a pack. Milk (cow or soy) is 4$/2L. Frozen veggies are 2.50$/lb. Nuts are 2.50$/100g. Pasta is 1.50$/lb. Rice is 2$/lb. Regular sliced white bread is 3$. Wheat flour is 3.50$/5lbs. Fruit juice is 1$/1L. Butter is 5$/lb. 6 eggs are 2.50$. Yogurt is 4$/lb. For dairy and eggs these are the prices that I remember paying when I ate them but I don't know if it has changed. Obviously you can find cheaper or more expensive depending on how you grocery shop but that's the price at which I buy things. I believe cheese is pretty expensive here, except for cheddar but you get sick of it after a while haha.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
Everyone in Quebec is covered by the RAMQ. You don't pay anything to see a doctor, just give them your medicare card and you're set. But you pay for everything else. Getting a doctor's note is 20-25$, getting your blood drawn is free at a hospital but 20-25$ at a clinic. Generally what is not covered by the RAMQ is either covered by your employer's insurance or your student healthcare though, but consider that any extra is going to cost at least 20$. Flu shots are 25$ if you're not a senior also.

> education prices (if you need to pay)
If you're a Quebec resident or a French citizen (France has an agreement with Quebec), depending on the university you attend, you'll pay between 1500$ and 2500$ per session. If you're a Canadian citizen from another province, you'll pay 2.5 to 3 times more. If you come from another country, it really varies. I would recommend checking out the websites of the different universities as they give detailed information on that. There are 4 universities in Montreal : Université de Montréal (UdeM) and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), which are French-speaking, and McGill and Concordia, which are English-speaking. McGill and UdeM are the best. It is to be noted that UdeM includes HEC (Haute École de Commerce) and École Polytechnique. those two universities are not as good as their French counterparts but are to be considered as they are very good. McGill is the most expensive one and the hardest one to get into but it is the best university in Canada. I heard UQAM and Concordia are good universities for studying arts, while McGill has a great med school and UdeM is reputed for science and accounting.
Also, if you're considering going to college, it is more expensive than university in general but offers shorter studies, and depending on what you choose job offers can come flowing once you graduate. I know nothing about colleges though. But it can go up to 10,000$ a year or more.

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Electricity is 50$ for me. My mother used to pay 80$ for the four of us. Obviously it depends on the size of your apartment and your usage but electricity in Quebec is pretty cheap.
I believe gas is 1$/L but I don't drive so I wouldn't know for sure.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Canada is really expensive when it comes to communication services so the main providers charge you 50$+tx for limited internet. You can find small providers that will give you unlimited high speed internet for the same price. A landline costs around 30$/month. A cable TV package with 25 extra channels and an HD option is around 60$ with Videotron but I don't have a TV now so I don't know if that changed. Cellphone plans range from 20$+tx/month to 100$+tx depending on your options. Low-cost providers usually have terrible service though. I'd suggest considering Fido as they offer access to the Rogers network with lower costs, but when it comes to mobile data they're pretty limited. I pay 80$+tx for 200 minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends and 6GB of data + call display, voicemail and unlimited texts but I have a bunch of specials on my account, I know Rogers usually charges way more for that.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
Dinner for two with wine would cost around 100$. In Montreal you can find poutine everywhere for really cheap if you're looking at something traditional. Obviously the price changes if you get your poutine from Burger King or from an actual restaurant but that's something to try out.

> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub
Beer is 7$. In students' bars during the happy hour you can get a beer for 2,50$. Coffee ranges from 1$ to 7$ depending on what and where you get it. 1$ would be a small regular coffee at McDonald's, 7$ a custom latte from Starbuck's.

Hope this is helpful, because the previous posts were !

Thank you kmtl!

Aurélie

really? what excacty do you mean? about the laws?

Hello -> Just to note that this thread title is Cost of living in Canada.

Thank you,
Aurélie

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

You know prices are strange in any country that uses loonies.

Hi how are you? I hope you be ok bro, Man Im Antonio Chavez Im mexican, Im movin to Alberta Canada in a few months. May I talk to you for some questions I have?

Im 20 years old but I dont know if the prices you post are the same in 2013 I imagine they not.

Thankyou bro


Antonio

Check out this website for cost of living numbeo.com

Thanks 4 sharing bro,