Vancouver BC Living cost

trianil wrote:
Hello,

I live in Richmond, close to Vancouver International Airport with my family (we are both professionals in our 40's)and 2 children. Just thought I would post and let everyone know what it costs to live in Vancouver (voted best place to live on earth).

Real estate is really very expensive in Vancouver, especially west coast, you will need lot of money to purchase a family home that is ready to live in. The same home would rent for approx 1400-2000/mo. Downtown renting a 1BR flat may cost 1200-1400PM in a trendy area of downtown. If you go north which is mountainous and lot of snow and pictures view the cost will be slightly less, if you prefer to move east (not very good and may be homeless and druggies around it will be less expensive, if you move south close to US border side then again it is good locality and much cheaper (say a 1 hour commute), prices can be lower but you have to be careful what area to choose as some can be not very nice. To get a nice family home condo in a nice area 1 hour from downtown you will need to spend approx 400-700K in this recession time, otherwise it is more.

Public transportation is really great in Greater Vancouver especially after inauguration of new Sky train line from Downtown to the Airport & Richmond which will help a lot. I believe is cost approx $4 each way to commute in rush hour.

Living costs are much more in compare to other province; groceries for small family may cost 800-1000Pm again depending on eating habits. This does not include restaurant meals. I know if you shop smarter (Canadian Superstore) one could get this down a little bit and in Vancouver life people eat a lot outside, there are numerous places all the streets and corners are filled with all country specialties food items.

Health insurance you will need to buy for an individual you spend $65 and for a family $108 Basic BC Health Insurance, everyone needs to buy and cover themselves. Dental is usually covered by ones employer if not then it is expensive.

Education is free and for the most part very good, your children will get admission to close school, and school areas are set by Vancouver school board. Private schools are expensive, approx 10-15K/year per child plus extras. But govt schools are equally good.

Energy prices seem reasonable to me. Electricity for our apartment is only 20 dollars/month. In a family home it would be about 150/mo, depending on how you heat your home. Overall in a home I would expect to pay about 300/mo for electricity and gas.

Internet is usually $50/mo, Phone around $30/mo, full digital cable is about $100/mo and cell phone plans are usually $50 for about 1000 mins. Bundle all these and you get it down to $200 a month.

Dinner out in a nice restaurant for 2 with wine, etc. will run about $100. There are lot of places and lot of options; you may eat with drinks (Beer) for that amount.

Beer in a pub is about $7. Coffee about $3 for a latte at Starbucks.

If anyone has questions about moving to Vancouver, I would be happy to help. For any further assistance you can always reach us.

If you are thinking of booking airline ticket to Vancouver from UAE, it will be much cheaper to fly to Seattle and take a bus from Tacoma airport to Vancouver, a return ticket valid for 1 year will cost close to $ 100 (for the bus not for the flight). You may try Sales@quickcoach.com

There are numerous things to do in Vancouver, BC
Have Fun,