Cost of Living in Canada - what should I expect?

[lukas86]

Hey All,
Im an Aussie, and have recently just applied for my Canadian work visa to be able to travel. I plan to start in Vancouver and move on from there. Although the AUD is very ordinary, what can I expect to pay on rent, and weekly expenses whilst living in Canada? And what is the average wage for hospitality (eg. waiter, kitchen hand) or retail work?

I want to know how much to budget for living when I first arrive, until I find work. It will be me and one other guy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, even suggesting 'good' or safe suburbs to rent in, and good bars with live music etc. Free tours anyone?

Thank you
Lukas

[T.O.Bass]

Vancouver is expensive, way more so than Toronto. A bachelor apartment in downtown vancouver in a decent building will run you $1200/month or more - 6 years ago - so I have no idea what it's at these days. Food is expensive, gas is expensive... I haven't been there in some time though, so it may be different now, but as far as I know, it's still a heinously expensive city. Now if, you plan on coming to Toronto, I could point out some more affordable areas. Depending on where you go, you can get a 1 bedroom anywhere from $600-$2000/month.

Waiters, unless it's a snazzy joint, get paid minimum wage or less, but make a killing on tips. Kitchen workers are not paid well, generally (again, unless it's a class establishment). The job market is stronger in Alberta, everyone says, but from what I hear it's also a yawnfest. Need more coffee in me before I can think of anything else.

[Anthbass]

As T.O. pointed out, Vancouver is an expensive city to live in, but may be more reasonable now than when he lived there. I recently saw one-bedroom apartments near Stanley Park in the $800 dollar range. Liquor is costly but eating out is not. Alberta has some immunity to the recent economic downturn but is not nearly as ethnically or entertainment diverse as locales such as Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, and Vancouver. There are a fair few Vancouverites on the forum, so I reckon some of them will chime in with other tips/pointers.

[T.O.Bass]

Oh and I forgot to mention Toronto has the Rex Hotel. The greatest jazz venue, possibly the greatest venue, period, in toronto, if you are a muso. The people that I see play there... monsters, man, monsters. I walk out of that place a better musician simply because the awesome seeps right into your skin as you sit there!

[Mark Wilson]

Originally Posted by T.O.Bass

Oh and I forgot to mention Toronto has the Rex Hotel. The greatest jazz venue, possibly the greatest venue, period, in toronto, if you are a muso. The people that I see play there... monsters, man, monsters. I walk out of that place a better musician simply because the awesome seeps right into your skin as you sit there!

On that note, are you going there to check out Will Lee tonight?!
I'm going tomorrow!

[T.O.Bass]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

On that note, are you going there to check out Will Lee tonight?!
I'm going tomorrow!

Possibly tomorrow. Tonight I'll be getting messy at Bistro 422. Heh heh.

[HEIST]

If you want to live in the downtown area (or close to it), high-rise condos are around $1300+ to start and they're only big enough to house one person. I'm talking about those fancy buildings with a pool and a gym in it.

If you have one other guy with you and you don't mind having him as a roomate, squat apartment buildings (around 2-3 storeys tall) in the West End (nice nice area, walk to downtown and the beaches and Stanely Park) start at $800 for a one bedroom. $900+ is more likely but if one of you takes the living room and the other takes the bedroom, living cost is considerably lower.

Waiter or retail usually makes minimum wage, which is $8/hour. Like someone above said, they make most of their money on tips. If you work in a pretty busy chain restaurant you make about $200 in tips per night. Some retail on more high end stores pay $10/hr.

Hydro runs me anywhere from $9-$20 a month, and internet is around $45. Groceries cost me about $50 for two weeks if I don't eat out but that can really range. Eating out at a standard restaurant can run each person $15-$40 for a good meal.

Surrounding cities are safe to live in and only takes a maximum of half an hour to get to via the Skytrain to downtown are Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond etc. but it gets really boring (and then depressing). Rent in surrounding cities run about the same if not $100 or $200 lower. I like living downtown or close to it because it's where all the excitement is. If you look hard you will def find a place close to downtown for a reasonable amount.

Places that are near downtown but not in it includes Main and Broadway area like Mt. Pleasant. Also check South Granville, Marpole area and Kitsilano.

The only places that I can think of that has a rep of being an unsafe area is Whalley in Surrey (suburbs) and of course, downtown east side (East Hastings St.)

What kind of bar scene are you into?

I typed quite a few keywords for areas that you can use in the search in Craig's List. Everyone here uses it and you may just find the listing you want.

http://vancouver.craigslist.com

[Swerve]

Americans: Drink weak, pissy-tasting beer.
Canadians: Drink strong, pissy-tasting beer.
Brits: Drink warm, beery-tasting piss.
Aussies: Drink anything with alcohol in it.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Don't forget the hockey tax and, in some places, the curling tax.

[Stanley Design]

The farther west you go the more expensive living is. Out east is real cheap, but the only real city you get with a good music scene is Halifax. I moved to montreal just over a year ago from the east, it's also pretty cheap cost of living here. About half the price of Toronto and the music scene here thrives. It's kinda weird though since it's a french province and there's a lot of tension between french and english. Definitely a party town though.

[mike_v_s]

By and large, I'd say the cost of living in Canada is living in Canada.

Mike

[Anthbass]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

By and large, I'd say the cost of living in Canada is living in Canada.

Mike

Hah! This from the resident of the state that spawned the likes of Britney Spears. Touche, sir.

[newbold]

You'll be able to get by and save enough money to travel. If you're starting in Vancouver you'll probably stick around the west until you leave (if you do)

If you have roommates expect to spend between $400 and $800 a month for rent on an average to awesome scale. If you want to spend even less then you'll be living in a dive.

Living in the suburbs/surrounding cities is fine but VanCity is ideal, as it's the only part of Metro Vancouver that's truly urban (well, maybe not south/southeast vancouver) and by that I mean you can walk to almost anyhting you need.

Transit is, as said before, is decent.

If you can live somewhere in a short term basis and then move to a 'nicer' place as you meet people and find your niche it would be ideal.

Craigslist, kijiji.ca, and the newspapers are great starters, while laundromat and community boards are even better once you arrive.

As Vancouver's a port city, and a well weathered one at that, get plastic bags for your stuff if you're going to live in old buildings downtown.

If it has bedbugs you won't want to HAVE to throw away all your stuff.

If it has cockroaches it probably won't have bedbugs. Bedbugs get eaten.

If you're moving into a house/new apartment, then you'll be alright.

I suggest Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant/Queen Victoria Park, Commercial Drive/Trout Lake, and Cambie areas.

North Vancouver is a great option too, as it's a bit closer to the ski hills. there are 3 hooked up to public transit, with Whistler being close enough to hold out for.

If you do wind up leaving Vancouver, then Toronto and Montreal are awesome cities...but cities pale in comparison to the wilds of Canada...resorts need staff.

good Luck!

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Anthbass

Hah! This from the resident of the state that spawned the likes of Britney Spears. Touche, sir.

I'm getting soft, guys. It wasn't that long ago I'd have drug this as far as it would go and still never bothered to tell anyone responding that I was joking. But here I am. Anthbass: I'm joking. I think I'm gonna be ill. Off the record: by "Houston North", are we talking the Greenspoint/Gunspoint area that is so touristy and welcoming?

Mike

[fredo66]

hey one of my mates was over there for a while he came back to Aus for 12 months but only stayed here for 3 he's back in canada now because its cheaper to live over there than here

[Nyarlathotep]

Well. I live here. If you can handle to mental cost of knowing that you live in the same country as Mark W(Fail)son and me, you'll be fine

[GeneralElectric]

One thing you'll have to look out for in Canada is the high cost of literature. Its why many of our Northern friends are illiterate and drink out of bags.

[Joey3313]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

One thing you'll have to look out for in Canada is the high cost of literature. Its why many of our Northern friends are illiterate and drink out of bags.

We have a higher literacy rate that you.


And the milk bag thing is down east, so if he's going to Vancouver, chances are he'll never encounter the myth that is milk-in-a-bag.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Joey3313

We have a higher literacy rate that you.

Simply awesome. Unfortunate but hilarious errors aside, care to direct the class to your source? Every one I found puts them both at 99% (of adults 15 yrs old or older).

Mike

[Grizzly700]

Originally Posted by Joey3313

We have a higher literacy rate that you.

I demand a Fail Pic.