cost of living !

sparkycpu · #1 (**permalink**) 8th April 2008, 07:00 PM

Hi all, just a couple of questions really, am thinking of emmigrating to nova scotia and hopefully ending up mortgage free or very small one upto $20000, i am an electrician at the moment in the uk and as i understand it i would have to do some more exams to carry on in my job once in canada, i was wondering what the general cost of living is like as if im mortgage free i might consider a more relaxed job that pays less, if i did this what would you say i would need to earn pa not looking for an extravagant life style just managable but with less stress, what is the average car insurance costs and home insurance etc just really the general costs of the must have things so i could maybe work out some other job prospects, or is the extra exams etc needed to carry on being an electrician easy or take along time

many thanks be glad to hear some opinions !

gazanjuls · #2 (**permalink**) 21st April 2008, 12:03 PM

hi mate we live in Blackpool and have taken the plunge and applied still waiting to here .but i have been to canada many times and have got good friends there and i have done my home work and if we go mortgage free we will be better off .car insurance is one of the things which is a lot dearer in Canada( i think Canadians can't drive very well) so my friend pays about $2000 for 1 car where here my car cost about $750 so it is a lot dearer but other things are cheaper ie petrol is half what we pay .if i pay £1500 here it will save me £750 so i could use that to off set the car insurance.food in restaurants is cheaper and i think supermarket shop is cheaper not by a great deal.house prices are better in Canada but i think there poll tax is higher mine here is £1200 some of the houses i have been looking at are round the $3000 p/a at present you can just double the dollar .hope you fine this helpful.gaz

oddball · #3 (**permalink**) 21st April 2008, 02:11 PM

Check the mileage of your vehicle usage on a weekly basis , check the same where you will live and work in Canada , normally mileage is much higher in Canada . Want to travel or go to the beach ? That is when the gas cost will surely show up , plus the vehicles are not as thrifty , this will most likely at least negate your savings you would like to put towards your car insurance .
Colin

sparkycpu · #4 (**permalink**) 21st April 2008, 03:58 PM

thanks for that...

cbelanger82 · #5 (**permalink**) 22nd April 2008, 11:04 AM

Hi, I'm a Canadian and I lived in the Province of Quebec for 26 years. Me and my husband just moved to the UK about 3 weeks ago and I can say for sure that the cost of living is higher in the UK. One thing I need to mention though is that it varies greatly depending on where you live in Canada. British Columbia and Alberta are probably the most expensive provinces to live in. Toronto (Ontario) is the most expensive city to live in but is still 25% cheaper to live in than London! Food, entertainment, dining out, petrol and power are cheaper in Canada (but we use more power to heat our house in the cold winter!). Water is totally free in the Province of Quebec and probably not too expensive in NS. Here is an example of a monthly "Canadian budget":
Home insurance (value of the house: 240 000$ + contents: 50000): 115$
Electricity: 150$
Water: 30$
Gas (intermediate car): 150$
Phone: 40$
Groceries (2 persons): 250$
Internet services: 40$
Cable/satellite dish: between 25$ and 100$ (No need for a TV license)
Car Insurance: 120$ (quotes are based on type of car, age of car, annual mileage, age and experience of the driver, type of protection desired, etc...)
These are just rough amount, but it gives you a good idea of how much things might cost. Dining out in Canada costs between 20 and 25$ (including taxes and tip) in a decent restaurant. It is possible to eat great food for less than that in small local restaurants. Hope this helps you a bit, feel free to contact me for more info...