Living Cost in Canada

Hiii..

If now you got your ITA - Visa for first entry. You must be thinking how much money I will need to stay in Canada at the start.

Survival is not an issue in Canada if you are willing to work hard and also do not shy away from various normal jobs.

Having lived in Toronto, here's an approximate estimate -  

1) Monthly Rent : approx $1200 (that includes Hydro (heating).  Could come down to less than $900 if you gofor basements. However please note that basements are usually cooler and coldest during winter. So you will have to wear sweaters n all while roaming in house. 

Also there are 3 types of places 

• Basement - $700 to $900 -  basements are cheaper but winters are long. last thing most people want is to be stuck underground for 6-7 months of the year. plus in basements you have a higher chance of pipes bursting and being flooded.  

• Apartment -@1200  It is 1 BHK apartments / flats however for laundry you will have to use common areas. The laundry will not be inside house. No gyms / security etc.

• Condos - $1500 - Laundry will be inside the flat. Security Guards and gym and other indoor games will be available.  

Some Apartments in Canada do not have Ceiling lights and almost none of them have ceiling fans. If you are to rent out an apartment from a rental company, you are within your right to ask for a repaint (they should do it anyway) and get the flooring fixed. All apartments come equipped with Smoke alarm so make sure your Hob has an exhaust on top.

Also I will not prefer to live downtown. The problem living in downtown is that most grocery store's tend to  be expensive.  SO unless you do shopping in Wall Mart where the prices do not alter based on location then the normal stores are expensive.

2) Electricity: $60 (Toronto) 

3) Cellphone bill per person: $35-$70 (depends on your plan)  

4) Transportation:   ($120 Toronto) (That's for a TTC or a skytrain zone 1 pass) (per person) 

5) Groceries: depends ( could be $60 a week for a family of 2 if you buy from No Frills or could be about $120 if you buy your groceries from fancier places like Sobey's etc.

6) Internet : If you get a plan from Bell or Rogers, you're probably looking to shell out anything over $100. Start (in Toronto) is about $60 (25mbps) 

7) If you intend to buy a car, it's going to be an expensive affair as the car insurance in canada is very high. For car worth $ 40 K will have appx $500 EMI and $500 insurance per month. 

9) A normal restaurant's meal on an average for 2 people could be approx $40 with tax plus you'd have to add 15% as tip on top. 

In summary - you will need appx $2000 to start your life in Toronto. You may need more at the start for buying furniture and other stuff like winter clothes, kitchen stuff etc. 

Plan accordingly.

See Yaa..

Vidya