There's still a lot to like about Canada. I grew up here and didn't leave, so I'm not saying don't come here.
Just making sure you don't get here and are shocked that not only do you make way less, what you do make doesn't buy as much either.
So after rent and taxes, BC is 45k, ON is 44k, QC is 47k, and AB is 53k. Roughly.
Now you've got to pay for food, utilities, and so forth. That's probably another 30k. It's easy to spend 2500 CAD/mo on just food, gas, electrical, insurance, utilities and so on. Everything adds up fast.
So really, after all is said and done, you're working full time for 15k to 20k CAD a year; or 11k to 15k USD.
>30K on rent
Not unless you're living in luxury towers in rich areas. A 1 bedroom or a studio will rarely go above 2K, even in Vancouver or Toronto.
>2500 on food
If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most.
>gas
Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car. If you do need a car where you live, then you're likely saving on rent.
>electrical
Electricity is dirt cheap in Canada. Never paid more than 60$ even in winter. Other utilities are similar to the US, that'll add up to 200-300 dollars.
>insurance
Not a thing. Welcome to modern society, baby.
I'm sure you can spend that much money if you want to, but that's a choice to live a certain lifestyle. This lifestyle is not necessary.
My first job in Canada I made 53K, 37K after taxes. I lived a normal life, studio downtown, going on vacations, drinking and eating out, and still managed to save 13000 dollars in a single year. Later I got a raises to 80K, 120K, and eventually 250K, but my (again, definitely not frugal!) lifestyle never cost me more than 25 - 30K per year.
Average price of an unfurnished 1 bedroom in Vancouver is well over 2k now.[0]
> If you're cooking, and not being frugal at all, you're spending 500 per month at most.
I said food, gas, utilities, electrical, and all the other sundries required of living in Vancouver. And 500 CAD on food was achievable pre-pandemic, but inflation hit grocery bills the hardest.
I paid for renter's insurance, and extended medical while living in Vancouver. It was worth it, because my storage locker was busted into several times by junkies and we had things stolen that we later replaced. And, if you bike you are potentially liable in accidents. Getting insurance if you commute by bicycle is sensible.
> Canadian cities are walkable and have public transit, you don't need a car.
Taking Translink will still run hundreds of dollars a month.[1]
0: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-rent...
1: https://www.translink.ca/transit-fares/pricing-and-fare-zone...
Inflation, sure, it's still not gonna be more than 700$. My 500$ figure is literally from 2022.
Rent insurance is 30$ per month, anything else is optional and your choice and also not that expensive. That does not add up to 2500 per month.
And yeah, I know transit costs money, just get a pass. Work pays for it, and if they don't you can deduct it from your taxes.
Utilities includes heat and hot water, electrical, home internet, cellular, gym memberships, and so on. I suppose if you never turn on the heater, don't have home internet, never hit the gym, don't make any calls, don't own a car, and only shit at work then you could save a bundle, here.
The transit tax credit was eliminated in 2017.[1]
0: https://rentals.ca/new-westminster?bbox=-123.08659,49.11473,...
1: https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/deducting-the-cost-of-your-p...
I had almost all those things you mention, internet and cell phone and gym membership, left the heater on 24/7 during winter, did plenty of shitting at home, and still never spent more than $1000 per month.
The only thing I didn't have is a car. A car is literally the worst financial decision you'll ever make. You're free to make it, but you can't come here and complain that cost of living is expensive.
Sucks about the transit tax credit though :/ I used to use that when my commute was by transit
Free heat and hot water is standard in older buildings with central boilers and radiated heating. Otherwise, you're taking on the utilities payment. If there's a separate service or dedicated service, then there's a bill.
If you don't have a car you're still renting a ride share to go hiking or skiing. Transit isn't taking you to Golden Ears or Cypress.
And clearly you've never rented a car with your mates or taken one of the shuttle buses to the mountains.
Renting a car and taking shuttle buses isn't free.
The total cost of living isn't just room and board, it's the expenditures one makes to be happy living and working where they are.
Most people my age don't want a car, we want to live in the city center. People that live with their parents have a car usually, but that's it. It's not a big deal. I get that it can be hard to understand if you've lived in awful car dependent cities your whole life though.
For one thing, I don't plan on living anywhere near one of the big cities.
Ie, Nanaimo was once a small town in central Vancouver island, with low rents and cheap housing. It's now one of the fastest growing cities in Canada[0] and has some of the highest rents and fastest growing rents in BC[1].
Really, here in Canada the situation is changing _fast_. What may have seemed a reasonable market a year ago could have collapsed into unaffordability by now.
Also, as a resident of Nanaimo: be prepared not to have access to Health Care. As a new resident you won't get a family doctor, and the _single_ walk-in clinic stops taking patients early in the morning. The ER is your only option, and often it only has one attending doctor.
This is similar throughout BC outside of Victoria and Metro Vancouver. In no small part because of people like yourself, who are avoiding immigrating to the big cities; but also because of people fleeing the cities.
0: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/02/09/nanaimo-population-jum...
1: https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2022/12/14/rent-prices-in-nanaimo...
You can probably do better but kind of gives you an idea about how big a US vs Canadian gap can get.