series on the best places to live in the world canada
TRANSCRIPT
Series on the Best Places to Live in the World : Canada
What Is the Monthly Cost of Living in Canada for a New
Immigrant?
The question about the cost of life in Canada for the new immigrant is a common question. In fact, it is also
an important question because the planning of financial aspects in the migration process is a central issue.
The Canadian government does not provide any financial assistance to migrants arriving to the country
during the first period of their stay in Canada. This period differs between a province and another, but it is
most often between 3 to 6 months.
For this reason, the new immigrant should know the average cost of living in the new place of his residence.
S/he should also take enough money for his living of at least 6 months. This should be done because finding
a full time job of a good income during the first six months is a difficult thing if not impossible.
Of course, the cost of living in Canada differs from one situation to another because of various factors
including:
1. The quality of life in the city that the immigrant intends to settle in. Some Canadian cities like
Montreal the cost of living for each month is less that any other city like Vancouver which is
considered amongst the most expensive cities in Canada. To compare the cost of living in the
Canadian cities, click on
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/guides/moving-to-canada/moving-to-canada-cost-of-living-in-major-cities
2. The number of family relatives and children more particularly
3. The mother’s work as the children’s care in kindergartens in Canada gets higher and it can reach to
a point where the mother’s work cannot fulfil the financial needs
4. The extent of individual saving capacity
If we take into account the above factors, we must differentiate between the two phases in the immigrant’s
life in Canada: the arrival phase and the phase of stabilization. In the first phase there are many costs spent
at once like purchasing furniture for the home, buying a car (if desired), paying the expenses and fees of
higher studies, paying the cost of the hotel during the first days etc… However, the phase of stabilization
often takes from one to three months after the arrival of the immigrant to Canada and the costs include
those with fixed rate like renting and food expenses.
Expenses during the arrival phase to Canada:
1. The cost of the hotel. You can easily search for hotels in the city and calculate the daily cost on the
Internet. It is advisable to book a period ranging from 5 to 10 days in the hotel.
2. The cost of food may be little more than average ($ 10 a day per person) because of the necessity
to buy ready-made or fast food.
3. The cost of buying furniture, ranging from $ 500 to $ 3000 for a family of four members
4. The cost of first subscription fees in electricity, mobile and other services.
Expenses during the stabilization phase
The calculation of the monthly expenses during the stabilization phase varies from one family to another,
but to evaluate the situation you can make the following calculations:
1. Find the average rent in the city through websites such as rents http://www.rentboard.ca
http://halifax.kijiji.ca/?rtlipmsg=1
2. Find websites of landline telephone companies, TV channels, Internet companies, mobile phone
companies in the city and calculate the monthly subscription that you will need
http://www.bellaliant.net
http://www.rogers.com/
3. Add the cost of food by placing $ 10 per day per person in the family (in larger families than 4
members the cost will be less than the cost to the individual of course, for this amount)
4. The cost of transportation which is variable depending on your movement and this depends if you
have a car or not. But, if you want to rely on public transportation, you can look for a monthly
transportation subscription in the city on the Internet. Generally, an individual subscription costs $
50 to $ 100 a month. In the case of being a student, you will often get a University subscription for
transportation at a discounted price.
5. In the case of being a mother who works or studies, you have to calculate the cost of children’s care
during the day. In Canada, this ranges from 700 to 1,000 dollars a month. Of course there is some
government help to cover this amount, but you may have to wait for months to get this assistance.
However, there are some states that do not cover all expenses paid, but only part of them. To
calculate the cost of children’s care and nursery, look for: child care subsidy with the name of the
state online
6. Add $ 200 for the miscellaneous (clothes, detergents, drugs)
Calculating all the above mentioned expenses and costs, the average cost of living for a family of four
members will range from 2500 to 3500 dollars.
Still with the best places to live in world and now we provide you with some
tips to rationalize expenses in Canada
1. If your resources are limited it is preferable for the main applicant to travel first alone to Canada
and then bring his family. Although the Canadian government gives tax recovery systems for
children (Child Benefits), but the cost of the child, especially younger ones, far exceed this amount.
In addition, the individual can live in a small house or even a joint while the family cannot do so.
2. If you find hotels with high prices you can book a room in a house of a Canadian family in the first
days and this often costs less than a hotel. You can search for a room herehttp://www.airbnb.com
3. Always try to choose a service (such as a laptop) that does not cost a preliminary fee to activate it
4. When buying furniture try to buy the very necessary things. You’ll find later that a lot of neighbors
will offer you furniture for free because they do not need them or they want to move and do not
want to take them all.
5. Bring what you need from your country all for the first two months, try as much as possible to
avoid buying new clothes till you get work.
6. You will be receiving offers in the mail regularly from the supermarket. You will also be receiving
coupons, try to use them as much as possible
7. Most Canadian stores have got a system to collect points when you buy products. Subscribe in this
system and collect points to help your get discounts later or to be given to you cash if you wish that.
The website to subscribe is https://www.airmiles.ca
The best known advice: do not bring your kids to the supermarket, shops and avoid stores of children’s
games and toys.
