Cost of living expenses in GTA

[FSW_Applicant]

Hello!

I have been reaching out to various companies for interviews and in order to evaluate the salaries offered, I am trying to get a sense of the expenses for a family of 2 in the GTA area.

Please help in validating some of the high level expenses listed here. With these numbers and with applicable taxes, it seems as though CAD 100,000 annually is something that a family of 2 would need to live in the GTA area.

Transportation (Insurance/gas/train) $900.00
Home (Rent/mortgage) $2,200.00
Utilities $250.00
Grocery $800.00
Miscellaneous $1,000.00

True / false?

 

[buliwyf]

Short answer: TRUE

Long answer:

100k/year, you'll be living in a nice apartment/condo, in a nice part of town. You'll also be able to afford a decent brand new car.

If you plan to buy a house, 100k/year, you may be able to afford a house up to $350,000; In the GTA that amount, you're talking about a "small starter home just outside of Toronto," like in Brampton, Newmarket or Ajax. You may find houses in that amount inside Toronto in the Jane & Finch area, or Rexdale perhaps, if you're lucky.

Tip: It's FAR easier to get 2 $50k/year jobs for each of you and your spouse, than to get a $100k job all by yourself.

 

[alok4best]

Short answer: TRUE

Long answer:

100k/year, you'll be living in a nice apartment/condo, in a nice part of town. You'll also be able to afford a decent brand new car.

If you plan to buy a house, 100k/year, you may be able to afford a house up to $350,000; In the GTA that amount, you're talking about a "small starter home just outside of Toronto," like in Brampton, Newmarket or Ajax. You may find houses in that amount inside Toronto in the Jane & Finch area, or Rexdale perhaps, if you're lucky.

Tip: It's FAR easier to get 2 $50k/year jobs for each of you and your spouse, than to get a $100k job all by yourself.

From my exp of living in Europe, and some info I have collected online, I believe any offer equal of above 70K (before taxes) should be acceptable.

Of course a lot depends on what kind of lifestyle you want, but a 100K CAD job will be really difficult to find unless you have rare to find skills. My current employer is one of the biggest IT consultancy firms in the world, and they offer a salary of around 70-85K to mid level (5-10yr exp) employess in Canada.

 

[FSW_Applicant]

Thank you buliwyf & alok4best, for your responses.

I did notice that the housing costs are pretty inflated in the GTA area. Appreciate the recommendations for neighborhoods around GTA. As for a car, I plan to export mine from the States, so should be good for a year or two (plus insurance, gas and maintenance of-course)

As for finding a job in the 100k range, I have been searching for jobs in my area and most seem to be in that range. As I am in initial stages of the interview process, it will be too early to tell if I will be able to land any one of them.

In the US, 100k gets us quite a decent lifestyle, but given the cost of commodities and higher tax rate in the great white north, we might have to forego a few things.

Thank you for your inputs and for providing me with a range.

 

[sharat_joshi77]

My 2 cents:

If you get 100K/ ys job in Canada, I would say you will be enjoying similar kind of lifestyle you were having in the USA.
You got the expenses almost right....it mainly depends on the lifestyle.
The bigger picture is, if you rent an apt/ condo and use public transport to Downtown, the monthly expenses are around $3500 and if you plan to drive your car, it would be close to $4000

If you take a mortgage, you can increase it by a 1000 or so...
These are with the lavish lifestyle...

And as said by buliwyf, getting a 100K job is kind of hard here...but all depends in you are in right place at right time...
70-90K jobs are more common as I have seen in my time here...

 

[FSW_Applicant]

Thank you for your input sharat_joshi77

 

[polara69]

And as said by buliwyf, getting a 100K job is kind of hard here...but all depends in you are in right place at right time...
70-90K jobs are more common as I have seen in my time here...

Average earnings in Toronto:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/labor51c-eng.htm