Annual expenses for a family of three

[sanjeevindia]

hi all

i m from India and i m in the middle of immigration process and expect to land in Canada in 2010. My wife and four year old son will accompany me there. can anyone guide me about the estimated monthly expenses in Toronto for us on housing, food etc.? so that i can come prepared for that.

thanks and reagrds

sanjeev

 

[links18]

That depends on a lot of variables. Do you want to live as a tenant in someone's basement apartment or do you want to buy a house? Do you need a car? etc., etc. Toronto is expensive. Not as expensive as Vancouver, but much more expensive than say Winnipeg. Take the amount that CIC says you need for settlement funds for your family size and multiply by 3 if you are not content with a minimal standard of living for that year.

 

[foreverwaiting]

A very very rough estimate of CAD$ 2000 a month. But a lot will depend on what standard of living you want to maintain....!

 

[Suin]

it's cheaper to live in smaller towns close to countryside, but there you will definitely need a car.

 

[rishabshanker]

hi all

i m from India and i m in the middle of immigration process and expect to land in Canada in 2010. My wife and four year old son will accompany me there. can anyone guide me about the estimated monthly expenses in Toronto for us on housing, food etc.? so that i can come prepared for that.

thanks and reagrds

sanjeev

Hi Sanjeev,

I checked a few canadian supermarkets online and this is what I found..these are only the price of groceries and toileteries...hope it helps

http://www.loblaws.ca/en/thisWeeksFlyer.aspx
http://eflyer.shopnofrills.ca/cached_banner_pages/publication.aspx

All the Best & God Bless

Cheers,
Rishab

 

[rishabshanker]

Hi Sanjeev,

This is a website which contains links to the various supermarkets... choose the province, city and stsore and then you will get to see the pricelist in the form of flyers.

http://www.shopnofrills.ca/

let me know if you need more info and I'll see what I can dig up..

Cheers,
Rishab

 

[sanjeevindia]

thnx to all for shring some info. i m looking to live like a tenant and may be later on buy a house, say after 10-12 months. not very keen on having a car initially. but need a place near to a school for my son.

 

[rishabshanker]

thnx to all for shring some info. i m looking to live like a tenant and may be later on buy a house, say after 10-12 months. not very keen on having a car initially. but need a place near to a school for my son.

Hi Sanjeev,

Heres what I found from a friend's blog. I would suggest you find a good school for your close to a city (use google maps) and then look for housing in that region.

heres the info on schools in canada
There are three kinds:

Private - These are privately run and are very expensive. Many work out to fees of between 8000 to over 10,000/- dollars a year.

Catholic - If at least one parent is a baptized Catholic, your child can go to a Catholic school for Elementary school. In high school, you can be of any denomination.

Public - The majority of students go to school in the public school system. These are government funded and not to be compared or confused with the corporation schools in India! These schools have excellent infrastructure, syllabus and well trained teachers. The curriculum is a mix of American and European.

Within these schooling systems, you also have the French immersion students. These students learn all their subjects and have their education in French. Some people opt for this so their kids learn two languages really well.

Your child’s age at the end of the year (December 31st) determines the grade that they will normally go into, though this may be adjusted somewhat if your child's circumstances require. Children begin school in the year they become five.

If you are coming in to Canada, look at www.fraserinstitute.org/reportcards

This site has the full listings of the schools and their ranking. Also the area the school is in. You can also look at:

www.tdsb.on.ca

This is the Toronto School Board site.

For schools in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon check this site:

www.peel.edu.on.ca

Remember: The school your child goes to depends on WHERE YOU LIVE. So if you want your child to go to a particular school, you can find a home in that zone and then get admission. Call the transportation department of the board and tell them the home address. They will confirm the school names to you.


All the Best & God Bless

Cheers,
Rishab

 

[OrangeCounty]

rishabshanker - Thanks for the useful information. You have done your research well!

Question for links18 - You had recommended multiplying CIC minimum amount x3. Did you have any idea on the number of months? This is just to have a worst case budget.

Best Regards
OrangeCounty

 

[rishabshanker]

rishabshanker - Thanks for the useful information. You have done your research well!

Question for links18 - You had recommended multiplying CIC minimum amount x3. Did you have any idea on the number of months? This is just to have a worst case budget.

Best Regards
OrangeCounty

@OrangeCounty....thanks mate!!.....lemme know if there is any way I can help you.

All the best and God Bless

Cheers,
Rishab

 

[links18]

rishabshanker - Thanks for the useful information. You have done your research well!

Question for links18 - You had recommended multiplying CIC minimum amount x3. Did you have any idea on the number of months? This is just to have a worst case budget.

Best Regards
OrangeCounty

I would take a look at what CIC requires as settlement funds and then multiply by 3 and that might get you through a year w/o work. You can survive on less, but be prepared to scrape especially if you want to live in the big 3: Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.

 

[sanjeevindia]

thnx all for ur inputs. hope to have more suggestions coming.

regards

 

[nix1]

I would take a look at what CIC requires as settlement funds and then multiply by 3 and that might get you through a year w/o work. You can survive on less, but be prepared to scrape especially if you want to live in the big 3: Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.

We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children under 4). According to CIC, we need $20130 settlement fund. Does that mean I need more than $80,000 (20130 x 4) to live comfortably in Calgary area?

What if I am making a very low amount OR no amount, is there some kind of support from government for PRs and Citizens? I hope and pray that I do not have to depend on the government to survive, but just wanted to know what to expect in the worst case scenario. Thanks.

 

[links18]

Sounds about right. 2 working parents earning about $40,000 a year might put you in the lower middle class in metropolitan Canada. You won't be driving a beamer on that budget most likely.

 

[nix1]

Sounds about right. 2 working parents earning about $40,000 a year might put you in the lower middle class in metropolitan Canada. You won't be driving a beamer on that budget most likely.

Thanks. We do not want to send our kids to day care, which means I will be working full-time and my wife may be part-time or some part-time work that can be done from home. What if we were to make only $50,000 a year as a family, can we survive in Calgary?