How much should we have in savings, realistically?

[EFK]

Hi everyone..

Just wondering... for a couple moving in from another country, without any job offers (and a very tiny industry, so might take 6-8 months minimum to find a decent job), what is the minimum amount of money one should have access to, to have a comfortable, decent stay, in Toronto?

I have heard a range from 1000 to much higher...
What is the difference in a condo and apartment?

Lets say the basic things:

A studio or 1 bedroom (preferably would prefer to avoid a basement or old, beat up building) maybe a condo/apartment in GTA...
(Our of curiosity, is there any area which is close enough to central, yet has some openness and greenery/mountains close to it?)
Monthly subway/public transport - is the system as good as the one in London?
Food - grocery and fast take away food - 50/50.. expecting to spend more time out hopefully job hunting so lots of kababs, burgers, etc.
Internet and phone bills
Heating system - can we get rents where this is already included?
Toiletries, personal hygiene, I guess a monthly figure... of basic items for men and women..
Anything else considered essential?

What is the % paid in tax usually? We live in a place without VAT or income tax, so this might take some getting used to..

Any help would be appreciated.... for 6-8 months assuming no employment..

Thanks

 

[kateg]

Much of it is going to depend on the lifestyle you want to have:

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/toronto

Skipping the take-out will really help save some money.

There's not a lot of difference (practically) between a condo and an apartment, if you're renting. Looking at temporary housing, it seems to be in the $1,000 to $2,000 a month range - a long term lease might not make sense while job hunting.

You can see a lot of examples of temporary housing here:

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/search/sub

Many are priced by the week.

Mass transit in Canada is not as good as in many areas of the world. Toronto is considered by some to be the best in Canada:

http://www.blogto.com/city/2014/03/toronto_ranked_best_in_canada_for_public_transit_really/

Toronto seems to be highly accessible (you can get to mass transit from most places), but does have reliability issues.

 

[DesiMan19]

And wht would be the estimate on housing+living expenses for the first month? Please share

 

[mrbeachman]

There is no way you can survive in Toronto on 1000 a month even if you share your apartment.

Depending on your industry don't be surprised to get that job in 60 to 80 months and not 6-8.

My impression is that only 10% of candidates get a job in such a short amount of time.

Anyway, I am currently living in Bangkok and plan on moving back to Toronto in near future with my Thai wife.

I have a mortgaged condo which costs me around $1200 a month including mortgage, insurance and condo fees. Electricity is included in this amount. However, this is also the average rental price of one bedroom outside the city core. So....

$1200 a month for rent (if you get an older apartment style building the price of electric will most likely be included in rent. Not so in a condo)
25 dollars a day feeding 2 people ($750 a month). This does not include fast food. Expect to pay a lot more if you are going to be eating at fast food places every day.

$130 for a transit pass (maybe it's more these days). ($260 for 2)

$50 for phone ($100 for 2)
$50 for cheap internet.

So you are realistically looking at around $2000 for a single person in Toronto for basic survival without any luxuries.

Transit in Toronto is ranked number 1 in Canada because transit service in Canada is one cruel joke. Bus service is fine. The subway service is a joke even comparing to 3rd world countries.

 

[OntarioBound]

I would want minimum of $1000 per month budgeted (not including rent), assuming I would be using public transportation. Remember, most places ask for the first month rent and security deposit (usually another month rent) and some places the last month rent also, so you need to add all that to your expenses in addition, as well as the startup cost of setting up an apartment (furniture, cookware, bedding, etc) Having said this, I have been spending about $2000/month (without adding rent), but that is just me.

 

[8Hannah8]

The difference between condo and apartment are minimal: from convenience perspective, laundry machines are shared and not built in within an apartment. It is also extra cost attached to use those machines. Apartment buildings mainly don't have a gym or a pool, which many condo buldings have. Also, more frequently you pay extra for hydro.

Apartments buidings generally are cheaper, so you can find 1 bedroom for about 1200-1500 depending on the area downtown/midtown. If you want to live closer to the subway line, then it would be more expensive. Studio apartment would be cheaper, but the difference between studio/1 bedroom might be as little as $150 depending on the buiding. Yonge/Eglinton, Yonge/Davisville areas have a lot of apartment buildings, some of which are newly reinovated and pretty clean. Heating cost is already included for the majority of them. Can't really suggest anything about a scenary, there are many parks in Toronto, but I always prefered to live in very urban areas. If you really like parks, try High Park area, it is farther away from downtown core, but has a lot of green space. Just remember winters in Toronto are pretty long, so looking at naked trees for about 6-7 months might not be what you expected. If you like water, then Harbourfront might be appealing.

If you live closer to groceries stores, then you might not need the metro pass until you find a job. It is feasible to buy only if you travel every day including weekend more than twice (again, it would be depending on your location).

I use teksavvy internet and Koodo mobile both of which have pretty decent pricing comparing to Rogers/Bell.

Lunch meals in a food court in financial district are usually about $9-$12. Take out... it's hard to estimate... Fastfood chains as McDonald's, Subway, KFC, Wendy's, pizza pizza offer more moderate pricing and daily deals.

Personal Hygiene: 2 biggest stores such as Shoppers DrugMart and Rexall also give out weekly deals papers/promos. I found it pretty handy to stock up on half priced items to save couple of bucks. Same goes to many groceries stores, but you really have to be on the watch for deals. If you get a car, there are also bulk stores like Costco (I think you need membership for it) which offer cheaper pricing for members.
I buy veggies/fruits at Chinese street stores which are much much cheaper comparing to grocery store pricing.

I am not sure what is in necessety basket for groceries/personal hygiene in Canada, but everything outside of it gets taxed by 13% (not sure if that's what you were asking about).


That's everything I could think of for now, hope it helps somehow. I hope I wasn't too discouraging in my post, Toronto is expensive city, but you can manage if you know what to expect

 

[EFK]

Thankyou!! that has been very helpful.. have saved this in my bookmarks to make sure I keep these things in mind...thanks..

 

[sharat_joshi77]

Hi everyone..

Just wondering... for a couple moving in from another country, without any job offers (and a very tiny industry, so might take 6-8 months minimum to find a decent job), what is the minimum amount of money one should have access to, to have a comfortable, decent stay, in Toronto?

I have heard a range from 1000 to much higher...
What is the difference in a condo and apartment?

Lets say the basic things:

A studio or 1 bedroom (preferably would prefer to avoid a basement or old, beat up building) maybe a condo/apartment in GTA...
(Our of curiosity, is there any area which is close enough to central, yet has some openness and greenery/mountains close to it?)
Monthly subway/public transport - is the system as good as the one in London?
Food - grocery and fast take away food - 50/50.. expecting to spend more time out hopefully job hunting so lots of kababs, burgers, etc.
Internet and phone bills
Heating system - can we get rents where this is already included?
Toiletries, personal hygiene, I guess a monthly figure... of basic items for men and women..
Anything else considered essential?

What is the % paid in tax usually? We live in a place without VAT or income tax, so this might take some getting used to..

Any help would be appreciated.... for 6-8 months assuming no employment..

Thanks

Well, 1000 for 2 is not sufficient by any means.
If you include rent, I would go with other estimates of around 2000/ month....
For starters, you can look for apartments. Apartments are usually cheaper than condos as they dont have extras (Swimming pool, Gym etc), which you might not need....
For basements, look for walkout basements, where you wont get the feeling of living underground... many houses have that kind of basements..
If you are in downtown area, you can go for weekly Pass for $55 or so. Its the cheapest way to travel in core downtown area...plus you can use this pass in other transit as well.

In apartments, usually Heat and Hydro (Electricity) is included in rent. so you wont have to worry. Am not sure of apartments through...
For phone Internet, I use ACN which provides Bell and Rogers connections...its abt $70 per month for internet and home phone....

Hope this was helpful

Regards,
Sharat Joshi