Hello and welcome!

I am born and raised in Calgary, and will try and help as best as I can. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Canadian taxes (all levels) can be high. Your salary of $85k will translate roughly into $60k net but with children and possibly a dependant spouse you may have a more favourable situation. From there, factor approx. $2000-$3000/month for a rented home (whole house, depending on the area of the city).

When you look for areas, affordability is key but also note whether there are schools in walking distance, public transportation and amenities. Not all areas have schools or easy access to transportation. If you have all of these, you may be able to get by with lower transportation costs. If you are mindful of your money, $85k is achievable.

Calgary is an expensive city. I would estimate another $700-$1000/mo for food, depending on your family's preferences.

A bus pass will cost over $100/mo.

For the rest, such as clothing and household, there are so many ways to accumulate those things at little cost that I will leave those out of the equation.

Let me know if you need any more help!

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Thank you lorric5447, I am looking at houses for rent on CL and I see a lot offered for under $2000 with 3 bedrooms in the NW and SW (which I think are good places). I am guessing utilities would cost around 300-500 in winter time, is this correct ?
What would be a reasonably comfortable income for my case (with adding buying a car to the equation ?)

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Hello,

Happy to help so PM me and I can give you my email address. I'm a little skeptical about where you are finding houses in the NW and SW for under $2k. I work in the industry...please be aware that there are a few scammers out there.

As for a car, new around $18k+, insurance depends on the vehicle. Utilities in the winter will depend on the size of the house but $300 - $500 should do it. Do let me know if you need more help!

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hi,
You can refer this website they will help u in this process.[url=http://www.xiphiasimmigration.com]Canada immigration services[/url].

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I would not choose Calgary. It's cold & expensive. I would forget the East & Vancouver. Vancouver Island is best. Victoria can't be beat, then any city on the eastern side up to Courtnay. I live in Nanaimo which I find very peaceful and fantastic fishing. Shopping is great too. It has everything and easy access. 85,000 people. There are lots of groovy islands too: Saltspring,Gabriola, Hornby, Cowichan Bay, Shaunigan Lake, Cobble Hill, Ladysmith, Duncan, the list goes on. Forget Port Alberni. Too far out, but cheap. Nanamo has an Airport & ferry to the mainland. Victoria has the same with international connection to Washington state. Saanich a suburb of Vivtoria is nice. Collwood another burb won the National award for the best municipality. The only other BC city that is worthy is. Kamloops, but it is land locked. Good Luck

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Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

I have lived in Calgary and area for about 15 years. If you have transportation, then you can also look at renting or buying a house in an outlying community, such as Chestermere, Langdon, Okotoks, etc. It can be much cheaper to buy in those areas and the commute can be quite short depending on where you are working in the city. When we lived in the city, we spent about 45 min to an hour commuting each way to work. Now that we are 20 min out of Calgary, my husbands commute is 23 minutes to work! I think $500 per month is about right for utilities in the winter, but of course dependant on the size of house you are in. The last poster mentioned Kamloops as a possible area to live. I was raised there, so I can help you out if you do look at that area, but I would most definitely not recommend it at all.

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That's an exciting change! Here's a useful link to find properties for rent in Calgary, as well as the neighborhood that best fits you and your family's lifestyle (basedon your preferences regarding proximity to downtown & amenities, safety, preferred neighbours, budget...)
http://navut.com/calgary/
I hope this helps!

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Hi standupguy,

I am a Canadian in California planning a solo return. Mother was born on Vancouver Island and my x husband went to Nanaimo every year to fish in the 80s and 90s. I think I will try to make it there.

Because I have dogs, I will need to rent or buy. Is the bubble in your area still in effect? I believe I would love it there as a retired person which will be in another several years. I work for medical industry as support staff.

Thank you,

Sincerely,
Wendy

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Wendy93292,

Yes, I really like Nanaimo. Of course if I could afford a home in Oak Bay area of Victoria, that would trump. The fishing is still great, but its a lot easier to buy Sockeye or Humpback's from the local aboriginal folks on #7 Res.

Nicer homes can be had around the $300,000 mark, posh digs 350,000 an up. I own a Nanaimo Heritage Home near Vancouver Island University. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs and a full bath. I am looking to rent to 2 university students. I am refinishing my dining room as the Master bedroom for me with my office being the front room. I'm going to sell in around 4 more years and move back to my home in the Philippines where my wife prefers to live since she wants to keep her daughter is there until she finishes school..

There are newer smaller townhouses or subdivisions with houses on tiny lots sprouting up all around me. The tiny townhouses went for 200,000 to 214,000. Glorified trailer parks. There is a new Quality Foods mall opening half a block from where I am in in 4 years. Prices in my preferred neighborhood will jump then. No snobs where I live.

I worked for the provincial government in a maximum security psychiatric ward as a supervisor for 17 years, and then moved over to the fed's to do front line work in Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development working with about 123 of the 197 Indian Bands. Mostly cleaning up fraud, but had the same task internally as financial rules were broken there too. I was so happy the day I quit in 2006. My popularity declined after the Auditor General came around to slap the wrists of Finance and others. I no longer needed references to work.

Best,
SUG

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Calgary and Alberta with it are in a bit of a recession now due to oil prices being low, something which doesn't look like it will change soon. Change brings hardships and opportunity, depending on how you look at it. When I left it was recession and it was awful trying to find a new job. But after I left it was booming and people said it was awful trying to find a place to live. But time it right and Alberta is one of the best places in the world to get your family and career going.

If you're moving now, make sure you have a job waiting, and see about buying a house or condo as soon as possible. New condos on the outskirts are more affordable and if you can get close to a train station, commute is a breeze. I living in the southern edge which had it all. Just don't commute during rush hour, the trains pack like sardines.

About Vancouver island, that others have mentioned. These towns are mostly for rich and retired. There's little to no career opportunity, living expenses are bad, and the taxes are double to Alberta's. You get what you pay for I guess.

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Well, thanks to everyone who responded. I actually turned down the job offer and didn't move to Canada all together. I am planning though to move next year so that I can satisfy the requirements of my PR. I work in IT and am guessing it has to be Toronto

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brenrem - Calgary is OK. I could not say it is one of the best places in the world for a family. Housing is expensive. Comparing Alberta's taxes to British Columbia saying that Alberta is half of BC is rubbish. There is no sales tax in Alberta, but there is GST federal sales tax. So you save 6%. NOT 50%. Canada Revenue Agency charges income tax the same everywhere. Vancouver Island is not just for rich retiree's. Qualicum Beach and Parksville are. Courtnay, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Duncan, are not enclaves for the wealthy. Nanaimo is for lower middle class to middle class. Even poor folk can find work and cheap rentals nearby. You just need a car because there is no bus service. Vancouver is only for the rich, but up the Fraser Valley there are large centers like Mission. There are large army bases nearby. Chemainus is a nice small town. Finding work is the issue. The Captial Regional District around Victoria is a cluster of smaller cities. Sannichton is beautiful spot with the ferry to Washington State. The oil price will stay low ($50 a barrel or is it $40 now). Jensen the Canadian dollar is worth less than 60 cents American. There is a glut of fracking oil. OPEC is intending to cut production, but don't expect oil prices to rise for some time. The recession is here to stay. Port Alberni is a cheap place to live but closer to the West coast of Vancouver Island- warmer in the summer and colder on the winter, but it has beautiful and gigantic Sprott Lake. If you haven't been there, you really don't know. I live there. Nanaimo is a beautiful and very affordable place to live. Used to be a coal mining town and had a blue collar reputation. That has changed. If you ask someone from Vancouver about it, they will tell you "don't go there". I lived there 24 years and would never go back. It's too crazy and fast. People from the mainland arrive in Departure Bay, Nanaimo and drive out to their get-a-way destinations. People in Nanaimo don't want them to move there. Snobby it is not.

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IT jobs are everywhere. Toronto is for the city mouse.

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I have been told that most jobs are in GTA, I don't intend to stay in Toronto itself but rather GTA

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Just to be clear, Vancouver Island is absolutely beautiful, my parents want to move there SOOO bad.

What I meant, taxes are a lot higher. BC is 12% sales tax and Alberta is 5%. Income taxes vary, poor pay less provincial tax in BC (5% vs 10%) but the middle class (~100K) pay more.in BC (14.7% vs 10%) (source: Canada Revenue Agency web site)

Cost of other things are a lot more too. Gas is around $1.20 to $1.40/litre in Van (not sure where the island is these days). Alberta last I saw was sitting around $0.80. It's generally bad enough that most Vancouverites plug up the Peace Arch every weekend morning to go shopping in the US... even with the bad exchange rate (gas is $1.80/gallon at Costco). The island isn't so lucky, the ferry is around $100 to the mainland one way. They can go direct to Port Angeles, WA, but that's the biggest small town in that area (around 2.5hr drive to the nearest city.

About Calgary (and Edmonton which has a crazy mall), jobs are going to be tight right now and you don't want to be stuck unemployed. Believe me, been there. But you also don't want to be looking for a house when it's booming either. The trick, like I said earlier, move there with a job when it's in recession (like now) and immediately buy a house. When it booms again, sell and move out. If you do this right, there's no opportunity in the world as good.

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Bondo2, just a note about Canada: Canadian's are world renowned as one of the happiest, best educated countries in the world. It's not perfect by any means, Canada and Canadians have issues, like everywhere else, but being happy should be a priority.

For doing IT, virtually any city will work. The east coast is probably the least culture shock but be the hardest to find opportunity, Ottawa is very techy and Calgary/Edmonton have a lot of data centers due to oil accounting.

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brenrem BC also has the carbon tax, the only province in Canada that does. The liberal government uses it to subsidize industry. Gas prices on Vancouver Island are the same as the mainland. But if you get an account with Petrocan as I have, you go to the card lock and its about $1 a litre. They bill me once a month. Getting the secure job is everything. The minimum wage in BC is $10.50 p/hr the lowest in Canada. The housing market moves from January to March and then sales slow way down. If your coming from the US or have US income, the loonie is only worth 60 cents American. That's a 40% increase. The cross border shopping is going the other way now. There are Provincial and Federal Income taxes. If your income is over 55K you pay 50% in combined Prov. & Fed. income tax last time I looked. I'm a pensioner living on 1/4 of what I used to make. I made 74K but took home 37K. Burn. But I have a large garden and grow so much produce I give about 80% away free to my neighbors. I got all the local farmers mad at me. I am on a bus & school route, so I get lots of walk by's. I buy my fish from the local Aboriginal people who I know very well. A 20 pound Sockeye salmon goes for $10 or less. My buddy hunts deer. There are too many here. It's a country lifestyle. For 2 medium size crabs you will pay over $50 at super store. If you buy from the crab guy at the local Res. they are $5-10 each. If you bring him a six pack, he gives you the same prices as his neighbors. I buy my wood from the mill. No tax. Cedar goes for 60% less than Home Depot. I know a guy who will plane the boards for me. So its all a matter of getting connected to the cheaper lifestyle.

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Canada was rated the second best country in the world to live, Germany was first. 35 million people. Canucks like to keep their social distance, except in the sauna. Canucks do not like Americans, but you would never know it because they are polite. It's all about business and working in Canada. There are a lot of snobs. Depends on the model and year of your truck. Not my style for sure.

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Its $144 round trip for one car and one passenger to Vancouver from Nanaimo (Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay). If you walk on and take the West Van Blue Bus #257 from Horseshoe Bay to Georgia Street downtown centre in Vancouver it costs $41.80. The 257 doesn't stop at all the bus stops along Georgia Street. Keep your transfer. Taking your car on the ferry is only for the rich. With your bus transfer you can take any bus or the sky train anywhere. Stanley Park sea wall is 10 km. Granville Island Market under Burrard Street a must see. Robson Street just off Georgia Street shopping central. The ferry and bus takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. They cut off boarding 10 minutes before departure. If you take your car there is a good chance you won't get on unless you pay for a reservation (extra) in advance on-line. Walk-on's always board. I would like to add that I support a family of 3 and pay my mortgage on $2,500 a month. I also own a house in the Philippines where I support my wife's niece paying for internet, power, water, food & clothing and transportation. I live there 6 months of the year with my wife paying for the rt airfare. I don't like winter. But in 2017, our adoption of my wife's niece will be final and she will become a Canadian citizen automatically and get her passport and return to Canada with us. The summers are fantastic in Beautiful BC. Living in the Philippines where we are is 100% different.

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look at this site http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/home-eng.do?lang=eng

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