What is the average living cost of Canada?
I am a fairly new immigrant in Canada and would like to answer this question based on my experiences. There is so much to love about this place that it almost feels guilty to list the (perceived) negatives. So with that on our minds, lets list some of the cons of living in Canada. Fairly high taxes: There is Provincial Tax and then there is Federal tax. Huh!! Most countries have similar taxation plans, but the absolute salary-to-tax ratio here just puts me off. I know this money is utilized by the government to provide us with healthcare, education, public transit, libraries et cetera. I truly appreciate that. However, being where I am right now, I feel I am facing the heat to a comparatively higher extent. A household with low or very low annual income gets a lot of help from the government with regards to tax credits, child care benefits, health care benefits (short term or long term disabilities). And such a household doesnt have to pay much taxes and whatever they have paid is mostly refunded. A household with very high income is taxed accordingly. But, a very high income means, the taxes do not pinch them much (in my opinion). However, a household with median income (like mine) gets taxed fairly high, and gets almost nothing refunded as tax credits, child care benefits, et cetera. Lesson learnt: Being in the middle-class bracket really sucks!! *See edits at the end of this answer. Employment Insurance!! If you lose your job, you might be eligible for Employment Insurance. It provides temporary financial assistance while you look for work or upgrade your skills. - Source CIC Website A considerable chunk of my income automatically goes to the Employment Insurance fund. Please dont get me wrong. That is a very helpful benefit provided by the government. However, I have seen people lazying around and scrapping through life, just relying on the EI cheques, and other benefits. They are constantly in and out of jobs and rely on the government to a very large extent. Also, having so many people in queue for these benefits means a longer wait time and inability for the money to reach the rightful benefactors on time. Lesson learnt: For someone with specialized skills, a secure job and a fair amount of savings, this insurance is almost always out of your reach, but you are volun-told to contribute for it, forever and ever. Edit: I love the responses regarding EI. Like Manu Singh ( ) stated in one of his comments, I do not like paying for the slackers, be it Canadian or immigrant. Government relief should ideally be available only to the rightfully needy. People have got to shove-up their behinds and make a honest living. Tax evaders and lazy youths have to get their act together. I applaud the idea of EI, i just dont like seeing it feeding the wrong people. Hiring attitude: While the government claims to be unable to find rightful talent within the country and hence, opens the doors for international candidates, the employers are not so open to this idea. Majority of the employers do not want to work with candidates without Canadian work experience. I completely agree that a country and its industries have all the rights to decide who to work with. However, in that case, please do not entice candidates by wrongfully advertising about the shortage of skilled professionals in the country. Lesson learnt: Work on your skills, and be prepared to start from scratch. This might sound easy if you are quite young. But for someone in their 40s, it might be a terrible life situation. Extreme weather: I bet you were waiting for this point. Well it is very cold out here, and believe me, cold is an understatement. :) Also, the summers can get extremely humid and blindingly bright. :) But hey what is life without such wonderful experiences!! Lesson learnt: Dress up according to the weather and conquer the elements. Car insurance: I have no words for the exorbitant amount of money that is ripped-off from new immigrants in the name of automobile insurance. Speechless!! Edit: New immigrants with years of driving experience in their home country can provide relevant documents and get a driving licence quite easily. However, when they apply for automobile insurance, none of that prior experience is given much consideration. As a result, automobile insurance for such new-to-Canada drivers usually ranges from $3000-$4000 (annually). Lesson learnt: Unless the government does something about this, you have to keep paying through your noses for the initial years. All that said and done, I love my life here and always try my best to help new-to-Canada immigrants with their settlement related issues. If the cons dont deter you from moving to Canada, :) then please follow my videos for more information on how to move to Canada via the Express Entry program. Edits: *High Taxes I live in Ontario and can provide some information on the rates here. Source: Canada Revenue Agency Website ____________ Federal tax rates for 2017 15% on the first $45,916 of taxable income, + 20.5% on the next $45,915 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $45,916 up to $91,831), + 26% on the next $50,522 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $91,831 up to $142,353), + 29% on the next $60,447 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $142,353 up to $202,800), + 33% of taxable income over $202,800. Ontario Provincial tax rates for 2017 5.05% on the first $42,201 of taxable income, + 9.15% on the next $42,203, + 11.16% on the next $65,596, + 12.16% on the next $70,000, + 13.16 % on the amount over $220,000 ____________ The tax rates might not seem very high to people from certain countries. However, there are two factors to consider- tax deductions and savings. The cost of living for a middle-class family of four is high. Rents are soaring, day care costs are high. Car insurance and home insurance takes a considerable bite out of your income. Owning a house is another headache in itself. Annually increasing property taxes, mortgages, timely home repairs haunt you. All this leaves you with not much of savings, unless you are a highly paid personnel. Lets say you buy a $600,000 house with a 20% down payment, that is, $ 123,980. That leaves you with a monthly mortgage of $ 2162.86. Property taxes are approximately 1% of the assessed value of the property (assessed by the city municipality). You should be looking at a ~ $ 2000-$3000 annual property tax, which means your monthly deduction is $2162.86 + $ 250 (approximately). All this is while assuming that you made a 20% down-payment. The lower the down-payment, the higher the monthly deductions. For a middle-class family here, to spend such amounts on mortgage, and then take care of food, transit, medicines (not covered by OHIP), clothing, entertainment, etc, seems a rough game. At the end of it, there is hardly anything to save. So, while I am paying a considerable amount of taxes, I am hardly able to save anything. However, the taxes do take care of healthcare, transit ways, libraries, waste management, etc. I can see my taxes being utilized in the right way, and that makes it easier to digest. :)