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I've been apartment-hunting for a while now, as I need to move out of my parent's house soon, and I'm just taken aback by the rent prices in Toronto - not only in the downtown core, but in the "suburbs" of the GTA as well (e.g. North York, Scarborough, etc...).
For a tiny studio apartment that's not bed-bug infested or run by a bad property management company (e.g. Medallion), you're looking at ~$1200 minimum - even at far-out locations at the edge of the GTA, like Yonge & Steeles. So I looked at basement units, and shockingly even these are going around ~$1000 minimum.
My most recent tour of a rental basement unit ended with a bidding war that brought the price from the $800/month advertised, to $975/month. And the unit itself was tiny, had crappy insulation, and was generally in a state of disrepair. Crazy.
Roommates and houseshares are cheaper at $700-$800 for a room, but these get snatched up quite quickly, and frankly I do not want to live with roommates as I need my own space (turning 27 soon, so I'm outgrowing houseshares as well).
I make an "average" wage of $45k-$50k (I'm a full-time worker on a contract, so my hours/pay can vary slightly by the month). I work in downtown Toronto, so I can't live *too* far out. According to updated employment statistics I've seen, the median individual salary in Toronto is around $45k-50k as well.
Yet, I often read of single Torontonians spending $1600-$2000/month on 1-bedroom apartments. I take home ~$2600/month at my salary, so spending something like $1600 on rent would be 62% of my monthly income. How do all these people afford their rent? Do many more people make $70k+ salaries than I thought, or are most of these people paying high rents ($1600+) sharing their 1-bedroom apartment with their significant other, and hence are actually dividing all the rent/bills they pay in half?
I 100% love your questions as I was wondering the same thing.
I fall in to the higher income catergory and still dont get how someone who makes 1/3-1/2 of what I do can afford to comfortably live in the city without getting in to debt.
If you are only working a contract job I would suggests you save the money and stay at home. Save up some money for the next few years for a down payment to buy something.
Living on your own if single can be very expensive.
I am going to say it honestly, but in my opinion a $50 000 salary in Toronto is not going to provide too many perks if trying to live alone.
Most of the singles that I know have shared accomidations or own and rent part of the their space out to help get by.
If you dont have a good amount of savings and it is only a contract job you might want to slow down. Stay at home and put some money in the bank.
OP what you're talking about is nationwide in the USA.
I see people in towns and cities everywhere as confused as you are.
So many people are trying to find a place to live where the housing costs and salaries work together and I can't find anywhere where they do.
Best of luck.
Best of luck to all of us.
Exact same situation here in Boston, MA as it is in New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, etc. Young professionals live with roommates, at times even up to 4-5 roommates or however many the apartment allows, pay a hefty chunk of their salary for housing, live in less desirable areas, or rent single rooms in a house. I know a few who vow to never leave the big city because it is too exciting and others who give up and move to the far out suburbs and endure long commutes into town. Would you consider living in a lesser city like Hamilton for a change?
It's a matter of supply and demand and more specifically, the Filtering Model of Housing Demand. Wherever a city is in high demand, everyone wants to move there. If there is an increase in supply of high quality housing, people living in moderate housing get to move up (i.e. filter into high quality housing) and they are followed by people living in low quality housing. What you see in Toronto and other popular major cities is that supply has not kept up with demand, people already living in low to moderate housing cannot filter the next highest category, and any newcomers either end up living in lesser quality housing or getting price out of the city completely.
45,000 is very low salary for Toronto. It is just twice the minimal wage. Find a second job or change your current job. Or you can find a gf asap to share rent expenses. You can also save on entertainment that way.
It is pretty much the same everywhere in any nice and interesting cities. Of course I'd rather live in a small apartment in Toronto than a big house in Hamilton. A big house is completely useless and I don't know why people give it so much priority.
Also don't even think a 450sf studio is small (suburban folks with boring life love to call it "shoebox" nowadays). There are tons of 300sf apartments in Hong kong or Paris, with higher prices.
45,000 is very low salary for Toronto. It is just twice the minimal wage. Find a second job or change your current job. Or you can find a gf asap to share rent expenses. You can also save on entertainment that way.
The 2nd job factor. I have worked 2 jobs for like a decade. I just recently downsized to 1 full time job. The extra free time is nice...... but wow 1 and 1/2 months in to this I am really missing that extra money and I am having a lot of stress about changing my life style.
Lots of people have 2nd jobs. Even people that make over $100 000. I still have a side business. Which does not replace my part time job.
You need to think about what you value more .. living on your own right now or are you ready to be home poor with little chance of owning your own property or are you ready to work 60 hours per week .
I 100% love your questions as I was wondering the same thing.
I fall in to the higher income catergory and still dont get how someone who makes 1/3-1/2 of what I do can afford to comfortably live in the city without getting in to debt.
If you are only working a contract job I would suggests you save the money and stay at home. Save up some money for the next few years for a down payment to buy something.
Living on your own if single can be very expensive.
I am going to say it honestly, but in my opinion a $50 000 salary in Toronto is not going to provide too many perks if trying to live alone.
Most of the singles that I know have shared accomidations or own and rent part of the their space out to help get by.
If you dont have a good amount of savings and it is only a contract job you might want to slow down. Stay at home and put some money in the bank.
Well, it's a fixed-term contract job on paper, but for the past 1.5 years my contract has been renewed time and again. And I have always been working full-time hours each week. Our team is always short-staffed, so management does not have plans to terminate anybody. The only reason I have been kept on contract is because the company wants to save costs on not having to give benefits to contract employees.
Yes, I am currently looking for another job, one that is full-time and permanent.
Your comment really confirms what I suspected and feared...that most singles have to live with roommates in order to afford the cost of living in Toronto.
I can very well choose to continue living with my parents to save money, but if it's going to take a few years to save for a down payment, I'll be over 30 and still living with my parents. Besides, many people my age do not have this option and need to move out (e.g. their parents kick them out, or their parents are abusive/controlling, etc...). It's a wonder how these people manage to keep afloat if they're not making a grand salary.
45,000 is very low salary for Toronto. It is just twice the minimal wage. Find a second job or change your current job. Or you can find a gf asap to share rent expenses. You can also save on entertainment that way.
45k is a "low salary"? According to the most recent statistics, it's pretty much around the average (i.e. median) salary for working-age individuals in Canada. 45k just seems low because it's Toronto we're talking about, where the cost of living is skyrocketing while wages stagnate.
Seriously, almost every job posting I see that discloses salary is around this range, if not lower. It is also difficult to pick up a second job that 1) isn't minimum wage, and 2) will accommodate my rotating schedule at my current, primary job (where my schedule can change by the week).
I get though, that working in operations / back office at a bank isn't the most lucrative field - which is why I'm currently trying to change careers into tech where there may be more opportunities for growth.
I ain't gonna hitch it with a random boyfriend just to save on rent costs though.
45k is a "low salary"? According to the most recent statistics, it's pretty much around the average (i.e. median) salary for working-age individuals in Canada. 45k just seems low because it's Toronto we're talking about, where the cost of living is skyrocketing while wages stagnate.
Seriously, almost every job posting I see that discloses salary is around this range, if not lower. It is also difficult to pick up a second job that 1) isn't minimum wage, and 2) will accommodate my rotating schedule at my current, primary job (where my schedule can change by the week).
I get though, that working in operations / back office at a bank isn't the most lucrative field - which is why I'm currently trying to change careers into tech where there may be more opportunities for growth.
I ain't gonna hitch it with a random boyfriend just to save on rent costs though.
That income is low in Toronto only because housing/ renting costs are high. If I was in your shoes knowing what I do now I would live at home for a bit to save up for a down payment on something then get a room mate or rent oyt part of the space. If dibe wisely you could have a really large part of your cost covered by the parts of the property/ hone that you rent out. The first year of being married in Toronto my husband me and our baby were living in one bedroom in my patents house. It was trucky... but the free rent helped us save up to buy a house.
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