Moving To Toronto - Info Needed (apartment, rentals, health insurance)

[chuck2215]

Hello,

I am currently a resident of Texas and have been working in the US for the past 4 years.
I recently received an offer from my current company to relocate to Toronto, CA and have been confused and would appreciate any help. I have a few questions?

Q1: Lets say I currently have a yearly salary of around 70K USD in Texas. And I have been offerred a salary of 85K CAD in Toronto, Would I be able to maintain my current standard of living? Would I have some savings at the end of each month? I understand that the income tax in Canada is pretty high, around 25-30%.

Q2: I will move to Toronto on a skilled worker visa. My company would take care of the application process. I will be accompanied by my wife...I would like to know what kind of Visa will she be on? Would it be a Visitor visa and will it also be a work visa? Would she be able to work in Canada as she would be accompanying me.

Q3: I have heard that we do not have to pay for medical insurance in Canada. Is that only for citizens and perminent residence or is it the same for everyone, even if one is on a work visa.

Q4: Assuming I wont live in downtown and will be living in one of the suburbs of Toronto, what would be an estimated average rent for a 1/2 bedroom apartment?

Q5: How different will the monthly outgoings be from the US? I assume everyone would have the same basic monthly outgoings like electricity bills, rent, internet/phone bill, car insurance rates, gas etc...

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks....

Chuck.

[dpylyp]

Welcome to Toronto
Lets try the rental Q4 I am on the west side of the city be it Etobicoke or Mississauga you wil have many choices in one and two bedroom units in new if not recently constructed buildings. Rents from 1500 to 2000 per month willgive you many choices.

Cable is 110 per month ( includes internet)
Phone is about 60
Utilities are usually included in the rental
My Hydro (Electric) averages 60 per month.

Welcome
When you are closer drop me a line and I can send you some property choices.

Most rentals are available at 30 -45 days prior to move in. Sometimes slightly farther in advance.

Cheers

[mississauga75]

Actually 85K is a great salary and if your wife works even part time somewhere you can easily have combined income of over 100K which is a very nice salary for two people

1500 per month you could get a really nice place anywhere in the GTA - 1 or 2 bedroom with excellent amenities. If you work downtown in Toronto i suggest living there, it might be slightly higher than 1500 per month but not much for a 2 bdrm and you would avoid the huge cost of car ownership. Unless you have an aversion to Downtown living, The Public Transportation within the dt core is excellent (great subway system).. Plus, eating downtown offers more varied cuisine and its cheap too! Plus, Toronto has a great downtown core so there'd be lots for y'all to do after work and easier to expand the social circle which i think would be very important to you.

For the work visa part try this website

http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLish/informa...tions/work.asp

I'm not sure about health insurance relative to your situation, but if there isn't from a public perpective you could ask your employer about it. If you are a resident of Texas there should be Canadian embassy/consulates in a few places there as Texas has a big population and i'm sure there are plenty of Canadian expats down there, so you could use one of them as an info source.

Aside from that the cost of living would be about equal i would imagine and if not, not very much of a difference overall - food is probably cheaper here, but i find when i go to Walgreens in the states, everyday items are cheaper and there tends to be better selection.

Toronto is a great place to live and is very safe so from a standard of living point of view, you may very well be happier here - having said that - its can get awfully cold compared to Texas so have thick skin and don't be a wimp - haha... but for the snowy cold winter - if you work in dt toronto i suggest living there to avoid any type of commute. The great thing about moving to a new place is regardless of where you set up shop to work, you can find a place close to work and i'd highly recommend that. Remember Toronto is a very big city and its metro area exceeds that of DFW even, so depending on the location of your company, you really want to avoid long commutes, because Toronto has Texas sized traffic jams lol.

[minibrings]

Word of advise when coming to Ontario: have a copy of your drivers record from Texas and any other state that you have lived in as well as referral letters from your insurance companies.

Ontario recognizes US drivers licenses as equivalent but it can be a pain as you have to prove you have driven in the US for I believe a minimum of 3 years to get a license without restrictions.

Car Insurance will be MORE EXPENSIVE than in the US (it was higher than when I lived in NJ which is a high insurance cost state). I had to bring referral letters from my prior insurance companies and provide them copies of my driving records from all the states where I lived to get the best rate. And the best rate I got was 1,600 for a 2004 Saab 9-5.

Food, clothing will be higher. Buy in the US before you get here.

Airfares will be higher. There is a reason why at least half of the cars at Buffalo Airport have Ontario plates.

If you can get it, apply for and get a NEXUS trusted travellers card; it allows you to use the Whirlpool Bridge as the line at the Lewiston-Queenston bridge can be long.

Cable is lower than what I paid in NY. Expect to see somewhat more risque programming.

Mobile prices are about the same but here is another piece of advise.. look for a pay as you go plan for the first few months just in case you decide you are not happy here and want to move back to the US and warmer weather. It also allows you to talk to people and find out what they think of their cell service.

Food prices are comparable, especially if you shop at the Chinese grocery stores -- best prices on veggies. Food bought in grocery stores are not taxed.

Finally expect to find that when you lease an apartment that a 60 day notice of termination is pretty common; in the US its 30 days notice.

Hope you enjoy Toronto. Bring warm clothes for the winter!

[Fred Derf]

Go here and pop in 85000 to have a look at what you'll pay in taxes: Canadian Income Tax Calculator 2009 It looks like you'll pay nearly $22k in taxes but that will pay for healthcare* and much better schools. *I have no idea if you would be using an open or closed work permit or how any of that works.

... temporary foreign workers who hold open work permits and their spouses/dependants may now be eligible for OHIP coverage. The worker must be employed full-time for an employer in Ontario for a minimum of 6 months and : * Maintain their primary place of residence in Ontario * Be physically present in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period, and * Be physically present in Ontario for 153 of the first 183 days immediately after establishing residency in the province ... Temporary foreign workers who hold closed work permits are not affected by the changes made to the OHIP-eligibility criteria on April 1, 2009. They remain eligible for OHIP, provided they meet the requirements under Regulation 552.

MOHLTC - Public Information - Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan - Changes to OHIP Eligibility