Cost of Living in Calgary

[Eskay]

Hi lads,

I'll spend a work and travel year in (Western) Canada next year. My trip will start in Vancouver but as a poor Flames supporter, I won't stay in that expensive town with its towel waving people for a long time: I want to live in Calgary!

Today, a German immigrant who lives in Calgary since 2005 told me that a friend of her has following costs (he lives in a flat-sharing community near downtown Calgary by the way):

rent: 450$
utilities: 80$
food: 300$
healthcare: 50$
mobile phone: 40$
internet: 50$
car insurance: 240$

I'm 18 years old and I'll be 19 when I'll be in Canada - I won't be able to rent a car. So I won't have to pay for petrol and car insurances. But I'll have to pay for busses etc. on the other hand and that could become difficult in Calgary...

And she told me the wages per hour she found in her neighbourhood:

order picker: 13 - 15$
truck washer: 12$
burger flipper (DQ): 12$
construction worker: 14 - 18$
supermarket checkout: 13$

In addition, I'll have a budget of nearly 400$ every month (savings from my "German life").

Could I be able to have a good life in Calgary? What's your opinion?

(also posted it in the official Flames message board)

I'm sorry for making my first posting in the off-topic area but that's very important for me.

I would be very thankful for a few opinions.

GO FLAMES!

[FanIn80]

I make just over 70k a year, but sometimes Calgary is still a very expensive city for me.



...but it's worth every dime.

[MelBridgeman]

i think so...it all depends on where you live, you are young so living with roomates for cheaper rent should make things pretty easy...

[photon]

Those costs are all about right, except for the rent. Even for a room you'll probably be looking at more than $450.

http://calgary.craigslist.ca/roo/

Add a bus pass for $75.

Not sure about the wages.

And welcome!

[SarichFan]

I'd easily double that rent... Unless you're ok renting a cot in someone's garage.

Rent is the biggest thing here really.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

I'd easily double that rent... Unless you're ok renting a cot in someone's garage.

Rent is the biggest thing here really.

That and finding a place that's available.

[Eastern Girl]

Originally Posted by Dion

That and finding a place that's available.

Yeah those were the main issues I found with looking into moving to Calgary. Everyone kept telling me how easy it was to find a job and how difficult it was to find a place to live that was affordable. Don't know how accurate that is, but that's what I was told by several different people.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Eastern Girl

Yeah those were the main issues I found with looking into moving to Calgary. Everyone kept telling me how easy it was to find a job and how difficult it was to find a place to live that was affordable. Don't know how accurate that is, but that's what I was told by several different people.

The advice given out now is to make sure you have a place rented before you move out here

[RW99]

Come to Banff! It's a good option for young people. Make really the same wages as in Calgary, but you get subsidized staff accommodation (and meals in the hotels). Ski/Snowboard in the winter and mountain bike, hike etc. in the summer. And you're close enough to take in some Flames games

[Ozy_Flame]

If those are the kind of jobs you are looking for, I would suggest living somewhere else, somewhere more affordable. Unless you're looking for a permanent residence and a job in the Oil / Gas industry, I'm not sure Calgary is the best place to be. Go to Kelowna or something, there are far more activities in your reach. My brother and I own a condo here, and we pull in over 110k a year together, and we can barely afford the place we have, let alone the outrageous cost of living.

$350 for parking per month downtown is an acurrate description at just how outrageous it is here. I was born and raised here, but I can't wait to leave again.

[PsYcNeT]

When I was making ~$1200 a month I was flat poor and pissing away money into my credit cards to eat.

Now that I make a living wage I'm paying my credit card debt and occasionally having something 'disposable' fall into my lap.

Best bet: Swallow your pride and get a labour job. $16+ to start, typically over $20 after a few months.

Barring that, try to land a sweet office gig like I did, though thats a little tougher

[Save Us Sutter]

Everyone complains about rent in Calgary but I really didn't find it that bad.

The first place I lived in was $465 (1395 for a 3 room/2 level flat) and the second was 400 (1300 for a similar 3 bedroom/2 level)

Now that I am back in "poor" Halifax for a few months I am paying $450 (900 for a two bedroom/1 level)

If you don't mind living with strangers, I had no trouble at all finding rooms for rent and actually got to choose between a few places. Look in Kilarney/Glenmorgan and around those areas. Close enough to downtown, cheap and not much crime in my experience.

Groceries are more expensive then here (except beef and milk... hah) and it sucked paying for health care, but other than that it wasn't nearly as bad as people told me it was going to be.

There are jobs everywhere. You can pick and choose what you want to do, and most pay extremely well.

I'll be back once some things get straightened out, that is for sure.

[Eskay]

Thanks a lot for your opinions! It's really helpful for me tho get the information from people who live in Calgary and Alberta.

Let's see how it all works... Maybe I'll really search a little flat or something in Banff or in another town near Calgary. But as I said before: It's very important for me to watch a few Flames games live in the dome and so it could become difficult to get from Banff to Calgary without owning a car. Or is the intercity bus transportation good and cheap enough?

[MacDougalbry]

If you share a house with some roommates, you can probably get something within your budget. The farther out into the suburbs you go, the nicer a place you will get. On the other hand, if you are searching for a place of your own closer to downtown, you are going to spend at least twice that and the place will probably be a dump. If you are willing to work in construction, you can probably get at least $20 an hour.

[mykalberta]

I would doulbe the rent.

Car insurance seems high, I have a 2004 vehicle and I pay under 100/month for full coverage. It might be different if you are a non citizen with no history in Canada though. Depending on where you live you dont really need a vehicle in Calgary, especially for that price, also add 100 for gas every month.

[Prototype]

Man... I remember being a DQ Burger Flipper for $4.75 an hour as a 15 year old...

[North East Goon]

They are paying $12 an hour now to work at DQ? I remember making $4/hour working at Arby's as my first job back in the late 80's. You young'ns are laughing with that kind of wage, living at your parents.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

They are paying $12 an hour now to work at DQ? I remember making $4/hour working at Arby's as my first job back in the late 80's. You young'ns are laughing with that kind of wage, living at your parents.

there is such a thing called inflation you know..., your parents' house cost $1.00 in the 80s

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by Incinerator

there is such a thing called inflation you know..., your parents' house cost $1.00 in the 80s

Still doesn't stop us from growing up crotchity old men...

[RW99]

Originally Posted by Eskay

Thanks a lot for your opinions! It's really helpful for me tho get the information from people who live in Calgary and Alberta.

Let's see how it all works... Maybe I'll really search a little flat or something in Banff or in another town near Calgary. But as I said before: It's very important for me to watch a few Flames games live in the dome and so it could become difficult to get from Banff to Calgary without owning a car. Or is the intercity bus transportation good and cheap enough?

Further to our PM's Greyound offers service, $50 return to Banff and there's a bus that leaves at 11:15pm, so if the Flames don't go to overtime, I always make it.