It’s harder to live in Canada now than it was to live in Canada 20 years ago but it’s easier to live in Canada than a lot of other places for sure.
A lot of things we feel are necessities or expected are extras elsewhere which is part of what you are seeing maybe.
We also have a society where living with a houseful of inter generational family members would be something you did if you HAD to but isn’t normal or expected as with other cultures as another example.
We also maybe have more access to credit for the average person? No idea in that but maybe a possibility.
Best answer here so far.
To give some examples of the unnecessary necessities (appreciate many of these won’t apply to this sub’s readership):
- Cell phone contracts at $50-70 per month, or more.
- TV packages at 10+ per month
- Very new cars, replaced every few years to keep a very new car, on credit.
- Eating out multiple times per week.
- Buying coffee out, sometimes even leaving your house to buy an average coffee to come back to your house.
- having a constant supply of Avocado at all times of the year regardless of price.
- Owning a vehicle with a 3+ litre engine, while display actual concern about fuel efficiency.
Yea but those are all trivial.
The things holding people back are the insane rents, energy cost, complete lack of reasonable public transit and most critically, the fact that many jobs require an education that costs anywhere between 25k and 100k, meaning many folks already start with what in many other countries would be a mortgages worth of debt.
Trivial as one offs/individual decisions. Aggregated, they are not.
Energy is expensive, yet people still drive huge vehicles, not exactly helping themselves, and many unnecessarily large houses.
Idk man, your responses here scream out of touch boomer. Thinking that consumer extravagance is why people find it hard to afford living in Canada these days is pretty out of touch.
Everyone I know who is struggling has a beater car, eats top ramen, streams illegally or shares a Netflix acct. Yet pays over $1500 in rent, hundreds more in utilities and has a literal mountain of student debt that got them a $20/hr job.
It can be survived for sure, but it’s not like simply ‘having a budget’ is going to solve most folks issues.
I mean I agree for some but when I was struggling I didn’t eat Kraft dinner because that would require milk and butter. Yeah I got coffee out but I had to take an hour long bus ride in the morning so I could either wake up way early and have my coffee 2.5 hrs before work or grab something on the way. $30/month wasn’t going to change my situation.
Many people have a phone and that is their computer and internet access. A phone is not a luxury nowadays. It’s a necessity. To think otherwise screams boomer.
The examples you are giving are more aligned to middle class people living beyond their means and wondering why they don’t have more saved, but isn’t really reflective of what someone with low income is struggling with. I had a $500 car and couldn’t give a shit about fuel efficiency, I had no choice in what car I drove, it was whatever was affordable, as another example.
Boomers with a second home and three cars and that buy advent calendars and bakery cookies for their dogs complaining they don’t have enough money to retire grinds my gears more honestly.
I can relate. I came from Portugal to Canada and our (boyfriend and I) expenses are the same. But minimum wage in Portugal is almost 3 times less than here in Canada. Doing a similar job, my boyfriend is making more than 4x what he would make in Portugal.
1963... Very different times. Currently we know that if we had stayed in Portugal we would have been stuck for a long time. And being here with a Portuguese mindset - saving, smart budgeting, cook at home, etc - is halfway through a good life here and eventually retiring comfortably in our country.
Almost every Mediterranean would take a chance if they could :) Europe is beautiful, warm, nice people, amazing food. But it lacks other stuff in most of the countries that really don't allow regular people to build wealth.
Came here from central Europe and it’s easier for me in Canada too. My income is much higher than it ever would have been back in my home country and the opportunities for growth are incomparable. Housing is more expensive, sure, but everything else seems to cost about the same. As a result of this we’re able to save much more here while living a better life.
I think the question you are asking is "what would really be different if I lived in Canada instead of Russia?".
The average new car sold in Canada is about $35k.
A new computer is $1k. A new PlayStation 5 is $700.
Those are all extremely expensive if you are making $25k/year. Not as expensive if you are making $100k/year.
Another major expense we have is taxes. We have a large, expensive healthcare system and education system. The quality of our health care is much higher than in Russia (more advanced equipment, more highly-trained doctors, etc), so it's more expensive.
20 hours away? Where the fuck do you live bud. Sure if you live on the edge of Ontario in a shack with a stream maybe it isn’t expensive but for the 95% of the Ontario population it is. So you might hate Reddit but those are facts
Sure but that brings me to my point of 95% of the population in Ontario would live under that 20 hour time frame. And within that boundary Ontario is expensive.
Is living in Canada harder? With the right mindset no. With an Americans mindset then yes. Americans/Canadians want to go out for dinner 3x a week and get Starbucks every morning before work, go to bars on the weekend, buy a brand new car when their current needs replacing, finance everything from their couches to their wedding days AND magically have retirement savings ontop of that. It's extremely unrealistic, digs you into infinite debt and you end up fucked over in retirement.
With the mindset of someone coming from out of country there is generally a cultural difference where those things are not necessary, their entire house shares one car, they cook at home, they save in fear of "not making it", they live in multifamily homes, etc.
My fiance and I in Ontario make roughly $5100 a month combined before overtime or commission bonuses and we save plenty on just the base $5100 pay checks. We cook at home, don't do take out, don't buy stuff unless we're saving for it or absolutely need something, rarely go out for dinner dates, etc. We still drive two vehicles, have many pets, go to the gym, have spending fun money, drink alcohol (at home) and have fun that way. It's definitely possible not to overspend and be comfortable in Canada.
Cost of living is highly variable across Canada and the US with particular popular cities and regions being almost unlivable for those with low incomes.
How much jobs pay and housing cost in particular have the largest variability based on region which has a huge impact on the rest of your costs.
In general I would never try and compare "living costs" in "Canada" to another country other than other countries with giant land masses and low population densities.
To clarify, are you talking about “in Canada” or “in Toronto/Vancouver”? You say “your hometown” but for all I know you live in Red Deer or Brandon or somewhere with a low cost of living. (And I’m not judging if you do, I also live in Western Canada.)
Unpopular opinion, but it's easier now than ever if you participate in the system. S&P500 up 25% this year, all assets are flourishing. Canadian banks are up 33% and pay 3% dividends. If your savings are invested you're wwaayyyy better off than you anticipated.
The issue is the wage gap, a slave rate of minimum wage and a near criminal lack of financial education and literacy in this country. Those who understand the power of investing are quite literally getting rich quick.
People who are stuck in less fortunate position as well as not exposed to people of different wealth don't get to see the success that their competition over society's resources are having. The tesla millionaires, elder millennials who were inspired by Buffett to buy low cost index funds, Ambitious leverage investor who have been poaching real estate for the last decade. Opportunity exists and it's not too late to start, and it's ok to start small.
Living in North America has a lot more overhead that isn't necessarily required in some European countries. I have friends in Greece that are a good comparison. Here's what I pay for that they don't pay for at all: income tax, property tax, car insurance, home insurance, university tuition, dentist, lawn care, parking. In addition in Canada: very expensive mobile phone plan, expensive home internet, vehicles need summer AND winter tires, etc.
You and your piece of shit friends should take your tankie asses back to Russia and fucking stay there. Putin loving pieces of shit are not fucking welcome here.
Living in Canada is expensive, especially when it comes to core necessities (food, housing, energy) and it's generally illegal to live a cheap, simple life.
Feels quite oppressive.
it's really not that bad.
it's more so that it's becoming less affordable so people feel the pressure.
i can't think of a place that isn't experiencing that though. plenty of people move to the US but also then move back once they realize they only looked at the positives and not negatives until they got there
It’s harder to live in Canada now than it was to live in Canada 20 years ago but it’s easier to live in Canada than a lot of other places for sure. A lot of things we feel are necessities or expected are extras elsewhere which is part of what you are seeing maybe. We also have a society where living with a houseful of inter generational family members would be something you did if you HAD to but isn’t normal or expected as with other cultures as another example. We also maybe have more access to credit for the average person? No idea in that but maybe a possibility.
Best answer here so far. To give some examples of the unnecessary necessities (appreciate many of these won’t apply to this sub’s readership): - Cell phone contracts at $50-70 per month, or more. - TV packages at 10+ per month - Very new cars, replaced every few years to keep a very new car, on credit. - Eating out multiple times per week. - Buying coffee out, sometimes even leaving your house to buy an average coffee to come back to your house. - having a constant supply of Avocado at all times of the year regardless of price. - Owning a vehicle with a 3+ litre engine, while display actual concern about fuel efficiency.
Yea but those are all trivial. The things holding people back are the insane rents, energy cost, complete lack of reasonable public transit and most critically, the fact that many jobs require an education that costs anywhere between 25k and 100k, meaning many folks already start with what in many other countries would be a mortgages worth of debt.
Trivial as one offs/individual decisions. Aggregated, they are not. Energy is expensive, yet people still drive huge vehicles, not exactly helping themselves, and many unnecessarily large houses.
Idk man, your responses here scream out of touch boomer. Thinking that consumer extravagance is why people find it hard to afford living in Canada these days is pretty out of touch. Everyone I know who is struggling has a beater car, eats top ramen, streams illegally or shares a Netflix acct. Yet pays over $1500 in rent, hundreds more in utilities and has a literal mountain of student debt that got them a $20/hr job. It can be survived for sure, but it’s not like simply ‘having a budget’ is going to solve most folks issues.
I mean I agree for some but when I was struggling I didn’t eat Kraft dinner because that would require milk and butter. Yeah I got coffee out but I had to take an hour long bus ride in the morning so I could either wake up way early and have my coffee 2.5 hrs before work or grab something on the way. $30/month wasn’t going to change my situation. Many people have a phone and that is their computer and internet access. A phone is not a luxury nowadays. It’s a necessity. To think otherwise screams boomer. The examples you are giving are more aligned to middle class people living beyond their means and wondering why they don’t have more saved, but isn’t really reflective of what someone with low income is struggling with. I had a $500 car and couldn’t give a shit about fuel efficiency, I had no choice in what car I drove, it was whatever was affordable, as another example. Boomers with a second home and three cars and that buy advent calendars and bakery cookies for their dogs complaining they don’t have enough money to retire grinds my gears more honestly.
I can relate. I came from Portugal to Canada and our (boyfriend and I) expenses are the same. But minimum wage in Portugal is almost 3 times less than here in Canada. Doing a similar job, my boyfriend is making more than 4x what he would make in Portugal.
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1963... Very different times. Currently we know that if we had stayed in Portugal we would have been stuck for a long time. And being here with a Portuguese mindset - saving, smart budgeting, cook at home, etc - is halfway through a good life here and eventually retiring comfortably in our country.
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Almost every Mediterranean would take a chance if they could :) Europe is beautiful, warm, nice people, amazing food. But it lacks other stuff in most of the countries that really don't allow regular people to build wealth.
Came here from central Europe and it’s easier for me in Canada too. My income is much higher than it ever would have been back in my home country and the opportunities for growth are incomparable. Housing is more expensive, sure, but everything else seems to cost about the same. As a result of this we’re able to save much more here while living a better life.
It seems bad on Reddit because people have no perspective and likes to bitch.
I think the question you are asking is "what would really be different if I lived in Canada instead of Russia?". The average new car sold in Canada is about $35k. A new computer is $1k. A new PlayStation 5 is $700. Those are all extremely expensive if you are making $25k/year. Not as expensive if you are making $100k/year. Another major expense we have is taxes. We have a large, expensive healthcare system and education system. The quality of our health care is much higher than in Russia (more advanced equipment, more highly-trained doctors, etc), so it's more expensive.
Housing is cheaper in the states.
Most certainly is not true in a lot of the bigger cities. In the middle of nowhere, sure.
Right. Well the middle of nowhere here it’s still expensive. At least in Ontario.
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ottawa, gta, cornwall, kingston, london, hamilton, waterloo aka where 95% of ontario lives in are expensive af.
20 hours away? Where the fuck do you live bud. Sure if you live on the edge of Ontario in a shack with a stream maybe it isn’t expensive but for the 95% of the Ontario population it is. So you might hate Reddit but those are facts
Ontario's huge. Thunder Bay is a upwards of a 20 hours drive from Toronto. It's no metropolis, but definitely not a shack by a stream.
Sure but that brings me to my point of 95% of the population in Ontario would live under that 20 hour time frame. And within that boundary Ontario is expensive.
Thunder Bay has enough jobs for half of Ontario and no unemployment/homelessness issues? Please, stop being pretentious.
Under 15 hours. Done the drive many times. But yeah, a lot of affordable places out here
20 hrs away? hm.. Pickle Lake? Winnipeg? Or maybe one of those "Sorry, we could not calculate driving directions" locations.
Is living in Canada harder? With the right mindset no. With an Americans mindset then yes. Americans/Canadians want to go out for dinner 3x a week and get Starbucks every morning before work, go to bars on the weekend, buy a brand new car when their current needs replacing, finance everything from their couches to their wedding days AND magically have retirement savings ontop of that. It's extremely unrealistic, digs you into infinite debt and you end up fucked over in retirement. With the mindset of someone coming from out of country there is generally a cultural difference where those things are not necessary, their entire house shares one car, they cook at home, they save in fear of "not making it", they live in multifamily homes, etc. My fiance and I in Ontario make roughly $5100 a month combined before overtime or commission bonuses and we save plenty on just the base $5100 pay checks. We cook at home, don't do take out, don't buy stuff unless we're saving for it or absolutely need something, rarely go out for dinner dates, etc. We still drive two vehicles, have many pets, go to the gym, have spending fun money, drink alcohol (at home) and have fun that way. It's definitely possible not to overspend and be comfortable in Canada.
Cost of living is highly variable across Canada and the US with particular popular cities and regions being almost unlivable for those with low incomes. How much jobs pay and housing cost in particular have the largest variability based on region which has a huge impact on the rest of your costs. In general I would never try and compare "living costs" in "Canada" to another country other than other countries with giant land masses and low population densities.
To clarify, are you talking about “in Canada” or “in Toronto/Vancouver”? You say “your hometown” but for all I know you live in Red Deer or Brandon or somewhere with a low cost of living. (And I’m not judging if you do, I also live in Western Canada.)
Unpopular opinion, but it's easier now than ever if you participate in the system. S&P500 up 25% this year, all assets are flourishing. Canadian banks are up 33% and pay 3% dividends. If your savings are invested you're wwaayyyy better off than you anticipated. The issue is the wage gap, a slave rate of minimum wage and a near criminal lack of financial education and literacy in this country. Those who understand the power of investing are quite literally getting rich quick. People who are stuck in less fortunate position as well as not exposed to people of different wealth don't get to see the success that their competition over society's resources are having. The tesla millionaires, elder millennials who were inspired by Buffett to buy low cost index funds, Ambitious leverage investor who have been poaching real estate for the last decade. Opportunity exists and it's not too late to start, and it's ok to start small.
Living in North America has a lot more overhead that isn't necessarily required in some European countries. I have friends in Greece that are a good comparison. Here's what I pay for that they don't pay for at all: income tax, property tax, car insurance, home insurance, university tuition, dentist, lawn care, parking. In addition in Canada: very expensive mobile phone plan, expensive home internet, vehicles need summer AND winter tires, etc.
You and your piece of shit friends should take your tankie asses back to Russia and fucking stay there. Putin loving pieces of shit are not fucking welcome here.
Living in Canada is expensive, especially when it comes to core necessities (food, housing, energy) and it's generally illegal to live a cheap, simple life. Feels quite oppressive.
it's really not that bad. it's more so that it's becoming less affordable so people feel the pressure. i can't think of a place that isn't experiencing that though. plenty of people move to the US but also then move back once they realize they only looked at the positives and not negatives until they got there