# Advice Needed



## tendailmoyo (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi guys.I am hoping to move to to Alberta in the next 2-3 months if my TWP is approved at the CHC.

I am a single mother of 2 kids.I have a choice of 4 places to choose from.I am hoping you can advise me which location to pick .

SW Calgary,Okotoks,Stratmore or Airdrie.

What is the realistic price for a comfortable 3 bedroom townhouse, food, transport, petrol price, phone bills,water and electric bills.

What is the income tax like in comparison to the UK?

How much is considered an average income after tax in Canada?

Are there any flight search engines you can recommend for a reasonable price?

Thanks


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

tendailmoyo said:


> Hi guys.I am hoping to move to to Alberta in the next 2-3 months if my TWP is approved at the CHC.
> 
> I am a single mother of 2 kids.I have a choice of 4 places to choose from.I am hoping you can advise me which location to pick .
> 
> ...


Hi tendailmoyo,

Welcome to the forum. Methinks we are also interacting with you in another place in the virtual world! 

In that other place, we have referenced Okotoks and SE and SW Calgary. Now Strathmore, we have never actually been to but for someone else we know who is moving out there, we will be heading out to Strathmore to do some research in the next few weeks. We will try and remember to report back to you too. Airdrie, to us, is functional but a little charmless and IF work takes you to SE or SW Calgary, then, in our view, you should leave it out of your planning.

We are assuming you mean a townhouse to rent, rather than to buy. If so, you may find the following website a useful resource...
Calgary Apartments For Rent and Edmonton Apartments For Rent | RentFaster.ca
If you mean a townhouse to buy, then try...
REALTOR.ca - Welcome

Food is too difficult to make a generic statement on...but we'll try anyway! We don't think we spend more on food now than we did in the UK, but within the mix of things we buy, some seem more costly and some less so. If you drink, wine is fairly costly here although better deals are to be had at the Real Canadian Superstore Liquorstore. This link may be helpful with some other prices of everyday goods.
CTV Calgary- CTV grocery price comparison for December - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television

Petrol (or gas, as it is referred to here) is currently around $0.67 per litre. It had gone as high as $1.40 per litre some months back but the price has fallen back with the wholesale price of oil.

Transport - In Okotoks, there is a once a day commuter bus to Calgary and that's it...you need a car here. In Calgary, you have buses and the C Train overland light rapid transit system. System maps and prices can be found here...
Calgary Transit: General Fares
Calgary Transit: Routes and Maps

Utility costs...here's what we pay...this is for a fairly modern (2004) 2,400 square feet home in Okotoks.

Property Tax = $311 per month
Shaw Cable TV / Internet / Telephone bundle = $158 per month
Direct Energy (Gas) = $98 per month (equal payments thru' year - likely it will slightly under-recover our costs at that rate)
Epcor (Electricity) = $140 per month (equal payments thru' year - is more than covering our costs)
Water / Garbage Removal / Sewerage = Average of $90 per month (paid every 2 months here in Okotoks and water is metered here - don't know about Calgary)
Contents & Building Insurance = $600 for the year.
Comprehensive Car Insurance (for a Ford Expedition Max and a Ford Taurus) = $1600 for the year.
Alberta Health = $88 per month for a family of 2. This charge disappears this month.

Income Tax...we find this a useful tool to play with. Be sure to set the province to Alberta.
Take Home Pay Estimator by Walter Harder & Associates

We've covered flights in another place!

Average incomes...
JobFutures.ca - Optometrists, Chiropractors and Other Health Diagnosing and Treating Professionals
Wages & Salaries from the Labour Market Information (LMI)

All being well, there is plenty of helpful generic information here, that will be of value to you and to others considering Calgary and surrounds as their new home.

Kind regards,

Eamonn & Janet.


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

to me some of your living costs seem quite high but with currency values differing and the likes is what you pay quite reasonable?

my rent is £305/month for a 3bed terrace and its just under £300/year to insure our citroen berlingo


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

scotiagirl said:


> to me some of your living costs seem quite high but with currency values differing and the likes is what you pay quite reasonable?
> 
> my rent is £305/month for a 3bed terrace and its just under £300/year to insure our citroen berlingo


Certainly, it would be misleading to suggest Canada is a "cheap" place to live. However, our house is 3 times the size of our former one in the UK and we are not paying any more to heat it. Gas (Petrol) is cheap. Property taxes much of a muchness with the UK, telephony/broadband/cable TV don't feel outrageously priced v the UK, cell phone costs are relatively high. Car insurance can be much higher than we are paying but we managed to find somewhere that recognises a UK no claims history. It's a mix really.

Eamonn & Janet.


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

like anywhere else i suppose. how long did it take you to get the right car insurance company? did you sort a lot of your stuff out before or after the move?

and how do you get on living where you do. do you bother with the lack of public transport to calgary or does having the car mean you don't have to worry about it?


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

scotiagirl said:


> like anywhere else i suppose. how long did it take you to get the right car insurance company? did you sort a lot of your stuff out before or after the move?
> 
> and how do you get on living where you do. do you bother with the lack of public transport to calgary or does having the car mean you don't have to worry about it?


Car insurance : Took a number of calls but now we have found an insurance broker that recognises the UK no claims history, we just stay with them.

We sorted a bank account on our final research trip before we moved out but most things we sorted when we got here. We now have a contact at the place that we bank that will open accounts for people still in the UK. But a few of the banks do that. Our contact is certainly good for those moving to Okotoks and surrounds and we daresay this person could find colleagues in other branches of the same credit union, elsewhere in Alberta, that would do likewise.

The lack of public transport in Okotoks is not a problem to our lifestyle here. We just nip in the car to Calgary, as and when needed/wanted.

Eamonn & Janet.


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

are there plenty of jobs in okatoks or is it more of a commuter town with people travelling in and out of calgary?

getting hubby a job first is the most important - he doesn't do well hanging around the house with nothing to do.

as for me - i'm a gardener to trade but willing to try my hand at most things. at the moment i do voluntary work in my local pdsa shop. it gets me out the house plus i get some shop experience as well. a couple of years ago i did my ecdl (european computer driving licence) which got me a job at my local learning centre teaching computers for the terrified. i take it the ecdl will not be recognised in canada


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

scotiagirl said:


> are there plenty of jobs in okatoks or is it more of a commuter town with people travelling in and out of calgary?
> 
> getting hubby a job first is the most important - he doesn't do well hanging around the house with nothing to do.
> 
> as for me - i'm a gardener to trade but willing to try my hand at most things. at the moment i do voluntary work in my local pdsa shop. it gets me out the house plus i get some shop experience as well. a couple of years ago i did my ecdl (european computer driving licence) which got me a job at my local learning centre teaching computers for the terrified. i take it the ecdl will not be recognised in canada


Hi,

Lots of service/retail jobs in Okotoks but yes, it is something of a commuter town. We've no idea on the ECDL thing but as a long shot, we have dropped an email to someone who runs a training company in High River, (south of Okotoks), just in case she might have any thoughts on it.

By the way, for your hubby, we came across this link today....
Alberta Trucking Companies that are currently hiring.
Any use?

Eamonn & Janet.


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## tendailmoyo (Jan 5, 2009)

I am currently in the UK.$300/month for a 3 bedroom terrace sounds like a good deal to me.
Thanks for the breakdown Eamonn and Janet.Some useful info, I must say.


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

tendailmoyo said:


> I am currently in the UK.$300/month for a 3 bedroom terrace sounds like a good deal to me.
> Thanks for the breakdown Eamonn and Janet.Some useful info, I must say.


Pleased it was of some use.

Kind regards.

Eamonn & Janet.


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## louiseg (Nov 17, 2007)

Crumbs $300/month for 3 bed terrace? Thats a good deal. We might move, here in Canmore you can't get a 2 bed basement suite for under $1000/month.


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

*thanks*



Getting There said:


> Hi,
> 
> Lots of service/retail jobs in Okotoks but yes, it is something of a commuter town. We've no idea on the ECDL thing but as a long shot, we have dropped an email to someone who runs a training company in High River, (south of Okotoks), just in case she might have any thoughts on it.
> 
> ...


thanks for that. had a wee look to get an idea. we are waiting on word of a driving job here in the uk. should hear about it by tuesday so i'm keeping my fingers crossed. it may mean he has to travel a couple of hours to and from home in kilmarnock down to carlisle for a while but we'll get things sorted.

it doesn't mean we'll stop thinking about canada but gives us time to get some money together, some tanker experience for hubby and time to do more research. will let you know what happens

teresa


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

*house prices*



louiseg said:


> Crumbs $300/month for 3 bed terrace? Thats a good deal. We might move, here in Canmore you can't get a 2 bed basement suite for under $1000/month.


i should say that our house is not a bought one but it belongs to a housing association. don't kow whether that makes a difference as to how you see it


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## tendailmoyo (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi Scotiagirl.In one of your replies you mentioned that you are paying $300/month for a 3 bedroom terraced house.I have been through dozens of search engines and they seem to range from $1000 onwards.
Is there a search engine or agent that you can recommend to me please.


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## scotiagirl (Jan 3, 2009)

*house price*



tendailmoyo said:


> Hi Scotiagirl.In one of your replies you mentioned that you are paying $300/month for a 3 bedroom terraced house.I have been through dozens of search engines and they seem to range from $1000 onwards.
> Is there a search engine or agent that you can recommend to me please.


i wrote that my house here in scotland was just over £300 per month. someone that replied to that message changed the £ to a $ and i think this has caused confusion


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## tendailmoyo (Jan 5, 2009)

:confused.Oh dear never mind.Thanks anyway for replying.


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## Getting There (Nov 19, 2008)

scotiagirl said:


> thanks for that. had a wee look to get an idea. we are waiting on word of a driving job here in the uk. should hear about it by tuesday so i'm keeping my fingers crossed. it may mean he has to travel a couple of hours to and from home in kilmarnock down to carlisle for a while but we'll get things sorted.
> 
> it doesn't mean we'll stop thinking about canada but gives us time to get some money together, some tanker experience for hubby and time to do more research. will let you know what happens
> 
> teresa


Fingers crossed on the job Teresa.

Eamonn & Janet.


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