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While Vancouver is more beautiful
milder in winter by 8 degree and colder in summer by 4 degree (wikipedia)
housing prices and low salary makes me headache
I'm going to be a newcomer in Canada
going to choose, which city is the best for me
Based on my observation on mls.ca
Property in Toronto is about 40% cheaper than in Vancouver
There's still options for $200-250k houses with 2+ bedrooms in Toronto which is considerably close to downtown
With that amount of money, I can only get an apartment or a townhouse in suburbs in Vancouver.....
Imo attitude is everything. If one is a master brewer or has a nose for mixing perfume, that is a different scenario. Most will seek out what is available and put in their best. Hope these are useful:
Minimum Wage in Canada
Updated: 07/01/10
ProvinceGeneral Wage
Alberta $8.80
BC $8.00 Manitoba $9.00
Newfoundland $10.00
NWT $9.00
Nova Scotia $9.20
Nunavut $10.00
Ontario $10.25
PEI $8.70
Quebec $9.50
Saskatchewan $9.25
Yukon $8.93
Since you have already done an excellent homework, the decision is simply based on what is more important to you.
Toronto: much easier to find a job, wages is 20-30% higher than Vancouver while housing price is 30-40% lower if you buy. Rent is similar.
Vancouver: as you said, way more beautiful and pleasant, winter is much milder with little snowfall.
So the decision is: which is more important, beautiful city, warmer winter, or better job prospects, higher salary and more affordable housing.
You will be making the right decision to go to either city. If you like city life, forget Calgary and other places (with the exception of Montreal). Vancouver and Toronto are the only two English speaking cities in the real sense IMO.
Toronto for sure....you will actually be a able to find a job, you will have a real summertime compared to Vancouver (but a harsher winter too), way more people coming from different places, heartland of Canada, save much more money, be able to buy more stuff etc. In my opinion the weather in Vancouver doesn't nearly make up for the economy there or the other negatives in comparison to TO. If it were me and I wasn't worried about things like the place being 40% more expensive, I'd go to Montreal over Vancouver OR TO just for the atmosphere and culture.
very strange and nice to know
normally rent is a percentage from a property's value
how come two cities with property prices difference roughly 40% ends up with a same rent cost ?
very nice RoI for Toronto investors then
Since you have already done an excellent homework, the decision is simply based on what is more important to you.
Toronto: much easier to find a job, wages is 20-30% higher than Vancouver while housing price is 30-40% lower if you buy. Rent is similar.
Vancouver: as you said, way more beautiful and pleasant, winter is much milder with little snowfall.
So the decision is: which is more important, beautiful city, warmer winter, or better job prospects, higher salary and more affordable housing.
You will be making the right decision to go to either city. If you like city life, forget Calgary and other places (with the exception of Montreal). Vancouver and Toronto are the only two English speaking cities in the real sense IMO.
Great post, I agree.
You just forgot to mention great summers here, in Vancouver. 20-25 degrees and sunny every day versus 30-35 with high humidity and one heat wave after another in Toronto. Which makes Vancouver a much more enjoyable place to play and to be outside in the summer. No AC is needed here. I couldn't handle Toronto summers and I couldn't handle summers in NYC. I've lived in NYC for many years and know what a NYC summer means. The worst time of the year for me and for many New Yorkers I know. What kind of summer it is if you don't even want to go outside and spend your summer in an AC'd apartment? It's beyond me how some people call Toronto and NYC summers "real" summer and deny how great summers are in the PNW, in places like Seattle and Vancouver. Let's face it: 20-25 degrees, sunny and with low humidity is as good as it gets for a human being. This is not only "real" but also the best summer weather you can get anywhere. I'm sure, whoever spent a summer in PNW, will agree.
You just forgot to mention great summers here, in Vancouver. 20-25 degrees and sunny every day versus 30-35 with high humidity and one heat wave after another in Toronto. Which makes Vancouver a much more enjoyable place to play and to be outside in the summer. No AC is needed here. I couldn't handle Toronto summers and I couldn't handle summers in NYC. I've lived in NYC for many years and know what a NYC summer means. The worst time of the year for me and for many New Yorkers I know. What kind of summer it is if you don't even want to go outside and spend your summer in an AC'd apartment? It's beyond me how some people call Toronto and NYC summers "real" summer and deny how great summers are in the PNW, in places like Seattle and Vancouver. Let's face it: 20-25 degrees, sunny and with low humidity is as good as it gets for a human being. This is not only "real" but also the best summer weather you can get anywhere. I'm sure, whoever spent a summer in PNW, will agree.
I am totally with you on the summer part. I don't know why some people are obsessed with 32C and 80% humidity summers as well. What's the point of having the summer if you can't even walk comfortably outside on the street without sweating your shirts in 10 minutes? PNW's summer with the long sunshine and 25C and low humidity is the perfect summer in my view. As to New York, it hit 37/38C on a few today this year already. Hardly anything we would want. It is really no different from -10C winter days in terms of comfort, maybe even worse.
I agree that if you need things like an AC to make your room more comfortable in stay in, it is not a nice summer.
Tough decision,if you are out doors types Vancouver would be the destination as you have ocean and mountains at your doorstep and the temperatures are moderate all year,
Toronto maybe easier to get a job depending on your line of work,finding an affordable place to live may be easier but dont dismiss the possibility of finding a job and an affordable place in Vancouver,try searching in North Van for affordable digs.
PS both places are traffic nightmares.
Id suggest Montreal but if you cant speak French forget about it.
Toronto: much easier to find a job, wages is 20-30% higher than Vancouver while housing price is 30-40% lower if you buy. Rent is similar.
Quote:
Toronto for sure....you will actually be a able to find a job, you will have a real summertime compared to Vancouver (but a harsher winter too), way more people coming from different places, heartland of Canada, save much more money, be able to buy more stuff etc.
In my opinion the weather in Vancouver doesn't nearly make up for the economy there or the other negatives in comparison to TO. If it were me and I wasn't worried about things like the place being 40% more expensive, I'd go to Montreal over Vancouver OR TO just for the atmosphere and culture.
Is there any justification that they are making 20% - 30% more than us and then call us lotuslanders or beach bums?
British Columbia is doing better than Ontario according to the latest unemployment rate (2010 July 09), 7.8% vs 8.3%.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the highest employment numbers.
Quote:
Rates for all the provinces were (previous month in brackets):
Newfoundland and Labrador 14.7% (13.8%)
Prince Edward Island 12.3% (10.7%)
Nova Scotia 8.8% (8.7%)
New Brunswick 9.3% (8.8%)
Quebec 7.8% (8.0%)
Ontario 8.3% (8.9%)
Manitoba 5.3% (5.7%)
Saskatchewan 5.5% (5.0%)
Alberta 6.7% (6.6%)
British Columbia 7.8% (7.5%)
Hot summers can be uncomfortable if the OP is from one of the Nordic countries. Multiculturalism (pluralism to some) also means plenty of convenient stores no matter where one is living like grocers.
Dougie86
Thanks for Province General Wage data
It's very surprising that BC is the lowest in Canada !!
and surprising too that the unemployment rate is better in VC
Although I've never been to Canada
I can imagine how Vancouver and Toronto
Kkgg7
tough decision since we're all want them all right ?
hobbesdj
i'm thinking of going to Toronto now....
30-40% extra on property prices is very painful !
movingwiththewinds
since i'm coming from tropical country, I think I had enough summer
jambo101
i speak no french at all, so montreal will not be on my list
Thanks for all your input friends
since i booked my flight to Vancouver,
though the flight to Toronto stopping in Vancouver is cheaper than 'direct' flight to Toronto
my problem is now on the luggage limit
cross continent flight allows me to bring 2x50lbs = 46kg /person
while domestic flight allows 20kg only
any idea to ship them cheaply ?
Last edited by ruthndul; 07-26-2010 at 11:54 AM..
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