Summary of cost of living in Calgary, Canada:
Restaurants | |
Range |
---|---|---|
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 24.00 C$ | |
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 100.00 C$ | |
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 13.59 C$ | |
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 7.50 C$ | |
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 8.56 C$ | |
Cappuccino (regular) | 5.39 C$ | |
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 2.78 C$ | |
Water (12 oz small bottle) | 2.42 C$ | |
Markets | |
|
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 10.65 C$ | |
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 3.01 C$ | |
Rice (white), (1 lb) | 2.01 C$ | |
Eggs (regular) (12) | 4.46 C$ | |
Local Cheese (1 lb) | 7.19 C$ | |
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) | 7.04 C$ | |
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 8.96 C$ | |
Apples (1 lb) | 2.52 C$ | |
Banana (1 lb) | 0.91 C$ | |
Oranges (1 lb) | 2.28 C$ | |
Tomato (1 lb) | 2.20 C$ | |
Potato (1 lb) | 1.56 C$ | |
Onion (1 lb) | 1.54 C$ | |
Lettuce (1 head) | 3.53 C$ | |
Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2.24 C$ | |
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 17.50 C$ | |
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 3.43 C$ | |
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 4.02 C$ | |
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 18.00 C$ | |
Transportation | |
|
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 3.60 C$ | |
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 112.00 C$ | |
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 4.50 C$ | |
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 3.15 C$ | |
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 46.50 C$ | |
Gasoline (1 gallon) | 5.30 C$ | |
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 29,450.00 C$ | |
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 28,840.47 C$ | |
Utilities (Monthly) | |
|
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 347.20 C$ | |
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data | 62.12 C$ | |
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 96.25 C$ | |
Sports And Leisure | |
|
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 76.78 C$ | |
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 39.82 C$ | |
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 17.00 C$ | |
Childcare | |
|
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 1,204.77 C$ | |
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 28,775.00 C$ | |
Clothing And Shoes | |
|
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 84.23 C$ | |
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 75.00 C$ | |
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 119.31 C$ | |
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 179.34 C$ | |
Rent Per Month | |
|
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 1,781.14 C$ | |
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 1,509.55 C$ | |
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 2,967.78 C$ | |
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 2,386.41 C$ | |
Buy Apartment Price | |
|
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 576.12 C$ | |
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 436.60 C$ | |
Salaries And Financing | |
|
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 4,420.34 C$ | |
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 6.69 |
Cost of Living in Red Deer | 90.07 miles |
Cost of Living in Lethbridge, AB | 139.70 miles |
Cost of Living in Medicine Hat | 181.87 miles |
Cost of Living in Edmonton | 183.86 miles |
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Although media and a few individuals like to suggest oil and the economy is a problem, and I agree we eventually do need to move away from oil, it is not going away anytime soon, as we still need to heat our homes, build any plastics for our iphones and Teslas and virtually everything else with oil.
I’m not certain how much more mining friendly lithium (etc) is for the planet, it does however allow us to have vehicles that are cleaner which is a good thing.
Now that Russia has caused world stability concerns, its even more important that an ethical oil source like Canada’s is available from places like Calgary.
Don't need a big place, just relatively modern and safe and decent. Most likely will be working from home though not 100% set in stone so near a train area or whatever with transp would be great since I am not sure I will get a car. (Though I might rent one upon requirement.)
Thanks - Any other tips/thoughts for newcomers (my wife and I) as I will have never lived there though will be getting some help from family for the first few months.
Thanks
Plus it is higher altitude, and not a humid as other cities. The cost of living is a bit higher I personally feel.. and well, I would rather live in a more open, laid back city like Italy where things are easy going and very relaxed.. Some of the downtown, work is very uptight and very tight orificed.
Calgary's ranking as an 'affordable' city is misleading. A very specific middle-class lifestyle is perhaps more 'affordable' here than in other Canadian cities, but otherwise I'm not really sure what the draw is. The best part about Calgary seems to be its proximity to mountains and hiking trails, meaning the best part of the city is actually driving away from it (which again usually requires a car).
Calgary is far from what it is was like when oil was booming but like all provinces that have negatives.
I feel calgary is the best place overall to live.
Have someone put you down
I make less than $20,000 a year and have lived here all my life. You can get away with more square feet for your money by renting basement suites over apartments. They average $800-$900 and some of them even include utilities, although ours don't. We live in the SW, the most expensive part of the city and we can still get by on less than $20,000. My husband and I only work part time on minimum wage. We also have a dog and 4 Parrotlets. Very hard to find a decent pet friendly place in this area but you have WAY more options if you don't have pets. You can live in more luxurious houses if you go to the cheap areas of the city: NE and NW, but especially NE. Skip the apartments and save more. Don't even think about renting a basement suite that costs more than $1000, they are such a ripoff (unless they include utilities). I've lived in 3 different rentals in the SW:
First one was $700 plus utilities. A 900 square foot basement suite. That was the cheapest one I ever found.
Second one was a whole duplex for $1590 Phys utilities. 1000 square feet. Also on the cheaper end.
Third one, another basement suite, prices rose this year. The cheapest I could find in this area was $900 ($200 more than they were two years ago) but I bargained it down to $875 plus utilities. 800 square feet.
Having a family on minimum wage is hard, but if you have no children it's quite easy. I still have enough money to camp in the summers and do fun events/restaurants once or twice a month.
And shop at Superstore, it's cheap! Skip the Safeway. Buy what's on sale and in bulk and freeze. I actually eat pretty luxuriously though. I buy whatever food I want, excluding the most expensive things like lamb, lobster and prime steak for special events.
All my extra money disappears on my pets, they are the real money suckers lol.
Too bad really, because Calgary is a beautiful place to live.