How do people afford to live in Toronto? Any insights into the cost of living there?

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Imaka

One of the ways people afford it is to not own a vehicle. Parking is very expensive and generally commuting, while a hassle, is quite doable. Sharing accommodations for a while is another possibility if you know someone you can share with until you have time to see what else is available.

wing_gundam

Hi,

250K? you must be joking? even if that USD, thats only $279CAD. A nice home in Toronto, or even GTA, say 2-3 bdroom would fetch $500,000 easily. The way most people do it is live at Yonge and Finch, or along the Bloor subway in Etobicoke/Scarb. and commute by subway. Honestly, $50K is not a lot of money that you can have choice. You're gonna have to save as much as possible. A metropass for the subway is about $90-100 a month, whereas a car will cost you $150 in gasoline, plus parking at your apt for maybe $50 a month plus parking where you work for $25 a day? Also car insurance is mandatory in Ontario.

The cheapest "property" is condos. You can own a nice condo for $250-300K, but you're only gonna have about 500-750sqft. of space. Its fine for a single person, but if you are thinking long term than its not that good. Plus when you go to sell, a multi-bedroom condo will sell more than a single bdrm.

The real trick is to save money, and be happy with what you have :). It is easier for couples, since they have two incomes, but that shouldn't be a motivator.

waterloo_guy

Well, I live beside Jane & Finch and the housing is CHEAP!!!! 180k for a semi-house

kray_z_blu

Downtown Toronto is really expensive. You can choose to live in the GTA(Greater Toronto Area) which I think is much better and safer. The only thing with that is your commute everday to work (that is if you work downtown). Commuting from the GTA to downtown is not that bad. There are a lot of Transportation that will get you there and it's not that expensive. You can take the GO Train or the subway or the buses. If you choose to live downtown, you won't need a transportation because most of the shopping areas, grocery, etc are at a walking distance. I'm sure you'll manage. Welcome to Toronto

Canadian Ken

If you look around (get yourself a real estate agent) you should be able to find a nice condo in a nice neighbourhood.

I live downtown and walk to work. Everything is within walking distance. Groceries,shopping, entertainment bars/night life the Farmers Market.

I love living down here and by the number of condos going up......so do alot of other people.

Good luck and howdy neighbour!

countpetez

The smart ones move to Bobcaygeon..See you soon.

Soozann

Jennifer,
The fact is that not everyone on modest incomes can afford to own houses. Here's how some do it:
Couples combine their incomes which makes things manageable.
Some people who have purchased houses will fix up an apartment in the basement and rent it (or just a room in the house) out to help pay the mortgage.
Some young people are given generous gifts by their families when they get married and that helps them purchase and/or furnish houses.
To be perfectly realistic - a single person on a modest salary of about $50k will not be able to purchase a house unless they also have a huge down payment. Have you also checked out property taxes? That can add at least $200/month to your costs.
Why would you even want to buy until you've lived here a while and know you are going to stay?

thetheatregurl

I think many people, unless they make a huge salary, or else rent places, live in the GTA. Commuting can sometimes be a bit of a hassle, and gas prices are kind of crazy right now, but I would thik thats the best bet. The places are usually pretty affordable, and the afforable neighbourhoods are less likely to be seedy or dangerous.

DAVEG_10

50k is not bad for Toronto.
I'm in Scarborough ( rouge river ) and I'm only 72 K

Rockin' Mel S

Can't say about prices relative to Michigan but housing can be very expensive in T.O just like any big city.

Relative to other Canadian cities wages in Toronto are typically higher. If you are making $50k USD you should be looking at making 55-60k CND. There's condo's in the downtown core that would be affordable to purchase at that income level.

Monster.ca has a salary wizard thing that gives you salary ranges for positions in specific areas. May be your roll would pay more in Toronto? The economy here is doing well so it's getting hard for companies to find people and salaries are generally going up.

http://salary.monster.ca/

As for the price of gas, if you live and work in downtown, I think you'll find you don't drive very much. Parking is very costly and the TTC is a much more effective (and cheaper) way to get around downtown.

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