California vs. Vancouver?
Which city has a higher cost of living, California or Vancouver? I need help deciding whether I should stay in Vancouver or move to California. I've been living in Vancouver for a while, the cost is pretty high but it's nice I like it. The problem is that most of my family is in the states while all my friends are in Vancouver. I want to know if California is cheaper because that'll help me make my decision.
Is 7000$ salary per month enough to support a family of 4 living in Vancouver BC? I want to decide on immigration over this issue.
I have lived in Vancouver BC recently, I love the place and people: Canadians are really kind and welcoming. But Vancouver is a very expensive place, you will have to do long and gruesome commute to get to work if affordable housing is what you are looking for. That is why so many people rent one level of houses, instead of entire houses. But that can be hard because of the limited privacy and noise level. Traffic is generally bad too. Certain parts of Vancouver and the city of West Vancouver are very expensive, buying a house is at least 2-3million Canadian dollars, prices doubled during the last 3 years, partially due to overseas buyers. However you can rent an apartment for about 2000-3000 Canadian dollars, entire houses will be more, about $3750–5000 in West Vancouver. Also be aware of the tricky property management companies and greedy landlords, they sometimes try to flip the property while you are living in it and paying rent, then you will have to deal with continuous showings etc, very distruptive. I strongly recommend adding in your rental agreement that while you occupy the property, they can not sell it. Can’t stress more on this.Overall I found that housing is the biggest expense. Medical stuff is cheaper, a doctor visit costs $50USD for private patients with no insurance! And specialists are cheaper too, but you might have to wait a long time to get to see one. Btw they have some of the best specialists in the world. For groceries, it is more expensive there too, especially for milk and meat products. But I heard from friends that is due to the less usage of antibiotics and chemicals so the farms have less output, so I guess it is pricier but also healthier too.With above being said, in summary Vancouver has great public schools, especially in the city of West Vancouver (I heard that Richmond is very good too. I am super passionate about schools and public education, but that would be another post), and great heath care. If you love outdoors, it also has mountains, oceans and great ski. Culturally it is very diverse, people are laid back and welcoming. Great city, beautiful place, excellent people, expensive housing.