Entertainment | 150 |
Transportation | 100 |
Rent | 600 |
Internet | 44 |
Utilities | 84 |
Groceries | 240 |
House Cleaning | 100 |
Pet Care | 100 |
Monthly taxes (pension unavoidable) | 70 |
Health Insurance | 120 |
Misc | 200 |
Charity | 40 |
Vacations/Christmas/Birthdays | 100 |
Total | 1948 |
Canadian here. As with everything in life, the answer is, "It depends."
Have you visited Canada before? Have you and your wife gone through six months of winter before? Able to drive in the snow/black ice? Used to having the sun come up at 9 AM and set before 3 PM (which is what we get in winter)?
Which part of Canada are you planning to move to? For example, Toronto and Vancouver are HCOL cities, but smaller cities will likely be cheaper. There are some Canadian cities in which it is possible to live comfortably for less than USD$2000 per month.
Most people enjoy Canada in the summer. If you and your wife are thinking of immigrating here, I would suggest coming around January or February and staying for 2 to 3 weeks in whatever city you're interested in. Walk around the neighbourhood, take public transportation, look at Kijiji (www.kijiji.ca) or craigslist.ca for rental postings to get an idea of the rents in the area. Shop at the local grocery store. Stay in an AirBnB and talk to the host who will be able to give you more information about the specific city.
It's hard to give specific information about moving to Canada, because Canada is HUGE and different regions vary.
Moving to Canada may set back your FI plans about 2-4 years. Other than the weather, most people get back on their feet within that time, and you have the advantage of not currently eating out much and being used to a smaller place (and no kids).
If you move, I recommend that your wife take a Canadian degree (4 years) if possible, and thereby qualify for PR status with lots of points on the entry system... assuming that you would be on a temporary visa, or tied to your status at first. This has the advantage of quickly leading to employment, which would more than supplement your income here.
Only do this if you are serious about wanting to have a permanent home outside of your current country. It will be quite a few years before you can even split the year between your home country and Canada, in order to satisfy all the immigration requirements.
Canadian here. As with everything in life, the answer is, "It depends."
Have you visited Canada before? Have you and your wife gone through six months of winter before? Able to drive in the snow/black ice? Used to having the sun come up at 9 AM and set before 3 PM (which is what we get in winter)?
Which part of Canada are you planning to move to? For example, Toronto and Vancouver are HCOL cities, but smaller cities will likely be cheaper. There are some Canadian cities in which it is possible to live comfortably for less than USD$2000 per month.
Most people enjoy Canada in the summer. If you and your wife are thinking of immigrating here, I would suggest coming around January or February and staying for 2 to 3 weeks in whatever city you're interested in. Walk around the neighbourhood, take public transportation, look at Kijiji (www.kijiji.ca) or craigslist.ca for rental postings to get an idea of the rents in the area. Shop at the local grocery store. Stay in an AirBnB and talk to the host who will be able to give you more information about the specific city.
It's hard to give specific information about moving to Canada, because Canada is HUGE and different regions vary.
We have never been through winter, I have heard they are tough, but we hope we can manage with a good heater and not leaving home much. there is definitively going to be a period of adjustment, probably very long. Our idea is to live in a town nearby a city, we think near Victoria or Ottawa. we don't need a big city unless I have to switch jobs, my wife also works from home, so that gives us flexibility.
We plan to visit Canada next year for a month, doing exactly what you said, living like a local, visiting towns around the cities I mentioned, and overall getting an idea of what it would be to live there. you say January would be a good date to get an idea of the winter?
The climate in Victoria and Ottawa are different. I have a friend who was born and raised in Toronto who could not stand Victoria because it is a "wet" cold. While the temperature never dropped below 0C, with the windchill and the humidity, the cold just soaked right into your bones. Ottawa dips below 0C but tends to be a dry cold. It snows, but doesn't rain much in the winter. So the snow basically just slides right off your coat. Or stays frozen and does not melt into your coat, so you can just brush it off.
If you are able to make the same salary as you are now and live on a similar amount each month, I don't think FIRE would be delayed by too much.
And Goldielocks is right. You don't have to just go in January. Winter starts at the end of November and goes on through March and sometimes even the beginning of April. Any of those months will give you a decent taste of winter.
Some people need sunlight. Seasonal Affective Disorder is alive and well in Canada. So definitely hang out for a month in Canada during our darkest season and see how it affects your mood.
I moved to Canada from a warm, tropical country and faced a freak blizzard in my first winter here. I survived and am still living in Canada nearly 20 years later. I will say that winter used to be a bit more exciting and even shovelling snow had an element of fun. Nowadays, I just long for spring again lol!
Winter was more fun when I was younger, too. I remember in Grad school we had students from the Caribbean in my department, and what a shock a Canadian winter was for them. Winter is survivable, and can be lots of fun (skating, skiing, making snowmen and snow angels with the kids, etc.) but it helps to be psychologically prepared.