Potential move

which part of canada?

Have the option of choosing any part of the country

use  http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ to get an estimate of the cost of living.
75K is pretty decent. But depending on province, you might have higher tax. Because on top of federal tax, you do have provincial which differs from province to province.

Which provinces are preferred.Bear in mind don't really want to live like an Eskimo . Thanks for the help so far

People always get the wrong thinking of Canada. I suggest you'd prepare yourself and be open minded. Not unless you go way up north like Yellowknife or Whitehorse would you really live like an Eskimo. For the most part winters has been milder year by year due to global warming.

Obviously the preferred provinces are the ones with the bigger cities like Ontario, Quebec, Alberta or BC. If you are in it for the long run - like settling down, I always tell people to think of overall like cost of home ownership. Major cities like Toronto, Calgary and let's not talk Vancouver are expensive (however not Montreal).

Philip maybe you could assist with my own enquiry , you seem like a man about town and your assistance would be appreciated.

Myself and my wife are looking to relocate to Calgary you state in your response that the cost of living is quite high but i have heard that Alberta is in the middle of huge growth ??? does the cost of living reflect this surge in employment.

Any information you can provide would be warmly accepted and greatly appreciated

Many Thanks

Keith Nolan

Alberta is an oil rich province. Fuelled by the need to have more hands on the ground to their O&G industry, everything else is feeling the spilling effect - need for food, government services, other trades, property, etc etc... As such, when towns and cities in Alberta booms, the province booms as well - which is why provincial taxes are low. Wages are higher in Alberta to attract people over. In hindsight, property, rental and some basic stuff goes up.

For example, if you work as a welder with an O&G company and make $70/hr compare that if you work in a smaller province like Nova Scotia which would give you about $35/hr. Big difference. Only thing is, for that kind of job and pay, you'd probably need to be on the field and exposed to the elements - health wise, really not too good in the long run.

Canada is one of the top 5 major oil producers in the world. And its only going to get better. If they do manage to build the pipeline to move the land lock oil from Alberta out to the Pacific ocean, that'll make things boom even more. I give that another 10 more years.

But again, cost of living is higher of course. A decent 2 bedroom apartment that'll cost 300K in suburbs of Halifax, NS (that's where I am based), probably would fetch you about 500K in Calgary. As I said, if you're out in the field, you can make more. Places like Fort MacMurray, Alberta. Lots of young Canadians from smaller towns/cities e.g. Halifax move overt to work in the field and make cold hard cash before coming back. Some just stay because the money's too good.

I would be looking at settling down. Calgary is looking good for the long run. Thanks for your help so far

"Bear in mind don't really want to live like an Eskimo" -> why? Because you afraid of cold?  I came from tropical island in Asia and somehow managed to survive 2 winter season in a span of 1 year (yes, i wrote it correctly). As I commute using public transportation, all you need is a good parka, snow pants and snow boots.

I agree with Phillip. Opportunities does not always available in "favorite" province. As I'm now in BC, i would not mind to move again to other province...if the price is right