One thing that people might not consider when moving to smaller towns in provinces is that while the property is cheaper to buy the taxes might be higher than in the city. In Manning AB my grandma...
One thing that people might not consider when moving to smaller towns in provinces is that while the property is cheaper to buy the taxes might be higher than in the city. In Manning AB my grandma was paying $4000 a year for an townhouse bungalow that was pretty small 1000 sq ft. My 1300 sq ft detached bungalow property in Calgary cost $2800/y in property taxes.
As others said, it's almost totally dependent on the city/area you're looking to move to. Vancouver and Toronto (and the surrounding cities in their metro areas) are probably the two worst for...
As others said, it's almost totally dependent on the city/area you're looking to move to.
Vancouver and Toronto (and the surrounding cities in their metro areas) are probably the two worst for affordable housing. If you want to live in one of those, it's going to be far more expensive than if you're open to moving to like... Yellowknife or Newfoundland or any of the other more remote/rural areas of the country.
It's probably easiest to just look around on some of the rental or real-estate sites and check out different locations to get a general idea. As far as I know, RentFaster.ca is the most popular site for rentals overall. I don't really know what the best site for looking at houses for sale would be, but remax.ca should have a lot of the listings, and has a map that you can move around to look in a particular area.
Keep in mind while you're looking that it will all be in Canadian dollars, which is currently worth about 30% less than USD. So, for example, somewhere that rents for $1300 CAD would be about $1000 USD.
If you're not buying right away, apply to a lot of co-ops. If you have kids, great, but if you don't, mention that you're trying or whatever. So long as you're willing to be part of a community,...
If you're not buying right away, apply to a lot of co-ops. If you have kids, great, but if you don't, mention that you're trying or whatever. So long as you're willing to be part of a community, you can get some really affordable housing in decent areas.
Depending where you're coming from, there are also a lot of really nice-but-not-main cities worth looking into. But make sure you check an archive of the weather for each area. Some places have brutal winters and brutal summers, where others are more balanced.
well... I don't think so, to be honest. I've only experienced one very brief Winnipeg winter, and I hope to never witness that again. I had no idea anything could be so cold. But friends and...
well... I don't think so, to be honest. I've only experienced one very brief Winnipeg winter, and I hope to never witness that again. I had no idea anything could be so cold. But friends and relatives who live in Calgary seem to have a different definition of 'brutal.' My definition of 'brutal' would definitely be considered sissy compared to most others :)
I've been around the country during the summer and some places were nice, but one summer in Ottawa was by far the hottest I've ever experienced up here. I was definitely not prepared for it.
I can't speak to this site, but the info is right -- https://www.chf.bc.ca/faqs/ Basically, you apply to 'rent' in the community. They aim to get people who want to be active in the community....
Basically, you apply to 'rent' in the community. They aim to get people who want to be active in the community. Instead of 'rent' you have a 'share' -- but its basically the same. Typically the members take care of most of the maintenance. I'm not too familiar with the smaller details, but I do know that they scale the share pricing (rent) to income, so some folks can live in a really great area for less than they'd typically pay.
It's worth looking into. Some coops do a lot of BBQs, events, etc etc, which is handy for making new friends quickly.
there are plenty of them, too, which is really great. If you get onto the board, most places give you a reduction in 'rent' / the cost of your share. :)
there are plenty of them, too, which is really great. If you get onto the board, most places give you a reduction in 'rent' / the cost of your share. :)
One thing that people might not consider when moving to smaller towns in provinces is that while the property is cheaper to buy the taxes might be higher than in the city. In Manning AB my grandma was paying $4000 a year for an townhouse bungalow that was pretty small 1000 sq ft. My 1300 sq ft detached bungalow property in Calgary cost $2800/y in property taxes.
As others said, it's almost totally dependent on the city/area you're looking to move to.
Vancouver and Toronto (and the surrounding cities in their metro areas) are probably the two worst for affordable housing. If you want to live in one of those, it's going to be far more expensive than if you're open to moving to like... Yellowknife or Newfoundland or any of the other more remote/rural areas of the country.
Canada is a very large country, but there are very few large cities overall. Take a look at this list of the largest metro areas on Wikipedia and see how quickly the population numbers drop off.
It's probably easiest to just look around on some of the rental or real-estate sites and check out different locations to get a general idea. As far as I know, RentFaster.ca is the most popular site for rentals overall. I don't really know what the best site for looking at houses for sale would be, but remax.ca should have a lot of the listings, and has a map that you can move around to look in a particular area.
Keep in mind while you're looking that it will all be in Canadian dollars, which is currently worth about 30% less than USD. So, for example, somewhere that rents for $1300 CAD would be about $1000 USD.
If you're not buying right away, apply to a lot of co-ops. If you have kids, great, but if you don't, mention that you're trying or whatever. So long as you're willing to be part of a community, you can get some really affordable housing in decent areas.
Depending where you're coming from, there are also a lot of really nice-but-not-main cities worth looking into. But make sure you check an archive of the weather for each area. Some places have brutal winters and brutal summers, where others are more balanced.
well... I don't think so, to be honest. I've only experienced one very brief Winnipeg winter, and I hope to never witness that again. I had no idea anything could be so cold. But friends and relatives who live in Calgary seem to have a different definition of 'brutal.' My definition of 'brutal' would definitely be considered sissy compared to most others :)
I've been around the country during the summer and some places were nice, but one summer in Ottawa was by far the hottest I've ever experienced up here. I was definitely not prepared for it.
I can't speak to this site, but the info is right -- https://www.chf.bc.ca/faqs/
Basically, you apply to 'rent' in the community. They aim to get people who want to be active in the community. Instead of 'rent' you have a 'share' -- but its basically the same. Typically the members take care of most of the maintenance. I'm not too familiar with the smaller details, but I do know that they scale the share pricing (rent) to income, so some folks can live in a really great area for less than they'd typically pay.
It's worth looking into. Some coops do a lot of BBQs, events, etc etc, which is handy for making new friends quickly.
there are plenty of them, too, which is really great. If you get onto the board, most places give you a reduction in 'rent' / the cost of your share. :)