After 5 years working as an IT man in Singapore, i saw that its a dead end journey (tax, bills, rent ... ) Returned to Vietnam, bought some land and lived homestead life till now. Here we dont have democracy and a super modern life, but we have nature, organic food, sunshine all year, almost zero tax .. for me this is true freedom ..
It applies to people born and raised here, too. Work 20 or 30 years for a chance at owning a home, unless your parents help out... lol. Just about everyone under 30 can relate.
@@BikeHelmetMk2under 30? Ha ha ha ha ha I died. Try being close to 50 working non stop and struggling lol.under 30 you guys can still run ha ha ha ha True tho you guys won’t be buying as us close to 50 had to fight to buy.
I am russian and was kinda forced to relocate to dubai to keep my job, in Russia i was able to save like 60% of my income, right now i am barely cover my living expenses
@@karlabritfeld7104 yes but id rather have 50k in medical debt with a 400k mortgage in the US than a 2 mil mortgage on a 40 year old house with 45% tax rate in Canada.
This is the most brutally honest video i have ever watched as regards canada immigration. many youtubers paint a different picture and fail to highlight the realities like you just did.
Alex, I'm a Senior Release Engineer (20+ years of tech experience in Canada) and recently moved from Canada to the USA. You are spot on with respects to the costs in Canada. Unless you have old money in Canada, or your parents can refinance their home to give you a huge chunk for down payment on a home, it's pretty much impossible to live and even get ahead there. It doesn't matter if it's Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax etc... All the places have super high costs associated with them. I really loved your comment near the end about Canadian immigration program as a scam only to support crazy unaffordable housing prices to support older people's inflated house prices. Amazing analysis. I don't think that's the intent but it's how things have evolved.
VERY, VERY comprehensive video! DO like many others: RETIRE and MOVE to Eastern Europe ! Almost NONE (~CAD 40/yr !!!) property taxes, for instance. I lived in Canada for more than 20yr, since 2000 ... It was LESS worse back than, but still ... NOT AS GOOD as ADVERTISED. Now ... for the past 5-6-7 years ... it has been a DISASTER !!!
Sorry but this isn't true. My family moved from Russia, My friends have moved recently from Ukraine (within last 3 years) We all earn 6 figures, live comfortably in Calgary. Work hard, pick the city you live in wisely, and the dream is still alive
@@alexcalive Look Alex/Sasha, Just because New immigrants have such a tough time here doesn't mean it stays that way, Ill give you an example. We moved from Moldova, parents cleaned banks and dad was manual labor. We worked our ass off for 5 years, ate the same food almost everyday, and shopped at value village. We made sacrifices. You think people move here right away and start making big money? NO. Sorry but that isn't realistic. Promoting the dream isn't a crime, expecting everything to be handed to you is. My wife was in the same situation when her family first moved here. Everyone I know was broke before and once they came here. So let's not make it look like you know what you are talking about. It is the norm if you have an education and work hard to be exceptional. Best of luck to you regardless.
@@renatosureal probably worked on some manual labor for some 2-3 years while studying and then got a job on his professional area than keep on gridding making sacrifices until he could find a job that gave him some better opportunities
I went to one of the top universities in Canada for electrical engineering. Worked here for 9 years and eventually made senior engineer. Then I quit, took a significant demotion, and switched to working remotely for a US competitor. I immediately got a 30% increase in salary despite the demotion. Then I was quickly promoted after that (literally 1-2 weeks). It doesn't make sense for top engineering talent to stay in Canada anymore. You're just being a martyr at this point.
Did something similar i got hired in phoenix for a job at 110k usd. Meanwhile same job in canada is going for about $100-110k in toronto. Somehow over the past 6 months wages in toronto and Vancouver went down while housing shot up.
agree. I worked two years as a food/agro engineer in Canada, before leaving to the USA for an ENTRY-LEVEL job that pays 2x more... USA also has less taxes and cost of living is cheaper. Makes zero sense to stay in Canada for young talented engineers
@@asadb1990 yeah that's the sad reality of moving to USA, your visa is tied to employer. Best strategy is to save&invest as much money as you can because if you get booted back to Canada you'll at least have been able to generate some wealth while in USA (which is impossible in Canada)
to be very honest, I am an foreign worker who started PR process in Canada. I work as an actuarial analyst and make 80K in Toronto. I recently figured that if I move back to Korea, I will be offered similar (or even more) salary compared to Canada and with MUCH LESS taxes and cost of living. At this point I am really pondering seriously about going back. Especially before its too late as a mid 20 yo.
Hey, good to see a fellow actuary. I'm making the same amount in Toronto too, I want to get my fellowship + some work experience then gtfo of Canada. You down to connect? I'm always interested in meeting like minded people .
I am really glad you have the courage to present the real situation in Canada, unlike those immigration influencers who for some reason are hoping to fill Canada with immigrants, beyond the sustainable levels. Thanks for the good work!
OMG I am 45 years old and in all my years of watching RUclips I have never stumbled across a video that tells so much truth about Canada. Thank you so much for making this video, I really recommend getting out of Canada with your family and moving to greener pastures. This is what I did 15 years ago. There are now so many Canadians living abroad.
What I realized by talking to my friend in Canada: car insurance is very expensive in Canada. My friend pays $2400 per year for his used ford and its for one person. My whole family in US pay $1680 for 4 people and we have 5 cars with 3 of them being luxury. His phone bill is also $100+ per month for one person. We have 7 people sharing phone plan for $180. It cost him at least $300+ to fly between cities in Canada. I frequently fly for half of that in the US. I feel like lot of companies have monopoly in Canada and they dont want to change it. The market is not technically "free" and its very regulated.
Alex, as someone who grew up in Canada my entire life. I arrived here as a new born and had immigrant parents. I met a lot of kids growing up who recently came to Canada and their lives were immensely better than their home country. However now that im in the middle of my career earning 90 K all I see is new comers who complain about the state of the country, which is a far cry from what they were promised. Free healthcare, opportunity, excellent quality of life. Instead what we offer immigrants is artificially low salaries, obscene housing costs and some of the highest taxes outside of Europe. The Canadian government is scamming millions of immigrants and students using the former glory of what Canada use to be to trick them into giving up their lives back home only to be another cog in the machine to enrich Loblaws and RBC.
Thank you for your honesty, Mahdi. I’m a half Canadian half Brit raised in the UK and very proud of my Canadian heritage. But i’m in disbelief and how things have flipped the last 4/5 years. When I arrived 8 years ago I had a comfortable life: Car, one bed flat, ability to travel, all on earning $35k a year. Now im on 50k and even after selling my car and cutting back on luxuries, I can’t afford rent. I’m being priced out and will have to return to the UK. Bearing in mind, i’m in Calgary which is supposedly one of the cheapest parts of the country. Madness. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back here in a few years. We’ll see.
I came as immigrant in the 90s. Canadians use to be so proud of Canada back in the days. I was preached in that environment, and for a time, it did offer everyone livable opportunities. It's been deteroriating for sure. Recently, more and more of my friend has started to move to the States or in Asia. People who was much more Canadian than me, makes me sad man.
You're correct, although I think it's notable enough to add that all the pain being felt by new immigrants is experienced a thousand times worse by those who are born into poverty in Canada, this is because poor Canadians are forced to compete with overqualified immigrants who are not only taking jobs meant for the poor, but also making housing too expensive and healthcare essentially inaccessible by straining the system to the point of collapse.
I'm a software engineer from Brazil and for many years I considered moving/migrating to Canada since I'm single, speak English (also some French) and have nothing that ties me to Brazil but the more I look things up the more I realize I'm probably staying in Brazil because I can't complain about my life here. I have my own apartament, live in a town in the state of Sao Paulo which gives me a good quality of life, it's not a dangerous town or anything, work remotely etc. I'd probably have a hard time moving to Canada and even a harder time until I could actually settle down to the point where I wouldn't live from paycheck to paycheck (currently I can save up to 80% of my monthly salary which is a lot in Brazil).
That doesn’t exist for someone who’s not working on IT remotely earning on western currency. There’s no place in the world where you can save 80% of your earnings despite in this condition
The only reason you would come to Canada is to experience. When you're young and money is not your concern then you're free to travel and do whatever you want. However, but if you wanna grow (finance, life balance, ..) better to live in your hometown. I'm speaking the truth as I am living here in Canada and all my salary goes into taxes, rent and bills
@@lemonapplevodka Yes, you can, there are some absurd cheap places, even in Europe and not to far from big cities. Few years ago I had an 2 bedroom apartment in small town in Spain, next to the sea. Obviously, not luxurious one, yet still quite convenient, and all that for 300 Euro.
Man, you are amaizing. Very comprehensive and accurate!! You clearly and honestly articulate the current situation in Canada. Thank you sir, for spreading the truth!
Canadian citizen here. I live in Halifax. Just watched rent double for a 1 bedroom in 2.5 years. What did salaries do? Went up 5%. Cost of living, taxes, and poor salaries, means even in a "high paying" career like software development you will live paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking to leave ASAP. Glad you're speaking the truth!
@@amithattimare834 construction is going up, but it takes a long time and people are moving here faster than they can build...also a lot of height restrictions on buildings prevent developers from building higher and offering more units...it will get a lot worse before it gets better...already a 1% vacancy rate
Spot on. I left Canada 14 years ago because I felt my life and career was going nowhere. Its a great country with many natural resources but how can we enjoy if we have to hamster wheel with little reward. My recommendation is to think global and not to limit your professional role to one domain.
@@kirill4531 spent 6 years in China, earned 50% more immediately while costs were similar. After year 6, the China hype was over, so proactively searched a job in Thailand, was accepted and spent 2 amazing years serving customers in SEA. When our family grew we decided to move back to my home country in Europe.
Unfortunately I am the kind of doctors mentioned in your video, living in the basement and working temporarily jobs, while desperately waiting for the “source verification” from the medical council of Canada so that I can write the exam, re-do the residency and fellowship, which I have completed many years ago. The occupational and licensing protectionism here in Canada is so toxic😢
@@rv8804 Yes, but the real problem is the slowness of the govermental process and their employees with bullet-proof union conventions that let them do what they what without fear of any repercusions. 600k+ people work for the government for a country of 35M people... try to have that ratio in any other business and you will fill for bankrupcy.
@@rv8804 it is very easy to verify credentials, as well as program standards and training. It is absolutely humiliating, degrading to except the highest educated people into a country and then limit them to driving ubers. This has always gone on in Canada and always will. You must be coming from pretty dire circumstances to think immigrating to Canada is a solution. Best wishes everyone
I for one am very happy its so regulated. Because most doctors are incompetent, and especially foreign trained doctors I trust even less. At least ones trained in Canada are assured to have past a particular shit filter.
My dad worked in Canada for almost 40 years, and when he retired he moved back home(Portugal), while i left Canada back in 06. back in the 90s my dad in working in construction would be making 20 something dollars per hour, and a house would cost like 200k in Toronto. When my dad retired in 2018 he was making 38$ per hour while a house in toronto is always over 1million. So in the span of 20 years , his salary did not even double while the cost of housing multiplied various times. Its insane. I work as a software Engineer in Portugal, and even though i could work in Canada since I'm a Canadian Citizen. When i do the math like you just did, it does not make any sense, considering i would have to give up 300 days of sunshine per year and need embrace for harsh 6 months of winter... Times are tough everywhere.
My man here spitting the truth. I came to Canada 2 years ago and had to start from scratch basically even though I graduated as an aerospace’s engineer. The only reason I save some money for investing is because I live in a basement, I don’t have a car, work remotely, and pay a 1 bedroom apartment in half with my girlfriend.
I'm a Canadian who has been working 10 years straight in Thailand. For 2 years before Thailand, I was losing money every month as a "Regional Sales Manager" in Atlantic Canada... The money offered was an insult. Now 10 years in Thailand as RSM working from home, I save 50-60% of my base pay live in 3 bedroom 3 bath home with a pool for 800 CAD a month. My sister is a high level director in Fed Gov still in canada... She has been living pay cheque to pay cheque for 20 years now.
It makes literally zero sense to stay in Canada unless you are tied up with family. Its a country that has no purpose whatsoever. Shit economy, jobs, weather, infrastructure
This video is spot on. I'm a junior developer in Toronto and affordability in this city, but also the rest of Southern Ontario, is horrendous. Despite having a wage which is higher than the junior developer wage-band in this video, I cannot afford to rent in Toronto, Waterloo, or really anywhere in Southern Ontario because if I did I'd have to throw away over 50% of my take home income into the rent pit alone. After normal living expenses, forget saving anything because you'll be left with a couple bucks if that. These arguments I hear from people like "oh just move somewhere cheaper" or "settle for less" are fucking stupid because moving somewhere cheaper usually means, like you said in your video, a big pay cut, which after taking into account housing prices still means you're either in the same boat as the more expensive city, or worse off. Young people in Canada just can't settle for less anymore because the "less" is still too damn expensive. I agree with your opinion on the Canadian immigration system, it is a big scam to get highly educated smart people from all over the world to work for shit wages. If anyone reading this comment is considering moving to Canada I'd suggest otherwise. I was born here and even I'm struggling, I can't imagine how bad it would be for a new resident who has no family or social support in the country already. For fucks sake I went to school for 4 years, in a field that is in demand, I did everything right and our society still fucked me over.
@@PhilTheThrill81 surely we can admit that if starting your own business is the only way to have a decent quality of life in Canada, something has gone terribly wrong
Don't worry. Trudeau and the Liberals are planning to bring million immigrants a year, mostly from India, and most of them will be coming to the GTA. I am sure that will solve the housing crisis 😢
Lived in Calgary from January 2017-May 2019, had a great time it’s a beautiful city with the Rocky mountains within view of the city. Worked as a carpenter and the money was decent but not enough to buy my own home. Moved back to Ireland and bought a three bedroom semi detached with garage and driveway for £157,000. Highly doubt a carpenter could buy his own home in Canada today with the price of housing.
@@nobertstanel9428 what victim mentality? is he begging the government, is he an activist? No, he is a regular joe trying to make ends meet through his skills. Idiotic comment
As someone born and raised in Canada I can say I am absolutely disgusted by the state of this country and its economy. I can't understand why anyone would ever immigrate here now. One more thing, it sucks here for native-born Canadians who aren't millionaires as well, not just immigrants.
@@shuki1 legacy is genocide, aura is woke, crime is high relative to our population size, health care is nothing without pharmacare, the people ignore rampant poverty, and we have all the bad stuff from America, we're just 1/10th the size so it's less obvious.
@@milltona Ok, I know where you're coming from now. The forefathers were racists, and for that matter, the English, French, and First Nations too. Canada sucks.
@@shuki1 it's terrible. I was born into abject poverty and raised by a single disabled woman. When I was a kid, social services stole me from my mom for a while, and I was abused by my foster parents and neglected by social services. By 15 in high school I had to work 3 jobs to pay for rent, bills, car, food, etc... I got myself 3/4 of the way through a science degree, but couldn't afford the costs in the fourth year. As I got older and was slaving away for wages that would never be able to get me a house or sufficient food, I was told I had white privilege and that I should be thankful I live in such a great country. As I started climbing the ladder and gaining incredible skills, immigration started increasing and my wages stagnated even though I was doing the work of four intelligent hardworking humans. I became homeless after losing one of my job and had to work extremely hard to escape homelessness and repair my credit. Then, the pandemic hit and everyone knows how that went. My CERB was so delayed I had to take a job as a maintenance person for a property management company making $15 an hour doing essentially every trade, every day, and this was far from my intended career path of programmer/engineer/physicist. After a few months of working 50 hours weeks, I said no longer, and I took my whole paycheck and started a corporation in October 2021. Now I own 4 companies and I don't slave nearly as hard as I did for my previous employers, although it's more stressful than just grinding a 9 to 5, and I feel like I might be bankrupt every other month, I think this is the only way to truly succeed in Canada. Working for someone else and having a good life is a total lie. The problem is it's too much of a gamble, and some people can't risk their families for a chance at having a good life, so they take a reliable job even if it's terrible. My story isn't unique (except for right at the end, and I'm not even successful yet, I just own 4 companies), there are still countless CHILDREN that this kind of thing is happening to daily. No child should have to go through what I've gone through. I hope to become rich and eliminate poverty. Sincerely, Alexander William Forrest Milton President Thunder Bay Tech Kart Incorporated
Brilliant analysis. I was born in Canada, university educated and professional job and have exactly the same experience. I was particularly struck by your comment about older people who entered the housing market early, who have a house in Florida and one here, but they paid less than 50% what my house cost me. And yes, my salary disappears in taxes before it makes it to my paycheque. I’m a senior manager in a technology company and do not see a path to retirement at all.
@@PhilTheThrill81 That comes with its own risks, and I’ve worked hard to get to a better place in my career. The problem is the time it takes to do that. We’re supposed to start saving for retirement at a time in our lives when most of us can’t make ends meet and are saddled with debt. As we get older and rise in the ranks and start making money, we buy a house that’s not falling apart, a car that’s not falling apart, and make payments on those. Start your own business does not equal a path to wealth for everyone either btw. So I’ve decided against retirement. I’ll either just get too sick to work or they’ll get sick of me and let me go, but I’m working until at least 70, maybe longer.
@@josephsmith594 It's not a single problem, but a multitude of problems compounding each other. First, there's an issue with the construction industry and government in general in Canada. It is laughable that we, with a vast land and untold natural resources we could use, build the smaller amount of new housing per capita of all G7 countries. Even Italy is building more than we are per capita, for fuck's sake. We need to spread our population, not continue the densification of our four largest cities. Now that we have good quality Internet that can easily link our various communities, we need to start being real. I'm not saying that we need to build in the far north but there's untapped land as soon as you drive more than 2-3 hours of every major city in Canada. Government should stop subsidizing buyers (which only drives demand up and basically ends up as a free gift to homeowners who sell their property that much higher) and start subsidizing the construction of more housing. Something's definitely wrong that building materials - plentiful all around us - cost more in Canada than any other G7 country too. Second, immigration needs to be lowered. We cannot keep increasing it. It's not fair for Canadians who don't already own a company and a house and it's not fair for immigrants either who are sold a dream and come here and face 2700$ rent per month. Let's be realistic with our targets rather than just be like "WE'LL GROW CANADA TO 100 MILLION PEOPLE BY 2100". None of us will be alive in 2100. We shouldn't be accepting 2-3% of our overall population in new immigrants every year. It's a disaster on many levels and it has exacerbated the housing crisis to near untenable levels. Third, when the government made a change to de-finance cities and make them more reliant on housing taxes, it created a monster and it needs to be addressed. As it is, cities have every incentive in the world to drive the housing market up: it brings more revenue to the city's coffers and "less crime" or, at least, helps get rid of the poorer districts by gentrifying them. It's an issue. As a sidenote, the rest of us work as hard as our forefathers did. They just grew up in a situation where a new house cost, on average, two years of full salary. Right now, if I were to buy a house in Montreal (where housing is more "affordable" than Vancouver or Toronto but salaries are lower), I'd be paying about 500 to 600k$ for a house built in 1970, sold "as is" and I'd likely have to bid against 11 other buyers. In 1970, that same house was built for 30k. In that time, inflation has went up by 505% according to the PCE Index. Which means that, if that house value had followed inflation, it'd be worth 150k. Something profoundly wrong has happened and is currently happening, as housing value keeps going up by 8, 9, 10% every year. Heck, we're speaking of major city hubs right now, but even outside, it's no better. I'm 45 mins off Montreal, in what used to be a quiet, rural town. Everywhere between MTL and my town, prices have went up and my town has went up so dramatically that a lot of people have started moving out. My friends bought a house for 198k$ in 2016. Their house is now worth 425k$ by the most recent estimates. My father was a used car salesman with no education. He was able, during the course of his life, to buy three different houses. He didn't even have a high school degree. Due to poor life choices, he lost most of his savings and houses and now live in a small apartment. I went and followed the "American dream" (Canadian style) and got myself a higher education, the first of my family, in a field that I liked and thought had some decent career prospects. It's not engineering but we can't all be engineers, obviously. I make about 60k a year. I'm firmly middle class. I'm priced out of my own hometown and it was NEVER seen as a "hot town". It's a rural town, which smells of manure and chocolate (due to the chocolate factory in town) and its biggest attraction is a Farmers Expo every year. The river going through the town is heavily polluted. Yet, the town has been getting gentrified at Mach 5 speed because of the spillover from Montreal.
@@josephsmith594 You are lucky cause you still employed. My husband said he'll work until 99 because he really like his job. Unfortunately he was fired during covid 19. Life became more difficult in Canada for Trudeau spent A lot of money at his activities instead of to think about helping Canadian.
I spent 22 years in USA. The country changed a lot in those 20 years but I was always discipline to save what I could. I've always been number/money oriented and the numbers you describe fits USA economy as well. People compete with their neighbors and buy crap non stop to the point they cant fit it anymore in their garages so they have to rent storages. They live in big houses they don't need and often cant afford and drive cars they shouldn't. At the age of 42 I moved back to Argentina. I affored to "retire", with money that in USA OR CANADA can barely buy a house. I am living my dreamed life and reinvented myself. Not everything is what it seems to be. People just heard people talk or see things in movies and see the grass greener on the other side. I am glad I had the opportunity to travel and live in different parts of USA because now I am more than grateful for the life I have. It definitely makes me appreciate my life now.
@CHRIS198490 Is that what you took away from his comment? I think if he saved money and moved home to live very well is smart. Why do you believe he did it just to show off?
Finally perspective from a Family in Canada than just university students! Thanks for the comprehensive insights and reality checks and most importantly the Truth.
But India sucks. No rule of law, Everything is unpredictable, violence is high, will have to put up with corrupt officials from top to bottom starting with Chprasai and ending with PM.
He is exaggerating in reality the rent is only 1 k for a single room and even less if u share and max 150 for groceries rest is all savings that u can take back to India
@@msdadsfsx Then why are Indian IT guys flooding US and earning less than 50 K in most cases? Add the stress of H1B renewal and the expenses related to it. Thant mean it's not normal to get 100 USD in India. It is possible that some higher management guys may be getting it, but 99% of the IT developers aren't getting it.
I’m in my 50s and lived here all my life and you are spot on. I don’t know how my kids are going to make a living here in Canada. Were taxed to death and the Government keeps giving out more and more money to those who don’t pay taxes or waste it on things that most don’t agree with. Most people in Canada are oblivious to what is going on, they don’t understand that the government doesn’t produce anything and that all the currency they give out has to be borrowed into existence and so dilutes the currency and so everything gets more expensive. I am ashamed of this country now and so sorry about your situation. I am hopeful that the conservatives take power next election and do what they said they would. If they don’t, I will be pushing for my kids to go abroad.
Thought I'd quote it again for emphasis. Were taxed to death and the Government keeps giving out more and more money to those who don’t pay taxes or waste it on things that most don’t agree with.
Despite my comment above. I agree with this. Too much money wasted on freeloaders. Especially during Covid. I know people who bought a property while getting cerb payout. They've been minimum wage workers until that point. So they barely paid any taxes. While I stayed in a dorm-style housing to keep costs low and save enough to buy a place.
Too much real estate investors and airbnb issue. Same in Australia. Eventually this will need to desincentivesed through regulation, otherwise it will turn into a social problem.
@@AUThePunisher Thats all ready been a huge issue in Asia. People have to work over time otherwise They cannot survive in big cities. My Ideal life is to work remotely And stay in my home town.
Short, concise and to the point. Nothing to add as I had the same thoughts about the current housing/economic situation in Canada; however, you packaged it all up nicely in just one relatively short video which I can share with some of my friends to give them a digestable summary of my own conclusions. Thank you for all your hard work!
I was an international student in Canada, already left Canada and found job as a software engineer back home in China. Been living in Toronto for about 6 years and didn't realize how insane the cost of living is in Toronto until I came back home in China. I'm making about 60k canadian dollars(converted) annual here but the cost of living is less than one third of what it is in Toronto(living in a 2 bedroom condo here by myself and paying 600 cad/month in rent, utility included). I get to save half of what I earn every month and was much less stressful financially here. Thought western developed countries means good and wanted to stay there before I went just like everybody else, but it's just not true. Oh yea, huge thanks to the degrees that I've earn in Canada that secured me nice paying jobs here in China lol.
@@karlabritfeld7104 International students typically pay 3 times what a Canadian student would pay for tuition because they're not subsided by the government. Foreign students are a net win for Canada.
You payed a lot for your education in Canada and don't owe anything to Canada beyond what you already payed. Toronto is financially stressful for almost anyone. But there are many considerations beyond $$. What is the work life balance like? Nobody wants to work 12 hours a day. . or have almost no holidays.
Inflation, bank collapse, severe drought in the agricultural belt, recession, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating oil shortages, baby formula shortages, available automobile shortages and prices, the price of living place.
@davedelva You are right! I’ve diversified my 450K portfolio across various market with the aid of an investment coach, I have been able to generate a little bit above $830k in net profit across high dividend yield stocks, ETF and bonds.
@@yolanderiche7476 I have been thinking about how to grow my reserve by atleast 40% or more within months. I will be grateful if you can give tips or anything on how to make good market picks and how I can get my portfolio diversified and balanced in order to meet up my target
@@bernisejedeon5888 You might have heard this before but it’s imperative that I mention it. Starting out with a with a professional that knows the ropes of the choppy but profitable market is the best way to achieve getting a well structured portfolio. That's why I have been working with “Julia Ann Finnicum” and that doesn't make me daft because in financial dealings one have to be prudent. Most traders enter exit with a quick 10% profit which is not bad in a general opinion but why not aim bigger.
@@yolanderiche7476 After locating her, I composed an email and arranged a phone conversation. I'm optimistic that she will reply, and my goal is to conclude 2023 on a financially successful note.
I came to Canada a couple of months back with a near 6 figure salary. Wife couple of toddlers. I knew exactly this is what I'm getting into before I moved here. Lucky to get a remote job, so I got cheaper rent away from the city. Everything is manageable for now but any time things might get overwhelming. I can always go back to my country without much loss. Definitely going to try my best to get something and give back here. Fingers crossed. Great video and rare truth which must be seen by anyone who wants to move here to set the expectations right.
Have some loyalty. If you come here. Respect the place. Make it your home. Saying you'll leave Canada and go back to your home makes you sound ungrateful for this opportunity. Ee
@@MyFriendlyPup First of all no one handed an opportunity to me. I had multiple opportunities from other great countries too. I neither have to be grateful nor owe anything here. I was required here as they were not able to find someone here with my quality. My skills are creating more jobs and contributing to the economy here already. I chose this country because people like you were less. Irony that I already met one of you. The part which you didn't want to read in my comment wherein I mentioned that I will be trying my best means that I will be trying my best to create even more jobs and give back as much as possible. Just because I have a backup plan for my family doesn't mean that I'm a quitter. It just means that I love my family and wont risk everything blindly.
Born Canadian here. You have the correct attitude. Canada must compete for people, like any other country. We don't want to end up like Japan. Since we can't find enough people to build more houses, we will have to wait until they can be built by robots. Canada is run by humans, which means it's just as flawed as any other country. The only good part is the 8 months of darkness, and the endless 5C temperatures. And lots of rain and snow.
Very honest video. Newcomers to Canada are brought here to just pay the rent and taxes. Same fate is in store for young Canadians, unless they are lucky to inherit a home from parents. It does not help either that we have a incompetent prime minister who depends on advisers with an agenda.
As a Canadian, we should be glad that we have freedom, demorcacy, fresh air. Newcombers are not paying a lot of taxes. Think about Canadian who have been working hard for last 30 - 40 years and they have been paying a higher tax bracket (as they make more money due to more experience) than the newcombers and yet having the same benefits.
@@johnli9211 if you don’t mind me asking, what is your situation? Are you educated, working hard and yet still living pay check to pay-check, with no hope of ever buying a home? Or is that a non issue. Perhaps your parents or grandparents came here when it was a different country and easy buy a home?
What I realized by talking to my friend in Canada: car insurance is very expensive in Canada. My friend pays $2400 per year for his used ford and its for one person. My whole family in US pay $1680 for 4 people and we have 5 cars with 3 of them being luxury. His phone bill is also $100+ per month for one person. We have 7 people sharing phone plan for $180. It cost him at least $300+ to fly between cities in Canada. I frequently fly for half of that in the US. I feel like lot of companies have monopoly in Canada and they dont want to change it. The market is not technically "free" and its very regulated. Of course both countries have its flaws but this is something that can be fixed.
Insurance prices vary greatly across the USA from state to state. My very old car costs $1000/year. I'm the sole driver and over 21. Clean driving record just my state is expensive for car insurance!
My roots in Canada go back many generations. I don’t know anyone who’s now doing well in Canada, and I’m specifically thinking of my friends and family. However, within the last five years, four friends moved from Canada, and they’re all doing far better in their adopted countries than they ever would have had they chosen to remain here. None of them have any intention of returning. I even followed a suggestion mentioned in this video: moving to another province with accessible real estate. However, you very quickly discover why the real estate is so inexpensive: it’s because the province is embarrassingly primitive, and to as such a degree that the move becomes a Pyrrhic Victory. We purchased a two-story, three-bedroom house on four seaside acres for $275K in Nova Scotia. Sounds glorious, right? It wasn’t. It was pure hell, as the small number of local people who chose not to shun us, decided to harry us instead. It was a far worse experience than living in downtown Vancouver. So, speaking as someone with extensive experience living in some of Canada’s smaller/remote communities, and in many of Canada’s major cities, life in these places is extremely difficult, and the weather is diabolically awful.
Thanks for the honest breakdown! Hope this video goes viral and is seen by more who are planning to immigranting to Canada to have realistic idea of what living in Canada is like.
I moved to Canada (Montreal), from Brazil, about 10 years ago. I feel blessed for everything I was able to experience and build here (starting as a junior front-end dev), but your video is spot on. Life here is not as easy as they sell it out there (and we're fortunate to be working for the software industry!). Housing is indeed crazy high and it keeps getting higher (as pretty much everything else). 5 years ago, I would not consider going back to Brazil, but that's starting to change...
O Brasil não está diferente não, aqui onde moro, Curitiba PR, o aluguel de um ESTUDIO perto do centro, custa R$1800,00 reais por 32mt² a média salarial está em R$1700,00 reais. O negócio é conseguir o trabalho remoto com o salário e taxas daí mesmo e morar aqui, supondo quê você receba 70k aí, vai ser uns 55/60 limpo, são 200/230 bruto aqui após conversão, uns 170/185 limpo aqui, aí sim consegue viver legal, porque conseguir mais que 40k/ano aqui, ou você abre seu próprio negócio ou é tão bom que alguém aceite pagar o valor real das suas habilidades, isso é difícil.
@@leocasati o custo de vida em cidade grande eh muito alto mesmo, quando vim pro Quebec escolhi uma cidade menor pra conseguir economizar, em Montreal eh bem mais caro. Pensei em voltar ao BR tambem.
I work as an intermediate SRE in Ontario. I am still single so I can rent a room to maximize my saving. However, I feel your struggle. I don't buy anything. I eat at home. I try not to date since It costs money. Buying a house is very fundamental. Now, we call Canada our home, but we need a solid change. People are dying in ER by paying a lot of taxes in the country since we don't have enough doctors. I appreciate your thoughtful video. Keep your good work. Hope things get better in near future.
I have been thinking and considering Canada as a potential option there. Ofcourse there are some relatives and people whom I worked with living there, they told me the same thing. Thank you Alex. You don't know what relief your video was and these 10 mins took off 10kg of load from my head. Can't thank enough. ❤
Don't bother coming here in Canada. You hear bullshit that Canadians are all leaving this country. But don't believe that nonsense. Those people probably just temporary going to USA for now and will eventually go back Canada when things are corrected. Canadians own a lot of real estate in Florida. White Canadians are like the top 2 in the world in real estate in Florida. So just imagine how much influence, advantages we have with Canadian Citizenship. These people just taking advantage of their situation and will eventually come back. Do your research for Canada but also look into other places to live too
@@calvinwong365 thank you for bringing up another perspective. Is it also invalid that rent has gone 2x and groceries and utilities by 3x but hardly theres a 10% increment in the salary. I am not considering this option as someone who owns a lot of wealth or is white who has a lot of properties. Do you still think Canada is right place to move when you have skills and experience but not hell much of financial reserves
@@saadabbasi2063 very hard to say, it all depends on your current situation and your expectation. If you are middle class already in your own country, you have to be careful. For very poor people, it doesn't matter, there is not much to lose to come to Canada, even better since for basic labor market, it is easy to get a job. For a rich people, they don't care , they always come to Canada for fun, if they need to see doctor, they can fly back to home country, in a way. So you either have lots of money or no money at all , if you decide to come. The middle class will suffer a lot to come here.
I just emigrated to Vancouver because of the war in my country. It's not like it was my dream to live here, because I had a great life in my country while working remotely. But here I feel like all the effor I've made to increase my quality of life and don't live paycheck to paycheck, just got annuled. These days I only live with fear "what do I do if I can't pay rent next month", because it's not even like I can go back to my homeland into the war. Also, the more friends I make here, the more I realize how everyone is working their ass off to survive in this system. People literally have no time for dating or learning a new hobby. And honestly, I don't even get why the cost of living is so high, because there is no proper things like technology, medicine, even places for rent don't look great usually. Maybe I'm too new to understand why this country is a dream for an imigrant, but for me this place is a waste of life on surviving. Thank you so much for the video, I was feeling really lonely in this topic before I watched it!
These comments are the example of disrespect I get in Canada that I wouldn’t have “in Poland”. You guys have no idea if I lived better than you or not, but still talk to me as if I moved from North Korea and have IQ 10.
This video is totally accurate. I've been here for 7 years, and I am making 55k. I feel lucky because there is a ton of people in my field who are desperate for a job. Newcomers are highly educated and they get paid very little for what I do. I am very surprised how poor people look day after day.
Holly molly... Immigrated to Canada in 2018 with completely distorted vision of what I am to expect. This video hits the nail on the head! Still better than the old country, but far from the dream...
can you suggest why ( i am planning for masters in software engineering fields ( which one do i choose Australia, canada or Germany ) ( from Pakistan )
100% true. I'm also a software developer. I moved here almost 3 years ago. Soon I'm applying for my passport and after I've got it, I'm moving to the US on a TN
I believe the costs for everything has risen dramatically everywhere and especially Western countries. Here in Sweden it is now almost unbearable with food, electricity, utility bills and interests skyrocketing. I have almost reached pension age so my plan is to move out from here soon to Spain or Portugal where I know food is 30-40% lower, no more winter clothing and sun all year around. Cheers Jan
Great video Alex. As a software engineer living in Vancouver I can relate to this 100%. We're getting paid fairly well in software, compared to other occupancies. I can only imagine how devastating this can be for a skilled worker immigrant to survive on the average salary.
Immigrants are not too proud to live in large groups cutting their rent massively. They also eat rice and chilli every meal. Soon you will be paying rent to them.
Thank you so much for your honest and detailed opinion on the current situation in Canada. You're right that so many bloggers are skewed to the positive side and got lucky with timing coming to Canada 10 years ago. Coming to Canada now is not a good decision. I am in the product management space. I thought of the same salary numbers you showed and had my doughts from the beginning. Thank you for telling the truth! By the way, you should consider moving to the US if you land a job; it can be 2-3 times more than what you make in Canada.
came from Turkey to Canada for this exact reason, also the movitation of money. now I realise I legitimately have higher chances to own a house back home than here, even though its only been a couple months... plus, I"m missing all my friends, family and the insanely beautiful nature of my country. things have been iffy back there for quite a while now, but my own bubble was absolutely top tier.
With Justin Trudeau in charge, Canada and Turkey are not so different. Been to Turkey for 3 months and I loved it. Amazing nature, amazing food... I tried migrating to Canada but recently gave up after seeing so much information like this video. And like you, my "bubble" where I am is top-tier. Not even in local terms, but Americans would also envy.
This video is great and truthful. I am a born Canadian and lived here my entire life. Now in Toronto. It is absolutely terrible what is happening. Cost of living is increasing exponentially and our salaries are stagnant. Now, the BoC is raising rates to make it much worse for everyone. With inflation, we are what, paying maybe $200-400 most per family in total and now the rates increasing has raised my mortgage over $1000k and I'm being hit everywhere where I can barely make ends meet. It's unbelievable and I feel like the government is has lost its way. The future for our children is doomed at this rate. I would predict people leaving, suicides, etc. Thankfully, we are getting government subsidies for child care here in Ontario that are kicking in, because paying $2600/child while the wife makes barely more than that doesn't make any sense for anyone to have children or go to work. BUT, the government would rather immigrate people in Canada than having people have and raise children here. I feel helpless and completely upset that life has become like this. Basically if you're a shareholder, you push companies to reduce raises. Overwork their workers and increase profits....Sad, just sad...
@@PhilTheThrill81 lol 33% are variable rate in Canada as of 2022 and over the next 1-1.5yrs another 20% will be up for their fixed rate renewal and will be hit hard. Where are you going with this genius?
The government in this country is absolutely 100% corrupt. This country is being robbed blind right now. Thank the socialist government in power for doubling this nation's debt. Only when Canadians lose everything and are eating out dumpsters will they realize that voting for far left parties is a bad idea. Just ask the Cubans or Venezuelans how much they love socialism. If you voted NDP or Liberal, you made your bed and now it's time to lay in it.
I was a specialist doctor before coming to Canada. I went to UofT for 7 years, finished computer engineering bachelors and masters degree. I can not even get a job paying 70,000 CAD. Immigration is a scam in Canada.
@@abhimanyuraizada7713 You are right. I did not want to live in India and Middle-east for various reasons. I thought, that I will be able to reach same level given my ability to study. But It seems, I was wrong. However, I have not given up yet, trying for PhD in clinical AI.
@@PankajSngh-bf1vw you will be fine soon, dong you regret it leaving medical? Other prfessions doesnt pay as much. Also Doctors earn so much in India, i know some who ear 10-15 lakh per month
Also i would like to add, i bought my first house 17 years ago for $148,000 on its own land. You are correct sir, it was good here 10-15 years ago here
Thank you Alex! I thought about moving to Canada with my family and 3 kids, but thanks to you (and some other bloggers) I see that unfortunately this is not the best option now. It looks like it is better for me to stay in Poland :)
Unfortunately this is the reality now. I came from Europe to Canada more than 20 years ago and caught up on some good opportunities. But I wouldn't make this move today. I would definitely look for something in Europe. Actually, we are even thinking of maybe retiring in Europe...
@@alidavoudi977 this is exactly the case... canada may not seem like a great option compared to UK, USA, Australia, etc... but compared to African countries, India, Sri Lanka, etc then Canada can offer a much greater quality of life. Hence, most people immigrating to Canada originate from India. It's all perspective
@@A-star445 Those countries have Sunlight which Canada lacks. Moreover in those countries you don't have to be debt slaves to bank for your house and can actually save half your income and enjoy life.
@@TheGalactus16 That is true. Weather is certainly better in Mexico. For majority of Mexican population though, they cannot purchase homes. Homes are generally owned by the elite class and wealth is passed down through inheritance. Many mexicans live in dense living situations (multiple families in homes). This is how I see the future of Canada. Houses that used to be occupied by a single family will now have 2-3 families in them, and renting will be the only option for majority of population. Home ownership will primarily be for people who have properties passed down to them through inheritance and can then use those properties to leverage into other real estate
Totally related. I was working in New Zealand, income from main job and side job would bring about 80-90k/year but a big junk of that went for tax, rent, utility, insurance, car. On my trip to Vietnam, my dad asked me how much I make a month and then compare the amount with my brother (who is in IT and making $3000 USD a month), then my dad concluded “what you really take home is much lesser than your brother’s despite you’re living in a better country”. It shocked me so much. I barely ate outside, always cooked at home, never had any activities or hobbies that need to spend money while I was in NZ, all that to save so little in the end. Finally I decided to take the remote jobs, income stays the same, fly to China (hubby is Chinese). Now we are living in a 2 bedroom apartment outskirt of Beijing for less than $500/month. Utility is about $100 per month, insurance $40/month….I now can go grocery shopping without looking at the price, eating organic free food (the in-laws runs a farming business and they have a section to grow 100% organic food), watch movie every fortnightly, travel, exercise classes, and guess what…I still have a lot left in my bank. And also start to grow other incomes beside work as well. It’s getting really expensive to live in Western countries at the moment to be honest. When I go back to Asia, I feel my quality is much improved!
Thank you for speaking the truth! I started a YT channel a couple of years ago (in polish) to answer questions I was getting about how to immigrate to Canada. Since I was saying the truth I was often getting negative feedback, was called a lier and worse. People were so brainwashed by the propaganda of Canada being "the best country in the world", that they would not accept the truth. Now the same people message me again, apologize and often say that they should have listened to me because they moved to Canada and now regret it. As for myself and my family, we moved from Canada to the beautiful french island of Corsica and live a happy life! Cheers and best of luck to you and your family!
My wife and I got my Canadian citizenship 6 months ago. Thinking about moving back to Ukraine after the war, buying a few condos as rentals (no property taxes or condo fees on those in Ukraine) and getting into IT. It's much easier to become a trainee in Ukraine and then move up the ladder than in Canada, especially with good English. BTW, on 60k we are barely making it in Calgary. My wife stays home with my son. It was much nicer in 2018-2019 when both of us worked and we even managed to save quite a bit. Life was 40-50% cheaper. Now we live from paycheck to paycheck.
@@Theactualstoic if one person work more and study more to get more qualifications and money.....do you really believe is unfair they buy houses? I'm sorry for talk the true but I know many lazy people who just complain but don't want to work weekends....improve etc
Been suffering in this terrible country for 9 years and every time I open my mouth I am gaslighted by how "negative" I am. Glad to find these videos to validate everything I have been going through! Ironically, the only thing that kept me from drowning are the life savings I brought with me.
This is literally the kind of video I've been looking for quite some time now on RUclips considering my profile & future projects. Thank you for your (brutal) honesty !
Alex, I can sense the struggle in the conclusion part of your video. I'm also a developer, but living in Toronto, and I'm feeling the same as you. The only difference is that I was born here, just a few years too late to ride real estate on the way up - which makes it even more sad. Wishing you the best!
If you are a Canadian and you complain about immigration you are immediately labeled a bigot and cancelled. Of course most politicians are lawyers who do not face international competition.
In the animation industry, American companies often outsource the majority of actual animation work to Canadian studios because they pay their workers less. Let that sink in…
I am in exact situation as you but I leave 1h west of Toronto and I have no kids.More than 20y in Canada.Everything you say in your videos is true.Hopefully people that would like to come now in Canada make an informed decision. Keep it up man!
That painting behind you, I have a similar one. I bought it in Whistler six years ago. I also placed it above our couch. My painting, though, is in Hong Kong where our household pays 6% income tax, no capital gains tax on stocks, no VAT and we also have Universal Healthcare and free medicine. Sure property prices are more than Vancouver and we mostly live in flats than houses but our high disposable income, high salaries and no capital gains tax enabled us to buy a primary residence easily. And with the HKD pegged to USD, we can buy investment properties abroad where the USD trades at a premium. When my friends ask me what's the financial difference between HK and Vancouver I tell them this - our savings in one year in HK is equivalent to seven years of accumulated savings in Vancouver
Hey Alex! I'm one amongst the millions of immigrants settled here in Canada, I'm proud of what you've mentioned in your video btw it's the first time and importantly the very first video that I've watched on your channel regardless you're an inspiration to all of us for the kind of RIGHT INFORMATION that you're sharing it's very rare that we come across a channel where we genuinely wanted to subscribe for the insights that nobody talks about but everybody knows!! Much love from Toronto! Cheers 🥂🥂
@@lavanyasinghrajpurohit4879 u are coming back to India like forever? How's the life there ??? Bcoz someone very close to me is going in Canada after 12th for software engineering.....
No idea how this got recommended, but I am happy about it. I could say the video is absolutely true about..Germany too. You could swap the names of the two countries and this will describe perfectly the situation in Germany. I read a lot of the comments and its astonishing how its EVERYWHERE the same. I have spent 10 years in the Germany. I have finished one of the top universities there (TUM) and continued living in the city (Munich). Being a master in engineering and working for an above average salary, it still felt like a science fiction to have one day a place of my own. I mean, even if you could rent something with a balcony and a nice location - congratulations! You are in the upper layer of the society. The rents are absolutely insane too. And no wonder - its normal to have between 50 and 200 applications PER DAY, depending how attractive the accommodation is. Long story short - i moved to Switzerland. My salary literally doubled and i still pay less taxes, compared to Germany. Funny enough, being in relatively big Swiss city, with an amazing nature, fresh air and transport is actually cheaper than living in Munich. Don't get me wrong - Munich is not bad, its even one of the best German cities. I would describe it exactly like Alex did for Vancouver (insane).
Its really crazy how its the same anywhere you go. In Budapest, its been ridiculously insane how the cost of living got through the roof. People with master degrees are struggling to get on by, renting is crazy but getting your own flat or even a small house even in the countryside is outta reach for the rest of your life.
Not true. My school friend is in Germany and I got job contract in Germany last year (skipped it due to family reasons). Work regulations in Canada are terrible at most and completely unacceptable for some jobs comparing to Germany. Food, apartments are cheaper in Germany. Not to mention free after school education, which not exists in Canada.
It's not the same in the USA. I grew up in Canada, but my career and financial outlook took off when I moved to the USA. In Canada, the generational divide in terms of wealth is very stark. Some of that wealth will be passed on down to kids. But generating wealth is harder than it was been for a very long time.
I don't understand how so many people seem able to just pick up and move to another country - I assume you're not a citizen, just on a work visa in Switzerland? Isn't there a lot of red tape to get into another country? Or is it easier for a German to move to Switzerland than it would be for like a Canadian to do the same, because you're part of the EU?
@@SchlichteToven As long as you find a company, which is willing to hire you, all should be relatively straight forward. There are many US citizens here, so I assume its quite doable. As an EU citizen its easy to move to CH or elsewhere in Europe at all. I have a residence permit class B - as a German citizen you get it straight away for 5 years. The hardest part is to find a job. Once you do (online application -> 1. online interview -> (2. online interview) -> 3. interview in person) you start looking for a place to live. I moved during Covid times (December 2020), so everything was... super fast. There was literally no immigration to CH in that time and the administration capacity was actually barely affected by the pandemic. I thought I would need weeks for all documents, but in one (!!) afternoon I managed to do: registration in the municipality, bank account opening, insurance for apartment and liability, health insurance, cell phone & internet contract. A week later I got an appointment from the immigration head office to go and get my residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung). To avoid stress its better to have a lot of time reserve before starting the job. For comparison - I had my interviews and job offer in August/September and the starting date was in January. Until October I was lucky enough to find a nice place in CH. I called directly to an real estate agency, had a WhatsApp review of the apartment and did everything remote. After I was chosen as a tenant I had to transfer the deposit (Kaution). It was 3 monthly rents. However I wanted to have a predictable expenses in the first months, before passing the work trial period so I transferred... 3 monthly deposits + the first 2 months. So 5 monthly rents all in all, even before seeing the room with my own eyes or getting my hands on the apartment keys. But please, this is really not the usual approach. It kinda new and crazy even for me. God bless the Swiss/German punctuality.
As a 70 year old Canadian living on the east coast I can testify to what this man is saying. We live in Halifax, the largest city on the east coast. We were considered the backwater of the country, but it was the best kept secret. Good jobs were scarce but when we moved here from the boonies you could start with nothing and build something up. Buy a home(we bought a new 4-bedroom 2 bath for less than 100k and paid it off in seven years. That is all gone. Everybody decided to they wanted out of the insanity of Toronto and move here. My oldest son got into his house just before things went nuts. My younger son will never own a home. Recently someone from Toronto apparently paid 700k over asking. A few years prior the selling price would have been half that. Now our poisonous Prime Minister wants to flood the country with more cheap labor. 10 years ago homelessness was a Vancouver issue. Now it is in every city including mine. What a disgrace.
Hi Alex, I can relate to everything you said here. I have been lucky to be one of the guys who was working for Vancouver company remotely from Calgary during most of the pandemic. I could have got a townhouse if not a full house here in Calgary but did not want to given the long and harsh winters I have to cope with here. And guess what, I got my Canadian passport now and off to United States on a TN visa for overcoming the exact disadvantages you were speaking about. Your entire video vindicates my move. Keep it up for posting the truth to everyone.
Yes, I m happy now, too. My advice for anyone in Canada will be to make the decision based on the gross income you make in US vs. what you make in Canada. It's worth moving only if we make really higher income here like nearly double to what we have in Canada. Otherwise, there are other issues such as medical expense, etc. That we don't see much in Canada.
Alex, I'm an immigrant too like you, living in the Greater Toronto Area. I came to Canada in 1990 in my early 20's from Eastern Europe, I remember employment letter from my sponsor, who was an engineer working for Toronto Hydro back then (not a senior one, just a field engineer) who was making $62k gross annual income. At that time you could buy a detached house in the good area for under $200k These houses now are easily $2.5M and my nephew who graduated from engineering couple of years ago is is now making $65k a year. Canada is no longer a land of opportunities like it used to be. We are family of 4 (2+2 kids high school age), we did OK financially because we bought house before the boom started and now are mortgage and debt free, but with our combined monthly net income of $10k we barely save money, the cost of living in GTA is just crazy high. I really don't know how people with mortgages make it these days. In my opinion if you're professional you have a better chance of having a good career and living elsewhere. If you're coming from a poor third world country Canada may still be attractive to some, construction or a truck driving job can give them a decent monthly income and allow a better life than back home, but you have to forget about owning a home, that ship has sailed
You're right. There was a time when all construction jobs were filled with italians and portugueses no english needed, now mostly latins overqualified are taking over but without the chance to own property and thats not even told before coming. Being stuck forever renting a basement aint everybodys dream.
Much like u, moved to Vancouver in 91 in my 20s & Alex's analysis of a new professional migrant to Canada's brilliant & I felt for him, as well as millions of others who labour under the sun day in n day out just to 'survive' considering the cost of living especially in our city in Vancouver these days thx to the blood sucking liberal politician who sold out our city before we could afford anything after blood n sweat! Things will get worse unless we are willing to address the issues instead of digging our heads into the sands...😢I haven't owned nothing even after 30 yrs of hard work since graduating from my Master's degree and right now I could only imagine retiring in Mexico, Columbia or anywhere in South East Asia as rentals continue to rise...
Alex, as a Canadian tech worker who's worked abroad (UK, UAE, USA), you are spot on. Frankly, you will earn less in the EU, but housing is much cheaper, workers rights are better and once you get EU PR, the job market is vastly bigger. Even if you get a work visa for just one country like Germany, France or even the UK, the job market is better. Microsoft Toronto was offering me $40/hr for a job that paid $150'000 when I got to the UK. The Toronto job required driving and the UK job (landed it) was work from home. Once you get PR in Canada, it's often best to just work US based jobs remotely.
Wouldn’t it be better to live in South America and work US jobs remotely. I work in tech with a US startup, but live in Asia and have a terrible passport. Aiming at South America or Ireland, for the future.
Housing being cheaper in Western Europe?!?! Job market better??? You seriously don't know what you're talking about 😂 Get out of Toronto and Vancouver and you'll find that housing in Canada is much more affordable than what you can find elsewhere.
Your words resonates deep within me. I never understood why I was living paycheque to paycheque as a developer if I don’t spend in unecessary things, I even came to the point of cancelling all my streaming services to make sure I was in the right path. But now that you put the number on the table I can see that there is no mistake, this is a scam, they really don’t care about you once you settle.
I'm 5 years into my career and my most recent job is paying me 65k when my asking price was 70k. Cost of living went up 6% last year and I honestly feel like I'm doing worse now than when I started working because my appartment is smaller, rent and other expenses are all higher and I'm only making 5k more per year before taxes as a software engineer living in British Columbia. I have no hope of ever owning a home or having a family and I was born in Canada.
damn, I'm the same salary range as a temporary worker in QC. I was considering moving back to my homeland and "profit" from the currency exchange maybe buy a house there..
🙌🏻 Well said! Grew up in Canada. Studied overseas, came back to work. Experienced everything you’re describing!!! Clearly something is wrong with the system!
I was a successful street hustler for 15 years before the pandemic and then retired with what i thought was a proper cash out. I didnt realize how bad they screw regular people.
I am thankful for your video! As a first generation immigrant, all we did was struggle growing up, but I have to say looking back on my childhood by today's standards seems like a dream with the ease of life we had back then. I'm a single mother of two living in Hamilton Ont, a stone's throw away from Toronto. Which is the most expensive city to live in all of Canada. Hamilton is marked as being the next Toronto, as most people who couldn't afford to live in that city flocked to Hamilton over an hour away, as the cost of gas to commute was cheaper then to live where they worked. That was several years ago when I heard people say this. Fast forward to today and our housing prices mirror what Toronto's was Several years ago, as everyone flocked to the city that was once called "the most affordable city in the greater Toronto area". Average housing cost is 750k, and you don't get much for that price as we are a city of many century homes. Everything you listed as expenses is akin to what we struggle with here too. I'm so grateful to have a roof over our heads and food banks when we need them, but it feels like I need to access them more lately then ever, and was told by someone who worked there that they have doubled their numbers in just the last year alone as housing skyrocketed and now inflation. I see a large amount of immigrant families there too. There are all kinds of different life situations that can cause a person to struggle even more here too in Canada. Job loses, illness, and or separation can rob people of the very basic needs of life just to keep a modicum of comfort. Thank you for raising awareness 🙏
Hamilton has alot of homeless people, high crime, drug addicts, alcoholics, mafia and murders. Burlington police drop off the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics and the mentally ill in Hamilton. Burlington mayor and city counsel, refuse to build low income housing, only condos and houses are built here. I never go to Hamilton, its not safe there.
Even being in the USA, I will say the most important life skill I’ve picked up is learning to live below my means (or as little as possible) and saving/investing the difference.
USA is exactly the same, my expenses are exactly as he described, except being an American we really do get screwed with healthcare even worse than Canadians.
Brillant! 🎉 a canadian colleague of mine mentioned multiple times that Canadian population is getting too old and younger people don’t stand a chance at supporting the needs of the old anymore, talk pensions. That’s where we immigrants come in. Honestly I was sold to the Canadian dream and regret it. As a bright MSc computer science grad I work in basic data analysis job which pays far from 6 figures. Watch out for Canadian scam everybody, especially those from Europe.
Starting 2023 the government is raising our retiring age to 67 yrs old so that they can have more money to take care of the oldies. Our retiring age is 65 now but we health workers will be working until after 70. Other money came from the rich immigrant that came here. They have to paid 50% of their income for what they made in Canada and whatever they earn abroad. Don’t think that Revenue Canada don’t verify your claim..they are really on it and caught many people every year not paying tax abroad. Earnings
Alex's analysis of a new professional migrant to Canada's brilliant & I felt for him, as well as millions of others who labour under the sun day in n day out just to 'survive' considering the cost of living especially in our city in Vancouver these days thx to the blood sucking liberal politician who sold out our city before we could afford anything after blood n sweat! Things will get worse unless we are willing to address the issues instead of digging our heads into the sands...😢I haven't owned nothing even after 30 yrs of hard work since graduating from my Master's degree and right now I could only imagine retiring in Mexico, Columbia or anywhere in South East Asia as rentals continue to rise...
As someone born in Canada and who spent 3 years living in the US, what I can say about my own damn country is that we are overcharged for every single god damn aspect of our lives here by quite a large margin. When living in the US in 2009-2012 my phone/internet/cable cost me about $128 USD a month...same but slightly worse service in Canada was costing me upwards of $250 a month and creeped up annually, i only have internet service these days and that costs me $130 a month. Other important services such as electricity cost me about 50-60 USD a month in the US, in Canada it is closer to $115 a month (I put solar in last year to combat the ever increasing prices on that front as well). In the US, heating cost me about $15 a month in the summer months (hot water only) and about $50 a month in the winter (heat and hot water), in Canada again pretty much double it...the story plays out about the same across every expense you an imagine with the sole exception of electronics where cost disparity could be explained by rate of exchange, everything else in Canada is absurdly more expensive...be warned.
Hey Alex, thanks lots for this video. Well articulated and detailed. Like you I'm also an immigrant living in ON, just been around a bit longer as came here in the early 2Ks. The challenges you describe do not only apply to immigrants, young generations of naturally born Canadians do experience the same, low wages, much competition for limited spots, very high living costs, etc. The credit boom of the past decades, in a way responsible for fueling the high asset prices of today, has much to do with the current challenges you covered in your video. Its not an easy problem to solve at the societal level you know. Some ppl will choose to leave, others would want to see it all crash, other will prefer to hide, some will try to patch it and so on. There is no promised land my friend, we just have to keep trying to make it work better for us and for others whatever path one decides to follow.
One thing I realized after I immigrate to Canada is: the goal for my immigration is to leave Canada after the period of time I waiting for a citizenship.
Great summary. I was trying to immigrate to Canada since 2019, even was nominated by one of the provinces. But as the time went on and the application was in limbo (due to the well known virus of unspecified origin), I was observing how the country declines more and more into an unsustainable debt while prices of everything go up and wages remain about the same. It will only get worse from here, and I'm actually happy I didn't have to spend more of my resources to see how it plays out for me. Not to mention all the government invasion into private lives that will only get worse too as I don't see any significant resistance. With Justin and Chrystia at the helm Canadians shouldn't expect good things happening in their lives any time soon.
Yep, you dodged a bullet. The debt slave cycle has really accelerated under Justin but it is nothing new. Majority of Canadian gdp is from speculating real estates.
I don't live in Canada, I haven't planned to move to Canada, but I have put it on the list of possible countries I might emigrate to in a few years. I only visited Canada once and actually was in Vancouver in december 2019, for a tech conferece and enjoyed the things I saw. However, after seeing your video now, I might put Canada lower on my list. PS: I also subscribed, I like the way you presented information.
I came to Canada from Hong Kong as a kid in the early 90s. The first night landed in Toronto and my thought was "this country looks quite undeveloped?" The images of poorly-conditioned roads, houses, and old and dusty TTC buses are still stuck with me. And as a kid, it was no easy task trying to overcome the cultural differences even as diverse as how Canada is. 20+ years passed, and still in the GTA, I have gotten used to the still poorly-conditioned roads, gloomy winter, and cultural differences. Though infrastructure has very little improvement except for the price of housing has skyrocketed. The medical and retirement systems are getting more broken by the day, and the tax money we are paying today is going straight to the top 1% who are in control of political influence. My spouse and I generate roughly $200k to $230k annually combined but after paying debt and monthly expenses we hardly have any savings left. We don't have much of a life except working as slaves, we both work 2 jobs, over 12 hours a day, and haven't gone on a vacation for the last 8 years, in hopes to make a better living for our kids. It has been a couple of years since we have been thinking to leave Canada as we see little to no hope for my kids being able to live an affordable life. Hopefully, we save enough and sell our house and leave before the system collapse. To people who are thinking about coming to Canada, just reconsider all the pros and cons and possibilities, if you still find it beneficial to your future in coming then sure go for it. Just don't dream that Canada is a fairyland, especially the government, it is likely just as dirty if not worse in your own country. Also, lobbying is a thing here whereas in Hong Kong that is called bribe and is illegal.
if you did not have kids, nor did you have any hobbies that cost money and you simply desired less in life, you would be rolling in dough. vacations can be free staycations. or super low cost like 10 dollars a day if you do it right.
Well said. Immigration lawyers and youtoubers all around the globe keep fishing ignorant people out there; there is a lot to investigate before sailing off home.
@16-Bit Power I agree and while I whine and complain, I still try to remind myself to stay positive because this is life. Finding a purpose in life is interesting enough to keep me/and spouse going. Positive is key.
Well said. But I think there are few places in the world that's much better than Canada. Just out of curiosity, if you were to leave Canada, where would you go? I live in California, but I feel nearly everything you said applies to here expect the "gloomy winter" part. The US and Canada are on the top of world, two wealthiest countries with relatively large populations. Other places are either too small to accommodate many immigrants or even worse than North America.
I’m glad you’re talking about these issues and telling the truth about Canada in your videos. Perfectly described! I have spent 10 productive years of my life in Canada. Immigrated in 2013. Stayed happy and hopeful for better opportunities until 2015 while I was still fresh immigrant assimilating into a Canadian society. I tried hard and truly believed that higher paying job will bring my Canadian dream closer to reality but that was an illusion. Gap between cost of leaving in Canada and income is unrealistically high. Healthcare doesn’t exist. I call it diseasecare. (I’m not talking about emergency services, those guys work perfect, I have no complaints). My wife had to wait 13 months to se a gastroenterologist. I had to wait 8 months. Really!? WTF is that!!??? In a country with crazy home prices people can’t receive even a basic health service.. Long winter and poor quality of produce another important factors to consider. I never had a lack of frustration though. Long story short…I left Canada and found out that there are actually better countries on this planet. Everything I lacked in Canada I was able to find in a different country. Canadian trend is being overestimated. Those who are looking to immigrate are probably imagining Canada that existed 20 or 30 years ago but unfortunately that country is long gone.
Hi Dmytro, thanks for sharing your experience.. I am a fresh immigrant myself having arrived just over a year now. Would you have any suggestions for me to get past the illusion that Canada is the best in the world ? I’d also interested to know where and how did you plan to move out of this country. Thanks !!
@@joolean7799 what Alex has described is spot on. however I am also sure that no country is perfect and the problems like housing, healthcare, inflation, etc. are prevalent all over the first world.
Man I'm Mexican and I'm an immigrant and all you said in this video is true unfortunately we don't see this until we arrive and sped a couple of moths here to see the reality thanks for sharing.
Right on spot Alex. Came in 2000 with my family and $20000 in the pocket. Luckily my wife convinced me to buy a property in Vancouver with only 5% down money borrowed from a family member. That was in 2006. We flipped 3 times and every time we made some good equity in ownership. Now after 22 years I’m happy that at one point if I sell the townhouse and pay my mortgage off I will still be left with close to one million in the bank. But this is not the case , I have a 34 and 22 year old sons which they will never ever own a 1 bedroom or studio because will not qualify based on their annual income. I’m relieved just thinking that in a few years I can relocate back in Europe and live comfortably with some money in the bank and the stupid $2000 pension combined with my wife. There is impossible to live on that even if presumably you are mortgage free.
I worked in tech in Vancouver for many years. Job not as high paying as yours (more like 80k) and then did side hustles. Literally worked 12 hours a lot of days. Then I had saved enough money to put a decent sized down payment(20%) on an apartment in Vancouver area (most likely Richmond). In the end I decided to move out of vancouver and bought a 10 acre property that was sub dividable for about the same price as an apartment in richomnd. Completely changed my life style but it was worth it , I already had some friends who lived on the island and I work on contract from home mostly. In terms of an investment the property has doubled in Value since I bought it. I got in at the right time (2018). If I ever want to cash in some of my investment I can subdivide 2 acre lots off of the property and its just nice having so much space. Most of my family still lives in Vancouver only my older brother owns a house though, my younger sisters may never be able to afford to buy and they both have pretty high paying jobs. If you live in Canada you have to buy property to get out of the rat race of living paycheck to paycheck. At least then a decent amount of your monthly payments are being put into house equity which is a kind of savings. I will say though.... if the housing market see's a massive correction , canada is fucked. Almost everyone's net worth is tied up in real estate.
Brilliant summary of the country. I couldn’t have said it better. I worry about my kids sticking around in Canada. I used to consider the country’s immigration a bad experiment, but I can certainly see how it’s more like a scam. the problem is the folks making these decision are so far removed from the reality of everyday people. thanks for posting.
Thanks for including the Disney Plus clip from the finance minister. It gave me a good laugh, and also highlights the short sightedness/ignorance of the Canadian government. I couldn’t imaging living in Canada without two incomes.
Your conclusion is absolutely spot on! The earlier you came to Canada the better you are now. All new comers coming in now will have to pay ridiculously high rents for smallest apartments or basements. Finding job in your field is also not that easy specially when you are in Software Development as every company will interview you like they are Google or Amazon.
I'm a 10+ year software engineer who lived in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa. All unaffordable. I was thinking about Calgary, but it's way too cold. I moved to Poland and life is much better. I'm working with EU companies and earning SAME as Canada (CAD $120k), but my cost of living is 1/10th. I pay $3/mo for cellphone, $15/mo for fiberoptic internet, $25/mo car insurance lol. There is much less crime and drug addicts in Poland, and the people are much friendlier. The weather is more balanced and not as extreme. Europe is one of the best places to be, especially the less popular countries.
After 5 years working as an IT man in Singapore, i saw that its a dead end journey (tax, bills, rent ... ) Returned to Vietnam, bought some land and lived homestead life till now. Here we dont have democracy and a super modern life, but we have nature, organic food, sunshine all year, almost zero tax .. for me this is true freedom ..
Viet Nam has no freedom, democracy, and human right.
People are still poor because of no jobs, but high ranking officers are rich under communism.
Tax is a modern hand cuffs
The crime in my country is too much that’s the only reason I don’t go back home
Bingo! Smart man
Canada modern slavery, only rich Immigrants can come and enjoy it here
After living in Canada for 3 years, I can vouch that this is one of the most honest reviews on immigrating and working in Canada.
It applies to people born and raised here, too. Work 20 or 30 years for a chance at owning a home, unless your parents help out... lol. Just about everyone under 30 can relate.
Canada or usa which is best for international students (Computer science) trying to settle abroad get tech job and live a peaceful life
@@BikeHelmetMk2under 30? Ha ha ha ha ha I died. Try being close to 50 working non stop and struggling lol.under 30 you guys can still run ha ha ha ha
True tho you guys won’t be buying as us close to 50 had to fight to buy.
@@BikeHelmetMk2 The sad truth is parts of canada that you can afford a house is the part without jobs for the most part even in AB.
@@johnthomas6398 USA. USA tuition might seem expensive but you have a chance to actually getting a decent job
I'm a business analyst in Vancouver, trust me this guy is dropping truth bombs. Everything is unaffordable here
I’m an economist is Vancouver and I concur
I am russian and was kinda forced to relocate to dubai to keep my job, in Russia i was able to save like 60% of my income, right now i am barely cover my living expenses
Same with USA. But at least you don't have to pay medical premiums.
@@karlabritfeld7104 yes but id rather have 50k in medical debt with a 400k mortgage in the US than a 2 mil mortgage on a 40 year old house with 45% tax rate in Canada.
@@patrickhoffman1348 Dubai is one of the most expensive places in the world. Moving there without 3x salary boost is a financial suicide.
This is the most brutally honest video i have ever watched as regards canada immigration. many youtubers paint a different picture and fail to highlight the realities like you just did.
Hopefully the message spreads, Canada is a trash country going downhill fast in quality of life.
Right? This man put the numbers on the table and now I understand why this country is unliveable
Alex, I'm a Senior Release Engineer (20+ years of tech experience in Canada) and recently moved from Canada to the USA. You are spot on with respects to the costs in Canada. Unless you have old money in Canada, or your parents can refinance their home to give you a huge chunk for down payment on a home, it's pretty much impossible to live and even get ahead there. It doesn't matter if it's Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax etc... All the places have super high costs associated with them. I really loved your comment near the end about Canadian immigration program as a scam only to support crazy unaffordable housing prices to support older people's inflated house prices. Amazing analysis. I don't think that's the intent but it's how things have evolved.
VERY, VERY comprehensive video! DO like many others: RETIRE and MOVE to Eastern Europe ! Almost NONE (~CAD 40/yr !!!) property taxes, for instance. I lived in Canada for more than 20yr, since 2000 ... It was LESS worse back than, but still ... NOT AS GOOD as ADVERTISED. Now ... for the past 5-6-7 years ... it has been a DISASTER !!!
Sorry but this isn't true. My family moved from Russia, My friends have moved recently from Ukraine (within last 3 years) We all earn 6 figures, live comfortably in Calgary. Work hard, pick the city you live in wisely, and the dream is still alive
@@alexcalive Look Alex/Sasha, Just because New immigrants have such a tough time here doesn't mean it stays that way,
Ill give you an example. We moved from Moldova, parents cleaned banks and dad was manual labor. We worked our ass off for 5 years, ate the same food almost everyday, and shopped at value village. We made sacrifices. You think people move here right away and start making big money? NO. Sorry but that isn't realistic. Promoting the dream isn't a crime, expecting everything to be handed to you is. My wife was in the same situation when her family first moved here. Everyone I know was broke before and once they came here. So let's not make it look like you know what you are talking about. It is the norm if you have an education and work hard to be exceptional. Best of luck to you regardless.
@@tismin2001 with NO "canadian experience", how did you manage to get a job that pays that high ?! 🤔
@@renatosureal probably worked on some manual labor for some 2-3 years while studying and then got a job on his professional area than keep on gridding making sacrifices until he could find a job that gave him some better opportunities
I went to one of the top universities in Canada for electrical engineering. Worked here for 9 years and eventually made senior engineer. Then I quit, took a significant demotion, and switched to working remotely for a US competitor. I immediately got a 30% increase in salary despite the demotion. Then I was quickly promoted after that (literally 1-2 weeks). It doesn't make sense for top engineering talent to stay in Canada anymore. You're just being a martyr at this point.
Did something similar i got hired in phoenix for a job at 110k usd. Meanwhile same job in canada is going for about $100-110k in toronto. Somehow over the past 6 months wages in toronto and Vancouver went down while housing shot up.
Rich Socialism.
agree. I worked two years as a food/agro engineer in Canada, before leaving to the USA for an ENTRY-LEVEL job that pays 2x more... USA also has less taxes and cost of living is cheaper. Makes zero sense to stay in Canada for young talented engineers
@tinthings314 i would remain in usa if i can figure out green card option. Otherwise im on the whim of employer as my visa is tied to them
@@asadb1990 yeah that's the sad reality of moving to USA, your visa is tied to employer. Best strategy is to save&invest as much money as you can because if you get booted back to Canada you'll at least have been able to generate some wealth while in USA (which is impossible in Canada)
to be very honest, I am an foreign worker who started PR process in Canada. I work as an actuarial analyst and make 80K in Toronto. I recently figured that if I move back to Korea, I will be offered similar (or even more) salary compared to Canada and with MUCH LESS taxes and cost of living. At this point I am really pondering seriously about going back. Especially before its too late as a mid 20 yo.
Do it. You won't regret.
but then you'd have to breathe in all the particle pollution china sends to south korea..
Korea has a bright future. Canada is just going to keep declining. Get out if you can.
You should go back to Korea. Korea has a much brighter future than Canada, which is a sinking ship.
Hey, good to see a fellow actuary. I'm making the same amount in Toronto too, I want to get my fellowship + some work experience then gtfo of Canada. You down to connect? I'm always interested in meeting like minded people .
I am really glad you have the courage to present the real situation in Canada, unlike those immigration influencers who for some reason are hoping to fill Canada with immigrants, beyond the sustainable levels. Thanks for the good work!
Yes lots CHinese bluff that Canada is the best place to live and work,even many ppl live in basement.
Maybe if you didn't ALL move to Toronto, you'd have a different view of this country.
@@TheJimprez yeah that’s the problem. Not that anyone can move to Canada under visit visa and student visa and work illegally.
@@id9991 lol..
OMG I am 45 years old and in all my years of watching RUclips I have never stumbled across a video that tells so much truth about Canada. Thank you so much for making this video, I really recommend getting out of Canada with your family and moving to greener pastures. This is what I did 15 years ago. There are now so many Canadians living abroad.
Canadians do need a greencard if they want to relocate to the US or find an employer there that sponsors a visa
The US is not the only country with high tech hubs and every other country has better public transportation.
To go where?
People have to live in cars in the USA. Rent is sky high.
What I realized by talking to my friend in Canada: car insurance is very expensive in Canada. My friend pays $2400 per year for his used ford and its for one person. My whole family in US pay $1680 for 4 people and we have 5 cars with 3 of them being luxury. His phone bill is also $100+ per month for one person. We have 7 people sharing phone plan for $180. It cost him at least $300+ to fly between cities in Canada. I frequently fly for half of that in the US. I feel like lot of companies have monopoly in Canada and they dont want to change it. The market is not technically "free" and its very regulated.
Alex, as someone who grew up in Canada my entire life. I arrived here as a new born and had immigrant parents. I met a lot of kids growing up who recently came to Canada and their lives were immensely better than their home country. However now that im in the middle of my career earning 90 K all I see is new comers who complain about the state of the country, which is a far cry from what they were promised. Free healthcare, opportunity, excellent quality of life.
Instead what we offer immigrants is artificially low salaries, obscene housing costs and some of the highest taxes outside of Europe. The Canadian government is scamming millions of immigrants and students using the former glory of what Canada use to be to trick them into giving up their lives back home only to be another cog in the machine to enrich Loblaws and RBC.
Thank you for your honesty, Mahdi. I’m a half Canadian half Brit raised in the UK and very proud of my Canadian heritage. But i’m in disbelief and how things have flipped the last 4/5 years. When I arrived 8 years ago I had a comfortable life: Car, one bed flat, ability to travel, all on earning $35k a year. Now im on 50k and even after selling my car and cutting back on luxuries, I can’t afford rent. I’m being priced out and will have to return to the UK.
Bearing in mind, i’m in Calgary which is supposedly one of the cheapest parts of the country. Madness. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back here in a few years. We’ll see.
I like this comment.
Also enrich those homeowners. If Canada didn’t keep soliciting immigrants, the housing /rent prices would never be this crazy
I came as immigrant in the 90s. Canadians use to be so proud of Canada back in the days. I was preached in that environment, and for a time, it did offer everyone livable opportunities. It's been deteroriating for sure. Recently, more and more of my friend has started to move to the States or in Asia. People who was much more Canadian than me, makes me sad man.
You're correct, although I think it's notable enough to add that all the pain being felt by new immigrants is experienced a thousand times worse by those who are born into poverty in Canada, this is because poor Canadians are forced to compete with overqualified immigrants who are not only taking jobs meant for the poor, but also making housing too expensive and healthcare essentially inaccessible by straining the system to the point of collapse.
I'm a software engineer from Brazil and for many years I considered moving/migrating to Canada since I'm single, speak English (also some French) and have nothing that ties me to Brazil but the more I look things up the more I realize I'm probably staying in Brazil because I can't complain about my life here. I have my own apartament, live in a town in the state of Sao Paulo which gives me a good quality of life, it's not a dangerous town or anything, work remotely etc. I'd probably have a hard time moving to Canada and even a harder time until I could actually settle down to the point where I wouldn't live from paycheck to paycheck (currently I can save up to 80% of my monthly salary which is a lot in Brazil).
That doesn’t exist for someone who’s not working on IT remotely earning on western currency. There’s no place in the world where you can save 80% of your earnings despite in this condition
You said it all. No need to throw the good life away.
stay my friend, just save money in a hard currency and get all your documents in place. we don't know what will happen in Brazil in the future..
The only reason you would come to Canada is to experience. When you're young and money is not your concern then you're free to travel and do whatever you want. However, but if you wanna grow (finance, life balance, ..) better to live in your hometown. I'm speaking the truth as I am living here in Canada and all my salary goes into taxes, rent and bills
@@lemonapplevodka Yes, you can, there are some absurd cheap places, even in Europe and not to far from big cities. Few years ago I had an 2 bedroom apartment in small town in Spain, next to the sea. Obviously, not luxurious one, yet still quite convenient, and all that for 300 Euro.
Man, you are amaizing. Very comprehensive and accurate!! You clearly and honestly articulate the current situation in Canada. Thank you sir, for spreading the truth!
Justin T need to resign . he is responsible for all crisis .Unlimited refugees and Unlimited international students by LIBERALS
Canadian citizen here. I live in Halifax. Just watched rent double for a 1 bedroom in 2.5 years. What did salaries do? Went up 5%. Cost of living, taxes, and poor salaries, means even in a "high paying" career like software development you will live paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking to leave ASAP. Glad you're speaking the truth!
When there is abundant land, why isn't construction going up to keep the prices reasonable?
@@amithattimare834 construction is going up, but it takes a long time and people are moving here faster than they can build...also a lot of height restrictions on buildings prevent developers from building higher and offering more units...it will get a lot worse before it gets better...already a 1% vacancy rate
Moved in Halifax for 2 month. Have no clue of seeking a coding job, rare chance.
Paycheck to paycheck software engineer here 😂
the ultimate ponzi
Spot on. I left Canada 14 years ago because I felt my life and career was going nowhere. Its a great country with many natural resources but how can we enjoy if we have to hamster wheel with little reward. My recommendation is to think global and not to limit your professional role to one domain.
The grass is always greener somewhere else
Whee did you go eventually?
@@karlabritfeld7104 in this case it was. Employment is a global market.
@@kirill4531 spent 6 years in China, earned 50% more immediately while costs were similar. After year 6, the China hype was over, so proactively searched a job in Thailand, was accepted and spent 2 amazing years serving customers in SEA. When our family grew we decided to move back to my home country in Europe.
Socialism, rampant corruption, and globalism are turning Canada into a Feudal society.
Unfortunately I am the kind of doctors mentioned in your video, living in the basement and working temporarily jobs, while desperately waiting for the “source verification” from the medical council of Canada so that I can write the exam, re-do the residency and fellowship, which I have completed many years ago. The occupational and licensing protectionism here in Canada is so toxic😢
And yet there's thousands of Canadians without a family doctor, insane.
It's cause people can fake credentials online. Canada has standards that are high that other countries might not follow.
@@rv8804 Yes, but the real problem is the slowness of the govermental process and their employees with bullet-proof union conventions that let them do what they what without fear of any repercusions. 600k+ people work for the government for a country of 35M people... try to have that ratio in any other business and you will fill for bankrupcy.
@@rv8804 it is very easy to verify credentials, as well as program standards and training. It is absolutely humiliating, degrading to except the highest educated people into a country and then limit them to driving ubers. This has always gone on in Canada and always will. You must be coming from pretty dire circumstances to think immigrating to Canada is a solution. Best wishes everyone
I for one am very happy its so regulated. Because most doctors are incompetent, and especially foreign trained doctors I trust even less. At least ones trained in Canada are assured to have past a particular shit filter.
My dad worked in Canada for almost 40 years, and when he retired he moved back home(Portugal), while i left Canada back in 06. back in the 90s my dad in working in construction would be making 20 something dollars per hour, and a house would cost like 200k in Toronto. When my dad retired in 2018 he was making 38$ per hour while a house in toronto is always over 1million. So in the span of 20 years , his salary did not even double while the cost of housing multiplied various times. Its insane. I work as a software Engineer in Portugal, and even though i could work in Canada since I'm a Canadian Citizen. When i do the math like you just did, it does not make any sense, considering i would have to give up 300 days of sunshine per year and need embrace for harsh 6 months of winter... Times are tough everywhere.
But isn't Portugal also enjoying a housing boom these days? Price up a lot due to foreigners buying?
@@rksleung ya absolutely, expecially in the most popular cities prices are insane
@@portuguesetraveller prices are insane but not like Canada. Canada is the mother of all real estate bubbles.
Not worth it!
Tens toda a razão, amigo!
My man here spitting the truth. I came to Canada 2 years ago and had to start from scratch basically even though I graduated as an aerospace’s engineer. The only reason I save some money for investing is because I live in a basement, I don’t have a car, work remotely, and pay a 1 bedroom apartment in half with my girlfriend.
I'm a Canadian who has been working 10 years straight in Thailand. For 2 years before Thailand, I was losing money every month as a "Regional Sales Manager" in Atlantic Canada... The money offered was an insult. Now 10 years in Thailand as RSM working from home, I save 50-60% of my base pay live in 3 bedroom 3 bath home with a pool for 800 CAD a month. My sister is a high level director in Fed Gov still in canada... She has been living pay cheque to pay cheque for 20 years now.
It makes literally zero sense to stay in Canada unless you are tied up with family. Its a country that has no purpose whatsoever. Shit economy, jobs, weather, infrastructure
I'm also thinking about moving there
Omg that is brutal. Imagine being a director at the federal level and living like that. Good lord.
Your sister has a nice pension coming her way.
@@faismasterx She might not tell him the truth, personally I doubt that
This video is spot on. I'm a junior developer in Toronto and affordability in this city, but also the rest of Southern Ontario, is horrendous. Despite having a wage which is higher than the junior developer wage-band in this video, I cannot afford to rent in Toronto, Waterloo, or really anywhere in Southern Ontario because if I did I'd have to throw away over 50% of my take home income into the rent pit alone. After normal living expenses, forget saving anything because you'll be left with a couple bucks if that.
These arguments I hear from people like "oh just move somewhere cheaper" or "settle for less" are fucking stupid because moving somewhere cheaper usually means, like you said in your video, a big pay cut, which after taking into account housing prices still means you're either in the same boat as the more expensive city, or worse off. Young people in Canada just can't settle for less anymore because the "less" is still too damn expensive.
I agree with your opinion on the Canadian immigration system, it is a big scam to get highly educated smart people from all over the world to work for shit wages. If anyone reading this comment is considering moving to Canada I'd suggest otherwise. I was born here and even I'm struggling, I can't imagine how bad it would be for a new resident who has no family or social support in the country already.
For fucks sake I went to school for 4 years, in a field that is in demand, I did everything right and our society still fucked me over.
and yet you still work in Toronto. I assume you live with your parents. Make your own business and take a risk. Employee status will keep you poor.
@@PhilTheThrill81 surely we can admit that if starting your own business is the only way to have a decent quality of life in Canada, something has gone terribly wrong
@SaltyShaman Seriously, I am looking at what my options are for moving to the states.
Don't worry. Trudeau and the Liberals are planning to bring million immigrants a year, mostly from India, and most of them will be coming to the GTA. I am sure that will solve the housing crisis 😢
@IgorTr to the states that's even worse
Lived in Calgary from January 2017-May 2019, had a great time it’s a beautiful city with the Rocky mountains within view of the city. Worked as a carpenter and the money was decent but not enough to buy my own home. Moved back to Ireland and bought a three bedroom semi detached with garage and driveway for £157,000. Highly doubt a carpenter could buy his own home in Canada today with the price of housing.
you can't buy new home in Canada in cash you work to death probably until 60 or 65 but cost will be 4 or 5 million $.
isnt housing in ireland also expensive?
@@gizemlikisi6213I think Canada has it beat now.
This is one of the most well written, researched and well presented videos about jobs and salaries in Canada that I've seen. Great job.
It is pure speculation based on one guy behind a computer who posted a video on youtube... what a great job....
/SARCASM
This video is when a smart person is suffering from victim mentality.
@@nobertstanel9428 what victim mentality? Read other comments from people who are in the same situation. The evidence is clear.
@@nobertstanel9428 what victim mentality? is he begging the government, is he an activist? No, he is a regular joe trying to make ends meet through his skills. Idiotic comment
Bull
As someone born and raised in Canada I can say I am absolutely disgusted by the state of this country and its economy. I can't understand why anyone would ever immigrate here now. One more thing, it sucks here for native-born Canadians who aren't millionaires as well, not just immigrants.
It's about the legacy, aura, relatively low crime, relatively good health care, nice people, and American-like but without the bad parts of the USA.
@@shuki1 legacy is genocide, aura is woke, crime is high relative to our population size, health care is nothing without pharmacare, the people ignore rampant poverty, and we have all the bad stuff from America, we're just 1/10th the size so it's less obvious.
@@milltona Ok, I know where you're coming from now. The forefathers were racists, and for that matter, the English, French, and First Nations too. Canada sucks.
I believe because the permanent visa... it's really difficult to get permanent visa in other countries....
@@shuki1 it's terrible. I was born into abject poverty and raised by a single disabled woman. When I was a kid, social services stole me from my mom for a while, and I was abused by my foster parents and neglected by social services. By 15 in high school I had to work 3 jobs to pay for rent, bills, car, food, etc... I got myself 3/4 of the way through a science degree, but couldn't afford the costs in the fourth year. As I got older and was slaving away for wages that would never be able to get me a house or sufficient food, I was told I had white privilege and that I should be thankful I live in such a great country. As I started climbing the ladder and gaining incredible skills, immigration started increasing and my wages stagnated even though I was doing the work of four intelligent hardworking humans. I became homeless after losing one of my job and had to work extremely hard to escape homelessness and repair my credit. Then, the pandemic hit and everyone knows how that went. My CERB was so delayed I had to take a job as a maintenance person for a property management company making $15 an hour doing essentially every trade, every day, and this was far from my intended career path of programmer/engineer/physicist. After a few months of working 50 hours weeks, I said no longer, and I took my whole paycheck and started a corporation in October 2021. Now I own 4 companies and I don't slave nearly as hard as I did for my previous employers, although it's more stressful than just grinding a 9 to 5, and I feel like I might be bankrupt every other month, I think this is the only way to truly succeed in Canada. Working for someone else and having a good life is a total lie. The problem is it's too much of a gamble, and some people can't risk their families for a chance at having a good life, so they take a reliable job even if it's terrible. My story isn't unique (except for right at the end, and I'm not even successful yet, I just own 4 companies), there are still countless CHILDREN that this kind of thing is happening to daily. No child should have to go through what I've gone through. I hope to become rich and eliminate poverty.
Sincerely,
Alexander William Forrest Milton
President
Thunder Bay Tech Kart Incorporated
Brilliant analysis. I was born in Canada, university educated and professional job and have exactly the same experience. I was particularly struck by your comment about older people who entered the housing market early, who have a house in Florida and one here, but they paid less than 50% what my house cost me. And yes, my salary disappears in taxes before it makes it to my paycheque. I’m a senior manager in a technology company and do not see a path to retirement at all.
Then why bother? Go start your own business or keep being a salary slave
@@PhilTheThrill81 That comes with its own risks, and I’ve worked hard to get to a better place in my career. The problem is the time it takes to do that. We’re supposed to start saving for retirement at a time in our lives when most of us can’t make ends meet and are saddled with debt. As we get older and rise in the ranks and start making money, we buy a house that’s not falling apart, a car that’s not falling apart, and make payments on those. Start your own business does not equal a path to wealth for everyone either btw. So I’ve decided against retirement. I’ll either just get too sick to work or they’ll get sick of me and let me go, but I’m working until at least 70, maybe longer.
@@josephsmith594 It's not a single problem, but a multitude of problems compounding each other.
First, there's an issue with the construction industry and government in general in Canada. It is laughable that we, with a vast land and untold natural resources we could use, build the smaller amount of new housing per capita of all G7 countries. Even Italy is building more than we are per capita, for fuck's sake. We need to spread our population, not continue the densification of our four largest cities. Now that we have good quality Internet that can easily link our various communities, we need to start being real. I'm not saying that we need to build in the far north but there's untapped land as soon as you drive more than 2-3 hours of every major city in Canada. Government should stop subsidizing buyers (which only drives demand up and basically ends up as a free gift to homeowners who sell their property that much higher) and start subsidizing the construction of more housing. Something's definitely wrong that building materials - plentiful all around us - cost more in Canada than any other G7 country too.
Second, immigration needs to be lowered. We cannot keep increasing it. It's not fair for Canadians who don't already own a company and a house and it's not fair for immigrants either who are sold a dream and come here and face 2700$ rent per month. Let's be realistic with our targets rather than just be like "WE'LL GROW CANADA TO 100 MILLION PEOPLE BY 2100". None of us will be alive in 2100. We shouldn't be accepting 2-3% of our overall population in new immigrants every year. It's a disaster on many levels and it has exacerbated the housing crisis to near untenable levels.
Third, when the government made a change to de-finance cities and make them more reliant on housing taxes, it created a monster and it needs to be addressed. As it is, cities have every incentive in the world to drive the housing market up: it brings more revenue to the city's coffers and "less crime" or, at least, helps get rid of the poorer districts by gentrifying them. It's an issue.
As a sidenote, the rest of us work as hard as our forefathers did. They just grew up in a situation where a new house cost, on average, two years of full salary. Right now, if I were to buy a house in Montreal (where housing is more "affordable" than Vancouver or Toronto but salaries are lower), I'd be paying about 500 to 600k$ for a house built in 1970, sold "as is" and I'd likely have to bid against 11 other buyers. In 1970, that same house was built for 30k. In that time, inflation has went up by 505% according to the PCE Index. Which means that, if that house value had followed inflation, it'd be worth 150k. Something profoundly wrong has happened and is currently happening, as housing value keeps going up by 8, 9, 10% every year.
Heck, we're speaking of major city hubs right now, but even outside, it's no better. I'm 45 mins off Montreal, in what used to be a quiet, rural town. Everywhere between MTL and my town, prices have went up and my town has went up so dramatically that a lot of people have started moving out. My friends bought a house for 198k$ in 2016. Their house is now worth 425k$ by the most recent estimates.
My father was a used car salesman with no education. He was able, during the course of his life, to buy three different houses. He didn't even have a high school degree. Due to poor life choices, he lost most of his savings and houses and now live in a small apartment. I went and followed the "American dream" (Canadian style) and got myself a higher education, the first of my family, in a field that I liked and thought had some decent career prospects. It's not engineering but we can't all be engineers, obviously. I make about 60k a year. I'm firmly middle class. I'm priced out of my own hometown and it was NEVER seen as a "hot town". It's a rural town, which smells of manure and chocolate (due to the chocolate factory in town) and its biggest attraction is a Farmers Expo every year. The river going through the town is heavily polluted. Yet, the town has been getting gentrified at Mach 5 speed because of the spillover from Montreal.
@@josephsmith594 You are lucky cause you still employed. My husband said he'll work until 99 because he really like his job. Unfortunately he was fired during covid 19. Life became more difficult in Canada for Trudeau spent A lot of money at his activities instead of to think about helping Canadian.
@@MrLuchenkovTotally agree with you !
I spent 22 years in USA. The country changed a lot in those 20 years but I was always discipline to save what I could. I've always been number/money oriented and the numbers you describe fits USA economy as well. People compete with their neighbors and buy crap non stop to the point they cant fit it anymore in their garages so they have to rent storages. They live in big houses they don't need and often cant afford and drive cars they shouldn't. At the age of 42 I moved back to Argentina. I affored to "retire", with money that in USA OR CANADA can barely buy a house. I am living my dreamed life and reinvented myself.
Not everything is what it seems to be. People just heard people talk or see things in movies and see the grass greener on the other side.
I am glad I had the opportunity to travel and live in different parts of USA because now I am more than grateful for the life I have. It definitely makes me appreciate my life now.
Yeah basically you went to save every penny to play rich god in your country after 20 years
@CHRIS198490 Is that what you took away from his comment? I think if he saved money and moved home to live very well is smart. Why do you believe he did it just to show off?
That's a really good summary Alex! After being here in Canada for 4 + years, I totally agree! Ground reality
Finally perspective from a Family in Canada than just university students! Thanks for the comprehensive insights and reality checks and most importantly the Truth.
I'm a IT guy working in India and even if we don't make C$100k a year, still we can save more than C$400 a month!!! 🎉
in india IT package of 100K US dollars or 80 lakh INR is normal
But India sucks. No rule of law, Everything is unpredictable, violence is high, will have to put up with corrupt officials from top to bottom starting with Chprasai and ending with PM.
He is exaggerating in reality the rent is only 1 k for a single room and even less if u share and max 150 for groceries rest is all savings that u can take back to India
@@msdadsfsx Then why are Indian IT guys flooding US and earning less than 50 K in most cases? Add the stress of H1B renewal and the expenses related to it. Thant mean it's not normal to get 100 USD in India. It is possible that some higher management guys may be getting it, but 99% of the IT developers aren't getting it.
@@SS-kg8qwI think you should read comment again. He is not saying 100kUSd salary he is saying more than 400$ saving per month. Thats true.
I’m in my 50s and lived here all my life and you are spot on. I don’t know how my kids are going to make a living here in Canada. Were taxed to death and the Government keeps giving out more and more money to those who don’t pay taxes or waste it on things that most don’t agree with. Most people in Canada are oblivious to what is going on, they don’t understand that the government doesn’t produce anything and that all the currency they give out has to be borrowed into existence and so dilutes the currency and so everything gets more expensive. I am ashamed of this country now and so sorry about your situation. I am hopeful that the conservatives take power next election and do what they said they would. If they don’t, I will be pushing for my kids to go abroad.
Thought I'd quote it again for emphasis.
Were taxed to death and the Government keeps giving out more and more money to those who don’t pay taxes or waste it on things that most don’t agree with.
Despite my comment above. I agree with this. Too much money wasted on freeloaders. Especially during Covid. I know people who bought a property while getting cerb payout. They've been minimum wage workers until that point. So they barely paid any taxes. While I stayed in a dorm-style housing to keep costs low and save enough to buy a place.
@@JJJohnson441 honest Canadians get shafted while people take advantage of the government's idealistic programs that weren't meant for them
I was told the benefits in Canada are good, pension with no assessments for example. Some one have to pay for that.
@@JJJohnson441You can't buy a house on CERB. Stop lying. Down payment of $80,000 needed for 800k home. Government didn't give out 80k.stop lying
My first job as a Tech in 2005 I was making $120,000 my rent was $640 for a 2 bedroom. Quality of life in Canada has really gone down the toilet.
what was your first job in 2005?
Too much real estate investors and airbnb issue. Same in Australia. Eventually this will need to desincentivesed through regulation, otherwise it will turn into a social problem.
@@AUThePunisher Thats all ready been a huge issue in Asia. People have to work over time otherwise They cannot survive in big cities. My Ideal life is to work remotely And stay in my home town.
you were one of the lucky ones, 2022 IT jobs pays similar same wages but rent costs 4x
Certainly not as a fresh grad?
Thats a crazy salary for 2005
Short, concise and to the point. Nothing to add as I had the same thoughts about the current housing/economic situation in Canada; however, you packaged it all up nicely in just one relatively short video which I can share with some of my friends to give them a digestable summary of my own conclusions. Thank you for all your hard work!
I was an international student in Canada, already left Canada and found job as a software engineer back home in China. Been living in Toronto for about 6 years and didn't realize how insane the cost of living is in Toronto until I came back home in China. I'm making about 60k canadian dollars(converted) annual here but the cost of living is less than one third of what it is in Toronto(living in a 2 bedroom condo here by myself and paying 600 cad/month in rent, utility included). I get to save half of what I earn every month and was much less stressful financially here. Thought western developed countries means good and wanted to stay there before I went just like everybody else, but it's just not true. Oh yea, huge thanks to the degrees that I've earn in Canada that secured me nice paying jobs here in China lol.
So you got a cheap education in Canada courtesy of the Canadian taxpayers.
@@karlabritfeld7104 International students typically pay 3 times what a Canadian student would pay for tuition because they're not subsided by the government. Foreign students are a net win for Canada.
@@karlabritfeld7104 I paid 50k per year for my education, don't know if you would consider that cheap.
@@karlabritfeld7104 Canada is absolutely one of the best countries when it comes to education though
You payed a lot for your education in Canada and don't owe anything to Canada beyond what you already payed. Toronto is financially stressful for almost anyone. But there are many considerations beyond $$. What is the work life balance like? Nobody wants to work 12 hours a day. . or have almost no holidays.
Inflation, bank collapse, severe drought in the agricultural belt, recession, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating oil shortages, baby formula shortages, available automobile shortages and prices, the price of living place.
@davedelva You are right! I’ve diversified my 450K portfolio across various market with the aid of an investment coach, I have been able to generate a little bit above $830k in net profit across high dividend yield stocks, ETF and bonds.
@@yolanderiche7476 I have been thinking about how to grow my reserve by atleast 40% or more within months. I will be grateful if you can give tips or anything on how to make good market picks and how I can get my portfolio diversified and balanced in order to meet up my target
@@bernisejedeon5888 You might have heard this before but it’s imperative that I mention it. Starting out with a with a professional that knows the ropes of the choppy but profitable market is the best way to achieve getting a well structured portfolio. That's why I have been working with “Julia Ann Finnicum” and that doesn't make me daft because in financial dealings one have to be prudent. Most traders enter exit with a quick 10% profit which is not bad in a general opinion but why not aim bigger.
@@yolanderiche7476 After locating her, I composed an email and arranged a phone conversation. I'm optimistic that she will reply, and my goal is to conclude 2023 on a financially successful note.
Nigerians in these comments. Don’t fall for this crap!
I came to Canada a couple of months back with a near 6 figure salary. Wife couple of toddlers. I knew exactly this is what I'm getting into before I moved here. Lucky to get a remote job, so I got cheaper rent away from the city. Everything is manageable for now but any time things might get overwhelming. I can always go back to my country without much loss. Definitely going to try my best to get something and give back here. Fingers crossed.
Great video and rare truth which must be seen by anyone who wants to move here to set the expectations right.
Have some loyalty. If you come here. Respect the place. Make it your home. Saying you'll leave Canada and go back to your home makes you sound ungrateful for this opportunity. Ee
@@MyFriendlyPup First of all no one handed an opportunity to me. I had multiple opportunities from other great countries too. I neither have to be grateful nor owe anything here. I was required here as they were not able to find someone here with my quality. My skills are creating more jobs and contributing to the economy here already.
I chose this country because people like you were less. Irony that I already met one of you.
The part which you didn't want to read in my comment wherein I mentioned that I will be trying my best means that I will be trying my best to create even more jobs and give back as much as possible.
Just because I have a backup plan for my family doesn't mean that I'm a quitter. It just means that I love my family and wont risk everything blindly.
Born Canadian here. You have the correct attitude. Canada must compete for people, like any other country. We don't want to end up like Japan. Since we can't find enough people to build more houses, we will have to wait until they can be built by robots. Canada is run by humans, which means it's just as flawed as any other country. The only good part is the 8 months of darkness, and the endless 5C temperatures. And lots of rain and snow.
You smacked him nicely. What a naive clown he is.
@@MyFriendlyPup lol gtfo
Very honest video. Newcomers to Canada are brought here to just pay the rent and taxes. Same fate is in store for young Canadians, unless they are lucky to inherit a home from parents. It does not help either that we have a incompetent prime minister who depends on advisers with an agenda.
No doubts
As a Canadian, we should be glad that we have freedom, demorcacy, fresh air. Newcombers are not paying a lot of taxes. Think about Canadian who have been working hard for last 30 - 40 years and they have been paying a higher tax bracket (as they make more money due to more experience) than the newcombers and yet having the same benefits.
He knows exactly what he is doing he juat does not care about canadians
A poor healthcare to top it all
@@johnli9211 if you don’t mind me asking, what is your situation? Are you educated, working hard and yet still living pay check to pay-check, with no hope of ever buying a home? Or is that a non issue. Perhaps your parents or grandparents came here when it was a different country and easy buy a home?
What I realized by talking to my friend in Canada: car insurance is very expensive in Canada. My friend pays $2400 per year for his used ford and its for one person. My whole family in US pay $1680 for 4 people and we have 5 cars with 3 of them being luxury. His phone bill is also $100+ per month for one person. We have 7 people sharing phone plan for $180. It cost him at least $300+ to fly between cities in Canada. I frequently fly for half of that in the US. I feel like lot of companies have monopoly in Canada and they dont want to change it. The market is not technically "free" and its very regulated. Of course both countries have its flaws but this is something that can be fixed.
Insurance prices vary greatly across the USA from state to state. My very old car costs $1000/year. I'm the sole driver and over 21. Clean driving record just my state is expensive for car insurance!
Costs me 360$/year for a 2011 Kia. Cell phone under 40$/month for like 10GB of data and unlimited calls/text.
Car insurance is ok. But the rental is very expensive.
USA has 10x more population. It's a bigger market and they can sell almost anything cheaper than a smaller market.
Your friend is probably a young male who recently got his license. It goes down a lot with experience.
My roots in Canada go back many generations. I don’t know anyone who’s now doing well in Canada, and I’m specifically thinking of my friends and family. However, within the last five years, four friends moved from Canada, and they’re all doing far better in their adopted countries than they ever would have had they chosen to remain here. None of them have any intention of returning. I even followed a suggestion mentioned in this video: moving to another province with accessible real estate. However, you very quickly discover why the real estate is so inexpensive: it’s because the province is embarrassingly primitive, and to as such a degree that the move becomes a Pyrrhic Victory. We purchased a two-story, three-bedroom house on four seaside acres for $275K in Nova Scotia. Sounds glorious, right? It wasn’t. It was pure hell, as the small number of local people who chose not to shun us, decided to harry us instead. It was a far worse experience than living in downtown Vancouver. So, speaking as someone with extensive experience living in some of Canada’s smaller/remote communities, and in many of Canada’s major cities, life in these places is extremely difficult, and the weather is diabolically awful.
Thanks for the honest breakdown! Hope this video goes viral and is seen by more who are planning to immigranting to Canada to have realistic idea of what living in Canada is like.
I moved to Canada (Montreal), from Brazil, about 10 years ago. I feel blessed for everything I was able to experience and build here (starting as a junior front-end dev), but your video is spot on. Life here is not as easy as they sell it out there (and we're fortunate to be working for the software industry!). Housing is indeed crazy high and it keeps getting higher (as pretty much everything else). 5 years ago, I would not consider going back to Brazil, but that's starting to change...
7 anos q estou em toronto e decidi sair daqui, percebi que isso ta igual em todo canada. Pela primeira vez estou pensando em voltar p BR tb
housing crazy in Montreal? Is much cheaper than Toronto or Vancouver btw...
@@Tonyx.yt. yes indeed it's much cheaper but our income is smaller and we pay even more tax....
O Brasil não está diferente não, aqui onde moro, Curitiba PR, o aluguel de um ESTUDIO perto do centro, custa R$1800,00 reais por 32mt² a média salarial está em R$1700,00 reais. O negócio é conseguir o trabalho remoto com o salário e taxas daí mesmo e morar aqui, supondo quê você receba 70k aí, vai ser uns 55/60 limpo, são 200/230 bruto aqui após conversão, uns 170/185 limpo aqui, aí sim consegue viver legal, porque conseguir mais que 40k/ano aqui, ou você abre seu próprio negócio ou é tão bom que alguém aceite pagar o valor real das suas habilidades, isso é difícil.
@@leocasati o custo de vida em cidade grande eh muito alto mesmo, quando vim pro Quebec escolhi uma cidade menor pra conseguir economizar, em Montreal eh bem mais caro. Pensei em voltar ao BR tambem.
Please keep doing these videos and showing the reality. This is gold!!
100% truth, RESPECT!
I arrived in Vancouver as a software engineer in 1995 and have since retired. Everything has changed over time.
I work as an intermediate SRE in Ontario. I am still single so I can rent a room to maximize my saving. However, I feel your struggle. I don't buy anything. I eat at home. I try not to date since It costs money. Buying a house is very fundamental. Now, we call Canada our home, but we need a solid change. People are dying in ER by paying a lot of taxes in the country since we don't have enough doctors. I appreciate your thoughtful video. Keep your good work. Hope things get better in near future.
Don't stay single because you think it saves money. Please search for the video "Being Single Is Now An Unaffordable Luxury" at How Money Works.
ontario keeps voting for liberals and left communists and nothing will change
I have been thinking and considering Canada as a potential option there.
Ofcourse there are some relatives and people whom I worked with living there, they told me the same thing.
Thank you Alex. You don't know what relief your video was and these 10 mins took off 10kg of load from my head. Can't thank enough. ❤
Soon you will open convenience store.
Don't bother coming here in Canada. You hear bullshit that Canadians are all leaving this country. But don't believe that nonsense. Those people probably just temporary going to USA for now and will eventually go back Canada when things are corrected. Canadians own a lot of real estate in Florida. White Canadians are like the top 2 in the world in real estate in Florida. So just imagine how much influence, advantages we have with Canadian Citizenship. These people just taking advantage of their situation and will eventually come back. Do your research for Canada but also look into other places to live too
@@calvinwong365 thank you for bringing up another perspective.
Is it also invalid that rent has gone 2x and groceries and utilities by 3x but hardly theres a 10% increment in the salary.
I am not considering this option as someone who owns a lot of wealth or is white who has a lot of properties. Do you still think Canada is right place to move when you have skills and experience but not hell much of financial reserves
@@saadabbasi2063 very hard to say, it all depends on your current situation and your expectation. If you are middle class already in your own country, you have to be careful.
For very poor people, it doesn't matter, there is not much to lose to come to Canada, even better since for basic labor market, it is easy to get a job. For a rich people, they don't care , they always come to Canada for fun, if they need to see doctor, they can fly back to home country, in a way. So you either have lots of money or no money at all , if you decide to come. The middle class will suffer a lot to come here.
lmao 🤣🤣🤣
I just emigrated to Vancouver because of the war in my country. It's not like it was my dream to live here, because I had a great life in my country while working remotely. But here I feel like all the effor I've made to increase my quality of life and don't live paycheck to paycheck, just got annuled. These days I only live with fear "what do I do if I can't pay rent next month", because it's not even like I can go back to my homeland into the war. Also, the more friends I make here, the more I realize how everyone is working their ass off to survive in this system. People literally have no time for dating or learning a new hobby. And honestly, I don't even get why the cost of living is so high, because there is no proper things like technology, medicine, even places for rent don't look great usually. Maybe I'm too new to understand why this country is a dream for an imigrant, but for me this place is a waste of life on surviving. Thank you so much for the video, I was feeling really lonely in this topic before I watched it!
because many Chinese people already very rich are going to Canada :) business people and corrupt government officials.
Believe me it is still much better than any former Soviet country.
@@dr.schultz9023 sure, better than most countries in the world. Maybe I'll got if I'm admitted to the Canadian universities.
Maybe you could’ve moved to Poland or Austria
These comments are the example of disrespect I get in Canada that I wouldn’t have “in Poland”. You guys have no idea if I lived better than you or not, but still talk to me as if I moved from North Korea and have IQ 10.
I immigrated to Canada in 2013 and left Canada in 2017. I totally agree with your review.
This video is totally accurate. I've been here for 7 years, and I am making 55k. I feel lucky because there is a ton of people in my field who are desperate for a job. Newcomers are highly educated and they get paid very little for what I do. I am very surprised how poor people look day after day.
Holly molly... Immigrated to Canada in 2018 with completely distorted vision of what I am to expect. This video hits the nail on the head!
Still better than the old country, but far from the dream...
I did massive amounts of research before making the move and chose Germany over Canada. It was the absolute best decision!
can you suggest why ( i am planning for masters in software engineering fields ( which one do i choose Australia, canada or Germany ) ( from Pakistan )
Yes, Germany has low taxes
You are absolutely right. I respect your courage to go "against the grain" and speak out.
100% true. I'm also a software developer. I moved here almost 3 years ago. Soon I'm applying for my passport and after I've got it, I'm moving to the US on a TN
Hi brother is that possible im also in IT industry try to move US after getting passport.
I believe the costs for everything has risen dramatically everywhere and especially Western countries. Here in Sweden it is now almost unbearable with food, electricity, utility bills and interests skyrocketing. I have almost reached pension age so my plan is to move out from here soon to Spain or Portugal where I know food is 30-40% lower, no more winter clothing and sun all year around. Cheers Jan
Good choices. A few of my Canadian friends and I are looking for places in Portugal.
Gonna join you soon!
not really everywhere here in Belgium things almost same as 2016 beside gas which free (paid by company for most jobs) and gov helped
The grass is always greener somewhere else
Go to India, country side is cheap with organic veggies. You will not find beef though
Great video Alex. As a software engineer living in Vancouver I can relate to this 100%. We're getting paid fairly well in software, compared to other occupancies. I can only imagine how devastating this can be for a skilled worker immigrant to survive on the average salary.
I worked with nurses who made 70k / year and rented condos that would sell for $1.5M or more. Rate increases are going to absolutely murder them.
@@foxxygearreviews7754 Unless rate increases cause the property prices to finally collapse, thought the inbetween state will definitely be hard.
this year all that changes. after your wages bottom out, what will you do?
Immigrants are not too proud to live in large groups cutting their rent massively. They also eat rice and chilli every meal. Soon you will be paying rent to them.
This is by far the most realistic video about cost of living in vancouver and current reality in canada..
Thank you so much for your honest and detailed opinion on the current situation in Canada. You're right that so many bloggers are skewed to the positive side and got lucky with timing coming to Canada 10 years ago. Coming to Canada now is not a good decision. I am in the product management space. I thought of the same salary numbers you showed and had my doughts from the beginning. Thank you for telling the truth! By the way, you should consider moving to the US if you land a job; it can be 2-3 times more than what you make in Canada.
came from Turkey to Canada for this exact reason, also the movitation of money. now I realise I legitimately have higher chances to own a house back home than here, even though its only been a couple months... plus, I"m missing all my friends, family and the insanely beautiful nature of my country. things have been iffy back there for quite a while now, but my own bubble was absolutely top tier.
With Justin Trudeau in charge, Canada and Turkey are not so different.
Been to Turkey for 3 months and I loved it. Amazing nature, amazing food...
I tried migrating to Canada but recently gave up after seeing so much information like this video.
And like you, my "bubble" where I am is top-tier. Not even in local terms, but Americans would also envy.
Çok haklısınız . Bizde 3 senedir burdayız burası hal alınmaz şekilde pahalılaştı . Özellikle ev almak dediğiniz gibi çok zorlaştı .
This video is great and truthful. I am a born Canadian and lived here my entire life. Now in Toronto. It is absolutely terrible what is happening. Cost of living is increasing exponentially and our salaries are stagnant. Now, the BoC is raising rates to make it much worse for everyone. With inflation, we are what, paying maybe $200-400 most per family in total and now the rates increasing has raised my mortgage over $1000k and I'm being hit everywhere where I can barely make ends meet. It's unbelievable and I feel like the government is has lost its way. The future for our children is doomed at this rate. I would predict people leaving, suicides, etc. Thankfully, we are getting government subsidies for child care here in Ontario that are kicking in, because paying $2600/child while the wife makes barely more than that doesn't make any sense for anyone to have children or go to work. BUT, the government would rather immigrate people in Canada than having people have and raise children here. I feel helpless and completely upset that life has become like this. Basically if you're a shareholder, you push companies to reduce raises. Overwork their workers and increase profits....Sad, just sad...
so the bank forced you into a variable rate?
@@PhilTheThrill81 lol 33% are variable rate in Canada as of 2022 and over the next 1-1.5yrs another 20% will be up for their fixed rate renewal and will be hit hard. Where are you going with this genius?
The government in this country is absolutely 100% corrupt. This country is being robbed blind right now.
Thank the socialist government in power for doubling this nation's debt.
Only when Canadians lose everything and are eating out dumpsters will they realize that voting for far left parties is a bad idea.
Just ask the Cubans or Venezuelans how much they love socialism.
If you voted NDP or Liberal, you made your bed and now it's time to lay in it.
@@RepublicOfWesternCanadaNOW Blah blah blah blah....blah bla bla
Life in Toronto is very tough. House price and rental is crazy rising up is very hard to afford because the salary is lower after tax deduction.
Wow!!! Your estimates are absolutely correct and true to a dime. Thanks for being honest and transparent.
I was a specialist doctor before coming to Canada.
I went to UofT for 7 years, finished computer engineering bachelors and masters degree.
I can not even get a job paying 70,000 CAD.
Immigration is a scam in Canada.
How did you went from being a doctor to engineer? Doctors earn like 300-400k everywhere
@@abhimanyuraizada7713 You are right. I did not want to live in India and Middle-east for various reasons. I thought, that I will be able to reach same level given my ability to study. But It seems, I was wrong. However, I have not given up yet, trying for PhD in clinical AI.
@@PankajSngh-bf1vw you will be fine soon, dong you regret it leaving medical? Other prfessions doesnt pay as much. Also Doctors earn so much in India, i know some who ear 10-15 lakh per month
Also i would like to add, i bought my first house 17 years ago for $148,000 on its own land. You are correct sir, it was good here 10-15 years ago here
Thank you Alex!
I thought about moving to Canada with my family and 3 kids, but thanks to you (and some other bloggers) I see that unfortunately this is not the best option now.
It looks like it is better for me to stay in Poland :)
Unfortunately this is the reality now. I came from Europe to Canada more than 20 years ago and caught up on some good opportunities. But I wouldn't make this move today. I would definitely look for something in Europe. Actually, we are even thinking of maybe retiring in Europe...
moving to canada is just a good option for third world and developing countries
@@alidavoudi977 this is exactly the case... canada may not seem like a great option compared to UK, USA, Australia, etc... but compared to African countries, India, Sri Lanka, etc then Canada can offer a much greater quality of life. Hence, most people immigrating to Canada originate from India. It's all perspective
@@A-star445 Those countries have Sunlight which Canada lacks. Moreover in those countries you don't have to be debt slaves to bank for your house and can actually save half your income and enjoy life.
@@TheGalactus16 That is true. Weather is certainly better in Mexico. For majority of Mexican population though, they cannot purchase homes. Homes are generally owned by the elite class and wealth is passed down through inheritance. Many mexicans live in dense living situations (multiple families in homes). This is how I see the future of Canada. Houses that used to be occupied by a single family will now have 2-3 families in them, and renting will be the only option for majority of population. Home ownership will primarily be for people who have properties passed down to them through inheritance and can then use those properties to leverage into other real estate
Totally related. I was working in New Zealand, income from main job and side job would bring about 80-90k/year but a big junk of that went for tax, rent, utility, insurance, car. On my trip to Vietnam, my dad asked me how much I make a month and then compare the amount with my brother (who is in IT and making $3000 USD a month), then my dad concluded “what you really take home is much lesser than your brother’s despite you’re living in a better country”. It shocked me so much. I barely ate outside, always cooked at home, never had any activities or hobbies that need to spend money while I was in NZ, all that to save so little in the end.
Finally I decided to take the remote jobs, income stays the same, fly to China (hubby is Chinese). Now we are living in a 2 bedroom apartment outskirt of Beijing for less than $500/month. Utility is about $100 per month, insurance $40/month….I now can go grocery shopping without looking at the price, eating organic free food (the in-laws runs a farming business and they have a section to grow 100% organic food), watch movie every fortnightly, travel, exercise classes, and guess what…I still have a lot left in my bank. And also start to grow other incomes beside work as well.
It’s getting really expensive to live in Western countries at the moment to be honest. When I go back to Asia, I feel my quality is much improved!
Thank you for speaking the truth! I started a YT channel a couple of years ago (in polish) to answer questions I was getting about how to immigrate to Canada. Since I was saying the truth I was often getting negative feedback, was called a lier and worse. People were so brainwashed by the propaganda of Canada being "the best country in the world", that they would not accept the truth. Now the same people message me again, apologize and often say that they should have listened to me because they moved to Canada and now regret it. As for myself and my family, we moved from Canada to the beautiful french island of Corsica and live a happy life! Cheers and best of luck to you and your family!
My wife and I got my Canadian citizenship 6 months ago. Thinking about moving back to Ukraine after the war, buying a few condos as rentals (no property taxes or condo fees on those in Ukraine) and getting into IT. It's much easier to become a trainee in Ukraine and then move up the ladder than in Canada, especially with good English. BTW, on 60k we are barely making it in Calgary. My wife stays home with my son. It was much nicer in 2018-2019 when both of us worked and we even managed to save quite a bit. Life was 40-50% cheaper. Now we live from paycheck to paycheck.
Ukraine has no future , shift to india.
60k gross?
@@alexandertraveler510 Yep
I need a ukrainian wife
@@Theactualstoic if one person work more and study more to get more qualifications and money.....do you really believe is unfair they buy houses? I'm sorry for talk the true but I know many lazy people who just complain but don't want to work weekends....improve etc
Been suffering in this terrible country for 9 years and every time I open my mouth I am gaslighted by how "negative" I am. Glad to find these videos to validate everything I have been going through! Ironically, the only thing that kept me from drowning are the life savings I brought with me.
Have you thought of moving to another country?
@@antonboludo8886 moving next month.
@@homyce Good! Where are you headed to?
@@antonboludo8886 Portugal 🇵🇹
@@homyce Nice! I have been to Spain once and Latin America many times, including twice in Brazil. I have heard great things about Portugal.
This is literally the kind of video I've been looking for quite some time now on RUclips considering my profile & future projects. Thank you for your (brutal) honesty !
Alex, I can sense the struggle in the conclusion part of your video. I'm also a developer, but living in Toronto, and I'm feeling the same as you. The only difference is that I was born here, just a few years too late to ride real estate on the way up - which makes it even more sad. Wishing you the best!
If you are a Canadian and you complain about immigration you are immediately labeled a bigot and cancelled. Of course most politicians are lawyers who do not face international competition.
how did you learn wd?
In the animation industry, American companies often outsource the majority of actual animation work to Canadian studios because they pay their workers less. Let that sink in…
What do they pay their animators in Vancouver?
I lived in Canada for six years and thank God that we moved to United States and now I’m living in sunny Florida 🙏👌🌞
I am in exact situation as you but I leave 1h west of Toronto and I have no kids.More than 20y in Canada.Everything you say in your videos is true.Hopefully people that would like to come now in Canada make an informed decision.
Keep it up man!
That painting behind you, I have a similar one. I bought it in Whistler six years ago. I also placed it above our couch. My painting, though, is in Hong Kong where our household pays 6% income tax, no capital gains tax on stocks, no VAT and we also have Universal Healthcare and free medicine. Sure property prices are more than Vancouver and we mostly live in flats than houses but our high disposable income, high salaries and no capital gains tax enabled us to buy a primary residence easily. And with the HKD pegged to USD, we can buy investment properties abroad where the USD trades at a premium.
When my friends ask me what's the financial difference between HK and Vancouver I tell them this - our savings in one year in HK is equivalent to seven years of accumulated savings in Vancouver
Hey Alex! I'm one amongst the millions of immigrants settled here in Canada, I'm proud of what you've mentioned in your video btw it's the first time and importantly the very first video that I've watched on your channel regardless you're an inspiration to all of us for the kind of RIGHT INFORMATION that you're sharing it's very rare that we come across a channel where we genuinely wanted to subscribe for the insights that nobody talks about but everybody knows!! Much love from Toronto! Cheers 🥂🥂
So, when are you coming back to India?
@@arunishkumar7969 jaldi hi mulakat karenge dost!
@@lavanyasinghrajpurohit4879 u are coming back to India like forever? How's the life there ??? Bcoz someone very close to me is going in Canada after 12th for software engineering.....
No idea how this got recommended, but I am happy about it. I could say the video is absolutely true about..Germany too. You could swap the names of the two countries and this will describe perfectly the situation in Germany.
I read a lot of the comments and its astonishing how its EVERYWHERE the same. I have spent 10 years in the Germany. I have finished one of the top universities there (TUM) and continued living in the city (Munich). Being a master in engineering and working for an above average salary, it still felt like a science fiction to have one day a place of my own. I mean, even if you could rent something with a balcony and a nice location - congratulations! You are in the upper layer of the society. The rents are absolutely insane too. And no wonder - its normal to have between 50 and 200 applications PER DAY, depending how attractive the accommodation is.
Long story short - i moved to Switzerland. My salary literally doubled and i still pay less taxes, compared to Germany. Funny enough, being in relatively big Swiss city, with an amazing nature, fresh air and transport is actually cheaper than living in Munich. Don't get me wrong - Munich is not bad, its even one of the best German cities. I would describe it exactly like Alex did for Vancouver (insane).
Its really crazy how its the same anywhere you go. In Budapest, its been ridiculously insane how the cost of living got through the roof. People with master degrees are struggling to get on by, renting is crazy but getting your own flat or even a small house even in the countryside is outta reach for the rest of your life.
Not true. My school friend is in Germany and I got job contract in Germany last year (skipped it due to family reasons). Work regulations in Canada are terrible at most and completely unacceptable for some jobs comparing to Germany. Food, apartments are cheaper in Germany. Not to mention free after school education, which not exists in Canada.
It's not the same in the USA. I grew up in Canada, but my career and financial outlook took off when I moved to the USA. In Canada, the generational divide in terms of wealth is very stark. Some of that wealth will be passed on down to kids. But generating wealth is harder than it was been for a very long time.
I don't understand how so many people seem able to just pick up and move to another country - I assume you're not a citizen, just on a work visa in Switzerland? Isn't there a lot of red tape to get into another country? Or is it easier for a German to move to Switzerland than it would be for like a Canadian to do the same, because you're part of the EU?
@@SchlichteToven As long as you find a company, which is willing to hire you, all should be relatively straight forward. There are many US citizens here, so I assume its quite doable. As an EU citizen its easy to move to CH or elsewhere in Europe at all. I have a residence permit class B - as a German citizen you get it straight away for 5 years. The hardest part is to find a job. Once you do (online application -> 1. online interview -> (2. online interview) -> 3. interview in person) you start looking for a place to live.
I moved during Covid times (December 2020), so everything was... super fast. There was literally no immigration to CH in that time and the administration capacity was actually barely affected by the pandemic. I thought I would need weeks for all documents, but in one (!!) afternoon I managed to do: registration in the municipality, bank account opening, insurance for apartment and liability, health insurance, cell phone & internet contract. A week later I got an appointment from the immigration head office to go and get my residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung).
To avoid stress its better to have a lot of time reserve before starting the job. For comparison - I had my interviews and job offer in August/September and the starting date was in January. Until October I was lucky enough to find a nice place in CH. I called directly to an real estate agency, had a WhatsApp review of the apartment and did everything remote. After I was chosen as a tenant I had to transfer the deposit (Kaution). It was 3 monthly rents. However I wanted to have a predictable expenses in the first months, before passing the work trial period so I transferred... 3 monthly deposits + the first 2 months. So 5 monthly rents all in all, even before seeing the room with my own eyes or getting my hands on the apartment keys. But please, this is really not the usual approach. It kinda new and crazy even for me. God bless the Swiss/German punctuality.
As a 70 year old Canadian living on the east coast I can testify to what this man is saying. We live in Halifax, the largest city on the east coast. We were considered the backwater of the country, but it was the best kept secret. Good jobs were scarce but when we moved here from the boonies you could start with nothing and build something up. Buy a home(we bought a new 4-bedroom 2 bath for less than 100k and paid it off in seven years. That is all gone. Everybody decided to they wanted out of the insanity of Toronto and move here. My oldest son got into his house just before things went nuts. My younger son will never own a home. Recently someone from Toronto apparently paid 700k over asking. A few years prior the selling price would have been half that. Now our poisonous Prime Minister wants to flood the country with more cheap labor. 10 years ago homelessness was a Vancouver issue. Now it is in every city including mine. What a disgrace.
Describing Canada very well under our current Crime Minister...
Hi Alex,
I can relate to everything you said here. I have been lucky to be one of the guys who was working for Vancouver company remotely from Calgary during most of the pandemic. I could have got a townhouse if not a full house here in Calgary but did not want to given the long and harsh winters I have to cope with here. And guess what, I got my Canadian passport now and off to United States on a TN visa for overcoming the exact disadvantages you were speaking about.
Your entire video vindicates my move. Keep it up for posting the truth to everyone.
We are thinking to move to US too. You happy now? What is your advise for us?
Yes, I m happy now, too.
My advice for anyone in Canada will be to make the decision based on the gross income you make in US vs. what you make in Canada. It's worth moving only if we make really higher income here like nearly double to what we have in Canada. Otherwise, there are other issues such as medical expense, etc. That we don't see much in Canada.
Alex, I'm an immigrant too like you, living in the Greater Toronto Area.
I came to Canada in 1990 in my early 20's from Eastern Europe, I remember employment letter from my sponsor, who was an engineer working for Toronto Hydro back then (not a senior one, just a field engineer) who was making $62k gross annual income. At that time you could buy a detached house in the good area for under $200k These houses now are easily $2.5M and my nephew who graduated from engineering couple of years ago is is now making $65k a year. Canada is no longer a land of opportunities like it used to be. We are family of 4 (2+2 kids high school age), we did OK financially because we bought house before the boom started and now are mortgage and debt free, but with our combined monthly net income of $10k we barely save money, the cost of living in GTA is just crazy high. I really don't know how people with mortgages make it these days. In my opinion if you're professional you have a better chance of having a good career and living elsewhere.
If you're coming from a poor third world country Canada may still be attractive to some, construction or a truck driving job can give them a decent monthly income and allow a better life than back home, but you have to forget about owning a home, that ship has sailed
Can own a home if earning 100k? I think one can but he would be working all his life for that, is it?
You're right. There was a time when all construction jobs were filled with italians and portugueses no english needed, now mostly latins overqualified are taking over but without the chance to own property and thats not even told before coming. Being stuck forever renting a basement aint everybodys dream.
@@abhimanyuraizada7713 In Toronto, you cannot. You will not qualify to mortgage for an average CAD $900,000 townhouse. You would need over 200000.
@@mariuspopescu284 well then how are people managing right now? I think only business guys are buying
Much like u, moved to Vancouver in 91 in my 20s & Alex's analysis of a new professional migrant to Canada's brilliant & I felt for him, as well as millions of others who labour under the sun day in n day out just to 'survive' considering the cost of living especially in our city in Vancouver these days thx to the blood sucking liberal politician who sold out our city before we could afford anything after blood n sweat! Things will get worse unless we are willing to address the issues instead of digging our heads into the sands...😢I haven't owned nothing even after 30 yrs of hard work since graduating from my Master's degree and right now I could only imagine retiring in Mexico, Columbia or anywhere in South East Asia as rentals continue to rise...
Alex, as a Canadian tech worker who's worked abroad (UK, UAE, USA), you are spot on. Frankly, you will earn less in the EU, but housing is much cheaper, workers rights are better and once you get EU PR, the job market is vastly bigger. Even if you get a work visa for just one country like Germany, France or even the UK, the job market is better. Microsoft Toronto was offering me $40/hr for a job that paid $150'000 when I got to the UK. The Toronto job required driving and the UK job (landed it) was work from home. Once you get PR in Canada, it's often best to just work US based jobs remotely.
Wouldn’t it be better to live in South America and work US jobs remotely.
I work in tech with a US startup, but live in Asia and have a terrible passport. Aiming at South America or Ireland, for the future.
Housing being cheaper in Western Europe?!?! Job market better??? You seriously don't know what you're talking about 😂 Get out of Toronto and Vancouver and you'll find that housing in Canada is much more affordable than what you can find elsewhere.
@@Qasibr how did you manage to find a job for US company? I'm java dev live in central asia and considering path to land a job for US or EU companies
Wait.. can you work for US companies if you are Caanadian PR ?
Your words resonates deep within me.
I never understood why I was living paycheque to paycheque as a developer if I don’t spend in unecessary things, I even came to the point of cancelling all my streaming services to make sure I was in the right path.
But now that you put the number on the table I can see that there is no mistake, this is a scam, they really don’t care about you once you settle.
I'm 5 years into my career and my most recent job is paying me 65k when my asking price was 70k. Cost of living went up 6% last year and I honestly feel like I'm doing worse now than when I started working because my appartment is smaller, rent and other expenses are all higher and I'm only making 5k more per year before taxes as a software engineer living in British Columbia. I have no hope of ever owning a home or having a family and I was born in Canada.
Trudeau destroyed Canada
oh well. go start your own business and the sky is the limit.
damn, I'm the same salary range as a temporary worker in QC. I was considering moving back to my homeland and "profit" from the currency exchange maybe buy a house there..
🙌🏻 Well said! Grew up in Canada. Studied overseas, came back to work. Experienced everything you’re describing!!! Clearly something is wrong with the system!
I was a successful street hustler for 15 years before the pandemic and then retired with what i thought was a proper cash out. I didnt realize how bad they screw regular people.
I am thankful for your video! As a first generation immigrant, all we did was struggle growing up, but I have to say looking back on my childhood by today's standards seems like a dream with the ease of life we had back then. I'm a single mother of two living in Hamilton Ont, a stone's throw away from Toronto. Which is the most expensive city to live in all of Canada. Hamilton is marked as being the next Toronto, as most people who couldn't afford to live in that city flocked to Hamilton over an hour away, as the cost of gas to commute was cheaper then to live where they worked. That was several years ago when I heard people say this. Fast forward to today and our housing prices mirror what Toronto's was Several years ago, as everyone flocked to the city that was once called "the most affordable city in the greater Toronto area". Average housing cost is 750k, and you don't get much for that price as we are a city of many century homes.
Everything you listed as expenses is akin to what we struggle with here too. I'm so grateful to have a roof over our heads and food banks when we need them, but it feels like I need to access them more lately then ever, and was told by someone who worked there that they have doubled their numbers in just the last year alone as housing skyrocketed and now inflation. I see a large amount of immigrant families there too. There are all kinds of different life situations that can cause a person to struggle even more here too in Canada. Job loses, illness, and or separation can rob people of the very basic needs of life just to keep a modicum of comfort.
Thank you for raising awareness 🙏
Hamilton has alot of homeless people, high crime, drug addicts, alcoholics, mafia and murders. Burlington police drop off the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics and the mentally ill in Hamilton. Burlington mayor and city counsel, refuse to build low income housing, only condos and houses are built here. I never go to Hamilton, its not safe there.
Even being in the USA, I will say the most important life skill I’ve picked up is learning to live below my means (or as little as possible) and saving/investing the difference.
USA is exactly the same, my expenses are exactly as he described, except being an American we really do get screwed with healthcare even worse than Canadians.
Brillant! 🎉 a canadian colleague of mine mentioned multiple times that Canadian population is getting too old and younger people don’t stand a chance at supporting the needs of the old anymore, talk pensions. That’s where we immigrants come in. Honestly I was sold to the Canadian dream and regret it. As a bright MSc computer science grad I work in basic data analysis job which pays far from 6 figures. Watch out for Canadian scam everybody, especially those from Europe.
I'm sorry to hear that. What will you do then? Do you think of coming back home?
The 'graying population' is a problem in most of the western countries.
Starting 2023 the government is raising our retiring age to 67 yrs old so that they can have more money to take care of the oldies. Our retiring age is 65 now but we health workers will be working until after 70. Other money came from the rich immigrant that came here. They have to paid 50% of their income for what they made in Canada and whatever they earn abroad. Don’t think that Revenue Canada don’t verify your claim..they are really on it and caught many people every year not paying tax abroad. Earnings
Ok my question is why are you still here? just curious.
Alex's analysis of a new professional migrant to Canada's brilliant & I felt for him, as well as millions of others who labour under the sun day in n day out just to 'survive' considering the cost of living especially in our city in Vancouver these days thx to the blood sucking liberal politician who sold out our city before we could afford anything after blood n sweat! Things will get worse unless we are willing to address the issues instead of digging our heads into the sands...😢I haven't owned nothing even after 30 yrs of hard work since graduating from my Master's degree and right now I could only imagine retiring in Mexico, Columbia or anywhere in South East Asia as rentals continue to rise...
As someone born in Canada and who spent 3 years living in the US, what I can say about my own damn country is that we are overcharged for every single god damn aspect of our lives here by quite a large margin. When living in the US in 2009-2012 my phone/internet/cable cost me about $128 USD a month...same but slightly worse service in Canada was costing me upwards of $250 a month and creeped up annually, i only have internet service these days and that costs me $130 a month. Other important services such as electricity cost me about 50-60 USD a month in the US, in Canada it is closer to $115 a month (I put solar in last year to combat the ever increasing prices on that front as well). In the US, heating cost me about $15 a month in the summer months (hot water only) and about $50 a month in the winter (heat and hot water), in Canada again pretty much double it...the story plays out about the same across every expense you an imagine with the sole exception of electronics where cost disparity could be explained by rate of exchange, everything else in Canada is absurdly more expensive...be warned.
Hey Alex, thanks lots for this video. Well articulated and detailed. Like you I'm also an immigrant living in ON, just been around a bit longer as came here in the early 2Ks. The challenges you describe do not only apply to immigrants, young generations of naturally born Canadians do experience the same, low wages, much competition for limited spots, very high living costs, etc. The credit boom of the past decades, in a way responsible for fueling the high asset prices of today, has much to do with the current challenges you covered in your video. Its not an easy problem to solve at the societal level you know. Some ppl will choose to leave, others would want to see it all crash, other will prefer to hide, some will try to patch it and so on. There is no promised land my friend, we just have to keep trying to make it work better for us and for others whatever path one decides to follow.
You are 100% right. UofT grad, computer science from class of 2013, and i have worked for almost all major tech companies. You are spot on buddy.
Sir how much do you earn now? Plz reply. Thanks a lot.
One thing I realized after I immigrate to Canada is: the goal for my immigration is to leave Canada after the period of time I waiting for a citizenship.
This is correct. You nailed it completely about the wages suppression here in Canada
Great summary. I was trying to immigrate to Canada since 2019, even was nominated by one of the provinces. But as the time went on and the application was in limbo (due to the well known virus of unspecified origin), I was observing how the country declines more and more into an unsustainable debt while prices of everything go up and wages remain about the same. It will only get worse from here, and I'm actually happy I didn't have to spend more of my resources to see how it plays out for me. Not to mention all the government invasion into private lives that will only get worse too as I don't see any significant resistance. With Justin and Chrystia at the helm Canadians shouldn't expect good things happening in their lives any time soon.
You are a smart man my friend. Wish I had a similar foresight 5 years ago.
Canada is a failed country.
Yep, you dodged a bullet. The debt slave cycle has really accelerated under Justin but it is nothing new. Majority of Canadian gdp is from speculating real estates.
God saved you, man
Good job, you avoided this terrible country. You will be even more grateful as time passes.
I don't live in Canada, I haven't planned to move to Canada, but I have put it on the list of possible countries I might emigrate to in a few years. I only visited Canada once and actually was in Vancouver in december 2019, for a tech conferece and enjoyed the things I saw. However, after seeing your video now, I might put Canada lower on my list. PS: I also subscribed, I like the way you presented information.
I came to Canada from Hong Kong as a kid in the early 90s.
The first night landed in Toronto and my thought was "this country looks quite undeveloped?" The images of poorly-conditioned roads, houses, and old and dusty TTC buses are still stuck with me. And as a kid, it was no easy task trying to overcome the cultural differences even as diverse as how Canada is.
20+ years passed, and still in the GTA, I have gotten used to the still poorly-conditioned roads, gloomy winter, and cultural differences. Though infrastructure has very little improvement except for the price of housing has skyrocketed. The medical and retirement systems are getting more broken by the day, and the tax money we are paying today is going straight to the top 1% who are in control of political influence. My spouse and I generate roughly $200k to $230k annually combined but after paying debt and monthly expenses we hardly have any savings left. We don't have much of a life except working as slaves, we both work 2 jobs, over 12 hours a day, and haven't gone on a vacation for the last 8 years, in hopes to make a better living for our kids. It has been a couple of years since we have been thinking to leave Canada as we see little to no hope for my kids being able to live an affordable life. Hopefully, we save enough and sell our house and leave before the system collapse.
To people who are thinking about coming to Canada, just reconsider all the pros and cons and possibilities, if you still find it beneficial to your future in coming then sure go for it. Just don't dream that Canada is a fairyland, especially the government, it is likely just as dirty if not worse in your own country. Also, lobbying is a thing here whereas in Hong Kong that is called bribe and is illegal.
if you did not have kids, nor did you have any hobbies that cost money and you simply desired less in life, you would be rolling in dough. vacations can be free staycations. or super low cost like 10 dollars a day if you do it right.
Well said. Immigration lawyers and youtoubers all around the globe keep fishing ignorant people out there; there is a lot to investigate before sailing off home.
@16-Bit Power I agree and while I whine and complain, I still try to remind myself to stay positive because this is life. Finding a purpose in life is interesting enough to keep me/and spouse going. Positive is key.
Well said. But I think there are few places in the world that's much better than Canada. Just out of curiosity, if you were to leave Canada, where would you go? I live in California, but I feel nearly everything you said applies to here expect the "gloomy winter" part. The US and Canada are on the top of world, two wealthiest countries with relatively large populations. Other places are either too small to accommodate many immigrants or even worse than North America.
@@rfimor depends on industry. lots of expats in hardware IT in South Korea due to top manufacturing facilities in the world for speed and pricing
I’m glad you’re talking about these issues and telling the truth about Canada in your videos.
Perfectly described!
I have spent 10 productive years of my life in Canada.
Immigrated in 2013.
Stayed happy and hopeful for better opportunities until 2015 while I was still fresh immigrant assimilating into a Canadian society.
I tried hard and truly believed that higher paying job will bring my Canadian dream closer to reality but that was an illusion.
Gap between cost of leaving in Canada and income is unrealistically high. Healthcare doesn’t exist. I call it diseasecare. (I’m not talking about emergency services, those guys work perfect, I have no complaints).
My wife had to wait 13 months to se a gastroenterologist. I had to wait 8 months. Really!?
WTF is that!!??? In a country with crazy home prices people can’t receive even a basic health service..
Long winter and poor quality of produce another important factors to consider.
I never had a lack of frustration though.
Long story short…I left Canada and found out that there are actually better countries on this planet. Everything I lacked in Canada I was able to find in a different country.
Canadian trend is being overestimated. Those who are looking to immigrate are probably imagining Canada that existed 20 or 30 years ago but unfortunately that country is long gone.
Hi Dmytro, thanks for sharing your experience.. I am a fresh immigrant myself having arrived just over a year now. Would you have any suggestions for me to get past the illusion that Canada is the best in the world ?
I’d also interested to know where and how did you plan to move out of this country. Thanks !!
@@jaspreetsinghtaggar8832 same. Which country did you move to?
Not better here in Germany, too - getting an appointment for a specialized doctor takes half a year in most cases, too
@@rasiltuladhar1007 I am in Canada, came here in 2021.
@@joolean7799 what Alex has described is spot on. however I am also sure that no country is perfect and the problems like housing, healthcare, inflation, etc. are prevalent all over the first world.
Hope they don’t freeze your bank account for outing them like this
Man I'm Mexican and I'm an immigrant and all you said in this video is true unfortunately we don't see this until we arrive and sped a couple of moths here to see the reality thanks for sharing.
Right on spot Alex.
Came in 2000 with my family and $20000 in the pocket.
Luckily my wife convinced me to buy a property in Vancouver with only 5% down money borrowed from a family member. That was in 2006. We flipped 3 times and every time we made some good equity in ownership.
Now after 22 years I’m happy that at one point if I sell the townhouse and pay my mortgage off I will still be left with close to one million in the bank. But this is not the case , I have a 34 and 22 year old sons which they will never ever own a 1 bedroom or studio because will not qualify based on their annual income. I’m relieved just thinking that in a few years I can relocate back in Europe and live comfortably with some money in the bank and the stupid $2000 pension combined with my wife.
There is impossible to live on that even if presumably you are mortgage free.
How did you get into Canada in the first place?
@@karlabritfeld7104 by boat and crossing the border illegally
I worked in tech in Vancouver for many years. Job not as high paying as yours (more like 80k) and then did side hustles. Literally worked 12 hours a lot of days. Then I had saved enough money to put a decent sized down payment(20%) on an apartment in Vancouver area (most likely Richmond). In the end I decided to move out of vancouver and bought a 10 acre property that was sub dividable for about the same price as an apartment in richomnd.
Completely changed my life style but it was worth it , I already had some friends who lived on the island and I work on contract from home mostly. In terms of an investment the property has doubled in Value since I bought it. I got in at the right time (2018). If I ever want to cash in some of my investment I can subdivide 2 acre lots off of the property and its just nice having so much space. Most of my family still lives in Vancouver only my older brother owns a house though, my younger sisters may never be able to afford to buy and they both have pretty high paying jobs. If you live in Canada you have to buy property to get out of the rat race of living paycheck to paycheck. At least then a decent amount of your monthly payments are being put into house equity which is a kind of savings. I will say though.... if the housing market see's a massive correction , canada is fucked. Almost everyone's net worth is tied up in real estate.
Brilliant summary of the country. I couldn’t have said it better. I worry about my kids sticking around in Canada. I used to consider the country’s immigration a bad experiment, but I can certainly see how it’s more like a scam. the problem is the folks making these decision are so far removed from the reality of everyday people. thanks for posting.
The people dont have to come here. Clearly its worse where they are coming from
Excellent......straight to the point. Thank you and best wishes for your future.
Thanks for including the Disney Plus clip from the finance minister. It gave me a good laugh, and also highlights the short sightedness/ignorance of the Canadian government.
I couldn’t imaging living in Canada without two incomes.
The voice of FM Christina Freskyland makes CANADIANS shriveled.
Your conclusion is absolutely spot on!
The earlier you came to Canada the better you are now.
All new comers coming in now will have to pay ridiculously high rents for smallest apartments or basements. Finding job in your field is also not that easy specially when you are in Software Development as every company will interview you like they are Google or Amazon.
they will interview as they were like Google or Amazon but pay much much lower than them.
I'm a 10+ year software engineer who lived in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa. All unaffordable. I was thinking about Calgary, but it's way too cold. I moved to Poland and life is much better. I'm working with EU companies and earning SAME as Canada (CAD $120k), but my cost of living is 1/10th. I pay $3/mo for cellphone, $15/mo for fiberoptic internet, $25/mo car insurance lol. There is much less crime and drug addicts in Poland, and the people are much friendlier. The weather is more balanced and not as extreme. Europe is one of the best places to be, especially the less popular countries.
Which city do you live in Poland?
This video is so informative for would be newcomers that it deserves at least a million views.