Young people in Vancouver, how do you afford it?

How do you afford the living expenses and housing costs? I want to move from Calgary to Vancouver but when I crunch the numbers I'm losing money big time even if I'm able to land a job in my field.

 

A lot of people have help from their parents or inheritance. Gifts of huge downpayments and even an entire detached house sometimes.

For everyone else, being frugal and barely affording things . Remember, you don't have to live in Vancouver itself. Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam etc. are all more affordable. If you're close to a SkyTrain or Canada Line station, even better.

 

Rent? Share a place? Split expenses 2 or even 3 ways...

Buy- BUT rent out a basement suite?

Consider options of NOT owning a car... Maybe join those Car2Go co-ops?

Consider living further out of the city centre? Often cheaper and many areas have decent transit into downtown...

Live frugally...

 

Don't eat out too often... make most meals at home...

Some grocery stores are noticeably cheaper than others- such as Superstore or WalMart...

 

If using Transit: Buy books of 10 FareSaver Tickets for the price of 8 rides!!

Monthly FareCards can be claimed on your income Tax- Federal Tax Credit....

 

Maybe you might need a weekend job too for the first little while???
Many people work 2 or even 3 jobs...

 

Visually, Vancouver is one the most beautiful cities in the world. Yet from all I have heard or read, I think I would hate living there. Expensive, ethically polarized, and they tell me that strangers are too often cold and just don't want to talk to you. Screw that, I like small communities.

 

3 jobs . Have you done that before?

Those things are true but a bit exaggerated if you ask me. Vancouver is similar to other North American cities its size. If you like small communities, many of the cities and towns on Vancouver Island and in the Interior are very friendly and nice.

 

I know lots of people who have 2 jobs... Some do Landscaping on the side, or security work... or work as hosts at Canucks games or live theatre...

 

In all fairness to Vancouver, I have never been there. My impressions are all second-hand. It's just that the impression you derive from these forums is one of meanness and acrimony. I hope these forums don't accurately reflect Vancouver!

 

I find it very expensive to live in vancouver I work 2 jobs already , becuase I can't find a place that will hire full time or more then minimum wage and even when a place does give you more then minimum, thuer hours are limited.Accomidation is overpriced it's starting to creep up there even in the suburbs like surrey and burnaby as well if I wasn't married I would move over to Calgary or Winnepeg where it's much cheaper to live.

 

It's cheaper to live further away from the city. Especially in a small community. The further you are from all the amenities, the cheaper the rent usually is. It's also nice to live where your neighbour's houses isn't within a couple feet or yours, and when you go to sleep, there aren't any lights shining through your window, keeping you up all night.

I kinda miss that lifestyle myself. I even had chickens in the back yard, when I lived in Steelhead, and there was nothing like hearing your rooster crowing at 6:00am and getting fresh eggs with tasty bright orange yolks for breakfast every day. Especially the Ameraucana eggs with the bluish green colour shells. Very tasty eggs!

Also, even though places like Real Canadian Superstore and Walmart are usually cheaper for most boxed items, you can save even more by buying your fruits and vegetables at farm stands and some vegetable markets instead of the supermarkets. Even Fruiticana is cheaper for vegetables, and they seem to have nicer vegetables there. Or you can try to grow your own.

Sometimes you can save money by buying meat in larger quantities and packaging them into Ziplock bags or using Surran Wrap to make smaller quantities and freeze them. Or better yet, raise your own animals and have them butchered yourself.

A cow for milking might not be worth having, unless you have a family that drinks milk, because you would have to milk it every day in order to keep it producing milk, and you could literally be dumping out gallons of milk every day. Plus the formula for baby calves are very expensive, however, the good part is they can survive on the grass after a couple weeks. At least if it's not in the middle of winter.

 

Average rent for a 1BR apartment in Vancouver outside of downtown is over $1000..

Average rent for a 1 BR apartment in Downtown Vancouver is over $1400.

Rents & cost of living for Vancouver in relation to take home pay are among the highest in the world.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Canada&city=Vancouver

 

@Joe basement suites "garden suites" in East Van can be below $1000 but those aren't advertised on craigslist. You have find someone who can read Chinese and go on Vansky and check Chinese newspapers.

 

Hi body! it's well known that BC id deadly expensive, I moved to BC 10 years ago from Red Deer AB and everything Is so expensive! the gas the food everything! my best advise for you is you are willing to save money don't go there. But if you really wanna go there try to find a cheap basement or something or even just try to live in places like: Burnaby, Surrey or even Richmond you can find something cheaper then Vancouver.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am still weighing whether to pack my bags, move out west and hope for the best or wait until I land a job first. Vancouver seems like a vibrant fun city and after 6 years Calgary has gotten stale. Is it easy to get an IT job in Vancouver?

 

Here's a sampling on CraigsList of what you'd expect to pay for studio or 1 BR apartments in the Lower Mainland -

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/search/apa

 

...and here's what a room or shared accommodation in the Lower Mainland costs:

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/search/roo