What is the cost of living per month for a single man in Montreal?

[TheQuestion]

Hey guys,
Imagine you are self-employed and would like to relocate to Montreal. How much more or less would you need per month?

Some ideas to consider: It appears taxes are no that much big of a deal as people make it out to be, especially if you are self-employed.


-Studio apartment.
-Monthly Food
-Clothes(winter clothes, etc)
-Cleaning services (weekly or biweekly.)
-Escorts.
-Public Transportation and occasional Ubers.
-Walkability(?)
-Health insurance(I guess this would eventually be free as you would qualify for the provincial healthcare)
-Going out/date money.

 

[bobbyc]

my guess 25k you lead a boring life 25k to 100 k you can have fun if you manage yourself well and over 100 k and up well i guess your having fun

 

[TheJames101]

Cleaning services? For a studio apartment?

Damn dude. You're lazy lol.

 

[Numerati]

Hey guys,
Imagine you are self-employed and would like to relocate to Montreal. How much more or less would you need per month?

Some ideas to consider: It appears taxes are no that much big of a deal as people make it out to be, especially if you are self-employed.


-Studio apartment.
-Monthly Food
-Clothes(winter clothes, etc)
-Cleaning services (weekly or biweekly.)
-Escorts.
-Public Transportation and occasional Ubers.
-Walkability(?)
-Health insurance(I guess this would eventually be free as you would qualify for the provincial healthcare)
-Going out/date money.

When I lived in Montreal from 2008 to 2012:

This is per month except for Escorts:

Apartment - One bedroom $1,500. This was in Westmount. I needed English speaking. Ha.
Food - $90 to $120
Clothes - ...... zilch. I have enough versatile clothing/shoes to mix and match between work and casual.
Cleaning services - I do my own cleaning ha ha.
Escorts - Hmmm... A year between $5000 to $8000 sometimes even much less. Rough estimate
Public Transportation - I stayed in Montreal and if heading outside not far really and mostly reached by the Metro and sometimes will take a cab.
Walkability - Yeah I did a lot of walking. Need to explore the city!
Health insurance - Didn't cost much either. Forgot how much but wow definitely much much much lower here than the U.S.
Going out/date money - around $300 to $500
Gym - $50 (gym membership) to $200 (that is if I throw in HIIT classes)
Cell phone - $68. I kept my US number since I use AT&T.

 

[gallantca]

Food - $90 to $120

$4 per day ?

I like the rest of your numbers. Rents have gone up quite a bit.

 

[TheQuestion]

Cleaning services? For a studio apartment?

Damn dude. You're lazy lol.

Haha, we'll they do a good job with the cleaning/washing as well.

 

[Numerati]

$4 per day ?

I like the rest of your numbers. Rents have gone up quite a bit.

My food expenses were low because this is what I mostly get and I lived alone when I was in Montreal. $90 to $120 is kind of conservative plus this was back in 2008 to 2012 and food prices were not crazy so that money goes a long way. Like $30 a week on groceries when I was single was a lot of food back then.

A bag of spring mix salad
A dozen eggs
Bread
Roasted Almonds
Walnuts
Salmon
Tahini
Greek Yogurt
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Garlic
Broccoli/Califlower
Chicken breast
Ginger
Parmesan Cheese
Lemon
Spices
Oregano
Fruits
Canned tomatos
Swiss Cheese
Vinegar
Beans and Lentils
Onions
Bread crumbs.

I like to cook once and eat two to three times meals. Plus I have been doing Intermittent Fasting for wow gosh knows how long so I eat maybe once or twice a day and they are big meals.

Also I didn't hobby much when I lived in Montreal I thought I would of. Back then there were none of that LonelyFans and other web garbage that polluted and corrupted the Montreal dating scene so meeting someone was pretty straight forward. Majority of the hobby money was spent on nice hotels and restaurants as even though I can have an SP meet me at my place but I much prefer to do it in a hotel setting as I don't want to clean up my own mess. Ha ha.

 

[cloudsurf]

You guys are leaving out lots of expenses. Dental, medicine, cable and internet, gifts to family and friends, Healthy food for a single person is 300 to 400 a month. If you have a pet then more.

 

[TheQuestion]

You guys are leaving out lots of expenses. Dental, medicine, cable and internet, gifts to family and friends, Healthy food for a single person is 300 to 400 a month. If you have a pet then more.

Good point. Quick question in Montreal can you buy food in bulk? For instance, I used to buy food on Amazon every. weekend when I was living in the East Coast. Cost was actually $500-600 per month. I assume since Montreal is cheaper my costs will be as you outlined.

 

[gallantca]

Good point. Quick question in Montreal can you buy food in bulk? For instance, I used to buy food on Amazon every. weekend when I was living in the East Coast. Cost was actually $500-600 per month. I assume since Montreal is cheaper my costs will be as you outlined.

When I do groceries in the US, I don't find them more expensive or cheaper, basically the same but in $US vs $Cdn. So in Florida the steak is $20 US, in Montreal $20 Cdn. My beer and wine budget is close to Numerati's food budget

If you have the time and interest you can save a ton by doing some smart shopping. If you go to the same Provigo/Metro every week, you'll pay more.

 

[cberg564]

Useful thread, I've debated moving to Canada permanently especially with remote work becoming easier to manage in tech. Luckily I'm finally moving closer to MTL (moving from San Francisco to NYC end of September), so will be able to make monthly trips out to enjoy MTL vs the once or twice a year I used to from the west coast (pre-covid that is)

 

[jmioffe]

Useful thread, I've debated moving to Canada permanently especially with remote work becoming easier to manage in tech. Luckily I'm finally moving closer to MTL (moving from San Francisco to NYC end of September), so will be able to make monthly trips out to enjoy MTL vs the once or twice a year I used to from the west coast (pre-covid that is)

Wow, is SF / the West Coast that much of a desert that you had to come to MTL?

 

[bonerland citizen]

Quality life in Montreal will cost per month 1200$ rent, 700$small car lease/fuel to drive to suburban strip clubs, 600$ high quality Costco food/clothing/misc, 1500$ escorts/strippers and maybe more for sugardaddying. Minimum 4000$ a month. Forget about the expensive restaurants.

 

[curly]

Lol I see this BS so much from Americans "I'm moving to Canada!"

Do you people know what goes into immigrating? I've done a lot of research and applied, but my score wasn't high enough since I don't have a Canadian job.

Canadian tech jobs pay about 35% less than American tech jobs. You going to take a 35% pay cut just to move to Montreal? Give me a break. Every Canadian tech worker I know has been trying to get an American tech job.

Yes but hobby in America west coast is 200% more expensive at least.

If it's a tech job, who is talking about giving it up? Work is virtual today.

 

[EagerBeaver]

If it's a tech job, who is talking about giving it up? Work is virtual today.

I know 2 Americans (married couple) who recently moved to Europe, and both still work the same jobs they were working when they lived here. They actually went on vacation to Europe with no particular plan or agenda to move there, but stayed in one city and liked it so much, they decided to stay. They simply said, "fuck it, we are staying." They initially found a rental and then bought a place. It's not that hard to do, although the fact that he is a dual American and EU citizen definitely made things a bit easier on health insurance. It surprised me only because I had never heard the move was on the table, and their families were also surprised for the same reason.

As Curly said, for younger people who are tech savvy and have jobs that can be performed remotely, it's very very doable.

However Envelopes is right that the American company you are working for will make you take a pay cut if you work remotely in a lower cost of living area than where you were hired. Morgan Stanley and Google, for example, is already doing this. They are not going to get ripped off paying NYC or SF salaries to some joker who is working in Alberta.

 

[minutemenX]

Envelopes is 100% right. Emigration is a very complicated process unless you are already a dual citizen as in the example referred by Beaver. There is a much simpler solution. Move to upstate NY or Vermont within 2 hours driving distance from Montreal. Buy a “vacation” home in Montreal . A new small one bedroom condo not in downtown area would cost you around $200-$250K USD. You can live for several month strait and than move for a short time back to US where you have legal residence (or just a legal address really). Any time you cross the border the time count you are in Canada starts from zero.

 

[gallantca]

You can request a transfer if you work for a company with a presence in Canada, but there are very very few. And if you do, you will get a huge pay cut (but still make more than quitting and finding a new tech job in Canada)

This is so wrong.

Montreal is well known for start up successes. There is something entrepreneurial in Montreal that is unique in North America.

There are slews of startups, acquired by US and international companies that keep the operations running and growing in Montreal. Name a top tech company, they have a presence is Canada. Hell, it took a total of 30 seconds to see 15 positions open for the Google office. That is a drop in the ocean. SAP, Ubisoft, Shopify, Facebook, google, IBM....pick a company, chances are they have an office.

Montreal is sought because of a great supply of tech graduates from a large number of universities (for the population).The provincial government is VERY generous to tech. Gaming, multi-media, AI and E-commerce have huge pools of people.

As for salaries, compensation is tied to cost of living. Figure out how much you have left in your pocket between Silicon Valley and Montreal. Granted, cost of living for a single guy vs a young couple with 2 children can make one location more interesting than another.

As for work permits, we had 0 problems bringing people from all over the world to work in tech.

 

[Numerati]

Lol I see this BS so much from Americans "I'm moving to Canada!"

Do you people know what goes into immigrating? I've done a lot of research and applied, but my score wasn't high enough since I don't have a Canadian job.

Canadian tech jobs pay about 35% less than American tech jobs. You going to take a 35% pay cut just to move to Montreal? Give me a break. Every Canadian tech worker I know has been trying to get an American tech job.

Oh yeah. You will be very shocked at the numbers. Like SHOCKED.

 

[curly]

..... You cannot keep your job and move to another country as a non-citizen. That's called.... illegal immigration. That's why work visas exist.

Technically, you're not supposed to work at all when you are in a different country. When I bring both my computers with me to Montreal, I always get asked if I am going to be working.

You can request a transfer if you work for a company with a presence in Canada, but there are very very few. And if you do, you will get a huge pay cut (but still make more than quitting and finding a new tech job in Canada)

Again, I have applied for PR in Canada as an American. I have been through all of this already.

You can accept a contract from another country. I give contracts like these the time, to usa and European

 

[EagerBeaver]

I would imagine in that situation it is fairly easy to get a temporary work visa quickly. Those things probably run 6 months and if in that 6 months you decide to become a permanent resident, you get the local immigration attorney to make it a permanent work visa. You might need to spend a few bucks to make that happen, but with the money saved, you can probably do that and make it happen.