It is believed that living in Canada is expensive. However, considering a student’s day to day living expenditure and the study related costs, relative to those in other mega cities of the world, Canada would top the affordability list in comparison. Thus, you can look for budget friendly residence at York University housing in Toronto.
It is pertinent for any student to become fully aware of the standards of cost of living in Canada before deciding to take up education or higher studies. A detailed breakup, as illustrated below, will help in a big way to evaluate the affordability and appropriate budgeting for the study period stay in Canada.
- Cost of residence
Living in a common accommodation facility in a campus is quite normal and possible for the first year of study but it may not be fusible for all courses or all institutions and universities. So, yearly expenditure of app. 3000 to 7000 CAD per year (Canadian Dollar, 1 CAD = 58/- Rupees) is required to be budgeted depending on the location, place\province of study. First year onwards mostly the students are required to stay off-campus and be self-dependent for their accommodation. Most of them arrange sharing the rental apartments or house. Choosing such facilities through listings in newspapers and websites is not all that difficult and would cost anything between 700 to 2500 CAD per month.
In Canada, one other option available is to live in a homestay facility where a student can stay with a host family. Expenses involved in such an arrangement are an initial placement fee, app. CAD 150 to 200 and a monthly fee of CAD 750 – 950 for meals and a room. It is expected that the home-stay sharing student participates in daily chores and activities of the host of the home. It is also possible to get paid for taking up some of the responsibilities on a full time monthly basis.
- Transport costs:
These costs may be avoidable, fully or partly, during the campus stay. However, while staying off-campus they are significantly notable. Cycling could be a part solution for certain destinations and smaller distances. Longer distance modes of transport eg. Trains, sub-ways, busses or taxis may be required at times, especially during winters and snowy conditions. Again, different cities have different tariffs\rates applicable and the facility of monthly\weekly\daily passes is provided very diligently.
In order to be economical in transportation costs one should get familiar with the dual bus and subway network spanning the city. The 4-line subway network covers some of the cities fairly comfortably.
- Phone contract costs:
Telecom & Internet provision is a must cost and Bell is the biggest provider of this facility in Canada. Ranging between CAD 50 and 115 per month many packages are available. According to one’s preferences these packages can be used at an average cost of an app. CAD 20 per month.
- Health insurance costs:
Health Insurance is not only a must but a very useful facility for all international students and the coverage depends on many factors:
- The province of stay
- Length of stay
- If one stays in Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Labrador or Saskatchewan, he\she will be covered under their provincial health plans.
- In other provinces, one has to arrange private health insurance.
- Study permit costs:
This cost is to be incurred before entering Canada. The cost of a study permit is by way of a fee of CAD 150 for an international student and is levied at the time of obtaining a Student Visa.
Apart from the above cost-heads one may also need to provide for personal expenses, entertainment, excursions\outings and any other extra-curricular activities that one prefers to indulge in.
If one has to worry about the costs of living in Canada then working part time for support should be given a close look. In Canada, international students can work up to 20 hours per week during term time but working for any longer must be avoided as this is a breach of the study permit and it could cost one the student status.
In addition one can expect to earn from giving tuitions. Another alternative is to avail the facility of scholarship options and offers. Excelling in sports or athletics can help to earn National Scholarships also. The aesthetic fields of Arts like Drama\Theatre, Music, Painting, Writing and Choir Singing also present opportunities to earn while you learn.
