McGill student costs of living in Montreal

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>talking with my mom, she said she could allocate me 1000€, or $CAN1500 every month to pay for rent + food. Admitting I go to Rez (Solin Hall) I'd pay I think 920$, leaving more or less 600$. From those 600$, I believe 100/150$ have to go into phone contract, internet in Rez and transport pass, leaving me with 450$. </p>

<p>Now the question is, are 450$ enough for food for an entire month? Concerning going out and other activities on weekend I will also try to find a part time job fairly soon.</p>

<p>This leads me to: what is the income tax on part time jobs in Québec? I can't find any info anywhere :(</p>

<p>Any help is welcomed!</p>

<p>At Solin Hall, Internet is included in the Residence Rent. $450 is more than enough for food costs. The average estimate for food is $250-400 per month. </p>

<p>Also, if you are working part-time you’re income will be far too low ($5000-8000/year) to levy any kind of income tax. Just remember that you may need a decent knowledge of spoken French to be able to find part-time jobs in the city. </p>

<p>Another thing to note is that new Canadian Student Visa norms now allow students to work full time during their summer vacation. Since you are going to Solin Hall and have an 11 month rental, you can take advantage of this earn a lot of money during the break.</p>

<p>@upapilot‌ </p>

<p>Ah really? That is a great news! I don’t know how expensive products are in Canada so it is good to have a band I can fluctuate in! </p>

<p>Are you saying there will be no tax at all on my earnings? That is a surprisingly good news!
My mother tongue is French, I speak perfect English, Italian and Spanish so I should be ok! How easy do you reckon it is to find a part-time job though? </p>

<p>Yes, and I believe if I apply for a study permit after June 1st I will be able to obtain my Work Permit in the same application as my Study Permit! </p>

<p>The 11 months lease is very attractive indeed which is why I chose Solin. The only downside might be the distance away from campus and the night activities but it’s the opportunity cost of wanting to be independent! :)</p>

<p>Another user ( @rougetardis ) gave the following estimate for cost-of-living in Montreal if you stay in a rented apartment:</p>

<ul>
<li>Rent: $725/month (Studio, 20-mintue walk from McGill or 10 minutes by metro)</li>
<li>Utilities: $25-30/month</li>
<li>Transportation/STM: $48/month (student monthly pass, unlimited travel)</li>
<li>Food/Supples: $240/month</li>
<li>Cell: $15/month</li>
<li>Internet: $30/month</li>
</ul>

<p>$450 is more than enough for food for a month. That is like $80 a week for groceries, which is quite a comfortable margin, as you can get by with $60 per week. If you need to save money focus on buying sale items as well as non brand name items and cut down on luxury foods such as soda, tea and sweets. Again, though you should be more than fine with $450 per month on food.</p>

<p>@upapilot‌ </p>

<p>I would like to know what kind of contract that user got on a cellphone for $15 a month, as that seems extremely low, maybe if you bought the phone out right and then got a plan separately? To be safe budget closer to $40 per month on that. $30 per month will also only get you pretty basic internet, which is fine if you only plan to use it for stuff like work and occasional web surfing. Rent and utilities seem right, but you can cut down that number by getting a room mate.</p>

<p>@NamelesStatistic You’re right, the cellphone plan is extremely low because it’s a prepaid plan. I barely use my phone (only for emergencies, occasional calls) so it definitely won’t be that low if you plan on getting a plan with data and/or use your phone a lot. </p>

<p>In terms of the internet, yes, it’s the most basic plan too. McGill has free WiFi on campus so I mainly just use that during the day and my basic internet when I’m at home.</p>

<p>@rougetardis So using a prepaid plan has served your needs, right?</p>

<p>@moneyp Pretty much. The money rolls over to the next month if I don’t use it (though I do have to top it monthly so it won’t expire). </p>

<p>When I’m at home, and if I have long conversations, I usually just call using Google Talk (free outgoing US/Canada calling). Doesn’t use too much of my internet bandwidth and call quality isn’t bad either (I think it’s indistinguishable from using land line or your cell phone). </p>