Post: #1

I have a friend who wants to try out Canada for a month on $1500. This includes food, accomodation and the remainder would be for miscellaneous. Is this possible? I suggested that he use hostels for accommodation as hotels or AirBnB would eat far too much of his money to make it even worth his while.

Given this information, which part of Canada would be the best bang for his buck? He wants to be in an English speaking part so I told him to exclude anything in Quebec. Lizards aren't important to him.

Which province and which city would be worth his while?

Post: #2

Winnipeg, Manitoba is ok for living. It's a plain city but for under 1500 a month he should be able to live there.
Does he care about roommates or is he wanting to live alone?

Post: #3

(04-20-2017 03:31 AM)kinjutsu Wrote:  Winnipeg, Manitoba is ok for living. It's a plain city but for under 1500 a month he should be able to live there.
Does he care about roommates or is he wanting to live alone?

He doesn't care about roommates, what are you thinking?

Side note: I rather like Winnipeg, if I had the right job offer at the time when I was living in CA, I would have moved there.

Post: #4

No idea on the city to recommend as I lived in Van and Toronto, both of which is anything but affordable. as you already mentioned, accommodations are going to be your friends number one cost. Hostels are a huge ripoff. But I would recommend your friend search up
kijiji -> category: short term rental OR kijiji ->category: room rental roomates -> keyword "summer sublet"

a quick search using above method in some university towns shows a private room going between $350-$600 Cad/mth.
Since schools out, there are lots of out of towners that don't need the space. It will most likely come furnished as well. However they will probably want to do a 4 month term but just tell your friend to negotiate hard. Simple supply demand....as in 1 month rent for them is better than no rent at all. alternatively your friend can blast as many emails until someone agrees to a one month .

Post: #5

If he doesn't mind a roommate than i would suggest Alberta. Either Edmonton or Calgary (Calgary is slightly better as far as nightlife but the mountains are just over an hour away and there's plenty to do)
They both are bigger than Winnipeg but aren't obnoxious with sjw non-sense like Vancouver or Toronto.
What time of year is he planning on going?

Crankshaft is right about Van and T.O cost of living. They are both very high.
On a plus note Alberta only has a 5% sales tax, the rest of Canada only goes up.

Post: #6

Likely Alberta would be the best bet. He can stay in either Edmonton or Calgary and split time between both cities. he can check out the Rockies or Jasper and check out what is going on there for nature and scenery.

$1500 is cutting it very tight though. That amount would be just over/under minimum wage for many places. You can live in many Canadian cities for that much; but to visit, with inflated lodging prices no matter what option you choose it will be tough. He would have to share an accommodation so renting a cheap room as a sublet would be a possibility but it would have to be sub $400-450 to leave in a little bit of spending money left over.

My view is the budget is too low, it will be tough to do lots of interesting things. His left over budget would be $26-30 a day, which you can make work, but it would be tight.

Post: #7

Yea Kosko, I told him that his budget is quite sparse but that's all he can work with. So you say Alberta definitely over Winnipeg, right?

Kinjitsu, he would be going during summer so June, July or August.

Post: #8

Whats his motivation?

Anything specific he wants to see or do? That may help people narrow the recommendations (ex: outdoorsy places vs cities etc...)

Post: #9

Hi Moma, I think you sent me a PM on this but don't think Ingot back to you sorry dude. Of the big three, I would recommend Montreal because it's the cheapest and he'll be able to experience both English and French Canada in the same city and hit up both Quebec City and Ottawa for cheap. Also, is he planning on spending more time in cities or does he also want to experience the outdoors? There's some pretty cool opportunities on http://www.workaway.org where he can stay for free in return for a few hours of labour each day.

Post: #10

If he's not white he can stay in Canada for free for as long as he likes

Post: #11

Is he flying in? Driving with a car from somewhere in the states? Transportation differences could be half the budget... Canada is huge. Let's hash it out a bit better, as Winnipeg vs. Edmonton being the top contenders in this thread so far is a frightening prospect...

Post: #12

Is he flying in? Driving with a car from somewhere in the states? Transportation differences could be half the budget... Canada is huge. Let's hash it out a bit better, as Winnipeg vs. Edmonton being the top contenders in this thread so far is a frightening prospect...

Post: #13

(04-20-2017 05:16 AM)NomadofEU Wrote:  If he's not white he can stay in Canada for free for as long as he likes

Such an ignorant statement, keep that for the migrant thread.

Post: #14

christpuncher, why are those two frightening prospects? The guy is not driving in. $1500 is for a month in Canada for transport, food and accomodation within Canada. The guy wants English speaking provinces and doesn't care about game.

Post: #15

I agree with Christpuncher, Deadmonton and Winterpeg, WTF boys? Since he's coming in the summer, I would recommend the Maritimes with Halifax as a base and short trips to Moncton, Cape Breton and PEI. Vancouver Island would also be a good option with at least a few days in the lower Mainland to check out Vancouver, Squamish/Whistler and maybe a few days in the Okanagon valley.

Post: #16

(04-20-2017 04:14 AM)Moma Wrote:  Yea Kosko, I told him that his budget is quite sparse but that's all he can work with. So you say Alberta definitely over Winnipeg, right?

Kinjitsu, he would be going during summer so June, July or August.

The following information is presented without any aspect concerning game or getting pussy.

West coast is too expensive for marginal benefit. Montreal while a great choice there is a noticeable amount of french language/culture there. If he's only wanting English Canada then anything in the province of Quebec is off the table. With the east coast you're kinda limited if you don't enjoy the water. The cities out there are small. Nothing close to a million in population. Not too mention the taxes are among the highest in Canada.

Saskatchewan is not recommended because there is nothing to do out there. I worked in Regina for 6 months and i was bored out of my mind. Regina the capital city has population between 250-300 thousand. Also its flat prairie land. No reason to be there if you're not going to university.

Calgary, Alberta is going to be the better choice.

Post: #17

So flying from somewhere international but not the states? I just say cause it might be a hell of a different price to get to Toronto Vs Halifax Vs Victoria.

For a month, 3 carless trips off the top of my head:
- Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal
- Vancouver, whistler, Victoria
- Calgary, Banff, kelowna

Having a car would open up tons more options, like Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland (never been to NL), interior BC, and all of Ontario outside Toronto and Ottawa.

Also makes a big difference whether June July or August.

June Id say rocky mountains before it gets summer busy. 2017 is Canada's 150 anniversary and national park entry is free. The parks will be an absolutely wall to wall zoo in July and august.

July Vancouver and victoria.

August I'd do rural Ontario and quebec if he had a car, which is exactly what i did last summer for two weeks. Lake Huron and Georgian bay is about as good as it gets for fresh water beaches. East coast would be great I'm sure too with a car, I've only lived there for a short while and it was winter but still a blast.

Post: #18

Also, on this tight budget, I'd recommend June Vs July/august. Hostels, air bnb rooms, transportation, restaurants, will all be cheaper and more available in June.

I've just last week booked an airbnb studio apartment in Ottawa for Canada day weekend. $250/night and it was a steal. The only places left people were asking $400+

I wonder if city busyness will be slightly subdued this summer due to everyone going to national parks for free?... I'm planning to not set foot in one this year and will hit up the parks next summer when the city folks are safely back indoors.

Post: #19

1500 won't cut it anywhere worthwhile in Canada. Vancover Victoria and Kelowna will run you 600 to 700 per month on average for a room. Leaving you 800ish for everything else. Doable if eating cheap home cooked meals and basically no budget allocated for entertainment.

Post: #20

What's his purpose in canada? Study English?

Post: #21

I would also say Montreal for the win. Cheap and plenty to do. You can also fly cheap or take the train to Toronto to do some tourist stuff. Winnipeg you will be bored after a week, and B.C. you'll spend that budget in a week.

Post: #22

I would vote for a small town in Quebec but he doesn't like French so maybe Victoria, Winnipeg?

Post: #23

Alberta is always my first choice, but the best parts of it (Calgary/Banff) are too expensive for his budget.

He doesn't need French to get by in Montreal, at all. Montreal is the cheapest big city in Canada, and one of the most beautiful. That would be my next choice by a mile.

After that, tell him to hit Okanagan Valley in BC. It's Canada's riviera. Great wine, great food, great landscape, tons of babes (even though you said he doesn't care about this). He could rent a trailer or a home near the lake and live like a King.

Cheaper to stay away from Kelowna though. Maybe Penticton instead.

Post: #24

Do you mean $1500 CANADIAN or U.S funds? Big difference between the two, but both are on the low side. Agree with others on Montreal however. It's expensive anywhere in Canada except the boonies, but at least with Montreal you are getting quite the bang for the buck, and I don't mean just gaming chicks. The music scene (jazz), food, clubs and the like are what set it apart from other cities.

But...there's also the winters to worry about. I'm from New Orleans originally but when I traveled from Toronto to Montreal for a week a few years back I was totally unprepared for how brutally cold Montreal is. Way colder than Toronto (unless you count the blood temperature of most Toronto chicks that is). You may find living expenses increase quite a bit in the winter (car maintenance, winter clothes, etc).

Post: #25

Good point about the currency conversion. The bonus in CDN cash from US may be enough to cover his lodging outright. Montreal would be the cheapest choice. Calgary could work as well but the city is big and I don't think they have Uber there either sof getting around with no car night be tough. You would have to pay a premium for lodging to be downtown or central to the good areas like Beltline.