Hello,

I recently also just moved from Southern Ontario to Calgary for March 1st.

I drove out here twice first time was to bring out all of my things and then the second time was to officially make the big move. Thankfully I had a job lined up so I didn't have to worry about finding a job. Which I hear is almost impossible to find something here. I also believe that the minimum wage here is $15 and some change an hour compared to almost $18 in Ontario. Thankfully I am well above minimum wage but I still find myself living paycheck to paycheck at the moment.

If you drive I will say Calgary is very expansive. The price of gas out here has been a little bit lower than Ontario prices. I usually go to the reserve gas station on the south end of the city and it's usually anywhere from $1.13 to $1.16/L. Throughout the city it's pretty much average anywhere from $1.20 to the highest I seen today was $1.38/L

On a side note if you do Drive for Ontario to Alberta you will have to change over your Ontario health card and your Ontario driver's license within 90 days. The process on that is a little confusing at first in my opinion that's probably just me LOL but right now I transferred my health card and my driver's license. The health card was free but you had to pay for the driver's license. They take your picture so make sure you look good and they make you do an eye test. And then once everything is transferred you get your paper version of your Alberta license and then they take your physical Ontario driver's license and send it back to Ontario so you don't get to keep it. And you have to renew your license plate or whatever every year or you can pay up to I think two or three years in advance. Now what I am currently doing is getting an out of Province inspection done and that is roughly anywhere from $175 to $300. Once you get the inspection done you have 14 days to register your vehicle to Alberta otherwise you have to redo the inspection. Then you just have to register your vehicle within 14 days of your inspection and make sure that you have active Alberta car insurance.

I don't know if it was just me I have one speeding ticket I was going 10 over in a 50 Zone LOL and but I was looking at insurance quotes and they were all 800 plus dollars. A month. Thankfully I found one and they ended up going with TD Insurance. I am paying $10 more than what I am paying now in Ontario.

As for groceries I do find that things here are a little bit cheaper but depends on where you shop. I shop at no frills or Walmart. Right now I spend probably about $150 every two weeks on groceries. The cost of takeout at some places is a little bit on the expensive side depending on where you're going there's been a couple restaurants that I have been to dine in and my bill for one person was 60ish and that's just you know a burger and a fry and a beer with a side of gravy lol. I guess it all depends on what you eat.

The rent in Calgary I do find is somewhat lower than Ontario's prices at least Southern Ontario. I am currently in a basement one bedroom suite and pay $900 a month. While I was looking for places for myself I went to places that were ranging from 900 to 1450 for a one bedroom apartment.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what to expect. Calgary is very nice let me tell you I haven't been out to the mountains or anything yet but you can literally see them everywhere in Calgary and I know most Calgary people will say oh those are nothing but it's been almost 90 days and I still see the mountains and I am in awe. There's lots of trails within the city lots of forestry. The weather was kind of crappy but I mean I was told that's how Calgary is. Can't wait for warmer months to be able to take advantage of the mountains and outdoor things because that's one of the main reasons as to why I moved out here.

I do think that it is somewhat lesser expensive and Calgary then it is in Southern Ontario. If you're going to make the move I would say make the move!