hence why i realized Vancouver (or canada in general) is the best place for ME, so instead of bitching i started loving where i live and it has made things so much easier for me, the rain is beautiful now rather than shit, the cold is fun etc. my point is either try to do something about what you dont like, or just accept it and enjoy your life there as i said Life is too damn short to be bitching 
You are right, it was a misstatement not miscalculation. I meant to say "living alone" and by mistake said "a place of his own"! Obviously with a $20,000/year income, even double that, one cannot qualify for mortgage of any kind. However if one is renting, it is possible to rent a place and still manage.
Your point about student debt is absolutely correct too. I assumed a graduate student without remaining debt from his/her undergrad days. But I guess that's more applicable to those who like us did thei rundergrad studies in their home country. In some fields such as engineering and IT/computers most above-average students I have seen get their bachelor's almost debt free (through summer jobs and c-op work).
Your point about student debt is absolutely correct too. I assumed a graduate student without remaining debt from his/her undergrad days. But I guess that's more applicable to those who like us did thei rundergrad studies in their home country. In some fields such as engineering and IT/computers most above-average students I have seen get their bachelor's almost debt free (through summer jobs and c-op work).
Not anymore aziz, not anymore. Although irrelevant to the subject of this thread, I know that unless a student has their parents vastly contribute to their education expenses, there's absolutely no way to get a degree without at least a $20,000 debt.
Almost all my coworkers in my age group are just finishing paying off their student loans (I just turned 30). I paid all mine off when I managed to earn $60,000 in excess net income having done 1 straight year of on-call duty (24/7 availability) while living at home with my parents. That was an exceptional streak for me and helped me get on my feet at an early age. None of the people I know in my field ever took on such a monumental and somewhat stupid task like that.
Almost all my coworkers in my age group are just finishing paying off their student loans (I just turned 30). I paid all mine off when I managed to earn $60,000 in excess net income having done 1 straight year of on-call duty (24/7 availability) while living at home with my parents. That was an exceptional streak for me and helped me get on my feet at an early age. None of the people I know in my field ever took on such a monumental and somewhat stupid task like that.
That's very rare now.
I did my undergrad (civil eng) in Canada, and unless your parents are loaded or you have a very well paying summer job (very rare) you will have debt after 4 or 5 years of 20 to 30k.
And I don't care what the older generation say. If you're in your mid 20s, a professional and even if you have a decent job, buying a decent piece of property without being completely locked down and essentially losing your freedom for 40 years is not possible.
I did my undergrad (civil eng) in Canada, and unless your parents are loaded or you have a very well paying summer job (very rare) you will have debt after 4 or 5 years of 20 to 30k.
And I don't care what the older generation say. If you're in your mid 20s, a professional and even if you have a decent job, buying a decent piece of property without being completely locked down and essentially losing your freedom for 40 years is not possible.
It's actually real simple, find a two bedroom apartment for $2,000 and get a room mate. Better yet, get a three bedroom apartment for $2,600 and find two room mates. There are hundreds of listings on Craigslist. You don't have live by yourself, and if you're married you have two incomes to support your living expenses. Per the above math of $2,200, two people working 40 hours of weeks and only making $10 an hour can bring in $3,200 a month. Save that $1,000 a month and do whatever you want from it. Noone making $10 an hour in that situation has $100k to get a mortgage so you work with what your given.
Nilou i used to hate Vancouver not long ago , bitch everyday because of the rain hated the people etc, then i tried to move to a different place, Europe was out because of the reasons you mentioned, and I hate living in US, asia is not my thing either, hence why i realized Vancouver (or canada in general) is the best place for ME, so instead of bitching i started loving where i live and it has made things so much easier for me, the rain is beautiful now rather than shit, the cold is fun etc. my point is either try to do something about what you dont like, or just accept it and enjoy your life there as i said Life is too damn short to be bitching
ie, Just like Mahdi was recommending London only to single ppl with high incomes until mid-30's, same is happening at Toronto. Its simply not an ideal place to raise a family,etc considering its crappy weather, stressful lifestyle, expensive to maintain a comfortable lifestyle,etc. unless one's target is only $ factor and thats all!