The cost of living in a city vs. suburb

As clients get married and start planning for kids, they’re often faced with a choice. Should they pay more to live in the city, which usually offers the convenience of walking distance to shops, schools and perhaps even work? Or should they opt to move to the suburbs, which is cheaper and offers larger properties? But, they’ll likely sacrifice their time in longer commutes.

These are the questions that MoneySense recently analyzed. And the findings come as no surprise: the further you get outside of big cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, the cheaper it is to afford a home.

In fact, a Toronto homeowner will spend about $98,000 each year in mortgage payments, taxes and transit costs, reports MoneySense. If he moves 30 minutes out of the city, the carrying costs drop to $67,000; 60 minutes away and the costs drop to $46,000.

Meanwhile, Vancouver homeowners fork out more than $121,000 per year to cover housing and commuting costs downtown, compared to about $91,000 to live 30 minutes away, notes MoneySense.

But a 60-minute commute is equal to spending 43 days in transit each year, the publication points out.

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