I'm going to study in Great Vancouver area this September, yeah, kind of a big move after saving up for 6 years in Vietnam. My budget for rent & living expenses is around 750$/month.
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Here's my estimated budget:
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mandatory medical insurance of BC 75
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phone (use my own phone) - freedom 40
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rent (single room with shared bath, kitchen) 500
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transport (try to save as much as possible with Upass card) 20
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food (it will all about homemade meals) 100
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others (like a magic if there is any left) 15
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Here come my questions:
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Is there any item that I forgot to put in the budget?
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Where I can buy good second-hand warm clothes like The North Face/ Columbia? As I come from a tropical country, if I buy all new clothes, it could be 500$ for 1 pair of shoes + 1 jacket + 2 thermal tees + 1 pair of gloves + 1 scarf + several couples of socks.
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I did checked craiglist for old bicycles but in Vancouver, they are too expensive (200$ or higher) and I don't know how to handle with a broken bike (which is around 50-80$). Is there any chance that one of you guys wants to get risk of a bike at 80-100$ or may fix a broken one at a reasonable price?
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Where I should buy groceries (mainly brown rice, veg, chicken/pork, noodles, tofu and spices) for a good price to save up? Yes, it's a problem that I have diabetes so that I can't consume white bread or canned food (which they put a lot sugar in).
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Where I should go to check up and buy medicine for diabetes with student medical insurance? Hospital or clinic or something else? I've heard that the system is very different to my country, here people can buy medicine for years without a doctor's prescription).
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Is it possible to find an office part-time job for foreign student in Vancouver? My major is Finance. In addition to Vietnamese and English, I can speak little Korean. Should I learn French or Chinese to improve the chance to get a job? (Mandarin or Cantonese if it's Chinese?).
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My campus is in New Westminster, please let me know if you have a room to rent under 500$/month. I'm willing to do the housework like cleaning, cooking or gardening in return.
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Thank you all for reading and sorry for a long post. Please feel free to leave any tip on budget savings or comment.
July 02, 2017 at 08:08AM
