We've all heard the talk about how cheap it is to live in Medicine Hat compared to other places, but I decided that I needed to know if and how much cheaper it ACTUALLY is to live in Medicine Hat compared to the rest of the province. I know that it's pretty easy to complain about the price of buying a house in the city, or how much our utilities cost us, especially during weeks or months of -30° or +30° weather. But really, what would you be paying if you lived in another major centre in Alberta?
I know that when we lived in Castor, there were months in the winter when our combined utility bills were more than $500, and our house was only 1050 sq. ft and had all energy efficient bulbs, my husband had sealed it up as much as possible and we had a programmed thermostat that was turned down when we weren't home and at night.
I did a little digging and came up with some information. Unfortunately I had to use Housing Market and Property Tax information from 2010, as it was the only available data I could get. The utility information is from January to June 2011, but we all know those numbers can fluctuate quite rapidly.
Here's the breakdown:
Housing Market MLS Average Price 2010
Medicine Hat - $249,536
Lethbridge - $246,932
Red Deer - $269,288
Edmonton - $328,803
Calgary - $398,764
Average of all 5 cities = $298,665
Medicine Hat's average housing cost is $49,129 or 16.4% less than the average of the 5 cities.
Average Property Tax for All Single Detached Houses in 2010
Medicine Hat - $1986
Lethbridge - $2376
Red Deer - $2578
Edmonton - $2640
Calgary - $2467
Average of all 5 cities = $2,409.40
Medicine Hat's average property tax is $423.40 or 17.6% less than the average.
Total Energy Charges for the period January to June 2011 (Taken from Your Medicine Hat Energy Advantage flyer that came with utility bills this summer.)
Medicine Hat - $940.39
Lethbridge - $1,364.28
Red Deer - $1,316.83
Edmonton - $1,327.86
Calgary - $1,256.18
Average of all 5 cities = $1,241.11
Medicine Hat's average energy cost is $300.72 or 24.2% less than the average of the 5 cities.
So I guess Medicine Hat is looking pretty good right now, eh? If you don't already live here, you might want to consider moving!
Old information. It's write-ups like this that keep validating arguments to raise our cost of living.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, this information was the most recent available when I wrote this post in January, so it isn't old information.
DeleteSecondly, I don't think that anyone is arguing to raise our cost of living in Medicine Hat. The major portion of, "cost of living" isn't predetermined by City Council or a specific group somewhere (other than the Bank of Canada setting interest rates to control inflation), it's the result of flucuations of a capitalist free market system.
I would be very interested to know what the average income is in Medicine Hat, and compare that to those other cities.
ReplyDeleteI think we have one of the lowest incomes overall ... so that may leave us 'not' having much of any advantage.
You are correct, we do have the highest number of lowest paid workers in Alberta. Medicine Hat has the highest percentage of employed people earning less than $12/hr; $12.25 is the living wage in Alberta. There are 7200 people, 20% out of the 36,100 employed people in Medicine Hat, that are earning less than $12/hr, compared to the provincial average of 13.9%. I wrote a post about it here which includes a link to the stats:
Deletehttp://madinthehat.blogspot.ca/2011/10/all-right-mr-demille-im-ready-for-my.html
I've tried to figure out why employers pay such low wages here and this is the conclusion I've come to: I think that small business owners and employers in Medicine Hat are cheap. They use the lower cost of living as an excuse to not pay their workers a competitive wage. Typically employers will get away with as much as they can when it comes to poor treatment of their employees, which is why I support unions and workers rights.
I think that the best way to benefit from Medicine Hat's low cost-of-living is to either be a business owner yourself, be a unionized employee, or an employee that works for a company with a provincial or national wage scale. That way you would be paid the same wages as someone in one of the other cities in the province, but would enjoy the lower housing costs, utilities and property taxes of Medicine Hat.
DeleteI was shocked at how high all my bills were when we moved. It really through me for a loop after having everything on one bill now to get bills for my gas and my hydro double what I pay in the Hat.
ReplyDeleteThey did a good job but most of all they really understood. I'm very pleased with my procedures done by the doctor, I would like to thank you for everything.dental braces cost edmonton
ReplyDeleteSpot on with this article, I really think this website needs more attention. I'll probably be back to read more, thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteMedicine Hat Dentist
Nice knowledge gaining article. Tis post is really the best on this valuable topic.
ReplyDeleteDentist in Northwest Edmonton
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBe that as it may, affirmed all encompassing specialists may likewise be individuals whose ability created through non-conventional treatment methodologies, for example, needle therapy, naturopathy, homeopathy, home grown medication, psychotherapy, knead, and dietary treatment just to give some examples. Übersetzer für Medizin
ReplyDeleteThanks For sharing this Superb article. I use this Article to show my assignment in college. it is useful For me Great Work.
ReplyDeleteDentist near me Edmonton NW
Dentist in NW Edmonton
NW Edmonton Dentist
Forgo discarding medicine in the trash.bodypiercingsavedmylife Check with your neighborhood drug specialist for a nearby gathering program.
ReplyDeleteThere is an intense and steady rivalry between the online stores, and to get effective they should give reliably great quality to their clients.other
ReplyDeleteThe wrong choice for a treatment program may lead to failure,Mansour wasted money and time on top of frustration and agony.
ReplyDeleteThe primary factor which will impact your health protection medical statement, is the condition of your general fitness.phenq fda approved
ReplyDeleteSterile aggravating of medicines (in spite of the fact that there aren't the same number of clean intensified prescriptions as a healing centermédiсаmеnts оnlinе Frаnсе
ReplyDeletePharmaceuticals are protected. Herbs and health supplements are not protected and along these lines the benefits are constrained with hardened rivalry from a wide range of health supplement producers.
ReplyDeleteturmeric plus review
Although it is a heaps more convenient to buy diet pills online, take some time to gather more information before finally clicking that purchase button to make sure that you get the most out from the deal online pills
ReplyDelete. What you will discover while shopping at an Online Pharmacy is that they convey everything that you would discover in a Target or WalMart. online pills
ReplyDeleteThe present is everything that exists! The individual you need to be later on, in this manner, will just appear when the individual that you really are takes steps to accomplish something... Presently. walnut
ReplyDeleteThe Salary paid to pharmacy technicians really varies by geographical location. So, in an attempt to collect the best available data, an ongoing wage survey has been running on my website for several months and the results are listed individually by city and state.methandienone 20mg
ReplyDeleteMany of us facing such a situation that unable to go out from home or unable to find pharmacy stores, which is far from our home. buy arimidex
ReplyDeleteYou can get them in the retail establishment or at your neighborhood sedate store. You can complete a DIY as well in the event that you like. zepam online
ReplyDeleteFrom that point forward, going into liquor detox treatment is the following stage. In the wake of experiencing liquor detox, your deep rooted recuperation starts.find a addiction recovery center in
ReplyDeleteCardiovascular exercise -, for example, kickboxing, move, and high impact exercise makes the heart healthy and enables alternate frameworks of the body to work productively. Cardiovascular work is basic to an activity administration.
ReplyDeletesite
I am continually amazed by the amount of information available on this subject. What you presented was well researched and well worded in order to get your stand on this across to all your readers. Website
ReplyDeleteRunway, catwalks and modeling---every girl dreams to live in the fab lane. All of us are mesmerized as slim and sexy girls dominate the world in magazines and televisions. best appetite suppressant
ReplyDeleteThe industry has witnessed healthy growth rates in the past and unless Canada goes ahead and regulates it, this trend is expected to continue at least for the foreseeable future. USdianabol 20mg
ReplyDeleteAnd furthermore another preferred standpoint is relying on your medicinal needs; you can adjust your financial plan. www.acheter-levitra.net/levitra-instructions.html
ReplyDeleteBarely any things will have any kind of effect in your general health and mental viewpoint as exercise. Specifically, exceptional exercises are the best.
ReplyDeleteVisit my codecademy
When you dam a surge of water and it streams over its banks, the flooding caused by this activity requires an unexpected methodology in comparison to simply giving the stream a chance to stream in its own course. order australia
ReplyDeleteI like this post,And I guess that they having fun to read this post,they shall take a good site to make a information,thanks for sharing it to me. Living Well CBT Therapy
ReplyDeleteIn every one of these cases the loss of your time and cash occurs. Sitters, car mileage in addition to gas, additional co-pay installments for superfluous specialist visits, and loss of work pay all add to the expense of your medicinal care. human growth hormone for sale
ReplyDeleteHealth supplements needn't bother with therapeutic supervision, nor Food And Drugs Administration endorsement.
ReplyDeleteSupplements
If any mistake happens that different information about the medical prescriptions is interpreted for a different patient, medical errors have to occur; hence the medical history of the patient bearing the name of the patient, admission date, is necessary since it includes the medicine prescribed for the patient.Joint health ingredient Manufacturer
ReplyDeleteYou are however, most welcome to go and seek your own medical advice, specifically from your own health professional. But this information tells about proven methods against the test of time.Health List
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is that most of individuals have been coordinating to consider just as treat health protection as a kind of prepaid charge card. Health Topics
ReplyDeleteThe nutritional wellbeing supplements solely sold by doctors or wellbeing experts are alluded to as nutraceutics, pharmaceutical evaluation nutrition or high-grade quality nutritional enhancements. Noix
ReplyDeleteTo attempt to address the outcomes of this offense from common living, an arrangement of recuperating (Ayurveda) was created to treat the physical and mental impacts coming about because of the deviations from regular law.comprar cytotec
ReplyDelete