Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jeollanamdowaegukin]

Thanks for the link to camping costs Captain Canada.
Another example of rip-off prices in Korea.

Went home this summer (Vancouver, Canada) and found several other items Koreans are overpaying for: hiking gear and fair trade chocolate.

1) Hiking Shoes: went to MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op) and all their hiking shoes were between $100-$200. Tried to find a pair in May in Korea and luckily could not find my size. All the half decent shoes were around 200,000 won and up. Now, MEC does not have NEPA or North Face but there are many other good brands from Europe that are not as famous in Asia.

2) Fair Trade Chocolate: between $4-$5 in Canada. In Korea 7,000-8,000.

I have heard many of my Korean friends (in 20s and 30s) recently complaining about being ripped off by Hyundai, LG and Samsung.
Is it enough people to change prices? Not sure.

All the daily expenses keep going up: especially fruit and vegetables and transportation.
Nowhere as cheap as when I came in spring 2003

[Weigookin74]

What I had observed was that meat, fish, poultry, and fruit was cheaper in Eastern Canada. Many other things are more expensive than Korea. There are many things that are comparable in prices (some clothing brands, nike, addidas, etc. A few clothing items, like Levis are more expensive here. Bikes are more expensive here.) Domestic used cars, insurance, mechanical work, rents outside of Seoul, etc are cheaper in Korea. Vegetables in season are similiarly priced. I use to think Korea was more expensive, but prices have shot up back home so that things are either a similiar price or more expesnive back home now. Thing is wages have not gone up back home or here. As for Vancouver, I had known of a couple of folks with good jobs who could never afford an actual home.

Buy an evian water for a buck 50 here versus over 3 bucks with HST. A 500 ML five alive fruit drink over 3 bucks too. Ridiculous.... I bought clothes back home because I wanted things that actually fit, but no cost savings whatsoever!

[gmlkoreanna]

Here is a very up to date "rough"price on housing costs/cost of living in Ontario. Mississauga (heartland area) In case anyone is curious and or would like to have a rough idea what to save up for.
Just be sure to look for areas that don't have alot of "basement apartment tenants". All the cars parked outside should be a "red light" Not to mention, cars parked all along the street. It used to be mostly in Brampton area.. BUT~~~some have trickled into the sauga area.
Brand new semi detached with finished basement/single car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 full size bathrooms, plus 1 powder room. Master bedroom has walk in closet. Eat in kitchen. Small dining area, or you could use that space for a small sitting/reading area. 1650 sq. ft this does not include the sq. ftg. for the basement, so if your basement is finished, you have more useable living space. Cost=$369,000K yearly property taxes=$2,130.00, Maint. Cost=$220.00. Monthly hydro (if you don't have the central air on 24/7=$80.00, Water=$36.00, natural gas=$24.00
Bell package for:internet/cable/landline=$122.00 (they say it's cheaper at Rogers, but that's only for the first 6 months, until Rogers special ends). Mobile phone, through Bell=$76.00 Car Insurance on a new car 166.00 per month. Do NOT let your license expire if you are from Ontario. You will have to start all over again! This will have a very huge impact on your car insurance rates. Petro=1.31 If you shop at no frills, basic foods, sobeys or oceans, you can walk out of there with a hefty load for $100.00 or so. This includes your meats, (rib eye steak) (pork chops) dairy, Chicken is kind of high here, so it's just about as much as homeplus. A huge filet of salmon at costco=$31.00 (Costco in Korea, is around that much too). 2lb coffee whole bean =$12.86 costco. Whole foods is a bit higher, but they have better selections on some things. Now to the most important part. Case of canned Molson Canadian tall boys=$51.60 tall boy=473ml per can. There are 24 cans per case. Coors light, same price. Labatt, is like a whole dollar cheaper. As well as moose head. If you are walking along the water trail at Port Credit, and want to stop for two small double, doubles, and two choco dipped donuts. =$5.15. If you have the 1/4 combo single with cheese at wendys=$8.06. 4pck of perrier grapefruit flavored water=$3.19. Mango=.97 each. Avacado=.78 each. 1.4kg of cherries at costco=$7.99 two bags of milk at costco=$4.57. Huge head of cauliflower=$2.47 bottle of Kraft ranch dressing=$3.19 and lastly box of choco hostess cupcakes (=$3.49 One stamp to mail a bill inside Ontario-.63 cents.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

[Weigookin74]

[gmlkoreanna]

Yes, having your name on a family members insurance policy is a very good point. The brokers here, told us that even if you had a policy 10 years ago, they are only counting the most recent. I called dozens of insurance brokers in the Ontario area, and the one that came out with the best price is a company called: [b]Western Assurance Company[/b]. Even if you had a car insurance policy in Korea, it doesn't count. Canada will only count policies that you had within Canada or the USA. It feels kind a like the LCBO... All regulated. If you combine your home insurance and car insurance you will get a small discount. (I had forgotten, that even before moving into an apartment here, you have to have home owners insurance).

[Who's Your Daddy?]

^^ In regards to car insurance. I have been told that BC will recognize Korean car insurance history. They explain that a letter from your Korean insurance must be in English or translated:

http://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving-insurance/discount-for-new

But I haven't done it yet, so nothing is 100%.

[gmlkoreanna]

That's fantastic! However, We were told, Ontario does not recognize anything outside of Canada and the USA. I had car insurance in Korea from 95-2013. Before that, Statefarm, but then the double whammy is: The car insurance companies, don't recognize anything that goes back more than 10 years. Oh well! Every province is different. Here's a fairly recent article on the car insurance in Ontario. Our broker also told us, it's high, due to the many fraudulent claims. (He specifically said, thank Brampton residents for that)...Go figure! Korea, had the same problem, but still the costs were way lower. At least, cost of a bigger and nicer house is much more reasonable here. Playing golf again, actually is affordable too. So can't really complain.

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/3074394-why-ontario-auto-insurance-is-sky-high/

[PatrickGHBusan]