How Expats Rate Life in Toronto and Vancouver

Toronto and Vancouver rank among the worst destinations worldwide for expats. And it’s not only because of the expensive housing.

No Canadian Dream for Expats
Low Job Security & Limited Prospects
Worst Worldwide for Finances
Less Red Tape at Least
51 | Toronto
53 | Vancouver
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Two Canadian cities make it into the 2024 Expat City Ranking, which includes 53 destinations in total. And both land in the bottom 3: Toronto ranks 51st, while Vancouver places last (53rd). Expats in both Canadian cities are similarly dissatisfied with their life abroad (27% negative answers each vs. 15% globally). What’s even worse, over one in ten aren’t happy at all (12% each vs. 4% globally).

No Canadian Dream for Expats

Neither Canadian city offers expats a good Quality of Life (Toronto 46th; Vancouver 49th) — though with decent air quality (24th; 6th) and a pleasant natural environment (21st; 3rd), there are at least some highlights in this index, especially for expats in Vancouver.

These cannot make up for the deficits, though. Expats find there’s a lack of travel opportunities, with only Auckland ranking even worse for this factor. Respondents are also unhappy with the scarce public transportation offering (42nd; 44th) and find that medical care is hardly available (50th; 52nd) and of low quality (48th; 51st).

“Healthcare is atrocious, and public transport outside of Vancouver is a joke.” – Russian expat in Vancouver

What’s more, expats feel less safe in Toronto (71%) and Vancouver (67%), compared to a global average of 80%.

Low Job Security & Limited Prospects

Work is another sore point: neither city manages to escape the bottom 10 of the Working Abroad Index (Toronto 47th; Vancouver 51st). Vancouver places last for both job security and general job satisfaction, while expats in Toronto are unhappy with their work–life balance (49th) and personal career opportunities (50th).

“There’s no job availability for highly qualified people nor recognition of education or experience abroad.” – Chilean expat in Vancouver

In fact, close to half of expats in Toronto (48%) and Vancouver (45%) give the local job market a negative rating (vs. 31% globally).

Worst Worldwide for Finances

“The cost of living is crazy expensive. Going out for a meal or drinks feels like a luxury.” – Spanish expat in Toronto

Toronto and Vancouver rank second to last and last in the Personal Finance Index. Over four in five expats rate living costs negatively (81% in Toronto; 88% in Vancouver), more than double the global average of 39%. Consequently, the majority finds their disposable household income isn’t enough to lead a comfortable life (56% and 65% vs. 30% globally).

One huge expenditure point? Housing. The share of respondents who say it’s affordable is in the single digits (6% and 2% vs. 34% globally)! It’s also difficult to find accommodation in the first place, especially in Vancouver: 60% rate this factor negatively (vs. 34% globally).

Less Red Tape at Least

Luckily, not all areas of the Expat Essentials Index are as dire as housing. Both Canadian cities receive good results when it comes to the bureaucracy (Toronto 14th; Vancouver 24th) and opening a local bank account (3rd; 1st).

Expats in Vancouver are happy with their access to high-speed internet (11th) and cashless payment options (12th) — results that Toronto can’t quite keep up with (31st and 35th, respectively).

Things are the other way round when it comes to the Ease of Settling In Index: here, Toronto (36th) outperforms Vancouver (44th); though neither do great. Many expats miss having a support network (Toronto 51st; Vancouver 53rd), and over a third don’t feel at home (36% and 37% vs. 23% globally).

51 | Toronto

Toronto continues to decline in the Expat City Ranking: following 19th place in 2022 and 35th in 2023, it’s now among the three worst-ranked cities worldwide (51st out of 53).

Toronto places in the bottom 10 in three out of the five indices. The biggest dip can be seen for Working Abroad, where the city went from 19th in 2023 to rank 47th a year later. Close to two in five expats (38%) rate the local economy negatively. Not only is this twice the global average (19%), it’s also over four times the result Toronto saw a year earlier (9%).

Lately, Canada has seen a decline in output per capita over several quarters and rising unemployment.¹ In Toronto, a higher-than-average share of survey respondents are also currently looking for work (15% vs. 10% globally). Combined with high living costs (52nd), this might play a role in Toronto’s last place for expats’ satisfaction with their financial situation (53rd).

Expats’ opinion about their Quality of Life (46th) in Toronto has worsened significantly over time, from 21st place in 2022. Its results for the urban environment (40th), recreational sporting opportunities (41st), and availability of green goods and services (39th) have gone down by over 20 ranks each compared to 2023.

Toronto’s results in the Expat Essentials (35th) and Ease of Settling In (36th) Indices aren’t as bad — but still nothing to write home about. Two in five expats (40%) are unhappy with their social life in the city (vs. 29% globally), while the affordability of housing (51st) remains a major concern.

53 | Vancouver

Vancouver, which already placed in the bottom 10 in 2022 and 2023, has fallen further to rank last in the 2024 Expat City Ranking.

With a 41st place, Vancouver narrowly escapes the bottom 10 when it comes to Expat Essentials (while the same can’t be said for the other four indices). Here, comparatively good grades in the Digital Life (22nd) and Admin Topics (18th) Subcategories make up for a difficult housing search: Vancouver ranks in the bottom 10 (48th) for the ease of finding accommodation and dead last for its affordability (53rd).

It’s not just housing that’s expensive: 52% of expats in Vancouver are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 26% globally).

Close to three in ten respondents (29%) are currently looking for work, too, nearly three times the global average (10%). So, Vancouver’s 51st place for the local job market is bad news indeed. Interestingly, around a quarter of respondents (23%) initially moved to Vancouver for their education (vs. 9% globally), while job-related reasons were cited less often (17% vs. 35%).

Whether through work or other channels, building up new connections doesn’t seem to be easy: over three in five respondents (63%) say it’s difficult to make local friends in Vancouver (vs. 41% globally). And less than half (48%) agree that people are generally friendly (vs. 63% globally).

There are at least some rays of hope when it comes to the Quality of Life. Expats appreciate the climate & weather (15th), enjoy the good air quality (6th), and agree Vancouver has a pleasant natural (3rd) and urban (17th) environment. However, the city still can’t escape a place in the bottom 10 of this index overall (49th), thanks to bad results for other aspects, including a dissatisfying culture & nightlife offering (53rd out of 53 cities).