Alberta.

$24/hr gives you slightly less than $50,000 a year before taxes if you take zero vacations, and work 40hrs a week for 52 weeks. A bank doesn't give more than 5x your gross incomes for a mortgage, let's call it $250,000. In my town, that will literally get you a 1-2 bedroom, 1 bathroom condo that is less than 1000 square feet.

Now let's math out real money. $24/hr, x40 hours, x52 weeks, /12 months gives $4160 a month gross. Take CPP, EI and taxes off of that, and add vacation pay, and you're looking at closer to $3000 a month net income.

A $250,000 mortgage at 2.59% interest means monthly payments of around $1075. Because you only put 5% down on your home purchase, you need to buy mortgage insurance, so let's add another $130 a month for that. Fire insurance is another $50 a month, and don't forget about property taxes, another $150 a month. We're down to $1595 a month after all of that, that is literally just to own the property.

Because it's a condo, you don't pay water or gas, just power, there is $60 a month. You're a cable cutter, so all you have is internet, but you want good internet with no data cap, 50Mbps and unlimited data runs you $120 a month. Cell phone is another $80 a month because Canada is horrible for cell phone bills. Luckily gas is pretty cheap right now, I have a small SUV and get by on 2 fills a month, let's say $100 a month, that's being generous. Down to $1235 left, and we haven't even eaten yet.

You're a young person, but luckily your driving record is decent, car insurance on your rust bucket is just $80 a month. You're in a condo so you don't have to pay gas or water, hurray right!? WRONG! Hurray condo fees, say goodbye to another $400 a month. Statistics Canada says the average person spends $240 a month on food, maybe if you're drinking tap water and eating Walmart value pack chicken breasts every night, I'm upping that to $300.

That leaves you with a mere $455 a month, at MOST. Every number I gave was pretty generous. A single speeding ticket, or needing new car tires, or a family death that you suddenly need to leave work for 4 days to drive to BC for the funeral can literally break the bank. No vacations, no nights out to the movies or bar with friends, no dating because you can barely afford to feed yourself. This is NOT living, it's barely getting by.