What would be something I'd need to know if I were to move to the area where you live?

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

You'll find a job, and get paid decently for it, but there's a housing issue, so unless you can afford to buy straight up in an incredibly inflated market, you'll join everyone else in renting.

Except here, because not many people (% wise) can actually afford to buy in said inflated market, everyone is renting, meaning vacancy rate is 2.4% (2015, via CMHC), so rental companies have jacked the pricing all to shit, with average rent for a 320sqft rental space sits at $1250 per month, before utilities and parking.

The jobs are good and all, but this high rent and inflated housing market also means that the people of my city pay more of their take home income in rent then most other places in the country (estimated 25% spend 50% of their income in rent with an estimated 30% more spending 40-50%) source via city planning

Now, they've tried to counteract this by lowing mortgage premiums to 2.77%, so more people think they can afford homes straight up, but wait! Those homes values are super inflated! So you can afford to finally live in that 400k+ home, except you really shouldn't, considering that home's actual value sits around 120k.

Oh, and here's the best part, all of that will continue to inflate, making living here more and more and more expensive throughout the following years, with no increase in wage in sight (yet) source for inflation

What does all this mean? Yes, Edmonton might have jobs (everyone here loves how many jobs we have!) but for the amount of money you're forking over to just live here, you'll actually be seeing a lower % of your pay check being actually yours than living in a more expensive city like Vancouver or Victoria. You might spend more for gas and purchasing in these ritzy areas, but if you can find a job, you'll actually have more money in the end, as the rent in these areas hasn't balled out yet!

Just avoid Toronto!

/r/AskReddit Thread