Tangram

From what I've heard you pay a fair amount in ins so no real saving.

No safety inspections is a little worrying

scrubbedexpat091

I think we have lower insurance generally vs Ontario, but higher then Alberta, but so many variables hard to really compare.

We pay with 40% discount just around $140/month for 2 million liability, comprehensive and collision along with things like rental car coverage and some basic road side assistance.

No idea if this is considered high vs other provinces.

Tangram

Seems a little high compared to me paying for two cars ( 2015 Santa Fe and Mini Cooper S ) at $200pm with similar liability but like u say, difficult to judge

rivingtonpike

Speaking purely for myself I find our family quality of life to be way better than it was back in the UK. We enjoy more space, a quieter environment, less crime and our disposable income seems to go further.

Snowy560

I don't think the cost of living is higher than London. London prices always seem higher to me. We have a town house which we bought for less than what we got for our terraced house in London (and is bigger). This was in 2015. I think wages are higher in London but I'm not a big spender so don't really notice it. I certainly don't do anywhere near as much Internet shopping that's for sure!
Also if you don't do a $ £ conversion (i.e. working out what your Canadian salary is in £, which I realized is a fatal mistake), we find our money goes about the same distance.

S

getoutofbritainquick

[QUOTE=rivingtonpike;12120180] We have been in the Victoria area for 3 years since moving over from the LM. Wow have we seen big changes since we have been here especially during the past year or so. Totally unsustainable development just about everywhere, mostly hideous looking condos which look like they belong in a communist country. I cannot imagine just how many trees and green space have been systematically destroyed recently which is changing the whole environment, even digging up the parts of the golf course to put more houses in. No increases in infrastructure to speak off, roads becoming grid locked especially trying to get down and back along Highway 1 during the rush hour to Victoria. House process going though the roof. Homeless and drug addicts sleeping in doorways in Victoria. Don't get me started on the local Mayors - all thirteen of them who cannot make a decision if their life depended on it and the odd one being a total megalomaniac lunatic (RP will know who I am speaking about). This place I going to be much worse than Vancouver shortly. We moved to Victoria with the view to retire here but if they carry on with the current unsustainable development there isn't going to be much left of it. Thinking about moving to Kelowna if a possible vacancy comes up next year. We really been disappointed with the Island.

rivingtonpike

[QUOTE=getoutofbritainquick;12138143] I must admit we don't live in Victoria. It's just somewhere we visit at the weekend for Chinatown, the museum and haircuts. Sometimes we'll go to Uptown or Mayfair shopping but not often. I will also admit we're not often downtown in the evening/night, so rarely see the homeless in doorways. In so far as you can call it a city, I think the central core is fairly pretty. downtown, the inner harbour, ogden point - all that stuff is pleasant. Beacon Park and Cook street Village etc are pretty (ish). Nowhere is perfect. I google mapped the bit of London we left a while ago and was shocked at how crappy it looked - and this was pretty posh multi million houseville! I wouldn't go back.
Sorry!

Cedar3

But do the pros outweigh the cons?
I think it depends why you're even looking into moving West? What is unsatisfactory about AB for you and your family currently and what are you hoping will be different if you move to BC? You could be correct that financially you'd have fewer disposable dollars per month (hard to say without knowing more than we need to know about your personal situation) but maybe they'd go further on the things you want to spend them on in BC. Or maybe your day to day contentment and quality of life would improve and that would be worth the financial hit. I'd suggest looking at the bigger picture. It's a big move and could be great - really depends what you're hoping for...