Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Ok, so we need some opinions to sort an argument!

I think cost of living in Canada is higher than the UK, my partner disagrees.

If it helps, this is between Toronto and Uxbridge and Peterborough in the UK.

My main points are:

Insurance and phone/internet plans are awfully expensive in Canada, and so are books. I never bought a book for its RRP in the UK! Boot sales, charity shops, online, The Works and similar, all offered me great deals.

Banking is far better, with incentives to change accounts and so on. moneysavingexpert had tons of tips on how to budget and plenty of point cards and so on, which helped. Boots, Sainsburys, Tesco, etc, everywhere has a card and that all helps cutting on costs.

My partner thinks food shopping and restaurant were more expensive in the UK. I disagree, I think it's similar and becomes more expensive due to lack of vouchers or a card.

What's everyone opinion?

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

I stopped caring about such things, IIRC, 6 months after I moved to Canada. I live in Canada, I earn income in Canada and I purchase my groceries in Canada.

In light of the above, I care not a jot about the cost of living in England, just as I don't care what the cost of living is in France.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

I think you should ask AlmostCanadian if he can recommend a good divorce lawyer in Uxbridge.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

:rolleyes: Why's everyone here always so over the top dramatic? Was it the move?

Just because we disagree about which country has the cheapest cost of living, that doesn't mean we are at each others throat. We just found striking that if you look online, you can't find a definitive answer when it should be quite an objective thing, seeing that prices are prices.

No worries, no lawyer needed, not married, but thanks for the helpful advice :thumbsup:

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Well that makes it easier. I very rarely agree with AC, but he's spot on here. Stop making comparisons, it'll drive you crazy.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Being curious about it doesn't mean we will be debating this issue permanently.

I was merely curious as to where was cheapest to live! Didn't realise it was such a can of worms.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

We are in the process of our final move and 'lived' in Ottawa for a few weeks in September this year. No experience yet of car insurance (I know it will be eye watering). But this is our tuppence worth of observations (no criticism and only 'comparing' out of pure curiosity) - oh, and a very random selection of observations. Our view only - no scientific basis, just how we feel about it! Our 'frame of reference' is between Cheltenham and Ottawa.

More expensive:
Groceries in general
Internet
Cell phones
Car insurance
Wine and beer (LCBO and Beer Store - seems slightly more expensive)

Much the same:
Banking (we get free banking with $5000 balance - no sweat to maintain that and losing b*gger all in interest!)
Drinking in local bars
Eating out
House insurance
Hydro / electric
Furniture

Cheaper:
MUCH more house and grounds for a LOT less money!
Any form of beef, especially steak (mmmmmmm)
Pork
Petrol (but you tend to drive further)
Water rates and sewerage (we are on drilled well and septic field!)
Corn
Natural gas
Some bulk buys (detergent etc. - no shortage of storage space in Canadian houses)

Far superior and I don't care how much:
Size of laundry machines
Toronto Maple Leafs
Overall quality of life!

Just our own eclectic and personal view. But no contest - not even close! Canada it is for us! I think I know where you are coming from, perhaps just the sort of conversation that couples have, I know we have been, not criticising, just observing out of curiosity, pretty hard not to I guess initially!

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

from your 'reluctantly moving' thread

Canada is the land of milk & honey.

Are you actually arguing (sort of) about the cost of living comparison after having made the move to Canada, could this be about nothing or a quest that will lead to you to moving back to the UK?

So what if any difference does it make, is it a make or break whether to be in Canada or not?

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

You cant put a price on "Quality of life"

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

I think you should specifically call out Cheese on that list (talk about opening a can of worms :D

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

I think its subjective really....depends on where you live in the UK and where you live in Canada.

For example to most people property as a whole is cheaper in Canada....unless you wanted to live in or around Vancouver or Toronto, of course if you are coming from the London and the homes counties of England then you wouldnt notice the difference as much.

Same with other things really.... price of a pint for example.... at my local when I left the UK a pint of bitter was 2.00 GBP (sorry no pound sign on this keyboard) but when I came to Canada a pint here was $6.00 plus a tip...so say $7.00. So depending on the exchange rate that is between 3.00 and 3.50 GBP for a pint! So a lot more expensive...but not for someone from the London area who would have already have been paying that kind of price.

So your location and your salary in UK and and your eventual location and salary in Canada makes everything subjective.

Then there is the exchange rate....although as a rule of thumb I usually base that around 2:1 even though it hasn't been that high for quite some time, its a good rule of thumb in my opinion.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Ahh yes the rip off cheese debate! lol. Canadian cheddar is considerably cheaper in the UK for reasons iI dont understand!

There..... can of worms opened! :rofl:

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

We had the same when we lived in Spain, compared prices for the first few months, then stopped, there was no point as we didn't live in the UK at the time.

Re: Cost of living? Help us settle this discussion!
 

Fantastic that if I mention something here, that will be used against me in any further questions or comments I may make. Sorry, when I started this thread I did not found necessary to go back and read all my posts.

And no, we aren't arguing after making the move. We are talking about it, the same way we talk about things we like about Canada or that we like about the UK. We have been up and down between both countries a lot in the last year, and comparing it is an unavoidable thing as far as we are concerned.

Nope, it isn't a make or break at all. It's more of a curiosity than anything else.