el_richo

Alas i drive a lowly new Kia Sportage since we have other things in the pipeline that need money

Servicing here is rubbish. Every 8k i "need" one whereas in the UK it's more than double that.

I do find running costs of my car over here around the same overall with mine in UK though.

We bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner and it's not far off twice as expensive in Canada than the UK

iaink

Ive lived here a while and I started the thread out of curiosity.

A number of people have made the statement that things are no cheaper in Canada. Obviously Im aware of a number of things that cost more here , insurance, some groceries, booze etc, but Im also aware of several things that are less. I was just after some facts, rather than editorial.

iaink

Not really a topic for this thread, but I dont get this...

I paid a grand total of ~19% income tax on an average canadian houshold income last year, less than I would have in the UK factoring in NI etc. Canada only seems like a heavy taxer to me when compared to some US states, certainly its at least on a par with the UK, if not better.Then factor in that VAT is 20%, HST is 13%. Granted HST may apply to more things, but on the other hand look at the duty levels on gas/petrol...

iaink

It seems logical that luxury goods sourced (if not actually made) in the UK, like dysons, doc martens, are going to cost more in Canada. Likewise for Sorels bought in the UK...

I dont get the 8k service thing either. One reason I got the Honda rather than the similar Mazda is it monitors oil life and only needs servicing as required. I go ~12k between services, which in a Honda almost pays for the higher cost of buying it.

Dealer service is one thing that seems cheaper here.. I dont think you would escape a Honda dealer in the UK with much change from a hundred quid. Here a basic oil change is $60 or so.

iaink

But you get a deposit back, so its not necessarily an expense, its just a consequence of having no canadian credit history I guess.

rivingtonpike

Good point really. Unless you have funds and assets still in sterling, the price comparison is only really for fun. You cvan't do anything about it on a day to day basis.

Aviator

Aeroplanes are way cheaper in the US by a lot, GA flying in North America is about half of the UK costs, Photo kit is cheaper in Canada and some in the US by about 20% and more, Wheaties are cheaper .

Oink

A 12 piece fun pack of Durex condoms are nearly $4.00 more in the UK.

Alan2005

Beef = cheaper.
Cheese = more expensive.

That is all.

xxdb

Well you're going to get editorial along with the facts, that's the nature of the thing. Yeah there are some things that are cheaper, such as e.g. Steak which is so much cheaper than we eat a lot of steak instead of chicken.

But on average for the average family I think it's swings and roundabouts for the most part with the day to day costs a little bit higher.

That said: one thing that is *much* better in Canada is the availability of higher paid jobs. Back home I'd be lucky to get 35K in quid or maybe at a *stretch* 40K whereas I pushed my luck and got $90K here so overall I'm better off.

But I still notice the cost differential for the things I buy on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

The fact that I could save 40% off a Sony TV or 50% on a big fridge is neither here nor there to me, it's the daily, weekly and monthly expenses that count and in that sense I'm spending much more on *exactly* the same stuff as back home.

If somebody came over here with the same salary as they had back home or even 10% more they'd be struggling a bit IMO, so it's very important IMO to know the costs of things so you can set salary expectations reasonably or they could rapidly end up in shit creek.

Jingsamichty

The British ones must be bigger.

Aviator

Great for the arteries eh!. Still save money on beef, die younger, spend less on groceries

I took less for a while, did fine. Did not even give a thought to the price of anything before moving here permanently. Was coming anyway, so made it work.

cheeky_monkey

My AUDI A4 = 22,500 GBP..same car = $58,000 here in Canada

so i drive a Ford Edge

Monique_in_Canada

wouldn't they be really huge in Jamaica then!!!

iaink

Dunno, some days its seems there are some real big knobs post here....


Oh, was that my out loud voice...