flashman

Fast Food is just a example. For instance pick another item (car, T.V. set, appliance, litre of gas etc.) and compare how long you have to work in UK and Canada to buy one.

canadian_critic

I'd say understanding the cost of living is critical and does come down to what may seem petty comparisons. What caught me out is assumptions that cost of car ownership were significantly cheaper in Canada, where in fact I'm paying a lot more than I ever did.

I was on Apple's site doing a comparison and at first everything looked a lot cheaper in Canada. Apple's pricing is more or less on a par between US and Canada which is extremely fair. But Apple's UK store prices include VAT at 20%. You could discount the UK prices for a fair comparison but in fact the right thing to do would be to compare tax inclusive prices (unless you'd qualify to claim tax back). Then with the currency conversion, there isn't massive difference, but there is some.

Electronic household items do tend to be cheaper in North America, but I've found the quality and reliability to be utter UTTER pants. Extended warranties are ESSENTIAL, but they are very much more reasonably priced than I remember in most UK electronics stores.

However things like cellphone usage is way higher in Canada. Everyone I know in UK seems to have a blackberry or iphone. I couldn't even imagine owning one of those here, although I suspect many of my UK counterparts are operating theirs on the never never

Coming to a place like Vancouver, and a fresh immigrant will need a considerable financial cushion and guaranteed earnings to survive. I would go as far as to say that for most, unless they can land a job quickly, they will end up with a big financial crisis. For most of us that's a big deal. And yes small things like a loaf of bread costing $4 when we're used to paying 99p, does make a difference over time.

justme31170

I've only ever been to Canada on holiday staying in my brother's house so i'm not really educated enough on this BUT when we went grocery shopping I did find things like steaks, pork, cheese cheaper than back home but other stuff like butter (not that margarine crap), bread, milk to be more expensive. I personally dont think there's a lot in it, swings and roundabouts really.

Londonuck

Millwall slippers

R I C H

That's just not the case.

In the UK there are 1,184 cell phones per 1,000 people (rank #23) . In Canada only 575 (rank #114). Data from http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/me...lar-per-capita

laser558

In fairness, that is an old statistic, 2006 for Canada so I imagine it has altered a little. Speaking of mobile phones and communication generally, I find that to be way more expensive than the UK and slightly behind the times. I still cannot get used to the idea that on my pay as you go with Bell Alliant, I have to pay 30 cents simply to receive a call! As far as a landline is concerned, I will not be paying for that at all. I have installed Magic Jack on my pc, which connects to my "landline" phone. I have a number and I can make and receive calls in the normal way. If I'm out, or the computer is off, calls can be routed to the mobile, or a message can be left and I am told about any messages via email and I can then play them as they are on .wav files. I don't pay a cent to make calls to the US and Canada but there is an annual service charge for my number and the use of it which amounts to just under $30 a year. International calls I have pre-pay added to my account but a call to the UK is only 2 cents. The quality is excellent and it saves me a huge amount of money per year...even compared to what I might have paid in the UK. The other thing I like (and I know you can do this in the UK with Virgin), is not having to pay for a telephone line in order to get broadband. I am with Eastlink, the slowest broadband and the cheapest but I'm able to watch streaming video, especially from the UK, without any issues at all. It's these areas that enable me to be reasonably economic.

BristolUK

I knew there were plenty of wealthy people on this site but I didn't realise that some were so loaded that the cost of living here was such a minor matter.

laser558

I've said before about you Bristol, you have a lot to offer when it comes to economy and I always read your thoughts with great interest. I have so little money that any tips come in handy, so thank you.

canadian_critic

I should probably read what I write, and avoid making an ass of myself. I did mean cost of usage / cost of ownership, rather than usage.

Auld Yin

[QUOTE=canadian_critic;9472831]I should probably read what I write, and avoid making an ass of myself.

I'm biting my tongue.

canadian_critic

Maybe I'm not understanding your humour, but that exactly the opposite of what I was saying. I am saying that people moving to Vancouver will probably not make ends meet unless they're very lucky. Doing so will involve landing a keeping jobs. If they ever find themselves out of work, they're screwed.

So knowing what the cost of living is, and knowing how to economise is critical to living within one's means, particularly in Vancouver area. I have done this - I have found myself with no money. And unlike 99% of people who claim they are 'skint' I really mean it. I ended up being forced into selling my home. However I prolonged life by being sensible with things that seem trivial to some people, like costs of groceries, by shopping around, buying in bulk from the US. Others may criticize this approach thinking it's penny wise - pound foolish, or simply doesn't make economic sense, but in fact it's often the minor expenses that are within one's control, whereas the significant and major parts of the monthly budget are either not, or are inflexible (like rent/mortgage). There is a counter expression which is "look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves" and this is what I'm saying. Obviously replace "pounds" with loonies and multiple by 1.58 but you get the picture

canadian_critic

It's not swings and roundabouts at all. Yes some things are cheaper although I don't know how you can think cheese is. It's double the price in Canada, but because of this they often price it in $/100g making it appear nicely priced. Also you might see a cost looking like it's per block of cheese, but it's per KG so you pick one up and it's 2-3 times the price you saw.

The cheaper items do counter the more expensive, but the proportion of more expensive items is way higher, and they are not a little bit more expensive but triple or quadruple. Clearly it comes down to what you buy, but for most I think people would say it's more expensive, particularly for families. You also don't get value family packed goods, all premium priced. Nobody discounts out of date stuff, just leave it on the shelf for someone to pick up. And rarely do you see buy one get one free. On occasions where BOGOF offers appear, the single price is artificially higher than the store would normally post, which is a bit of a scam.

Also there's tax on many basic food items, which there would be none in UK.

Atlantic Xpat

Randomly....

Amazon Kindle - $139+tax in Canada bought from Amazon kindle site. (Ships from the US but with free delivery iirc). In the UK GBP111 - buy it @ Tesco!

justme31170

Just my opinion Critic. I buy Canadian cheddar in Tesco's (small block) and its way more expensive than the stuff I buy in Canada (large block)

I'm not saying everything is like this and Canada may well be more expensive in some items but I havent experienced this, so cannot comment.

Alan2005

The house bricks of "cheddar" and "mozzarella" you get in supermarkets don't really count as cheese. Canadian cheddar at the deli counter or the poncy food section is pricier, but it does at least taste ok. Well relatively.