vagabonding

Good evening all, it’s been many years since I have been on this site but with the Covid lockdown it’s given me a lot of time to reflect on my 16 years in Canada. I’m starting to give serious thoughts to a potential move if to England if i can get my Canadian wife on-board ( which she isn’t at all) I am going to post in the moving back thread my whole backstory which is fairly lengthy. Anyway just wanted to see from some long timers like me if they agree that over the last 15 years the cost of living in Canada (GTA) has become outrageous. When I tell my family back home the cost of things and they have seen it themselves, they don’t know how anyone can live here. Now I’ve been very very fortunate with a very high paying job but my company recently went bankrupt ( more on that later)

when comparing things like property tax, car insurance ( which is absolute highway robbery) food, house insurance, clothing to what they cost in the UK it’s night and day. 15 years ago most things were cheaper in Canada than the UK but it’s changed so much since then. Do you agree? I just can’t see why or how anyone in the UK would come to Canada with the such a wide gap in the cost of living

dbd33

Generally, yes. However car insurance isn't highway robbery. People in Canada drive badly and are litigious by nature, the companies are not making any significant money on car insurance despite charging many times the price in States with equivalent roads and weather.

Engineer_abroad

because for some the salaries are significantly higher here in Canada.

BristolUK

I think a lot of this is down to the individual's choices. Or tastes. My clothing in the UK tended to come from M&S, Debenhams, C&A (until it closed) Primark and George at ASDA and Cotton Traders stuff on mail order.
Taking a look at the prices on the Cotton Traders and M&S websites I'm easily buying the equivalent over here, often the same number in $$ as ££.
I don't have to 'dress up' anymore. Perhaps that makes a difference.

I found similar favourable comparisons for Canada when it came to furnishing my house too, but that might be because I favoured stuff at the budget end.
I certainly remember paying much the same property tax for a 4 bed detached house with drive in Canada as I paid council tax for a 2 bed terraced house no drive in the UK, so that was probably cheaper for what it was. And that was without taking into account the massive costs of snow clearance compared to the pocket change cost back in Bristol.

Of course those initial comparisons were based on £/$ rates way back and the fall in the £ since those days has made things more expensive where a large part of one's income has been paid in ££.

But when I look at purely the $$ cost of groceries for when I moved to my current home in 2005, some things have gone up a fair bit but a lot has barely changed. It might need a bit more tracking down than it used to but it's there.

Not to mention that if you avoid the big cities you can greatly lower your housing costs leaving more for other things.

And now with Covid-19, smaller cities may have an advantage.

Engineer_abroad

i often find this is missed by many especially renters. Yes rents are expensive in the big cities but unlike uk, renters don’t then have to pay council tax equivalent.

Moses2013

You are right and one should not forget that a lot of people are in lower paid jobs in the UK/Europe, so it's hard to compare and every area/situation/life is different.
When we moved from Kent to the West of Ireland, we couldn't believe how cheap housing was and my salary increased too. Nearly 10 years later house prices have doubled, so a first time buyer today might have a complete different view. Then those with 3 kids might complain about the childcare costs in one country and the other couple doesn't have kids. I suppose in Europe it's a lot easier to source things from neighbouring countries to reduce costs.

Siouxie

So getting back to the OP's question..........

Yes, I've also found prices to have risen in Southern Ontario over the last 15 years or so, but it's all subjective - it really does depend where you live and what type of housing you live in, together with the type of activities you prefer or foods you like to buy.

The City taxes on my house - currently around $3.5k a year - have only risen a little in the past 10 years, my house insurance has only gone up by around $70 in that time $7 a year isn't exhorbitant Food costs have increased a lot, but I have cut my cloth according to my means - in other words I don't buy expensive cuts of meat and buy 'own brand' in all but a few things.. they are produced by the same companies that make the 'named brands' a lot of the time anyway... and I grow a lot of veggies

Clothing costs, yes a little more expensive but then again, it depends where you buy from; I've found some smaller stores in Jackson square have some absolute bargains for ladies clothing - I bought a cashmere knee length cardigan last winter for $24 - in perfect condition. I can buy Levi's at Walmart for under $30, surprisingly good quality t.shirts at Walmart or Joe Fresh for under $8 at times - I tend to buy in sales.

I can't compare prices to the UK - because I live in Southern Ontario - I get paid in $$$ - I base the cost of something and whether it's affordable or expensive on how many hours I will need to work to pay for it.

(My sister visited from the UK 4 years ago and also thought prices here were more expensive than the UK for food and clothing..)

no good name

Finally someone else on the same page as me, and talking sense!
I completely agree. Overall costs here are disgusting

JamesM

Canada is massively screwed at the moment. I'm not sure that there is a single industry it can claim to be world class in and with oil prices down the oil sands of Alberta won't be back anytime soon.

It's a good time to get out.

dbd33

Well, people don't live here for the scenery or the climate. so if it's not cheap there's really no point to being here. I'd be cautious though about moving to the UK just before Brexit

Former Lancastrian

Good grief people you cant have it both ways. Nobody is forcing you to come to Canada to live or work. You made these choices to either marry a Canadian and move here or apply for a job. I can complain with the best of them about prices for stuff over here but guess what I have to pay them or do without. My choice is to stay here for a multiple of reasons but comparing prices to the UK doesn't even appear on a list. Although Canadians living in the UK might not complain about cell phone plans, car insurance and selection of cheeses I can guarantee they complain about other things like how come your lakes aren't as big as ours, why don't you have something equivalent to the Canadian Rockies. Ben Nevis at 134 metres is a mole hill compared to Mount Logan at 5959 metres and Lough Neagh at 381 sq km is a puddle compared to Great Bear Lake at 31,153 sq kms.

vagabonding

that’s interesting and very debatable. Depends where you are in this vast country. Though I do agree somewhat here in southern Ontario that fall and spring (if you are lucky) are the only months the weather is bearable. Today we are all indoors as it’s 38 with the humidty

vagabonding

I work in finance and I agree largely with this comment. The household debt levels in this country are frightening, and the goverment can not afford to let the housing market deflate or watch the entire economy collapse because as you pointed out no one wants Canada dirty oil even if when it’s next to free at the moment. Canada is now dependent on immigration to keep the bubble from bursting yet not willing to invest in infrastructure to support a growing population. It’s not a sustainable trajectory and now with the goverment free spending taxes are going to go up even more

no good name

Yep I agree, no scenery here. Vast flatness of urban sprawl.
And I question myself being here every ****** morning I wake up

Partially discharged

I admire you for using the most rational system of measurement but you may have left a '5' off the end of the height of Ben Nevis. The UK scenery extremes are extremely muted in terms of high mountains, deep lakes, big lakes, big gorges but for the most part they are accessible.

Canadians living in the UK complain about drizzle, winging natives, paying for parking all the time, CHAV's and NED's in many urban settings, the extreme stratification of society, the snobbery about what school or profession 'one' is involved in, Brexit, the list goes on..very similar to british expats complaining about how things aren't like they are in the UK...yet staying here in Canada and complaining to an echo chamber.