I see these sort of questions asked a lot, and this is mildly tongue in cheek as well as some serious notes, but after living in BC for 2 years now I thought I would try and answer some myths and rumours that we all hear about:


Maximum rental deposit allowed in BC is half a months rent plus an additional half a months rent as a pet deposit if necesarry. DO NOT pay more this

Yes they do have gaps round the public toilet doors

Canadians can be quite sensitive/polite, so keep that British brutal sense of humour and sarcasm in check until they know you better

Yes they do all wear trousers that are too short

Things seem to be quite expensive here but mainly it's because they do not have the really cheap options like LIDL/Peacocks/Tesco etc. Beer is the equivalent of off licence prices, food up there with Sainsburys, clothes M&S prices.

Clothes not being cheap is not necessarily a problem, as the fashion is VERY different over here. You might spend the first few years 'importing' clothes.

Beer is ONLY sold in liquor stores or pubs/restaurants and CANNOT be consumed in public anywhere

Car insurance is RIDICULOUS, seriously. There is one insurance company so they can basically charge what they like. And getting them to accept your UK no claims is a miracle in itself. Be warned before buying a car you don't really need.

Canadians really do say EH?

Some things that are expensive in UK are considered normal here, you can pick up a second hand boat for well under $5,000 for instance.

The scenery really is awesome, the only thing you have to worry about is where do you go on holiday when you live here.

Some professions are extremely hard to get into, the IT market in Victoria for instance, is basically who you know not what you know. Be warned, you may end up working on a building site or dockyard for a while.

Speeding fines get bigger the faster you were going.

Country music is really popular, even among the younger crowds, be warned

People still call police officers 'sir', yes really, I've actually heard them.

There are no elderly or old people here, but there are lots of seniors.

Cheese is rubbish, Baldersons 3 year aged cheddar is the closest thing to real cheddar, and it's the cheapest at only $4 per 100g.

There are several shops selling 'British Produce', howveer shop around and some TOTALLY rip you off. Like $8 for Branston pickle rip off. Fairway Supermarket in Sidney has by far the cheapest and best British section I have found on the Island so far. And the butcher in Oak Bay sells real bacon, pork pies and black pudding.


Hope some of this helps, before anyone gets annoyed or anything it's not supposed to be a dig or a gripe, just mere observations on day to day life.

thank Nikki, its always useful to us lot still in here in the UK and if nothing else, adds to my all consuming desire to input information on Canada.... I appreciate the time spent.

This is clearly documented on the government website.

I've seen that in numerous countries including the UK.

This is true, particularly non-politically correct jokes, they go down like a lead balloon with some people.

Not noticed this.

Half true. There is no Lidl (though supposedly they're opening in Canada in 2011), but Superstore is very reasonable for a lot of things, including Clothes. Army & Navy is pretty much on par with Peacocks.

Odd comment. The fashion is different so you stubbornly cling on to your drab British clothing style? One of the first things I did was get a whole bunch of American Eagle clothing (though their current range sucks, they were better last year)

The latter is a good thing, the former takes some getting used to but it's no biggie.

They're government run though. The idea stems from a time when all the independent insurers worked in a cartel and kept prices very high, believe it or not ICBC provided a solution for providing "cheap" insurance.

Some do some don't. I personally quite like it.

Don't know.

Heh, somewhere warm

Not a lot of experience with this myself but the impression I get is this is sloooowly changing.

Same elsewhere surely?

Warned of what? I personally find JRfm quite interesting to listen to, with a country song you can usually rely on there being fairly solid musical content.

People call other men "Sir" in general. Police will call you Sir back. It's a sign of respect.

Wait what? You should see uptown New Westminster. Lots of elderly folks there.

Western Family's Chedder is pretty good. Granted, it's more like Red Leicester than Chedder but that suits me fine.

Not to mention a lot of the stuff you can just get in the supermarkets anyway. Bicks "English Style Onions" are Pickled Onions, Branston Pickle is in most places for $4-$5, Safeway sells Clotted (Devonshire) Cream.

I love the Sir thing and that its a sign of respect. Its such a change to the "pigs" and other unmentionable names police officers get referred to here, a whole lot of the time

Thank you NikkiB, very valuable information, I think you've hit the nail-on-the-head. This seems very well thought out. Thank g** someone had the foresight to share their experiences.

I must say there is a definite amount of short trouser, sorry pant , wearing - I have come to the conclusion it is due to the rain!

Hahahaha... seriously... hahahaha. There is no fashion here, it is a sartorial mono culture.

(This isn't something that bothers me because the narrow range of acceptable clothing available here matches what I wear on a day to day basis and also the fact I just don't care.)

I've been called ma'am a few times and I thought "aw now isn't that just lovely" until someone pointed out that its said as a sign of respect to older ladies

Thanks NikkiB
Its great to get an idea of what to expect

I take it that this is in reference to women, if so it's something I've noticed as well. I think it's to accentuate the circumference of their waists. Someone blessed with the "Canadian hip" (a local term closely approximated in other jurisdictions by "junk in the trunk" or "fat arse") who's trousers end in mid-calf comes to look wider than she is tall. It may be a practical manner of dress in the winter, helpful with all that stomping through snow and salt to feed the cows before work, but why they do it in the summer isn't obvious. Perhaps it's to draw attention away from their hair.

Isn't the summer for wearing demin shorts with your arse cheeks dangling out the edges?

Oh yes, I'm so glad you noticed. Today, it being cooler, I'm in pyjama bottoms over Kodiaks.

Pfff, pansy. It's only mid-October, I'll continue rockin' the shorts and Uggs combo until there is snow on the ground. Go Canada.

Urbanist! Out here we've had snow since mid-July. Before that I was in Off! and knee length shorts with a surfer dude motif and a pocket to keep my goatee grooming gear.

Probably wise, you can't be expected to keep your facial strip tidy whilst juggling a bottle of Bud lime and tending to the BBQ.