stoobee1

I just came back from a one week 'landing' trip in Vancouver (landing in Toronto first). One of the things that struck me was the price of food in the supermarkets. Granted I only took a very small sample and it was in downtown Vancouver but the costs seemed exhorbitant even just for basic stuff compared to here in the Netherlands. It's possible to pick up a pizza in NL for as little as 2-3 euro whereas I couldn't find anything less than 6-7 dollars in Van.

Is this other people's experience? It seemed strange because for the same price I could stuff myself with Sushi or anything else from one of the fast food places on Davie St. Don't get me started on the costs of beer from the liquor store

Stu

Rich_007

It's been noted that the COL in BC is higher than elsewhere in Canada. Moreso it's noticed when you earn $CA and move away from the tourist/currency conversion mentality.

BC = Bring Cash. Thus need to be self made multi millionaire or earn decent bucks to have a life here, a couple of minimum wage jobs don't pay for ski-ing, ATV's, boats, skidoos, seadoos, a generally frenetic upscale grand life, vacations, and a mansion. A couple of decent jobs will generally 'get by' with a decent life and some treats and fun.

Grocery is relatively expensive and beer/liquor too. $4+ for a beer, $60-90 for a decent bottle of malt ? People cut grocery costs by buying more in bulk (Costco is v popular amongst all demographics not just the WalMart sweaty grunting masses) and buying from smaller stores reduces expenditure, people travel extra miles and spend all day buying their weekly bits and pieces to save 20c per visit or for 5c vouchered off of a frozen sausage I guess the eight hours wasted and extra gas consumption is not considered a cost. The price of gas is dearer than back east in TO as well. By far. The real killer though is the price of real estate in the GVA, $500k for a crack shack next to hookerville and the local posse

I'm not complaining, it is what it is.............all this is the price paid for a privelidged life in the western paradise of the lounging lotus eaters

Rich.

dingbat

It's rip-off BC vs. rip off Britain - you pays your money and takes your choice really. My grocery bill is hitting the $350 per week mark now and we eat well but not fancy, if you see what I mean. Beer.....well I just finished my favourite tipple Genius at $14.30 something for four cans. :scared: Decent wine...say bye bye to $25 a bottle. But you do have mountains. And pine trees. And you can ogle the neighbours sea-doo and snow boarding equipment from afar. So that's OK then.

SAW 04

$350 per week!!?? for how many people?

burton bunch

My cousin in Southern Alberta spends around $ 200 to $ 250 per week for a family of 3

stoobee1

I'm shocked at the prices of things whenever I go back to the UK from NL. You basically substitute the euro sign for the pound sign. Perhaps the difference is not so noticeable for UK people then

It seems the cost of energy in Canada is cheap compared to Europe - I paid 93.9cents/litre in Squamish but around 96c in downtown Vancouver for 87 octane fuel. And talking to my Canuck friends about heating bills, it seems they are also lower. However the costs of day-to-day stuff is higher.

I am curious to know why North America uses lower octane fuel such as 87, 89 and 91 when Europe uses 95, 98 and 100. Does anybody know? This week in the Globe and Mail they talk about several trillion dollars cost of global warming but still people drive these ridiculous SUVs and the smog level south-east of Van is awful. Time the government stepped in

Rich_007

Ten ////

Seriously, we spend about $200 pw for two adults and two cats without any beer/liquor, that's not living any sort of grande culinary life, we can easily spend $250 if we boost up the goodies factor.

Rich.

dingbat

Seven - and I am good at making things stretch and cook from scratch as much as I can. Example - big box of Golden Grahams are $9.99 here. Milk varies between $4.09 and $4.59 for 4L. Chicken - six breasts around $22. Soup - (for casserole bases, no choice except Campbells or generic) $1.79 a can. Fruit - this is a killer - I spend upwards of $80 - $100 a week on apples, banana's, seasonal fruit etc. Bread about $3.00 a loaf but I have a machine which helps with rolls etc. Toiletries are about double the prices I see on the Asda website. Wages can be much less = hard to make ends meet for some.

PMM

Hi

They measure the Octane rating differently in NA and Europe, read http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010226m.cfm Measuring the RON in Europe 96 Octane is equivilent to 92 Octane in Canada/US.

PMM

SAW 04

Now with 7 mouths to feed I can understand the spend but $200 on two, Rich you really are living the high life! There's two of us and two cats and my normal spend is $80 - $120 without booze.

Souvenir

Blimey. We must be living the high life. I reckon on about $2000 per month at the supermarket (that's for two adults and a teenager).

SANDRAPAUL

Under $1,000 a month for a family of 5 ADULTS. That is a combination of Costco and other stores depending on what we are looking for. We eat well and do not go without. That in real terms to us is about what we spent in the UK (pound for $CAD). But we find what we eat now is better quality. Not cheap but it is a westernised country. Nothing is 'CHEAP' in a country where you have convenience facilities. And we are in a City environment.

ARH

My wife and I are hoping to come over to Alberta soon on a "look see". I attended some interviews with Canadian Consulting firms who came over to the UK last month. It all looks very positive, with one firm drafting up a provisional job offer for me at present.

As a result of the positive vibes, I have been looking into cost of living in much more detail than before and I've found this thread particularly entightening!

So some of you spend approaching £1000 on shopping per month - bl**dy hell!! What do you do eat steak everyday, washed down with the finest bottle of Claret? It's either that or food costs really are astronomical! :scared: I get upset if we spend any more than £300 per month in the UK! If we come over to AB, then we are going to do a pretend shop in WALMART or wherever, write down the prices and compare to what we'd normally pay in the UK.

This food cost thing seems to be the first tick in the "stay in the UK" column on our decision list!!!!

Qfragger

We have looked at this before and if you look at a reciept from ASDA the average price is 1 pound compared to $3 from Zerh's. Dont forget the preperation tax on anything they have prepared instore.

Sarahad

This thread is abit scarey!!
What are considered to be the cheaper supermarkets in Alberta?