Yeah, it's a faff, one tip is to have the car converted to Canadian spec in the US, this is usually just a case of having the DRLs turned on by a dealer. But yeah, have to make an appointment with CBP, have to get it cleared by CBSA, have to get a temporary registration, have to get it inspected, have any changes made then get it registered, ad naseum - but it usually is cheaper.

And dealers in Canada try and scare you out of it, "the warranty won't be honoured" - well not really an issue on a used car and if you live near the border, not a major issue on a new car, don't buy a crap car that will need warranty coverage or is not honoured in Canada. I've bought tires from the US, had any number of people tell me that they're not "Canadian spec" - the only difference is the US DOT approval stamp on them as far as I can see.

In fact on the warranty, sometimes it is a better warranty than the Canadian one so it is worth your time to go to the US for warranty issues.

They are supposed to be working on harmonizing all the safety requirements for cars.

It really depends on the product, things that are popular in Canada are usually always cheaper, for example fruit juice as you mentioned - Canadians consume the most in the world, and Mac and Cheese dinners, since again it's very popular here. But anything Dairy and the price does go up, the one that infuriates me is Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, $3.50 at Target US but over $7 in Canada.

Cleaning products are also cheaper, I can get a 72 pack of Finish Quantum Dishwasher tablets for $12 at Target US, but in Canada they're usually $19. Lysol is cheap in the US too - around $1 for a huge spray bottle.

I do find the main reason I get groceries in the US is more for the alternative selection of product that aren't available in Canada, such as Quorn burgers and Starbucks frappuccino multipacks ($5 at target).

I was rather annoyed when Target Canada opened they changed the recipe of their nice market pantry coleslaw from the proper Coleslaw they sell in the US stores to that horrible green mush for the Canadian market.

Sometimes, I did have it happen once where it was cheaper to buy a computer keyboard online than anywhere else, and that was from HookBag.ca so sometimes you can't completely rule it out.

Eh, well for one Best Buy and Future Shop are both owned by...Future Shop, which is a Canadian chain. And secondly, yes sometimes Visions sometimes have good deals on but it's one of these places where the sales staff direct you to the most expensive model of the product you are looking for, but then once you start looking around you find another product that does the same thing for $200 less. I actually dislike a lot of Canadian stores for this old-fashioned hardsell approach, The Brick is another store I dislike going into for the same reason. I prefer the more modern approach of just having the products laid out with all the information so I can make my own choice.

With cars it's just the fact there isn't a tough MOT test it seems.

Our car here is just about to touch 170,000kms. It's just a standard saloon car. Back home you'd probably be getting rid of it for a few hundred quid or at least spending that every year just to get it through the MOT. Here it's regarded as "middle aged" with an expectation you could easily get another 5 years out of it (at least) provided you change the oil regularly enough.

For furniture, when I was moving last month we tried to get rid of a pull out couch and a decent sized ikea type wardrobe. Both were in good condition. Barely even a peep at $50. In the end we couldn't even give them away and I just scrapped the wardrobe and donated the couch to the good will shop.

I earn more here than I ever did in the UK.

My tax bill is also a bit lower here too. Take home about $50/£30 a week more here than I would in the UK at the same wage level

In my experience Canada is probably the more expensive to live in though. Rent is certainly more. I find most food that I eat tends to cost more. Owning a car certainly works out costing more than the UK. Gas is cheaper but I drive far longer distances here. Did the guts of 800km in just the past few days. Back home that would be close to 3 weeks driving. I've been able to get cell phone and internet at roughly the same as I'd pay back in the UK.

When looking for second hand goods, don't look at the end of August or beginning of September as that is when the students are moving into residences and lots of people are looking for furniture.

For the cheapest deals, start looking towards the middle/end of June when students are leaving residences and people are moving generally. If you want free stuff, drive past apartment buildings or high rental areas towards the end of the month when people are literally throwing out perfectly good stuff. I wouldn't suggest getting a bed this way, but you would be suprised at the reasonable quality and perfectly servicable items that are disposed of.

I have bought furniture sight unseen from kijiji (with lots of interaction between the seller and I) and had them delivered normally at a very nominal price.

You can also look at the free-ads in kijiji or the local paper.

Great tips, thanks Siouxie

+1 - thanks!

Again, this depends where you are.

My duplex rents are $540 for the one bedroom apartment and $640 for the two bedroom one.

£333 and £395. And these are at the upper end without moving into luxury/executive.

A typical rent here is a much smaller portion of net income on minimum wage than in the UK.

Mmm, but you are comparing BC with Washington prices, supermarket prices in the lower mainland seem to be insane to me, I have to admit I've never been into a Canadian Superstore there though, only Sobey's owned supermarkets (like "Thrifty" - worst-named supermarket chain EVER) and some other chain I can't remember the name of that had fresh pizza (Save On Foods?)

Kroger's does have some good deals I have to admit but like you said, depends on the product. What's it called, Fred Meyers? That's worth going to. Pop seems to be really expensive in the US compared to Loblaw's too, never quite understand that one.

Basically - shop at Loblaw's. (aka "The Real Canadian Superstore" aka "No Frills" etc.)

Both owned by Best Buy, which is an American chain.

Yeah, but you end up paying more that way. The Canadian model works for Canada which is where we are. There's less in the way of on-line stuff so you have to go to a shop. The American chains don't quite understand this so you pay more there.

The sales people at Vision's work on commission, not a big problem, just know what you want before you go into the shop - that's what Best Buy is for!

I agree though The Brick is terrible. Go to Ikea (a foreign chain yes, but not an American chain).

Problem with Loblaws owned stores is the quality of meat, and produce is poor generally when compared to other stores.

Pricesmart offers decent prices and overall better shopping experience.

Didn't find that at all in Quebec (Loblaws, SuperC, Metro) nor here with Superstore, Sobeys and Co-op.

But they only have stores in the Fraser Valley, so doesn't help me.

I go to the butcher's anyway. There are several good ones in southern Alberta. Spolumbo's being the most famous.

Loblaw's has better prices than anyone else on packaged crap.

Indeed. Just my experience though. I'm comparing N.Ireland (not that expensive) with Guelph (somewhat expensive)

I guess if you were comparing central London with...i dunno...NB or PEI it might be a different story.

Got a pretty nice 3 seater and matching love seat from the Brick last month. Sales guy was helpful and not pushy. Delivered when they said it would be and with no drama.

Also got stuff from Ikea too which, as usual, was fine.

Last month? It's lasted a long while for the Brick.