Former Lancastrian

Yes I have lost my Christmas spirit or not drunk enough of it.
Several threads going on about prices in Canada compared to the UK.
However if you go to this website this is what is stated

Cost of living in United Kingdom is 2.07% higher than in Canada (aggregate data for all cities, rent is not taken into account). Rent in United Kingdom is 7.81% higher than in Canada (average data for all cities).
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...United+Kingdom

So what is more expensive in Canada? I guess it depends where you live.

Car Insurance even with discounts for NCB where you can get it.
Domestic and International flights though remember there is only about 2 countries to fly to within 3.5 hours. (USA, & Greenland).
Cheese.
TV, Internet & Cell phone packages.

Im sure there are other things in Canada more expensive but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't appear to stop people wanting to leave the UK for Canada

Now obviously favourable exchange rates also make a difference. Sure there will be some on here who remember 1 pound would get you 2 Canadian dollars. Today it will get you around $1.66 minus exchange fees.

Nobody is forcing you to move to Canada unless married to a Canadian


Don't get too many threads where prices are cheaper in Canada or do people not like to admit this.
Going off the link posted I see several things cheaper in Canada.

Danny B

My parents are over for Christmas, we took them to Timmies and we ordered the following:

4 medium steeped teas
1 medium double double
1 frozen frap thing
10 assorted tim bits
1 choc donut

Grand total of $15, my Mum almost fell over. You can't get that in England for £9 she said.

Stinkypup

Yeah , think themselves lucky, no Tim Hortons

Danny B

But there is

I don't understand the Tim's hate? They make damn good tea, the chilli and bread roll is a perfect light snack, and the prices are amazing. What more could you ask for?

Stinkypup

I'm only joshing Danny
Although I really don't think it will catch on mainly on the grounds that their coffee is absolutely disgusting and people on the whole have a reasonably discriminating palate in the uk coffee wise. I don't drink tea. The only thingsI've had from them otherwise have been donuts and Timbits which are I would admit very nice.

dbd33

Hasn't this website been repeatedly shown to contain nonsense numbers? I think citing it weakens your case.

It seems to me that the thing that's always been cheap in Canada and, arguably, makes up for the many expensive things, is housing. If you come from London and move to anywhere but Vancouver, Canada's cheap. If you come from somewhere outside the M25 then the financial case for moving is less compelling but, of course, you have other reasons to want to leave.

Aviator

$2:£1 was devastatingly low, at one point we got something like $2.62.

Everything seemed much cheaper then. Today we pay what we pay, that is the cost of living. If the price of groceries impacts someones decision to move, they should stay where they are.

There are lots of things much cheaper in Canada than in the UK and cheaper still when the CAD was at par with the USD.

Former Lancastrian

Its one of the very few websites that list the cost of a product as opposed to just general costs. Im not saying I fully believe the website but is it that bad?

Milk at 88p a litre 500 grm loaf of bread 94p a dozen eggs 1.94 litre of petrol 1.09 etc etc.
Living in Manchester will be different to London as will Bath be to Cardiff.
Do you really need to move a few thousand miles when a couple of hundred might do the job if not moving for the children.

Piff Poff

Having just spent 2 weeks in France and England, I can't see where Canada is more expensive. I still say it's about the same, some things more expensive, some things cheaper. Having 5 coffees and 5 bits of cake/sandwich in Costa came to over 30 pounds...how do people afford that?

My stepson has saved 35k pounds for a deposit on a house, he still can't afford something with a garage, my Neice and her fella have had to go the shared ownership route with their 25k deposit, at least youngsters here have a chance of getting a house.

dbd33

I think looking at specific items is misleading. For example, one might see that petrol is half the price and think that promising but it doesn't allow for every journey being twice as long and insurance being expensive. Overall I suspect motoring in the same type of vehicle is slightly cheaper in Canada in the long term because cars are cheaper but even that's offset by apparent need to have a greige AWD minivan in place of the Fiesta one had at home.

Similarly, one might look at the price of wine and cheese in Canada and wonder how anyone lives but that cost is offset by the low price of, er, well no, it's not. This is no place for people who like to eat and drink.

Houses, innit? Houses are generally poorly constructed here but, for the three or four decades they stand, they're big and cheap. Since a house is likely the biggest expense one faces the saving in housing cost is more important than the rest of the costs combined.

Shard

Wouldn't 5 coffees and 5 pastries in a Starbucks Canada be about the same?

BristolUK

Their Dark Roast is pretty good.


Yes.

rivingtonpike

I don't think it's just about cost of living. What price quality of life? We had good salaries in London and we lived in a nice area. Our standard of living was reasonable. But to aspire to the next level up - in terms of house, for example - was pretty much unattainable without moving out of London, or to a significantly less attractive area. Here we also have reasonable, professional jobs, with reasonable, professional salaries. The big difference for us is the space and environment we can afford and enjoy. Our house is significantly larger, our gardens, ponds and trees are numerable. The neighbourhood is quiet and safe. These things make where we live enjoyable. If we hadn't moved here, I daresay we could have achieved something similar if we'd moved outside London, but for the likely foreseeable future, Canada will do just fine.

JamesM

It's not prices that are the problem it's salaries.

Piff Poff

What $60? No I don't think so, even a cafe in the mall was equally spendy, that's what blew my mind on our trip, other things seemed cheaper and others much more expensive, it's all swings and roundabouts but ends up fairly equal imho