Real cost of living in Canadá, what do certain things cost where you are please?

[AdoraBell]

May I ask you To tell me How much you pay for the following, and which province please? Sorry, it's quite a long list.

Dog food

Vegatbles, in season and not flown half way around the planet

Fruit, same as veg

Beef/Chicken/fish

Loo rolls

Cleaning productos

Olive oil

Vinegar, cheap and naice

Canned foods, fruit, tomatoes etc.

Wine

Beer

Nuts

Honey

Oats

Breakfast cereal

Cheese

Bacon

Maple syrup, the real stuff (it's £20 for 340ml here)

Chocolate (please tell me you can decent chocolate)

Shampoo

Toothpaste

Washing powder

Tea

Coffee

Fresh fruit juice

Petróleo or diésel, I know diésel cars are not common.

Vet bills for standard vacines, de-worming, anti flea treatment

School uniform

Dr. / Dentist, prescriptions, are DCs under 16 free like in the UK?

Over the counter drogas, paracetemol, antihistame etc.

Eye test

BASIC clothes, not deigner lables.

Shoes, trainers -school and casual

Public transport

Health insurance, is it like the US and Chile, no money = no Dr.?

Dinner out

Coffee and cake out

Movies

Bowling

Swimming. Other sports.

Post To UK, like a Christmas card.

University

I'm assuming the state Education is of a high enough standard that going prívate isn't necassery.

Thank you ever so much.

I live in Toronto, Ontario.
no, prescriptions aren't free.
C$1.85 for standard size card to UK.
health here is OHIP, you don't pay to see a doctor unless for specialist things - I've etc. I don't have a doctor but there are walkin clinics.
wine about C$12 a bottle for a cheap bottle, you can sometimes find on special for c$10
Please nite these prices do not include hst which is 13%.
Canned tomatoes c$1 to $1.49 for a big tin.
the groceries, like in other countries, really depends on where you shop. i go to the local market and spend $20 on some nice fresh fruit for the week - lasts longer too. There are lots of cheap shops like Walmart and costco.
loo rolls - wait till they are on special at Walmart so 10 bucks for 18 rolls otherwise normal around $18 (there are always cheaper brands though).
The key to buying food here is that bulk makes it cheaper.
Around C$18.50 gets you 7 tokens in subway (3 dollars a single trip on transport) but you only pay once so if you take a bus from the train station, you don't get charged again.
Starbucks is $3.62 for a grande hot chocolate or coffee. cheap coffee is at Tim hormone and Macdonalds.
Shampoo - aveda $18 a bottle
Olive oil and vinegar aren't expensive.
Cheese - big black c$6.99/$7.99
Real Parmesan is expensive - cheapest I found was $11 at Walmart.
dinner out: I've had dinners that range anywhere from $175 (4 people, 4 pizzas and a bottle of wine) to gourmet dining ($300 for 2) to Burger King for 1 ($8)
Glass of wine In a bar: $10 excl tax

I'm in Northern Alberta in a big city but it's 5 hours north of Edmonton, so everything has to be trucked here. I can't give detailed specifics but we spend around $600 a month on groceries for me, DH and DS(2).

Petrol is $1.25 a litre. Again it has to be trucked here.

A Starbucks grande vanilla latte is about $5. A large pizza about $25. A steak supper for two around $80 with one drink each.

Healthcare is a combination. Most is free but many have private healthcare through their employer. Dental work is private/paid for by healthcare

There are no private schools nearby. It's either Public or Catholic School Board. Many homeschool. Daycare averages around $1400-1600 per month.

It's also $1.85 to send a card to the UK here.

Housing is ridiculous here. Our 2 bed townhouse was $550,000. A good 3 bed detached will set you back around $850,000.

That has to be set against the fact that it's easy to make $300,000 a year here if you work "at site".

There are loads of threads about is sort of stuff on the Britishexpats forum. And way more people to answer the questions!

I find the price of living in the Albertan Rockies about par with the UK, tbh. We have three kids and two big dogs - it's never going to be cheap. Health is Alberta Health Care and free at point of use, other benefits usually via employment.

No HST in Alberta.

Sorry, no real idea how much all of those things cost in isolation - we both work ft, but our lifestyle isn't cheap, what with the skiing and stuff. We spend what we earn - def not high flyers in the earnings stakes.

I have kids in both public and catholic system. Both fine, although I suspect catholic has the edge on academia.

Clothes and whatnot range from Walmart special to boutique.

We have a chocolatier in town. And a farmer's market every week in the summer with all the fruit and veg driven in from the other side of the mountains in BC. Or from the greenhouses in Redcliff, corn from Taber etc.

We aren't big city folks here, and the local clientele tend to be gluten free lentil weavers, rather than movers and shakers.

House cost $530k - 3 bed single family with integral garage and yard. On the side of the mountain. Five minutes walk to free swimming lake, mountain biking and hiking on the doorstep. Pool 5 mins drive, not sure of cost as I have a season pass.

Costco in the city for things like olive oil if you don't want to pay Mercato prices.

Thank you everyone, I realise it's difficult To give specifics on individual ítems.

I'll have a look at that forum, Thanks arabella.

britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=56

This is the one you want.

Some of the threads are very specific about costs ;-) and I bet if you asked the same question on here about different parts of Canada, there would be someone to oblige you in the minutest detail - dh can immerse himself for hours, fact-collecting.

It's a great resource. I used it a lot before we moved.

RobFord that parmesan is cheap, compared To Chile. I stopped buying it when it hit £45-ish per kilo.

Thanks again arabella

It really depends on which part of Canada you live, OP...it's such a big country. The most expensive cities are Vancouver and Toronto...if you're really set on living near one of those then you'll get a lot more bang for your buck if you choose a suburb and again, those vary in desirability. We live in an expensive suburb of Toronto...we have a 5 bedroom detached house that we just sold for $815,000. For that money, you'd be lucky to get a two-bed townhouse in Toronto-proper (20 minutes away). The public schools in the suburbs are all excellent so you don't need to worry about that...you just choose between Regular/French immersion or Catholic School boards (who also offer FI). Private schools are mostly the domain of the very, very wealthy but are useful if you need access to premium wraparound care. Groceries massively vary, just like the UK, I imagine. You'll get lots of choice in the suburbs and cities and you'll find equivalents to everything from Tesco to Waitrose, depending on your budget. If you live in the suburbs you'll have better access to the 'Big-Box' stores like Costco, Walmart etc. which can save you a lot of money. We also have a very cheap chain called 'No-frills' which sells mostly value-brand items.