Why is it so expensive to live in Canada compared to the U.S
Brenda @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:50 pm
andyt andyt:
maybe, but it's a reasonable question, and it's not as if we haven't discussed this topic before.
Hmmm, I don't necessarily agree. When you ask to compare something, you expect that the one you are asking knows the ins and outs of both (in this case) countries, or specifically, Vancouver and Boise. I don't think that that is fair, since there is a lot of difference per region in Canada alone.
When I asked why minimum wage here is higher than in Idaho, the answer was "because the law makers thought that was a good idea".
So, here is your answer BCme: Because our law makers think it is a good idea. Satisfied?
BCme @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:53 pm
Brenda Brenda:
I think you ARE bullshitting, when you compare Boise Idaho (not necessarily a very well known town, if you don't mind me saying) to Vancouver, which is one of the most expensive cities in this country.
And I was to know this how? Hence my asking here. Do you really think that Canada is so simple that a general google of the Country would answer every conceivable question I could ever have? You seem really touchy and on the offensive. Any reason why?
Brenda Brenda:
So why don't you just ask your Canadian wife?
Who cares who I ask? I am asking you all on this forum. Is there some problem with me asking here? I read the ToS and do not think I am breaking any rules here.
andyt @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:55 pm
His answer is correct. I don't see anything to get riled about. Min wages are set by govt fiat. The govt is going to balance then wants of its various constituencies in setting it. Obviously $10.25 is way too low a min wage for Vancouver. Maybe some other places in BC it's a reasonable one.
Brenda @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:55 pm
Yes. I (as an immigrant) find it very annoying when immigrants know shit about the country they immigrate to before they do.
Brenda @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:57 pm
andyt andyt:
His answer is correct. I don't see anything to get riled about. Min wages are set by govt fiat. The govt is going to balance then wants of its various constituencies in setting it. Obviously $10.25 is way too low a min wage for Vancouver. Maybe some other places in BC it's a reasonable one.
Hence my comment about comparing Vancouver with Boise.
BCme @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:01 pm
andyt andyt:
No hostility. Let me spell out what it has to do with the topic. Social safety nets and universal, government paid healthcare cost money. That means taxes are higher, as you noted, which goes into the cost of things. Sales tax, gas taxes, alcohol taxes, etc. And higher labor costs cause higher prices as well. And you won't have the costs associated with healthcare that you have in the US, even if your employer pays the premiums. When I worked there, I had to chip in for the premiums, and if I had actually used the insurance, the co-pays would have been murder. We don't have that.
Thank you! Good info and puts it more into perspective for me. On the healthcare, isn't there a premium for health insurance beyond the basic coverage? My son-in-law recently had a surgery but had to pay for his medication from out of pocket. I take it is different from province to province?
Thanos @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:10 pm
andyt andyt:
Thanos Thanos:
so you're paying more in sales taxes and fees in order to provide a taxpayer-funded cushion for all the welfare parasites and drug addicts that live in places like downtown Vancouver.
Don't forget paying medical costs for all the Albertans that retire here. That's a ball breaker too. I mean they come here after never having contributed a cent to our medical system and then want to suck on it's tit the way they sucked on the booze and cigs when they lived back in Dallas Calgary.
That's traded off by the property taxes for the condos and lake houses they buy, and by the sales taxes they pay for everything else in BC that people from Alberta end up chipping into when they move there to retire. As Canadians it's against the law to deny them health care, and with the taxes they put into the BC economy they're at least paying their share towards system maintainance. What sucks your medical system to death, the same as for the rest of the provinces, are the elderly third-world immigrants that come here as part of the federal "family unification" bullshit. They're as bad as the Vancouver drug addicts when it comes to leeching the system dry and doing practically nothing at all to contribute to it.
My own retirement plan is to look at Oregon over the next few years. Not batshit insane like a Red State is, and comfortably close enough to Canadian attitudes to make me feel safe, yet still no where near as insane-lefty as BC is at any given moment. I'd be able to live near the ocean, at last, in Portland without having the "privilige" of paying 35% more to do the same if I moved to BC. After the riots last year, Vancouver and it's twin plagues of beyond-arrogant yuppies and heroin junkies can all go cram it anyway as far as I'm concerned. I figure the BC interior, even if the heat there wasn't oppressively bad enough to me, is about as full of the same vile rednecks as any Red State anyway so that effectively kills any interest in going there either.
andyt @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:24 pm
BCme BCme:
andyt andyt:
No hostility. Let me spell out what it has to do with the topic. Social safety nets and universal, government paid healthcare cost money. That means taxes are higher, as you noted, which goes into the cost of things. Sales tax, gas taxes, alcohol taxes, etc. And higher labor costs cause higher prices as well. And you won't have the costs associated with healthcare that you have in the US, even if your employer pays the premiums. When I worked there, I had to chip in for the premiums, and if I had actually used the insurance, the co-pays would have been murder. We don't have that.
Thank you! Good info and puts it more into perspective for me. On the healthcare, isn't there a premium for health insurance beyond the basic coverage? My son-in-law recently had a surgery but had to pay for his medication from out of pocket. I take it is different from province to province?
Yes. Medication is mostly not covered, unless you have a supplemental plan, same with dentistry, glasses, etc. It's a shortcoming of the system and one we should address.
fifeboy @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:49 pm
andyt andyt:
If his question is genuine (and we have no reason to suppose otherwise) then I think you're being a bit touchy here. He's not saying we suffer, but just notices that our living costs are higher than in the US, which everybody knows. As to why, we've discussed lots of reasons here, and there doesn't seem to be one definitive answer - many factors at play. We are getting lots of Americans trying to move north right now, because while cost of living is higher, it's a lot easier to live if you have a job. Some of them, too, want to get away from the Kalamazoo mentality.
I don't understand. Cost of living is really about having enough in your pay packet to cover your expenses. If you can afford to live (pay/costs) with a quotient greater than 1, you are doing OK. If you have stuff left over for extras, you are doing well and is you have enough left after extras to put down savings you are going gangbusters. My opinion!
Xort @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:21 pm
Some things are more expensive in Canada, others are cheaper.
You can also end up with higher or lower taxes on income depending on what amounts to use and in what state/province.
Canadian governments take in about 32% of the GDP as taxes. USA governments take in about 26%.
Overall the easy rule is that items cost more, while services cost less. For someone that doesn't get much use out of services it can seem like a bum deal. For people that get a lot of use out of services, many complain why they can't have even more.
Overall when you take abstractions of costs of common items Canada and the USA are very close together.
BCme @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:39 pm
fifeboy fifeboy:
I don't understand. Cost of living is really about having enough in your pay packet to cover your expenses. If you can afford to live (pay/costs) with a quotient greater than 1, you are doing OK. If you have stuff left over for extras, you are doing well and is you have enough left after extras to put down savings you are going gangbusters. My opinion!
We completely agree there. With that said, it really does not have much to do with my original question.
I do not just accept the prices, I question why they are higher here. Why is a 2 lb. brick of Tillamook cheese $6 in Idaho and 750g of Cracker Barrel cheese $14 here? The answer as pointed out by andyt is that dairy is not subsidized here in Canada, and that the Canadian government sets prices and limits production.
I think it is good to question "why" rather than just blindly accept and pay. It is much easier for me to pay if I understand why an item is at a given price point. In the U.S. I know why prices are the way they are. I have lived there for decades. But I am new to Canada hence my questions. I think being informed is a good thing. And despite what some may think, it takes more than a general search of google to learn everything about Canada.
Brenda @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:44 pm
I found this little gem. RockyMtnGirl mentioned the comparison between Vancouver and Seattle, so I compared Seattle with Boise when it comes to cost of living. Turns out Seattle is 22% more expensive than Boise.
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/sav ... lator.aspx
Why is a kilo of Gouda cheese (made in Salmon Arm, BC) 3 times as expensive as it is in The Netherlands? Does it matter, really?
BCme @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:47 pm
Xort Xort:
Some things are more expensive in Canada, others are cheaper.
You can also end up with higher or lower taxes on income depending on what amounts to use and in what state/province.
Canadian governments take in about 32% of the GDP as taxes. USA governments take in about 26%.
Overall the easy rule is that items cost more, while services cost less. For someone that doesn't get much use out of services it can seem like a bum deal. For people that get a lot of use out of services, many complain why they can't have even more.
Overall when you take abstractions of costs of common items Canada and the USA are very close together.
You can also end up with higher or lower taxes on income depending on what amounts to use and in what state/province.
Canadian governments take in about 32% of the GDP as taxes. USA governments take in about 26%.
Overall the easy rule is that items cost more, while services cost less. For someone that doesn't get much use out of services it can seem like a bum deal. For people that get a lot of use out of services, many complain why they can't have even more.
Overall when you take abstractions of costs of common items Canada and the USA are very close together.
Well said. Thank you. You are right, goods in general do seem more expensive here, while services in general are less expensive. For example, health care in America is very expensive, while much less here. Although a service like auto insurance seems extremely expensive here. I pay $110 a month while I was paying $40 in America. Utilities and rent seem on par with what I was paying in Idaho.
Brenda @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:50 pm
BCme BCme:
Although a service like auto insurance seems extremely expensive here. I pay $110 a month while I was paying $40 in America.
Thanks to ICBC.
Did you bring a letter from your previous insurance stating the years you have driven without any claims? That might give you the discount you want.
They tried to charge me the full 100% as a new comer, but the letter from my insurance company gave me an instant 40% discount.
RUEZ @ Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:51 pm
Brenda Brenda:
Why is a kilo of Gouda cheese (made in Salmon Arm, BC) 3 times as expensive as it is in The Netherlands? Does it matter, really?
Since OP skipped over my explanation early in the thread I'll say it again. We have a dairy marketing board in BC that controls who can produce dairy, and how much. Thus the higher prices.