cost of living

How does the basic cost of living in the UK compare with Canada? I know about the cost of petrol and the cost of buying a house or renting a flat over there. I don't mean the cost of eating out or entertainment either, because those are discretionary.

I'm thinking of necessary, basic things like:

1. food
2. utilities: home heating, electricity, water rates, cable TV, internet/phone rates
3. local taxes, eg. council tax
4. insurance--car and home

In general, did you notice any differences, up or down, from Canada in these basic items?

Hi Polina,
To be honest. . .all of those things are more expensive. Having said that, you can find deals if you look around like shopping at the local market rather than grocery stores.

For us, utilities are about double and we don't have 'luxuries' such as a dryer to help cut down on costs.

Cable TV is completely overpriced. Even to get 5 channels you have to buy a TV licence which is quite expensive.

As you likely know, you pay by the minute when you talk on the phone so it's possible to keep the rates down if you don't talk for hours. It's still about 20$ to rent the phone line though. Internet is about 35$ per month for a basic package.

Coucil tax is very expensive (about 2000$ a year depending on where you live), and there are a lot of other taxed like car tax, TV tax, NHS tax ect.

Having said all of that I LOVE living over here. We moved about 7 months ago and I have no intentions of going back. It's a matter of priorities I suppose. I'm willing to give up 300 channels and hang my clothes to dry, and live in a smaller flat that I would otherwise in Canada. It's worth it.

Hope that is helpful!
Leanne

Utilities are double?? Dear God. I pay $3600 for heat and light annually in my modest 3-bed bung here in Canada. Are you saying that it would cost $7200 in the UK for the same square footage?

You had 300 channels in Canada? I pay $55 a month for 28 crap channels on cable. CBC-TV is the best of the lot and I could get that for nothing but hubby has to have TSN. I pay $25 for my phone line before any other charges and $35 for internet, so that's about the same.

As for council tax, I pay almost $1000 in municipal taxes here in the middle of nowhere. So $2000 seems pretty competitive with larger towns here and a lot less than some Canadian cities, no doubt.

To be honest, each time I go back to Canada everything seems to be increasing in price. Everyone constantly says how expensive everything is in the UK but I find that it is evening out. Of course there will be some things that are more, but at the same time I am sure that you will find some things to be less.

Good Luck.

We had a satellite in Canada and live on the border to the US, so yes, I think we got just under 300 channels. Which included 5 NHL channels and about 7 Fox channels which play all the same shows but at different time. Plus all the pay per view.

In terms of utilities (gas, water and electricity) we're paying about 1500£ per year a month in a small two bedroom flat. Which is about 3000$. . so you can imagine what it would be for a three bedroom house.

But 'scooby' has a good point. Some things are cheeper (like alcohol) and the pay is higher here (for what I do anyway).

Leanne

I'm thinking of necessary, basic things like:

1. food
2. utilities: home heating, electricity, water rates, cable TV, internet/phone rates
3. local taxes, eg. council tax
4. insurance--car and home

In general, did you notice any differences, up or down, from Canada in these basic items?

In general it's more expensive.it also depends where you are going to live (London? North? ).things are generally cheaper in the north.

To give you an idea:
I live in the north-West (Stockport) in a 3 bedroom semi-detached house (2 adults only).
1. Food: if we are really carefull +-£75/week (up to about £100/week depending where we shop)
2. Utilities: Electricity & heating = £68/month
Water = £130/every 6 months
Cable + internet + phone (package)= £55.00 (depends how many calls you are making.I only call my parents every 2 months !)
You have to pay a TV license = £30/every 3 months
3.Council Tax (I'm in band "D") = £103/month
4.Insurance home = £30/month
Insurance car = £43/month and we have a car that is in the cheaper for car insurance.

You will probably have to rent first (unles you have the money to buy a house !) because you will not be able to get a mortgage (it takes about 2-3 years to build you credit !)

hope this helps !

Joanne

I find that food prices in Canada have sky-rocketed over the past few years. Honestly, if you know where to shop, the prices are about the same.

If you shop at Tesco or ADSA, food is actually cheaper here in the UK.

As for heating bills, I also find them to be cheaper here in the UK.

Things like rent and tax are pricy, but a lot of the staples are becoming comparable in price.

You said that you are giving up a bunch of luxuries to live in England, because it's "so" worth it.

I'm thinking of moving there for ~ 1 yr after I graduate (august 07) - I'll be 21.

To be honest, I LOVE my TV, that's seriously one of my biggest worries - but I suppose I can download them eh? Like the day after they happen.and I've honestly never hung clothes to dry!

What makes it so worth it? I'm interested to see what the pros were - after that horrific list of costs!

[quote="polina"]
You had 300 channels in Canada? I pay $55 a month for 28 crap channels on cable. CBC-TV is the best of the lot and I could get that for nothing but hubby has to have TSN. I pay $25 for my phone line before any other charges and $35 for internet, so that's about the same. [quote]

Where do you live!?? My roommates and I pay $20/month for Full Cable which is about 80 channels!! if we weren't students it would be $30 - still not very much, and SO worth it! We get tons of great channels; ABC, CBS, NBC, CBC, CTV, global, HGTV, A&E, TBS, MM, MTV canada, CBC newsworld, CNN, CTV newsworld, TSN, .... and so much more...

I think you should switch your cable provider. (although you do get a really cheap deal on internet -- we pay 45/month - luckily our landlord pays it)


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