Good morning folks! Enjoy a lovely guest post from the great Mr CBB today!
Mr.CBB is the voice behind Canadian Budget Binder who says that “It’s not about how much money you make it’s how you save it”. Mr.CBB shares budgeting tips, frugal lifestyle, relationships, recipes, parenting, personal finance and so much more for his over 4500 fans all around the world. After all “money is money, debt is debt” no matter where you live. Come join him on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Photo Credit: Niagara Falls, Ontario Freedigitalphotos.net/GeorgeStojkovi
I don’t know the true reasons as to why so many British people are leaving the little island in the North Atlantic, but Canada is one of the most popular destinations. A few years ago I joined the long list of defectors and haven’t looked back. Since emigrating to Canada from the UK I’ve enjoyed the benefits of living the North American life style but this does have some draw backs. Coming from a country where more than 60 million people are boxed into an island approximately 4 times smaller than Ontario, the sheer amount of space is very different than what I was used to. Even though I’ve lived in Canada now just over 5 years and managed to go back to school and secure full-time employment it was all a learning experience I’ll never forget.
Canada Compared To UK
Here are just a few of the other differences I’ve found…..
- Housing: Houses aren’t necessarily what you’d call cheap where I live but what you get for your money is quite different to what you would get in the UK. Here you can get a 1500 sq ft residence with a garage as opposed to 600-700 sq ft with no basement or garage for roughly the same amount.
- Farming: Large range of locally produced foods, which depending on the season, gives you better tasting fruit and vegetables instead of eating that imported tasteless stuff from the southern states or Central America. It’s not tasteless because it comes from those areas, it’s tasteless because it’s not ripe when it’s picked and it spends a ridiculous amount of time in transit. Eating local also stimulates the local economy. A lot of fresh produce is imported in the UK.
- Vehicles: Domestic vehicles are relatively cheap, cheap to buy parts for, you only have to get an E-Test every 2 years and a safety inspection when you buy or sell the vehicle. Owning a car in the UK is a little different other than the blatantly obvious fact that we drive “on the wrong side of the road”. Vehicle owners in the UK get the wonderful opportunity to take their car for a safety inspection every single year as well as an E-Test.
- Cheap gas/diesel: You may think that statement is completely nuts but my parents inform me that the current price of diesel where they live in the UK is £1.39 a litre or $2.17 a litre with gasoline prices not much different. Could you live with paying that much at the pump?
- Taxes: Here HST is 8% and GST in Ontario is 5% for the grand total of 13% Tax on purchases and services. If you think your getting fleeced by the taxman, my fellow Brits pay 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) on a wide variety of purchases and services.
- Booze: Alcohol is government run here in Canada and it’s reflected in the prices. In the UK you can buy alcohol at the corner shop (off licence) or the supermarket and due to the increased competition this leads to cheaper prices.
- Dairy: Cheese, I don’t what it is but it just isn’t the same. We’ve tried more mature cheese but it’s still not as strong as what you can get back in Europe. What’s even worse is the imported cheese from Europe is very expensive compared to what I used to pay.
- Yogurt: I can only thank the Canadian that eventually found that Greek Yogurt existed. If you haven’t tried it, buy some and tell me that it isn’t the best yogurt you’ve had. There is a draw back however and that is the price. I used to buy it for 50p (about a dollar at the time) but you’ve got to fork out $5 here?
- Weather: On the odd occasion that Britain gets a warmer than normal summer everyone tries to cool the house down by having all the windows wide open during the night. Here we just turn the central air conditioning on, because hot sweaty summers are pretty much a sure thing. If you thought you knew snow, you don’t know snow until you’ve lived in Canada, enough said. I must admit that it is nice to experience different seasons other than the “rain season” we get in the UK.
- Travelling: Travel is expensive and you have to go along way before hitting a completely different culture. From here, Central and South America would be my choice to go and explore. Mexico is off limits for me as it’s already been taken over by resorts.
You can find similarities and differences all over the place living in Canada vs the UK and I probably noticed more in the first year I was here. After you’ve grown accustomed to your new life in another country you tend to go with the flow and accept the changes. After all, if living in another country was going to be the same where would the fun be? Probably the most changes had to come from me. If you’re unwilling to accept differences and change accordingly you’ll get frustrated and come to the point where all you want to do is give up and return home.
For 99.9% of Brits coming to Canada there should be next to no real culture shock, but I can understand how other nationalities perceive the culture and why they tend to congregate in areas. People staying together in their own little communities is not just a Toronto thing with little China or little Italy. Years ago when Spain was becoming the destination of choice, the British invasion happened and huge amounts of coastal villas were bought up. The British all tended to stay together because they hadn’t mastered the Spanish language. You see it in every large city, until the 2nd generation grows up, everybody that speaks the same language stay together.
Culture shock can be a killer for some people who emigrate. Personally I had to slow my speech down and use less slang because I just lost people in the middle of conversation. Even though Canadians and British people both speak English, it’s not as easy as that and at times I felt misunderstood. There are multiple subtle differences, mainly in choices of words and names for objects or places and how they are pronounced. The trouble with slowing down your speech and using less slang is that you tend to come cross as really posh which I can assure you is not the case.
Having travelled quite a bit in my 20’s I never really found myself homesick or out of my depth. Travelling to wild and unusual countries when you’re young as opposed to going on holiday and sitting by the pool on a resort drinking yourself stupid are two different things. Travelling and getting right in with the people gives you more of a sense of losing yourself in the country you’re visiting. I have many memories of odd and unusual incidents while travelling, it gives you a different perspective on life.
I once went to the hardware store because I was doing a plumbing repair and needed an “olive” and all I got was strange looks. An expat from further north than where I came from happened to work there and heard my accent and interrupted. The “olive” that I was looking for here is called a “ferrule” and is part of what’s called a “compression joint”. The problem with British English is the fact that we as a nation tend to destroy our own language with slang and the fact we love to shorten just about everything.
Examples of how Canadians might find British English confusing:
Spanner = Wrench
Sounds easy enough until you find out that a person can also be a Spanner simply by being stupid or doing something stupid. “You spanner”
Pants = Trousers
Pants are underwear but can also be part of a statement. “That’s total pants” as in that’s total rubbish.
The benefit of sounding like you’ve just got off the boat is the fact that it can be quite the conversation starter. It doesn’t matter if the other person is a fellow Brit or a Canadian local, getting to know the surrounding population leads to acceptance and being friendly with people will always get you further in life than being ignorant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still proud to be British, but I’m also proud to say I’m part way to being Canadian. I once was lost but now I’m found as I no longer feel like a stranger in my new home- Canada!
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how interesting! I didn`t know that there were so many British emigrating to Canada!
Funny, I said the same thing because every time I turn around I’m meeting someone British. I once said, it feels like I haven’t left home.
When I was in England I refused to say trousers. It just felt weird. And calling a sweater a jumper just seemed odd! =)
I think it goes both ways but I’m used to saying words here now because I know if I don’t people won’t have a bloody idea what I’m going on about. It simplifies my life in some cases and in others I just let it all out. My work mates are used to it now.
Niagara Falls is one of my favorite places to visit.
Having been to both countries, I can see the beauty in both. I find driving and other daily activities to be a bit more normal (from my American point of view) in Canada, but that’s just me. It’s probably very nice not to have to pay that 20% VAT anymore!
Niagara Falls is indeed one beautiful place. We took my mum and dad there when they came for a visit and they fell in love with the falls. I don’t think my mum has done that much walking in years although she is very well travelled. My dad was in awe.
Very interesting differences… including weather! Great post, Pauline.
I don’t miss the weather that’s for sure Tony but I do miss my family.
Great entertainment here, Mr. CBB! We’ve never traveled outside of the U.S. and Canada, so it’s been fun to hear your take on moving to a new country. Thanks for sharing!
It’s all the little things that I’ve learned over the years that started popping up once I’ve been here. It’s like buying a house and it looks beautiful but once you’ve lived in it you start to see all the little problems that pop up. That was how I learned about Canada, little by little I had to learn all the in’s and out’s and although it wasn’t easy it was well worth it. I love it here!
I haven’t been over to England in roughly 30 years but I have a sister that lives in London and I really should go over to visit sometime now that she holds a British passport and has declared the UK as her home. When I spent time in Europe…13 different countries to be precise, I was in my early 20’s and enjoyed experiencing new and different lifestyles before I returned home to Canada to set about establishing my career.
My sister has actually lived in many different countries and each one has left some imprint on her. I found New York helped her become far more assertive, while she has certainly has mastered that stiff upper lip approach to life while living in London.
She loves all the cheap travel opportunities within Europe and regularly flies to Spain to visit friends much the way we drive the next major city.
That’s what I miss very much Mary, cheap travel. My wife reminded me before I moved here that all that cheap travel to Europe would be a thing of the past. Now if we go home we will fly out of UK in hopes of saving a few bucks. You are right travelling does leave some sort of imprint as I have a memory of each place I’ve been to. Cheers Mary!
That’s a beautiful picture Mr. CBB! I’ve always wanted to go to Niagara Falls, but have not made it yet. You mention the difference in gas prices, that always sticks out to me when we travel to Europe in that it’s so much more expensive. Which is also part of the reason why you see so many more people biking or using public transportation in Europe.
John, you need to make it to Niagara Falls it’s one beautiful place and your family will love it. We’ve been a few times now and it simply blows my mind. Gas prices are and always have been expensive hence the small cars we drive. I’m not complaining here yet lol..
Despite living in a state that borders Canada, I have never made it there. I also have never been to the UK. The differences you point out are interesting and I have heard how expensive it is to live in the UK, especially when it comes to housing. Seems like you are pretty happy in Canada!
It is pricey to live in the UK but it’s no different from any Capital city. Toronto is pricey to most people but to me it’s not so bad, well that was when I first moved here. Now I’m making Canadian money and the picture is much clearer.
Nice comparison. I’m always amazed by how much vehichle testing varies from place to place. Up until about a decade ago, in NJ you needed to take your vehicle in for a comprehensive emissions and safety test every year (now it’s every 2 years, but same test). Bulb out? You fail. Winshiled cracked? You fail. Car accepts a leaded gasoline nozzle? You fail!
Then I moved to Colorado. At first, you didn’t even need an emissions test outside of the metro areas! My county now requires emissions testing, but nobody bats an eye if you are driving around a vehicle that would get you pulled over and probably towed in NJ!
I guess it just depends on where you live. There is no local variations between counties in the UK it’s all the same as opposed to state differences with-in the US.
What you wrote didn’t surprise me about cost, except for greek yogurt. $5?? You can get it for $1 here. I do think the cheese in Europe is the best. No comparison!
Prices in the USA for grocery items are much cheaper from my understanding and likely why some of my Grocery Game fans shop over the border.
One of my favourites is the word “scheme.” Here it has an entirely negative or devious connotation, but in the UK it doesn’t. “Investment scheme” is basically opposite things in the two different countries 🙂
That is very true and trust me when I say my wife and I have had more than one word battle in our years together .. all good though! Cheers Anne
I believe I am in the same boat as mr CBB, because I just came to Canada 2 years ago, from Hong Kong. What he said is absolutely true for an immigrant, when you move to another country, the difference is gigantic, language barrier, cultural differences, climate and all that. but he also said the truest thing – acceptance is the key to settle to your new home, which is my new home as well – – OH CANADA~~ 🙂 cheers
Go Wing Go!!! You and I have spoken on many occasions and like you said acceptance is very important. Coming from Hong Kong was likely and even bigger culture shock for you than me but you seem to be doing well. Cheers Wing!!
Great post Mr. CBB.
We used to have annual inspections and e-tests in BC but the current government scrapped them, declaring them to be too costly to the taxpayer. Personally, I’d like to see them come back. Safer vehicles and lower emissions are both good things in my book.
Brits may pay a higher VAT but they also get more bang for the buck for their tax dollar in terms of education assistance and health care. I guess it all depends upon what you’re willing to spend your money on…
You may want to seek out artisinal cheese makers in your area Mr. CBB, and tell them of your quest for a truly sharp cheese. They’ll charge more for their cheese than the supermarket does but probably less than the imported stuff, and you’ll be supporting your local economy.
You know I say this a lot 😉 but you can get your yogurt more affordably by either making it yourself or buying regular, all natural yogurt and then draining the extra whey from it yourself. If you choose the store bought/drain it yourself option, you usually save about a buck off the cost of Greek yogurt.
You really do need to come to Vancouver Island! The area where I live has the warmest mean temperatures in the country. This doesn’t mean that we get the hottest summer weather – we don’t – but that the temperatures are consistently more mild than the rest of Canada all year round. We get very little snow in winter, and our summertime highs are neither so hot nor so humid as what you experience in Ontario. English garden guides are very popular here because we have similar growing conditions. (Visualize Cornwall, only less populous. 🙂 )
Crikey Beth, when you told me you left a comment I knew right away you’d say that about the yogurt. I will try and make it along with the ricotta cheese you told me about. I don’t mind paying a little extra for good quality cheese. As for coming to Vancouver, just make sure to have fluffy pillows for me and all that amazing food you cook. Cheers Beth!!!
lol! I know, I’m like a broken record sometimes. 😉 Let me know when you’re on your way so I can buy those pillows. 😉
Hi Beth, thanks for stopping by! I make homemade yogurt myself, I have the cultures but always find it very liquid, how do you drain the extra whey?
It’s very simple to drain the whey Pauline. I use a seive that will sit in the top of my 8 cup glass measuring cup, and line it with an old piece of sheet (I use that material for many things in the kitchen). If you don’t have a piece of old sheet or pillowcase material, you can use 5 or 6 layers of cheesecloth instead. Turn the yogurt out into the lined seive and put the whole rig in your fridge for several hours. (I usually leave it overnight.) The excess whey will drain out and you’ll be left with a yogurt that is often even thicker than the Greek yogurt you buy in the store. Don’t throw the whey out. It’s rich in protein and B vitamins and can be used in place of buttermilk in many recipes. If you don’t need it immediately, it can be stored in the freezer.
Thank you Beth for the explanation, I have tried once to pour one full cup of yogurt into a bed sheet and leave it to drain overnight, in the morning I only found a small spoon worth of what looked between greek yogurt and cream cheese, definitely not worth the effort, and so much milk for that little spoon! I will try again with your instruction, hopefully it will be easier! The thread of the cloth has to play a role maybe I’ll try with a thinner cloth.
In re-reading your first comment, Pauline, I’m wondering if the problem is not with the cloth but with the yogurt itself.
It can be a challenge to reach the right balance of culture to milk. Too much culture or two little, will leave you with a runny yogurt – sometimes not much thicker than unbeaten whipping cream. The same thing can happen if the yogurt doesn’t stay warm enough to keep the cultures alive, or if you don’t let it mature for long enough. Other potential problems: not heating the milk enough to kill the bacteria before adding in the culture or not allowing it return to 110F before adding the culture in. If either of these steps is omitted the yogurt will not develop properly. It’s also possible that your culture may be past its prime and no longer sufficiently active to do its job.
Any of these factors can be easily addressed. I’m sure you have good instructions already, but here’s a link to my post on how I make yogurt. Perhaps it will be of some help in obtaining the results you’re looking for.
http://auntbbudget.blogspot.ca/2012/03/making-yogurt-in-thermos.html
As to draining your yogurt, I find that 1 quart of undrained homemade yogurt will usually yeild me with 2 to 3 cups of drained, very thick, Greek style yogurt.
The best cloths for draining yogurt are fairly tight woven, like cotton sheet material or muslin, not flanellette or other softer fabrics. Use the cloth to line a seive rather than making a bag like you might for making jelly. The wire of the sieve both supports the fabric and provides a second filter. Some people find it helps, too, to wet the cloth under the tap and then wring it out to almost dry before lining the seive with it.
I just read your post, thank you for the link. You do cultures with another yogurt, I actually have small cultures, they are white spongy little animals that grow every time I make a yogurt, there is more of them when I drain the yogurt. Then I wash them and pour some more milk.
Once in a while I leave them in the water and remove the floating ones, because they are dead.
I have no idea about the milk to culture ratio, my boyfriend brought the cultures one day and said one glass of milk, leave for 24h, drain, rinse, repeat. I use powder milk only, which is another thing that could go wrong, if I put too much or not enough powder for the water. I will try to boil it and cool down, since it is pretty warm here, better remove the bacteria. I would love to get that Greek yogurt consistence of yours, I do garlic and herb dip but it is very runny so far. Thanks again for the pointers!
What an interesting post! I read the part about cars and the E-test to my husband; he likes that kind of stuff 🙂 I can’t wait to someday visit both the UK and Canada; they are both on my bucket list!
It’s a great place to visit in the UK as there is so much to do but save your money for when you do go, it’s pricey. Canada is simply amazing and if you can make it definitely go to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake!
I spent two weeks there, and like I said on fb pregnant. I absolutely loved it there, the driving threw me off a bit. I never drove but sitting as a passenger I always felt like it was a rally race, small cars are the way of life over there. I was comfortable walking around on my own, people were very pleasant to us. We travelled up to the Lake District and were pleasantly surprised by a fighter jet out of the mountains and saw some really neat birds. oh and lots of pigeons and seagulls and they are much bigger than ours! there was a hedgehog just hanging out on the sidewalks. we were in Blackpool and because of all the salt from the Irish Sea there is very little grass but some amazing gardening, I loved walking around looking at how people landscape their properties, lots of pebblestone. I also got to visit Stanley Park and the beautiful gardens and greenhouse, sounds like I’m just reminiscing! ha! really liked England 🙂
That is why I love flowers and gardening so much as it was and still is huge in the UK. My mum and dad have a huge garden. I had a small garden at my old house and I made use of all the space when it came to growing season. So much beauty in flowers. Cheers Katrina
I love English accents, but do have a hard time following some of them. I am from the South, and people speak very slowly there. My accent has toned down quite a bit since I’ve lived in Colorado, and my family has to have me slow down sometimes! I have several patients from the UK. They all have a great sense of humor, not sure if I have a lucky sample or if Brits in general are just funny. I love that they use shortsighted instead of nearsighted. I’m glad you feel like Canada is a second home. It would not be fun to make the move and hate it.
My wife struggled at first but now she doesn’t hear it anymore, well not like she used to but it’s very deep, right off the boat thick most people say when I talk. My wife’s family also struggled but again they are used to it now. It takes time and if you are not around a certain accent you may struggle for a bit.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Note while discussing motoring you skipped the sky high price of insurance in Ontario. My car insurance in the northern uk is £200 pa. While in Ontario for the exact same vehicle it is $1400! This more than wipes out savings through cheaper fuel. An average home in Burlington Ont is now a lot more than my UK home which is just as large (2000 sq ft). And no, it is not the exchange rate that is making the difference as the 10 year average is 1.90.
I do wish British expats would stop denying that Canada has caught up with the rest the world in prices and is now 11% more expensive than the UK in general.
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