Canada $$$$

[Duane Stuart]

If you plan to go to Canada, make sure you have deep pockets. I planned to stay 3 week but EVERYTHING is very expensive. We don't relize how good we have in US. I had a trailer tire just mounted at Canadain Tire 24. 00 no balance. Drinking Water is any where from 1. 95 to 3. 75 a gallon. fuel is $3. 35 We were very uncomfortable, I don't think they want us around. I'll spend my $$ here and keep the US green.

 

[jelag]

You have to understand their tax system and their employee costs... . most Canadians make mush better wages than we do... but also pay much higher taxes... I travel to Canada a lot... . on business and have learned to find quiet mom and pop motels which are 1/2 the price of a chain... local restaurants that quiet, have great food and are less... .

My last trip diesel was 1. 10 per liter... . 3. 8 per gallon and their dollar was close to par... . so that makes their diesel close to $4. 18 per gallon... We can go from Spokane to Edmonton and back without fuel in Canada...

If you keep your receipts for major purchases you can get your GST back when you leave the country... . most of the duty free stores on the Canadian side of the border will help you fill out the GST refund and will give the cash back on the spot...

If you need to purchase there... . its more cost effective to use a debit card instead of exchanging for Can$ at a bank... . and a lot of their businesses will take our money at a good exchange rate... . If I need cash it's from an ATM machine not at a bank through a teller... .

Hope this gives some insight...

 

[Shadrach]

I thought all Americans were rich :-laf Shadrach

 

[Road Dog]

If you plan to go to Canada, make sure you have deep pockets. I planned to stay 3 week but EVERYTHING is very expensive. We don't relize how good we have in US. I had a trailer tire just mounted at Canadain Tire 24. 00 no balance. Drinking Water is any where from 1. 95 to 3. 75 a gallon. fuel is $3. 35 We were very uncomfortable, I don't think they want us around. I'll spend my $$ here and keep the US green.

Where are you getting that cheap fuel? Around here Diesel is $4. 16 a US gallon. I have to cross the border to Lynden WA for those prices.

The GST rebate for visitors was quietly discontinued last year.

 

[mpaulson]

It's all a bit of trade off. We pay more taxes as a society, but the rich and the poor have health benefits etc. without refinancing there home to get surgury done. Although that is slowly changing to make it a rich mans benifit to not have to wait for surgury. I had a friend who had moved to California and had three kids there and was paying off a $25,000. 00 loan to cover those cost!!??? I also know a guy in Chino Valey Arizona who had cancer and was paying off a $40,000. 00 loan for those surguries!!?? That's alot of money that I would be spending on toys, even with my three kids,which didn't cost anything in the hospital evne with a private room, and if I had cancer or something like that.

 

[rrl989]

Hey mpaulson, good to hear in Canada you can spend all your money on toys while everyone else pays your debts. So glad everything is free and costs nothing in Canada.

 

[Regcabguy]

The projected cost of a healthcare policy under Obamacare for a 60-64 year old person will be $723/month here according to an article in our local rag. Sounds like we're going to have to take out a loan for our universal coverage. :{ Sharp Reese Stealy here in San Diego employs many fine doctors and nurses from guess where? Canada. We need healthcare reform here but 118 new federal bureaucracies doesn't sound very cost effective. Something between Canada's system and ours would probably work well.

 

[ddutil]

Not so long ago, you guys got $1. 50 CDN for each $USD. The Canadian $ is at par mostly because of oil exports from Alberta to... USA.



Our provincial pension plan (the Caisse de dépôt et placements du Québec) lost $40B (for a population under 8 million, that's $5k per headcount) in the american subprime loans catastrophe.



It's becoming harder to tell who pays for what, and for who, and when. :-{}



- Dan

 

[S.Morris]

I travelled to Florida this past winter for about 3wks. Same as the last couple of years... . same time of year.



Fuel was about 20% cheaper , but groceries, restaurant meals and motels were equal to or slightly higher than the area of Ontario I live in. Add in the exchange and cost goes up a few %(at the time) higher. In years past it was much less expensive in US even with the much higher exchange rates then... ..... Now... . not so much



It about equals out with the cheaper fuel.



Will say restaurant meals while being aprox same price, the portions are smaller in Can.



If I had to work for the wages that most trades pay(at least in Florida) I would definitely not be able to afford the holiday.



I have several good friends in the US. and the same in Canada. When the chips are down, I can depend on any of them equally



Steve

 

[Shadrach]

I went to the US for the first time in years last year (Florida ) and was surprised how expensive the car rental, for example, was - especially the insurance. Yes the gas was cheaper but other thing weren't. While we all have our likes and dislikes about the other country ( and our own ) let's keep this friendly . As a tourist it's sometimes hard to know where to find the best deals on things you would normally buy at home. I'm sure most of us have had bad experiences while traveling in our own country. Shadrach

 

[mpaulson]

I think there was a misunderstanding on my last post. We don't get healthcare for free, we pay more taxes on the things we buy, income, etc. I am in B. C. right now and just paid an extra $98 on a $688 item plus the 5% gst!! that's 17%!!! on money that I have already paid min 33% income tax on. That's 50% $%^&^##%! You are not paying my debt rrl989.

 

[rrl989]

... That's 50% $%^&^##%! You are not paying my debt rrl989.

I'm glad your system works for you. It won't work in the US, my opinion is that of most Americans. It's a sensitive matter being forced on us by those who have run up a $14 Trillion debt. What is the point of no return, when does it collapse ? Why promise something that can't be delivered ?

 

[CToney]

We are close enough to the US to go down and buy the things that are cheaper. Tires are cheap but you have to watch some things are more $$$. Yes the taxes up here are a pain. Beer is half price down south.