International Bumpies
jllmb79
member
Canadians that shop in the US
jllmb79
member
We are moving Sunday to Toronto Canada. We will be in a hotel for a while till we find a house. I plan on bringing plenty of baby essentials and some food. Everyone says Canada is expensive for everything. Is there anything cheaper in Canada that I shouldn't bother bringing. I have heard water bottles are cheaper and produce is cheaper in Canada...anything else you can think of?
I am guessing diapers, wipes etc are cheaper in the US?
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Re: Canadians that shop in the US
Toronto is a great city.... so welcome almost!
I would probably buy your winter attire in the US. Clothing is a big reason why we shop in the US. Also to me there seems to be a larger variety of items in the US (when I go to target, you have sooo many different toddler snacks/squeezies that we don't have.
As a Canuck and someone who grew up in Toronto & lived there for 35 years, please don't panic about the cost of things. Things are a wee bit more expensive than the States, but nothing compared to what we're experiencing down here in New Zealand (ugh).
First of all - where in Toronto are you moving to? Depending on where (Etobicoke, Downtown, North York, Scarborough, East York, The Beaches)? So depending on what corner you're in, there will definitely be a Costco. Sam's Club did close down about 5+ years ago. Costco will be the cheapest for Diapers - especially if you like Huggies (they don't carry Pampers). There will also be a store called the "Real Canadian Superstore" - known as Superstore, and they're also pretty much on par with Walmart for diapers.
I'd also suggest checking out www.walmart.ca and check out prices. We don't do coupon doubling like they have in the States, but it's just learning where to shop, when stuff is on sale and the like.
I don't want you to feel like you're heading in to a third-world country, as there are lots of cool things (food-wise) and the like. Things will be different (as I've learned in NZ), some brands may be different, and stores will be different.
And since the dollar is around parity, that will help too.
Please feel free to PM me with any questions and worries, I'd be more than happy to help out and try and relieve some stress.
I'd bring food for a couple of days, and after that, you can hit a grocery store. No need to worry about lugging all kinds of heavy stuff with you - you'll have enough else to concentrate on.
It will work out Mama - Toronto is an awesome city and I miss it with all my heart.
Welcome to the area! I find a lot of things here are more expensive but when you factor in the additional pay that often goes with the jobs up here it isn't too bad. I find you get what you pay for. Walmart produce is the cheapest but usually rots in a couple days so I stick to the superstore's for produce. There are tons of shopping options in Mississauga so you should be able to find most things that you are use to... except Target... but soon we will have them.
Oakville is nice but the further west you go the more affordable housing and living costs are. I was in Flamborough/Waterdown the other day and it seemed like a great place to live. The commute on the QEW isn't bad if you time it right or carpool.
I figured the prices were a lot higher considering the Canadians sit in two hours of traffic at the border to shop in the US.
I had heard once that water bottles were cheaper in Canada, only wondering what else was cheaper.
We will be close enough to the border that we can go back to the US for big purchases as we need them. 2nd set of baby furniture will be one trip back to the US.
People who go over the border usually do so to buy expensive items like electronics where as I said the savings are greater or a large number of smaller items where the savings add up. For things like diapers and wipes though and things like that it's not going to be a significant difference unless you're talking bulk...
Agree with this.
When we go down to the US we go for fun shopping and to get things that we can't get in Canada because stores simply don't carry the items/brands (I always stockup on 3-4 12packs of Cherry Coke because it's not available up here and my DH likes to get all the new experimental flavours of Doritos). But just so you know we have things up here in Canada that you will never find in US stores too, so the first trip to the store you make I highly suggest you pick up a bag of ketchup chips and a couple of Coffee Crisp chocolate bars and then enjoy...