# Food Prices in BC



## roundfoot (Jul 11, 2010)

Hi, 

I am in BC at the moment with family (wife and 2 girls under 2). We have spent a week in Vancouver (staying in Kitsilano) without a car and are now in Kelowna for the week with a car. In Vancouver we only shopped in small local supermarkets and the food prices seemed very high compared to uk. Just come back from an out of town supermarket in Kelowna and seemed very reasonable, same as uk if not cheaper. Just wondering if the food in Vancouver is more expensive or if you go out of town it's more reasonable. Looking to relocate but could do with an idea of cost of living.

Someone I spoke to in Van said they travelled to US to shop. Is this common? And much cheaper?

Thanks!


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## kimo (Feb 12, 2011)

roundfoot said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am in BC at the moment with family (wife and 2 girls under 2). We have spent a week in Vancouver (staying in Kitsilano) without a car and are now in Kelowna for the week with a car. In Vancouver we only shopped in small local supermarkets and the food prices seemed very high compared to uk. Just come back from an out of town supermarket in Kelowna and seemed very reasonable, same as uk if not cheaper. Just wondering if the food in Vancouver is more expensive or if you go out of town it's more reasonable. Looking to relocate but could do with an idea of cost of living.
> 
> ...


I don't think it matters where you are, when you shop at small, local stores, you will almost always pay more. And the smaller the store, the higher the prices. Shopping of anykind in Vancouver is more expensive due to high property values. There has been alot of discussion on here about food prices in BC, not just Vancouver, (read the "Why Move to Canada" thread, currently on page 2 of the postings, or use the search function, but as it is everywhere, you have to shop around, if you don't, you can't complain about paying too much. We live on southern Vancouver Island, and buy most of our groceries at either Walmart Supercenter, or Real Canadian Superstore because when we have compared prices of the things we buy, they are on average at least 15% less than stores like Safeway, Save-on-Foods, Thriftys etc. and probably 20-50% less than most, small corner stores. And yes, alot of people in the Vancouver/lower mainland area shop over the border in places like Bellingham Washington because things are much cheaper, just filling your gas tank up can save you $20 dollars or more, gas in Van=$1.36 lt, Bellingham=.95 lt. Almost everything else is much cheaper, and with the Canadian dollar worth more than the U.S, it makes even more sense to shop there. Sometimes the line up to cross the border can be an hour or more, but its still worth it. And when going on a trip, more and more people are even flying out of Bellingham because it saves them hundreds on airfare and parking compared to Vancouver airport. lane:


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