Still Cheaper To Holiday in the States than B.C.
 

Despite a 73 cent dollar, and higher costs of everything in the States it is still WAY cheaper holidaying there than in B.C. Just got back from 14 days in the States, gas runs 30 to 70 cents a litre cheaper there than here in Alberta, and gas in B.C. is 30 to 40 cents cents a litre higher than here.

Restaurants in the States still serve very large portions, most of the time enough for two of us, but even on individual plates, converted prices are about the same or a bit less than here. Groceries are 20 to 30% cheaper. Booze is about half for Canadian made liquor, $27 for 1750 ML of Seagrams Rye in Utah, and WAY cheaper than that for commonly sold stuff like Vodka, Beer and Bourbon.

Access to various venues is also Cheaper. A 2 day pass to 5 museums, being the Cody Firearms museum, Natural History Museum, Art Gallery, Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Indian History Museum was $22 per person for the 2 day, all inclusive pass. You can get a vehicle pass that covers the vehicle and 4 passengers, good for the whole year at all National Parks, BLM and many State Parks for $80. The same pass in Canada is $151 and only covers the National Parks.

Hotel rooms ran from 100 Canadian to about 300 Canadian, depending on location and how fancy the digs were. These were all Hampton, Hilton or Marriott owned hotels. When we priced 14 days of Hotels on the B.C. Gold Coast they were running from 200 to $500 a night for basically Super 8/Holiday Inn Express 2 Star hotel type quality rooms. I could rarely find Hilton etc type 3 star hotels. Top of the brand heap seemed to be some Best Western banner hotels in a few locations but most were stand alone motels and hotels of ancient vintage.

When you add $2-300 a pop for each ferry ride, and you need at least 4 of those, plus the higher costs of fuel, food and lodging, the bill for 14 days ratchets up really fast. Back of the envelope calculation, it was going to be nearly $10,000 for 14 days, same time in the States ran less than $4,000 Canadian.

Pretty hard to make the case to visit the Bring Cash Province at those prices, and especially with the amount of demonstrated animosity they have to Albertans, and that animosity was abundantly on display the last couple of years during Covid.

It will be interesting to see if the tourism being WAY down in 2023 and 2024 has any effect on the attitudes in B.C. and/or the pricing profiles. Somehow I think it will take a few more years for it to sink in.

Traveling anywhere in Canada not even a consideration for me.
If I have to drive more than a few hours for a holiday, I'm driving south.
If I'm going to fly somewhere, I'm flying south.

I much prefer visiting states like Idaho,Montana,Wyoming etc, as opposed to B.C. And I have no desire to hand money to the woke socialists in the lower mainland or on the island. So if I am driving, or flying on vacation, it will be South, not West.

And don't forget your medical insurance, that's another $10/day minimum...

Gas is $2.15 in Vancouver this morning......

Let the pain flow...
 

Good :happy0034:

Mexico is the best. I have been to both coasts up and down several times. Love it

Prices are so high in BC ,we had a hand full of guys from our BC branch move to our Edmonton branch .They say not only is it cheeper hear that they can buy a house instead of renting , they like seeing that blue sky .I guess it rains so much there the sky is aways cloudy .

You actually need that in any Canadian Province too, not just the States. Bought ours through RBC, it was only $150 each, good for the whole year, where ever you travel.

Colorado River Valley near Moab Utah

https://i.imgur.com/cDAh7nB.jpg

Monument Valley Arizona.

https://i.imgur.com/nYOrzlv.jpg

Good summary.

Last time I was down I could also walk into a hotel at 6 pm and if the price was $140 cdn a night equivalent offer $100 and many would dicker on the price to get the business.

Worked even calling in advance. Room is $100 US a night call and say you are passing though and wonder if they could do a night for $70. Most said yes.

Here… not a chance. Very rare will they drop the price.

We used to rent a condo on the beach in Parksville…. Used to be $2000 for a week. Now it’s $3000 plus ferry, plus gas to drive out… plus a night hotel each way, plus gas and meals… a week is now over $5000. Used to fly out as well but a weeks car rental shout up to $2800 a week after Covid.

So last year we did 2 weeks in Cuba at a nice all inclusive place for $3800.

So pricey.

We spend a lot of time in MT, CO and TN.
Cheap to hang at property in MT, one tank of fuel, there and back. Fuel, groceries, beer and liquor cheap once down. Can second the portion size when dine out, free pour drinks. Flights to Denver and Nashville are cheap due to campanion benefits from my business flights. I will run out of time long before I run out of money, but it is cheaper stateside at any time of the year, more so during peak summer holiday periods.

It's is cheaper in *some* states, or cities. Some are more expensive by far. Like Phoenix/Scottsdale. Just got back from my daughter's wedding, and found it staggeringly expensive (granted we were in a swankier part of Scottsdale), but gas was $4.50 Usd a gallon, a nice but not fancy breakfast for my son and I was $76 USD, moderately nice hotel was $170 US a night (the resort where wedding party stayed was $600 USD a night!! I refused to do it). And so on. Anyway. Was quite expensive. But generally, if you don't want to live like a movie star, travel in the US is less expensive then BC. My daughter had to have her dream wedding 2.0 though, and I got to walk her down the aisle and dance with her this time.

And then came home, and somebody smashed into my daughter on way to work (she is mostly ok) and so I shelled out another $14k for a replacement Camry for her. Holy hell, this month.

But as KGB so wisely communicated to me, if you can fix your problems with money, they aren't problems, they're just expenses.

It all depends on where you go. I was in Kelowna last summer and Idaho. My money did go further in Idaho but that is not really comparing apples to apples. Your comparing a tourist hot spot to ....... Idaho. Of course it will be cheaper. If your comparing the lower mainland to say Seattle it will be a wash. I just went there and factoring in the exchange rate I was not further ahead. Meals still massively overprices. No deals to be had a grocery stores. Everything else was the same.

Long story short going to the states just "to save money" is a foolish proposition. Go visit because you want to.

Sorry to hear about your Daughter, glad she is mostly okay.

We too found quite a spread in gas prices from a low of $2.96 ($1.06 a litre converted to CDN dollars) to a high of $4.01 a gallon. Even at $4.01, including exchange difference, that is only $1.43 a litre. E85 was in the $2.50 range when real gas was $3.75, but I won't burn that in one of my vehicles. Would use it in a rental car though.

A few picks from our Utah trip last Spring:

About the same spot near Monument Valley
https://i.imgur.com/PIkustD.jpeg

Mexican Hat
https://i.imgur.com/sWJIkMW.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/I1dm3vq.jpeg

Goose neck State Park with the San Juan River at the bottom
https://i.imgur.com/VH7xDS2.jpeg

Wilson Arch
https://i.imgur.com/OzuRHBz.jpeg

Corona Arch
https://i.imgur.com/xZGb8FZ.jpeg

Cisco, Vultures don't get fat there!
https://i.imgur.com/bqIzfuk.jpeg

Cool!! Almost exactly a year apart, and we have all the same pictures, except the Buzzard Store one.:) Monument Valley is one of my wife's favourite places on earth, but she saw the Arches Park for the first time this year and really likes it too. Found a back road in and out of Arches off 191 called Salt Valley road. No traffic on it and as long as it is dry it is a great way to enter or leave the park so you aren't back tracking. If you enter that way, no entry fee, and you don't have to reserve an entry time either.

Shows on Google Maps or OpenStreetMap

Did a similar trip back in '91. Will always remember The Cody museum, first time I saw a palm pistol. Every small town we stopped in we made sure to check out the gun stores. Lots of food on our plates for 6 to 12 bucks and I can eat lots. Super 8 motels were 26 to 29 dollars and of course our dollar was at par or better then. Gas was cheap and our 89 Ford Topaz got 30mpg, something I haven't seen from Ford since, except in their ads. In the last ten years we would rent lake cabins/homes in BC for our vacations but since the BC gov't went after people (supposedly foreigners) with second homes, they sold them off and there are only a few advertising them now and of course can charge high rates. Haven't gone RVing to BC since Covid, and even before that were experiencing push back at campgrounds.

We literally got back last night after 3 weeks in the US of A. Drove from Edmonton south to Salt Lake City. Spent a night there and then we were going to do Vegas and the Grand Canyon but went to Moab instead. Spent a couple days there and glad we changed our route. Very cool place and want to go back. From there we went over to Texas. New Mexico was extremely boring and couldn’t wait to get out of there. Couple nights in Houston. Did the Space Center and that was cool. Houston as a whole was terrible. Way, way too busy. Left Houston and went to Galveston for a night then along the coast to Corpus Christi and stayed on South Padre Island. Liked it there. San Antonio for a night and then Austin for 3 nights. Toured the hill country and ate a ton of BBQ. Went up to Cheyenne after Texas. Was going to tour through Yellowstone but they were calling for snow so we cut over to Jackson. From there we burned home.

Found things were cheaper but definitely more expensive than when we’ve travelled south in years past. If we were staying a night we’d usually grab a cheap motel. As long as it was clean and in a safer neighborhood we were good. But they were usually over $100 CAD for a night. If we did a couple nights we’d try to stay in a decent hotel. Usually pushing $200-$250 CAD for a night depending on when during the week. Did an AirBnB on South Padre Island. Around $225 CAD a night but comfortable and on the water.

We didn’t pay more than $4/gallon for fuel. Texas was the cheapest. Usually just north of $3/gallon. The 80mi/hr speed limits didn’t help with the mileage. The Americans love to drive fast. I think the majority of the drive was 135-140km/hr.

After the exchange, groceries were around the same price. A little cheaper but nothing mind blowing. Brought 5-6 bags of stuff back that we can’t find here. We only ate out twice at sit down restaurants. Again, about the same as home. Ate at 8 BBQ joints and they were pricey but that was my reason for going to Texas. I thought I knew good BBQ until I went there. Really outstanding.

20 days, 8 states and almost 11,000km. Don’t think I’d do that road trip again. Loved Moab and Wyoming. Want to go back for sure. Texas was meh. Glad we did it but can’t see us driving down that way again.

You actually need that in any Canadian Province too, not just the States. Bought ours through RBC, it was only $150 each, good for the whole year, where ever you travel.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to be an RBC customer. Wife dealt there and it was the best deal, but I deal with a different bank. I'm shopping.

I love those arches, but with my dog along, we had to avoid the National Parks where dogs are not allowed on trail, so could not go to Arches Nat.Park. There was on area I wanted to hike: Natural Bridge National Monument. It wasn't too hot so I left Bobo in the CamperVan with windows open and curtains drawn. When I came back from the one hour hike it was 20°C inside, ok but I wouldn't have gone for a longer hike...

We also got back from Arizona and TN. Stayed in BEst Westerns the whole time. About 19 nights in all. Every single BW included a free breakfast. Most of the breakfasts were decent and kept us going to supper. One even included 2 free glasses of wine for both the wife and I for happy hour We had some BW points before we left but in all between points and promotions we got 4 free nights. Since we got back we paid $200 at the BW airport in Calgary (no breakfast) and $215 at the BW Cranbrook (no breakfast). Most of the BW in the states were $120 to $140 a night. The highest we paid for fuel in AZ in Jan and Feb was $3.17 a gallon. When I converted our fuel prices to USD and gallons it worked out to about $6.20 USD a gallon. Also I would say 70% of the restaurants we ate at had a decent happy hour with 1/2 price glasses of wine. Also noticed when we stayed in Airbnb and buying groceries the price of beef was way cheaper. A bottle of Baileys at Fry’s was $9.

I spend a fair amount of time in the States and prices and living costs vary drastically. If you are in the Seattle area (I was there last weekend) the prices are ridiculous. Diesel was $4.70 gallon. A bottle of soda (500ml) was $3.69 USD and a Subway sandwich was $12 USD (the same one here is roughly $12 CDN) .... so it's not cheap everywhere.

Came back from Knoxville the month pervious and the prices were cheap.

It depends on where you are and what you are doing.

Just got back from our place in Yuma and was surprised at the prices

Flew into Palm Springs and gas was $5.27/gallon (welcome to the Left Coast State of California), drove to Yuma and it was $3.87.

Groceries were not as cheap and some were as expensive as here (in BC). Shopped the Wally World suppercentre. Bags of brand name chips were $2.50-$2.80/bag, a whole roasted chicken was $9, loaf or bread was $2.50+. But dairy and meat was cheaper. Water was actually more expensive, but there is a demand for it!

Beer was cheaper if you like the cheap swill they sell. But craft beers were not a lot different. Didn't look at the hard stuff.

Overall, it was a little cheaper, but things are not like they used to be, especially with the crappy dollar!

And it was hot as hades down there for this time of year. Was 95-100 everyday.

Went for a hike one morning and saw roadrunner, sheep, birds and an owl that called like a young dog barking.

Cheers

SS

My wife and I spent 5 days in Boston while she ran the marathon a couple weeks back.

Not a single thing there was cheaper than here - the sticker price on everything from food at restaurants to snacks in convenience stores was the same, but in US dollars. Even the Nike factory outlet was exactly the same as the one here in Calgary, other than having some stuff we don’t have. That’s big city anywhere though I guess!

The concessions at the Fenway and at TD center were outrageous lol. $19-$23US for a beer.

Just spent 10 days in Northern Ontario, gas averaged $1.70 food was considerably more than here, Hotel on the road in Kenora, AMA rate at Super 8 after taxes $219 of course they have 15% HST booze substantially higher than here.

Montana: Higher fish retention allowed, more free camping, better boat ramps, cheaper beer, not having to look over your shoulder when you crack a cold one . Generally just a freer feeling than BC or here for that matter.

We're off to Whitehorse.
 

Well I'm not in any position to wait. I'm lucky to be alive as it is and I've always wanted to see that part of the north. The only vehicle that never has a trailer hitch is a hearse!

So getting the truck seen to, new tires for the trailer, money is not such a big deal when compared to your health.

Enjoy every day that you are given!

I bag to differ on this subject I thought the state was a wash at best. We were in the Kalispell area in February. Food from a grocery store was the same or more in USD’s. We were in San Diego in January or 2023 and it was definitely more expensive for everything. Fuel anywhere in the state lately is not a bargain for us. 1 gallon is $4.05 or $1.07/ litre. Add exchange and the points on changing money and it $1.47

I'm with you completely, enjoy the trip, lots to see around there, don't miss Miles Canyon.

i live 5 min from the border crossing to washington . we do shop a bit , beer is cheaper gas is close to 4 bucks . shater gas so the money you same you will likely make up for in filters and plugs .
we don`t find it worth it to make a trip down to shop .