I believe that new immigrants who have just arrived in Canada will feel this way: when they see any bid price, they will immediately multiply RMB by 5 in their minds, because the exchange rate of Canadian dollar against RMB is 1:5. After this conversion, they think that the price of things has increased five times, which is too expensive and needs to be taxed.
Only after living for a while and gradually adapting to the local life, subconsciously, I won't multiply by 5 again. After all, Canada's overall income level is reasonable for Canadian prices. Take Safeway Supermarket as an example (one of the supermarket chains in western Canada):
1, vegetables and fruits: pineapple and apple are both 2.55 Canadian dollars a pound, asparagus is 2.99 Canadian dollars a pound, carrots 1.99 Canadian dollars a bundle, celery is 2.69 Canadian dollars a pound and so on.
2. Milk and eggs: a bag of ready-to-eat cheese is 4.5 Canadian dollars, 4 liters of whole milk is 5 Canadian dollars, and a box of eggs 12 Canadian dollars;
3. Meat fish: 2 Canadian dollars for a box of chicken legs, 5 Canadian dollars for a box of big pork chops, 6- 10 Canadian dollars for a steak and 3 Canadian dollars for a salmon.
In addition to food, Vancouver also has many franchise stores and factory stores for clothing and shoes, which are discounted all the year round, and often engage in activities with physical stores, as well as discount products from many North American brands such as MK, Coach, Nike and Gap. North America also has big discounts on Black Friday, New Year's Day and New Year's Day every year, and more expensive things such as electrical appliances and household appliances can really save a lot of money. Generally speaking, the cost of living in Vancouver is reasonable, and you can learn all kinds of good ways to save money by shopping after living for a long time. If you are familiar with the routine, you can buy the same thing for less money.
Second, the dribs and drabs of Chinese life in Vancouver.
1, about diet
As long as a certain number of Chinese live in Vancouver, there will be Chinese supermarkets, and you can buy any China food you can think of. From rice flour, grain and oil, chicken, duck and fish to snacks, there are basically domestic specialties. Because Canada is an immigrant country, it brings together people from all over the world. In addition to well-known domestic restaurants with branches in Canada, such as Quanjude, Goubuli or Donglaishun, you can also taste desserts, soups, pancake fruit, soybean milk fritters and cold-rolled wonton. Vancouver hosts large and small food festivals and food activities every year. Vancouver is a paradise for foodies.
2. About housing
People may be most concerned about the housing situation of Chinese in Vancouver, because no matter where they work hard, they can live in a warm home. Houses in Canada are divided into several categories, such as apartments, townhouses and detached houses. House prices in Vancouver are higher than those in Toronto. Ordinary apartment100000 Canadian dollars or so. You can provide a swimming pool, gym and parking lot, and pay a little management fee every month. The current market price of detached houses ranges from more than 700,000 to more than 3 million Canadian dollars. The price of renting a house has also been rising. If the money in hand is enough for the down payment, the rent is similar to the loan repayment, and it is more cost-effective to buy a house of your own.
3. About transportation
In Vancouver, you can choose public transportation system, including bus, subway and light rail, TTC (bus) and GoTRAIN (double-decker commuter train), and you can choose according to your personal needs. But Vancouver has a large area, and other places have a certain distance from the city center. Sometimes it takes a long time to wait for the bus, especially when it is hot in summer and cold in winter, and the bus may have collapsed before it comes. From the perspective of time cost and economic cost, it is more cost-effective to buy a car by yourself. The price is cheaper than that in China, and you can also enjoy various low-interest loan policies. It is also convenient to go shopping and travel on weekends. Usually, a family of three will buy a car as transportation.
4. About education
After most Chinese immigrate to Vancouver, they will arrange for their children to study in local schools, so the proportion of Chinese in Vancouver's schools is increasing year by year. Nowadays, due to the local influence of Chinese, many schools also offer bilingual teaching courses in English and Putonghua to encourage students to learn Chinese. Vancouver's educational environment has been unanimously recognized by Chinese. Children like local relaxed and free education methods, and can experience different cultures and help them grow up. There are many other universities in Vancouver, such as the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Emily University of Art and Design. And there are many choices for children's future development.
The living conditions of Chinese in Vancouver are the epitome of a generation of old immigrants. Now many new immigrants want to immigrate to Vancouver, and finally find that they can't adapt to local life at all. Enjoying life in a livable city requires both material quality and spiritual quality. If you are restless, a livable city may not have a high happiness index.