Cost of living

People keep asking me about the day to day cost of living while in holland. I have to break it to you, it's cheaper than Vancouver or Canada.

Some examples:

I never paid more than €2.95 for a latte. With the exchange rate today, that's $3.89. It's about what I pay for a coffee drink at Granville Island, but let me tell you my first coffee drink back in Canada was 12oz for $5.10 at Starbucks. Rip off. And I never had a latte I didn't love in holland.

Stopping and having a drink when out and about is such a part of the daily life. A glass of house wine at pretty much any place was generally €3. Today that's $3.95. Again, the first place I sat down at and thought of ordering a glass of wine in Canada was $9.99 (plus tax and tip). I ordered a cola instead. My favorite go-to excellent bottle of wine I bought again and again was €4.05. That's only $5.34. A "pricy" bottle was never more than €8 ($10.55).

The warm lunch time snack equivalent to having a sandwich or simple burger was €3, again $3.95

And this one drove me nuts: these make-up remover pads that I use daily only cost €0.33 which is 43 cents. CENTS. At London Drugs or Shoppers the same item costs a minimum of $4.00. I should have lined my suitcase with them when I came home.

Sure, rent was expensive. But to have such a stunning, central apartment in Vancouver would have also been at least as much or more. More.

I honestly can't think of a single thing that was more expensive there, than here.

(And I can't wait to go back!)