UK vs Canada: Part One
I left England in 2003, which means I have lived in Canada for 23 years - long enough to have developed some strong opinions about both countries.
I know I’m lucky. Both Canada and the UK are pretty great. One of the things I am most proud of in my life is that I gave my kids the opportunity to live in either of these two wealthy, developed, progressive countries. Being British used to mean the opportunity to live in all of Europe too, of course, but the idiot Brexiteers put an end to that. Sorry, I got a bit political there; that’s an argument for another day.
When I am asked which country I like best, I can’t answer. They are like my kids: I love them both equally. But some days one of them pisses me off.
Comparing Canada with Britain isn't easy. Living in Vancouver isn't the same as living in Winnipeg. And living in Brighton isn't the same as living in Hull. Plus, Canada is pretty big and I have only experienced a tiny part of it.
So, for the purposes of this totally unscientific investigation, I'm mainly comparing the two seaside places I know best: Brighton and White Rock.
Is that fair? Probably not. Brighton and Hove has a population of around 280,000. White Rock has only around 22,000. But they're both beside the sea; I've lived in - and love - both places, and it's my blog. So, here goes.
My plan is to look at a few of the big differences between life in the UK and Canada, but rather than write something the length of War and Peace, I'm breaking it down into two or three blogs.
And I'm starting with a topic everyone loves (or loves to hate): real estate.
Property: How Much?!
Let's get the depressing one out of the way first.
It’s depressing for me because when I first moved to Canada, homes here in the Lower Mainland were significantly cheaper than in Brighton and you could get a lot more for your money.
For instance, I sold my tiny two-bed terraced house in central Brighton for £180,000 (approximately C$338,000 at today's exchange rate) and bought a six-bed, four-bath detached home in the 'burbs for C$425,000 (approximately £226,000).
Yes. Really. It was 2003, though.
Obviously, those conversions are using today's exchange rate rather than the rate back then (and that does matter, as we got well over two Canadian dollars to the pound then, compared with roughly C$1.88 now) but it gives you an idea of the numbers involved.
Before I get too carried away comparing Brighton with White Rock, it's probably worth looking at the two countries as a whole.
The average home sold in Canada in August 2026 cost C$668,219 (around £356,000). In the UK, the latest official figure puts the average home at £272,000 (around C$510,000).
So, very roughly, the average Canadian home costs about 31% more than the average UK home.
That is definitely very different from when we first moved here. But it also shows why comparing White Rock with Brighton doesn't tell the whole story. Canada's national figure includes much cheaper markets in places like the Prairies and Atlantic Canada, just as the UK average includes areas where you can buy a house for considerably less than you can in Brighton.
And, of course, these aren't perfectly like-for-like statistics. Different countries measure their housing markets differently, and national averages are heavily influenced by where homes are actually selling. But as a broad snapshot, it gives us something useful to work with.
Now, back to my unscientific Brighton versus White Rock investigation.
The average home in Brighton and Hove now costs £408,000 (around C$766,000), although you'll pay quite a bit more for something in the luxury market.
Last time I looked (yesterday), a four-bed, two-bath detached home in a good area - the sort of property you might compare with a detached home in South Surrey - was on the market for £600,000 (C$1.13 million). Here is an example:
Four-bedroom detached house in Brighton – £600,000
In White Rock and the surrounding South Surrey area, the benchmark price for a detached home is around C$1.65 million (£879,000). Here is an example of a four-bed detached home currently listed for C$1.58 million (£841,000):
Four-bedroom detached home in White Rock – C$1.58 million
Top of the market
The most expensive home I found on the market in the Brighton area is this five-bed, five-bath home for £4.5 million (C$8.44 million).
Five-bedroom Brighton home – £4.5 million
And in South Surrey, BC, the most expensive listing I could find on the market right now is this four-bed, six-bath home, coming in at a whopping C$10,999,000 (£5.86 million).
Four-bedroom South Surrey home – C$10,999 million
This doesn't mean anything, of course. I just like looking at the big ones.
The In-Betweener home?
If we're looking at the In Betweeners (I'm still talking houses, not TV programmes), I found a four-bed, three-bath townhouse in South Surrey listed for C$839,000 (around £447,000).
Four-bedroom South Surrey townhouse – C$839,000
Meanwhile, in Brighton and Hove, this four-bed, two-bath terraced house is on the market for £425,000 (around C$798,000).
Four-bedroom Brighton terraced house – £425,000
So when you compare reasonably similar family homes, there really isn't much in it: roughly £22,000 (C$41,000) separates them.
And finally, what about a starter home? Does a starter home even still exist (in these areas anyway)? If we are looking at the lower end of the market, things get a bit more equal.
In Brighton, I found a one-bedroom flat (or apartment if you are Canadian or posh) close to the city centre and seafront for £230,000 (around C$432,000). In White Rock, I found a one-bedroom plus den for C$399,900 (around £213,000). So, somewhat surprisingly, the White Rock apartment is actually about £17,000 (C$32,000) cheaper. Of course, comparing two individual properties proves absolutely nothing - something I feel I should keep reminding you - but it does show that the difference between the two places depends on what you're buying.
Brighton example:
One-bedroom Brighton flat – £230,000
White Rock example:
One-bedroom White Rock apartment – C$399,900
I would love to take you on a complete real estate journey - maybe looking at rural comparisons, or big cities: London v Toronto, perhaps? Or Newfoundland v the Isle of Wight? Because now I am all hyped up and eager to research more.
But honestly, I feel like I am at work again, so for now I will leave it there. I gave up real estate almost two years ago.
Watch out for the next blog, which will look at some of the social differences between the two countries. I might even go crazy and touch on cost of living or crime.
Bet you can't wait.
Currency conversions are approximate and based on exchange rates at the time of writing.
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