On a recent trip to the United States, I couldn’t help but notice the cost of certain groceries in the local supermarket. For instance, when you factor in the exchange rate, a loaf of Wonder Bread costs $6.39, while here in Orléans it costs $4.39.

A can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup costs $2.49 at a supermarket in Los Angeles, while the same can only costs $0.99 at our local Metro store.

And a dozen eggs currently costs $9 in most grocery stores in California, while here in Orléans they cost $3.99.

At first blush, it seems that groceries are much more expensive in the United States than they are in Canada, but look a little closer and you will see that many items are the same price or even less after you factor in the exchange rate and difference in sizes, For instance the price of a 1.36 litre bottle of Tropicana orange juice is $8.49 at Metro while the same amount of Tropicana orange juice costs $6.93 in California.

An 816 gram container of Folgers coffee costs $22.99 here in Orléans. A similar-sized container of Folgers in California costs $23.21. And a 12-pack of beer costs 25 per cent more on average in a grocery store in California compared to here

The same price differences can be found in the prices of a number of grocery items.

But the kicker when comparing the cost of living in the U.S. compared to here is in the salaries and wages. The average salary in Ontario in 2025 is $60,000. The average salary in California is $77,000 USD, which works out to about $117,000 in Canadian dollars. That’s almost double the average salary here in Ontario.

When looking at other states, it’s a similar situation. The average salary in Michigan is $91,000 CAD. In New York it’s $103,000.

Nationwide, the average salary in the United States is $86,000 CAD. That’s a far cry from $60,000 and makes everything from beer to eggs, a lot more affordable.

It also shows that vacationing in the United States can be extremely expensive, even if you ignore the threat of your phone being searched for anti-Trump messaging when you cross the border.

When I went to the Coachella music festival with some friends from Switzerland on my recent trip to California a beer cost $18.99 USD. That works out to about $26 in Canadian dollars. I respectively declined to buy any beer on principal.

Of course, $18.99 is no big deal for someone from Switzerland where the average take home pay after taxes is $100,000 CAD.

When my friend Kamil asked if he could buy me a beer, I respectively declined. There was no way I was going to allow anyone to buy me a single beer for the same price as a 12-pack back home.

And it wasn’t just the beer. When my friends bought four gin and tonics, the total came to $125. It was so bad that I had to resort to smuggling in my own gin and tonic.

The price of food in restaurants is equally expensive, with many of the prices similar to what you would find in Canadian restaurants, except the prices are in U.S. dollars. When you begin to factor in the exchange rate, they become far more prohibitive.
And it’s even worse in places like New York City, Miami and Las Vegas.

Personally, I will no longer complain about prices in Canada. Yes, they are high, but they could be a lot worse.

• • •

Things I learned during my trip to California:

- It gets cold in April. When I first decided to go to the Golden State, I imagined lying on the beach and soaking up some rays. In reality, the daily highs barely made it into the 20s and it was downright chilly at night. At one point during my motorcycle ride up the Pacific coast I stopped to camp overnight in San Simeon and the temperature dropped to just six degrees. Things didn’t heat up until I went to Coachella, which is only two hours east of LA. The temperature was over 35 degrees every single day.

- Los Angeles is very underwhelming. After you visit Hollywood Blvd., the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Rodeo Drive and hike up to the Hollywood sign, there’s much not else to see or do.

- The highlights of my trip was the rooftop pool at my hostel in LA, a trip to Petco Park in San Diego to see the San Diego Padres, and the motorcycle ride I took along the Pacific Coast Highway from LA up to San Francisco, allowing me to check off another box on my bucket list.

(If you wish to comment on this or any other View Point column please write to Fred Sherwin at fsherwin@orleansstar.ca)