Quit your whining, Bellingham…after all, you have the CHEAP wine!!
Okay…so recently there has been quite a bit of a kerfuffle around Canadians and their cross-border shopping. Apparently, Canucks “taking advantage” are swarming around Bellingham’s Costco like bees to a honey pot. Photos of B.C. cars taking up two parking spaces and accounts of rudeness in the store line ups are giving us a bad reputation with our southern neighbours. One major draw for Canadian consumers, it seems, is milk. Videos showing (presumed) Canadians scrambling to get as much milk as possible are going viral.
What’s the deal? Is the milk really THAT much cheaper there? The answer, in fact, is yes. It really is.
2 gallons of milk at Vancouver Costco = Aprox. $8.00
2 gallons of milk @ Bellingham Costco = Aprox. $5.25
Personally, the nearly $3 of savings is not worth the drive for me. Also, I believe the federal restrictions around hormones in milk are much more stringent in Canada than in the U.S., which would make me question why I would want to buy my milk there.
However, a deal on the price of wine…now that makes this mama happy! For example, one of my favorites:
Layer Cake Shiraz @ BC Liquor Store = Aprox. $28.00
Layer Cake Shiraz @ Fred Meyer = Aprox. $14.00
That’s half price! And the “deals” (term is relative based on where you live and how much you get ripped off on a regular basis) as far as wine goes are endless. Frankly, though, my joy is bittersweet; I can’t help but feel pissed off that I typically have to pay so effing much to get my drink on. Now, I’m not enough of a wine-o (quiet out there…you know who you are!) to make a weekly trip, but I’ll admit that when I am down in the U.S., I do pick up a few favorite bottles.
Listen up, Bellingham. Next time you are angry about how many Canadians are coming down and shopping in your stores, consider this…you have the cheap wine! Be happy! Because, friends, wine makes everything better.
P.S. Don’t even get me started on the kind of house you can buy in Bellingham compared to Vancouver…perhaps they should worry about their land, instead of their milk. LOL!
milk at the safeway where I am is 4.29 for 2% 4L… but we dont buy homo cause of the price difference lol!! Stupid milk… I heard egg prices are insane there, and organic food is cheaper. My daycare kids mom goes there on weekends to buy a TON of organic food each week, they make it an affordable option, unlike up here.
I agree!
Without the Canadians, the Bellingham economy would collapse; not to mention the amount of state sales tax Canadians contribute with their shopping. If we didn’t shop there, the Bellingham residents would have to make up for that sales tax. So STFU Bellingham and enjoy the tax revenue we are providing for you.
I agree, the cost is cheaper, but US food standards are very different than in Canada. Dairy, meat, fish, etc. I prefer to buy those items in Canada. The wine prices are great though.
THANK YOU, I was so please to see this in my email inbox this morning after all the flack going on over twitter and facebook yesterday. FIRST of all a) wine and milk are just the BEGINNING of savings! Cream cheese is like 5$ here and its 99 CENTS there, let alone they have the GOOD Tilakum block cheese, cheap gas, cheap clothing/footwear. Weren’t were in the past year told of all these “tent” cities in the USA and how hard it has been for them to recuperate from the 2008 market crash? Didn’t their president recently have to be granted extra $$$$ in their deficit? HELLO we’re helping your economy!!!!! They drive me nuts, absolutely NUTS. Like, bang my head against a brick wall for a week straight nuts and then step in front of 100 bus’! NUTS NUTS NUTS are you Americans!!!
Ok, I understand wanting to save money, I think folks need to research the US products before buying them. Canada has stricter standards for things like milk, cheese and meat. Meaning, no hormones in the food. I NEVER purchase these products in the States. I will pay a little more to feed my family good food. I shop local as I want to support local Canadian businesses. I will purchase good US wine though as the taxes are nuts here. Just a little food for thought:)
I live in a small town in Northern Ontario. Every summer the Americans come up here with their giant RV’s and massive boats and rape our lakes of fish. A good majority of them take home well above the limit. The worst part is that they bring all of their own food, gas, etc. How’s that for treating your neighbors poorly?
Your blog really did make me laugh. I am a Bellingham resident and all this hoopla is just silly. Many Bellingham residents, like me, won’t buy our milk at Costco anyways because it is not organic.
I live in B’ham as well and I totally agree with you!! All this is crazy! So what if Canadians come and buy milk at Costco!! It helps our economy…besides, if people dislike Costco being so darn cramped then they can go to: a) another store, b) early in the morning, c) weekdays…People just need to learn which are the best hours to go to freaking Costco and stop complaining!