I’ve had a couple heart attacks and some pleasant surprises about living expenses here.

Lattes, thank heavens, are on par with the south – possibly cheaper, since there are no Starbucks. Your basic skim latte, medium, is $3.25.

McDonalds, that other paragon benchmark, also offers pretty much the same food for the same cash.

The heart attacks arise from the produce.

$6 for a small bag of fresh green beans that I swear would be less than a loonie in Vancouver.
A basic spaghetti squash, medium-ish was … ready? $7.02

I’m desperately missing, already, farmer’s markets.

I am, however, going to attempt my own little italian garden – rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil – up here. Although the growing season is very short, there are much more light hours (and less cloud cover) than Vancouver.
Wish me luck!
Readers: Any gardeners among you? Any tips on this?