Whenever I visit the States I find the food to be cheaper, but DVDs and electronics to be more expensive. Housing is cheaper in Canada, witht the exception of Vancouver and Toronto.

Some of the cheaper Canadian Capitals are Winnipeg (though taxes are high), Regina (small), and Ottawa.

Maybe some sites to help you out:

anay. forum
Realtor.com

NASA


I cut a section from an article found at this link:
Tokyo and London are the most expensive cities in the world.
Quote
The Americas
New York remains the most expensive city in North America, at 12th position in the rankings (score 100). Other costly cities include Los Angeles ranked 27 (86.6), Chicago in 35th place (84.5) and San Francisco in 38th place (84.3). Pittsburgh is the cheapest US city surveyed, ranked 112 (66.5). All the US cities have dropped in the rankings due to the depreciation of the dollar against European, Canadian and Asian Pacific currencies.

“Cost of living differences within the US can be even more than those between the US and other popular destinations worldwide, mainly due to variations in accommodation costs,” said Mrs Sepede.

Though still relatively inexpensive, Canadian cities continue to move up in the rankings due to the strength of the Canadian dollar. Toronto is in 89th place (71.8) and has become more expensive than a number of US cities. Ottawa is the least expensive Canadian city and takes 124th position (62.6).
Another site:

Quote
North and South America
New York is the costliest city in North America. Other expensive cities include Los Angeles in 19th position (84.7), Chicago in 20th place (83.7) and San Francisco at position 21 (83.6). Canadian cities are much cheaper, with none of those surveyed appearing in the world’s 100 most expensive cities. Toronto takes 104th place (59.7), while Vancouver is in position 110 (58.5). Ottawa is the least expensive Canadian city and is 129th in the table with a score of just 52.5.
Well this is more technical. Hopefully there is someone out there with a more personal experience. I know I never want to live in Vancouver or BC because a lot of people I know moved there and came back saying it was too expensive. Their jobs ranged from a lawyer to a travel agent. Then again, they're Winnipegers and we are known for being cheap.


I've converted to lurk-ism... hopefully only temporary.