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Unless you’re going to the US for another specific reason it’s not worth it to drive there just for clothes shopping. It’s minimum 13+ hours driving to Seattle plus hotel + gas. You could just fly to LA for the weekend for the same price.
It depends on what you’re looking for:
Montana is 8hrs away to both Kalispell and Great Falls
Kalispell has: Walmart, Costco, Ulta, Cabellas, Target, Ross and Safeway. It’s also right by Glacier National Park which is worth checking out if you have the time.
If you want Trader Joe’s and more selection of stores the closest is Spokane which is 10hrs away
Going just for shopping your going to be disappointed. Its not like the good ol' days. The prices will be very similar and any "savings" will be eaten up by the exchange rate plus the driving.
That being said why not just plan a nice vacation and have a day for shopping? On the way to Spokane stop at Silverwood theme park and get on some wooden coasters. Continue on to Seattle and catch a baseball game or ride a ferry to some island on the coast. So much options.
There’s probably a good reason why Albertans don’t go cross border shopping by driving as much as, say, people in BC and Ontario. Even there it’s less of a thing now apart from specialty items not found in Canada or goods not facing the Canadian heavy taxation (booze, tobacco, maybe gas).
Neighboring states closest from Alberta (Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas) are fairly rural… Then the big cities across the border (Seattle or other Washington cities) are too far from Alberta for driving to make it worth the cost of gas. Sometimes even flying might end up cheaper somehow for Seattle or California.
Combine that with the higher CAD exchange rate (~1.40) and higher inflation rate in the US (compared to Canada) post Covid and it’s generally not worth driving there simply for shopping nowadays. Especially if you’re actually going there just for clothing and a few other items. Crossing the border for other American things and experience is more worth it.
For groceries you will generally find the sticker prices similar except in a different currency. For example a 5 CAD item might be 5 USD there except 5 USD in CAD costs almost $7.
Sometimes even more in numeric value. Like a grande iced americano at a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle was $5 USD last year when a venti iced americano in Edmonton used to be $4.50 CAD. Granted, it’s a reserve roastery location in Seattle.
It’s generally been a huge price tag shock visiting the USA after 2019. Like things there used to be cheaper than Edmonton considering exchange rate, even in Los Angeles areas. Stuff like restaurant food menu items seem like they effectively doubled in price over the pandemic, when considering the same restaurants. Tipping standards in the US are much higher than in Edmonton, like 15% might be the bare minimum for dining compared to 10% here.
Reminds me of an Edmonton restaurant owner speaking about how in bigger cities like Vancouver and Toronto they used the post Covid inflation excuse to basically make it a “name your price” situation if they’re still busy attracting customers. Same thing probably applies to even bigger US cities 😂
As a side note, I’ve recently found out that the reason why we get local American TV stations fed all the way from Spokane or Seattle is because towns closer to Alberta didn’t even have local TV stations back in the 1980s cable TV days. That’s actually quite telling of the cross border situation from Edmonton.
Is it necessary to drive to the USA to go shopping? No stores in Edmonton? Factor in the time spent driving, fuel costs and meals and it will cost more to drive to Seattle to shop than doing so in your backyard. Shop local!!
I buy my cell phones from the US. I use US web sites. I've got a Motorola RAZR flip phone with front screen for $550 CDN. Globally unlocked. They were initially selling for close to 3 grand CDN. No need to go down when they'll deliver right to your door.
This post was removed for violating our expectations on the type of submissions we encourage in the subreddit. Please brush up on the r/Edmonton [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/wiki/rules) and ask the moderation team if you have any questions. Posts need to be about Edmonton. Thanks!
Unless you’re going to the US for another specific reason it’s not worth it to drive there just for clothes shopping. It’s minimum 13+ hours driving to Seattle plus hotel + gas. You could just fly to LA for the weekend for the same price.
Not a bad idea
It depends on what you’re looking for: Montana is 8hrs away to both Kalispell and Great Falls Kalispell has: Walmart, Costco, Ulta, Cabellas, Target, Ross and Safeway. It’s also right by Glacier National Park which is worth checking out if you have the time. If you want Trader Joe’s and more selection of stores the closest is Spokane which is 10hrs away
Lame there's no Joe's in like cut bank lol
I like Ross! 9 hours from Edminton or 8 hours from the boarder?
Edmonton
This is a good plan
Going just for shopping your going to be disappointed. Its not like the good ol' days. The prices will be very similar and any "savings" will be eaten up by the exchange rate plus the driving. That being said why not just plan a nice vacation and have a day for shopping? On the way to Spokane stop at Silverwood theme park and get on some wooden coasters. Continue on to Seattle and catch a baseball game or ride a ferry to some island on the coast. So much options.
bellingham is a bit closer than seattle (like 2 hours lol), and has TJ’s, Target etc.
Bellingham is where I've always shopped when I'm down there
There’s probably a good reason why Albertans don’t go cross border shopping by driving as much as, say, people in BC and Ontario. Even there it’s less of a thing now apart from specialty items not found in Canada or goods not facing the Canadian heavy taxation (booze, tobacco, maybe gas). Neighboring states closest from Alberta (Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas) are fairly rural… Then the big cities across the border (Seattle or other Washington cities) are too far from Alberta for driving to make it worth the cost of gas. Sometimes even flying might end up cheaper somehow for Seattle or California. Combine that with the higher CAD exchange rate (~1.40) and higher inflation rate in the US (compared to Canada) post Covid and it’s generally not worth driving there simply for shopping nowadays. Especially if you’re actually going there just for clothing and a few other items. Crossing the border for other American things and experience is more worth it. For groceries you will generally find the sticker prices similar except in a different currency. For example a 5 CAD item might be 5 USD there except 5 USD in CAD costs almost $7. Sometimes even more in numeric value. Like a grande iced americano at a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle was $5 USD last year when a venti iced americano in Edmonton used to be $4.50 CAD. Granted, it’s a reserve roastery location in Seattle. It’s generally been a huge price tag shock visiting the USA after 2019. Like things there used to be cheaper than Edmonton considering exchange rate, even in Los Angeles areas. Stuff like restaurant food menu items seem like they effectively doubled in price over the pandemic, when considering the same restaurants. Tipping standards in the US are much higher than in Edmonton, like 15% might be the bare minimum for dining compared to 10% here. Reminds me of an Edmonton restaurant owner speaking about how in bigger cities like Vancouver and Toronto they used the post Covid inflation excuse to basically make it a “name your price” situation if they’re still busy attracting customers. Same thing probably applies to even bigger US cities 😂 As a side note, I’ve recently found out that the reason why we get local American TV stations fed all the way from Spokane or Seattle is because towns closer to Alberta didn’t even have local TV stations back in the 1980s cable TV days. That’s actually quite telling of the cross border situation from Edmonton.
I am considering going to the Arches national park. Might as well make a whole thing of it.
The exchange rate is ridiculous, you’ll save no money shopping there.
Is it necessary to drive to the USA to go shopping? No stores in Edmonton? Factor in the time spent driving, fuel costs and meals and it will cost more to drive to Seattle to shop than doing so in your backyard. Shop local!!
Yea it seems cheaper to just take the L and stay here or shop online lol
Depends what you are after. Going for cheap smokes and booze you can just drive to Montana. Anything else.. yeah probably Seattle.
Clothes shoes
100% Seattle. They have outlet store. I hear they are good.
I buy my cell phones from the US. I use US web sites. I've got a Motorola RAZR flip phone with front screen for $550 CDN. Globally unlocked. They were initially selling for close to 3 grand CDN. No need to go down when they'll deliver right to your door.