Hello! Given my love for movies, I thought that this week I would share with you the differences between Canadian and British movie theaters.

Back home I love going to see movies on the big screen. There’s something about the smell of popcorn, the comfy chairs and sharing the love of cinema with a crowd of strangers that adds to the cinematic experience (although I do love myself an empty theater). However, there is no denying that going to the theater is expensive and being a student makes it rather difficult to justify the price. Back home I am part a rewards program that gives me free movies quite often and some extra perks – this often makes it slightly easier to justify, but here in England it has been quite harder. A movie ticket at the theater in Guildford runs around 10 pounds (with student discount) which is about 17 CAD at the current currency rate conversion… 17$! That’s the price of a 3D movie back in Ottawa. In any case, I have still found a wonderful escape to the movies here in Guildford.

The theater itself is quite nice. They have a good concession stand which offers sweet or salty popcorn, a variety of treats, a candy bar (sort of like BulkBarn), Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a Costa coffee shop. Again, the prices are a little bit up there so sometimes I opt to bring in my own snacks or a sub from Subway – which is right next to the theater.

Being a student it can sometimes be really hard to decide when to be frugal and when to splurge but I think it is really important to find those home comforts that you are willing to spend the money on once in a while. Whether it be a to-go coffee, an order-in meal, or, in my case, a movie at the theater, I think it is ok to treat yourself  every now and then.

Cheers!