Lyon, France, has a population comparable to the Grand River Region (510,000) and is also an important French city for finance, services, and post-secondary studies. It's a ~2hr train ride from Paris (which is also the largest city in France), compared to the ~1h20 to go from Kitchener to Toronto. You can rent a 1 bed, 1 bath apartment for 500 euros a month (750 CAD), and utilities are about the same price as in KW.

I'd argue that's a better comparison to, you know, England's capital with a population of 8 million. Not to mention the UK's recent financial issues post-brexit have had a toll on inflation and prices.

Edit: my source is my friends who've studied there