View Full Version : Can a country be too expensive?
FREKI April 2nd, 2006, 12:07 AM It seems to me that many young people in both Europe and the rest of the world sees Scandinavia and Switzerland as too expensive, and keeps to countries where young people get a bit more bang for their bucks.
This has now gotten to a point where Denmark, for example, will start focusing on more cultural minded people ( big spenders ) who's interested in art, culture and history, rather than nightlife, free or inexpensive joys ( like beaches and music festivals ) and cheap acomondation.
In time that will again mean even less opportunities for people travelling while counting pennys, and a lot more luxury options for the rich.
It's not like they will turn everything snopy, but it will be based on high earning families and couples.
I don't yet know quite how to feel about it...
Personly comming from one of the more "expensive" countries I don't mind the "gap" in prices as it makes the rest of the world somewhat cheap for me, but I can easily understand those who would rather spend 3 weeks in a "cheap place" than one in an expensive.
If you have any thoughts about it, please share :)
hkskyline April 2nd, 2006, 12:46 AM I was quite shocked at the cost of living in Geneva. A regular meal at McDonald's easily costs USD$9 and up. That weeds out a huge segment of tourists. However, there are always good deals. It takes little digging. In the end, I was able to find a cheap hostel for about 20 euros a night and went to the supermarket to find lunch rather than buy at a restaurant.
Jedrzej April 2nd, 2006, 09:53 AM Go to Estonia. Pizza cost there at about 32$.
FREKI April 2nd, 2006, 12:17 PM 32$??? That has to be one huge pizza!
You would get two family size pizzas and a bottle of coke for that price in Denmark :drool:
keros April 2nd, 2006, 12:22 PM Paris a coffee 5 €
FREKI April 2nd, 2006, 12:33 PM I'm sure you can find 10€ coffee in almost every city on the planet - you sure can in Denmark (inc. a small pastry )... Another way to put prices around the globe is the Big Mac Index :)
#1 Iceland $6.67
#2 Norway $6.06
#3 Switzerland $4.93
#4 Denmark $4.49
#5 Sweden $4.28
#6 Jordan $3.66
#7 United Kingdom $3.32
#8 United States $3.15
#9 New Zealand $3.08
#10 Turkey $3.07
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_big_mac_ind
MoreOrLess April 2nd, 2006, 12:35 PM Some countries are deliberately aiming for the high end market now even if their cost of living isnt that high, in Bhutan for example you can only visit as part of an organised tour at $200-150 a day.
I can see the logic behind it as by letting in a smaller number of rich tourists you don't get the explosion of cheap hotels/shops/bars and the enviroment degradation that often go hand in hand with mass tourism/backpacking.
OtAkAw April 2nd, 2006, 05:15 PM Most countries I read here are from Europe, isnt it Japan is also an expensive nation?
shayan April 2nd, 2006, 05:51 PM I dont think a country can be to expensive for the locals but i think it can be to expensive for tourism...
hkskyline April 2nd, 2006, 06:14 PM Japan isn't too expensive actually. The hotels are pricey and the rooms are small, but food costs are actually quite reasonable compared to the West.
eomer April 2nd, 2006, 06:40 PM Paris a coffee 5 €
On the Champs Elysée it's 5 € but luckily, not everywhere !!!
It's generally 1 € (0,20 in my company at the coffee-machine).
micro April 2nd, 2006, 10:43 PM 32$??? That has to be one huge pizza!
You would get two family size pizzas and a bottle of coke for that price in Denmark :drool:
He was probably meaning 32 Estonian Crowns (= 2.47872 US Dollar, according to oanda.com)
Tom_Green April 2nd, 2006, 10:49 PM I think the USA are too expensive.
Japan is on the same level as Germany. It`s okay for me.
Hong Kong is cheaper.
ZOHAR April 2nd, 2006, 10:52 PM Vien is very expensive
Jedrzej April 2nd, 2006, 11:13 PM No. It's not 32 EEK byt 32 $. It cost 100 PLN
Pavlo April 2nd, 2006, 11:29 PM What about Luxembourg?
Tom_Green April 2nd, 2006, 11:35 PM What about Luxembourg?
Cheap fuel :D
LuckyLuke April 3rd, 2006, 12:15 AM What about Luxembourg?
Actually it's quit cheap there...
dave_chanh April 3rd, 2006, 06:42 AM If you want to know what's cheap, then come to SEA. Yet, the standard you get is very high. Prices don't always determine the word "expensive", often it has something to do with what you get in return. If it's worth the value, then it would be cosidered "inexpensive" no matter how much you pay.
Cariad April 3rd, 2006, 07:40 AM I think it is really dependant on what you are buying.
However, we recently did a trip to Europe and was going to stay in Stockholm, however upon researching we found the hotels far too expensive, a cheap hotel costing about AUS$200 per night and if I wanted one with a window then more again (what's that about!?)
We ended up going to Amsterdam in it's place and for AUS$200 we stayed in the 5* Sofitel Hotel instead of a dodgy 2* Swedish "pension" with no window.
Also the UK can be expensive, especially for Australians, but I find Clothes so cheap there. For a decent T-Shirt here in Australia you won't get much change from AUS$70 and that is just a normal high street store.
AUS$100 = 60 Euro or 41 GB Pounds
earthJoker April 3rd, 2006, 08:22 AM I'm sure you can find 10€ coffee in almost every city on the planet - you sure can in Denmark (inc. a small pastry )... Another way to put prices around the globe is the Big Mac Index :)
It's a bad way, in Switzerland Big Macs are very expensive if you compare it to other products you can get here.
Küsel April 3rd, 2006, 10:46 AM For us Swiss who are used to high prices Scandinavia is the prove that it can be much worse (especially Norway) ;) France (Paris), London and Spain also tend to be very expensive and what German restaurants did after the inauguration of the Euro is just public crime :(
Our coffee and beer prices are much too high though... who cares about a big mac, I want my coffee!!! ;)
Jonesy55 April 3rd, 2006, 10:54 AM No. It's not 32 EEK byt 32 $. It cost 100 PLN
I'm sure you can get cheaper pizzas than $32 in Estonia, everyone I know who's been there says it is very cheap.
The Pizzas at this restaurant in tallinn (http://www.americana.ee/index.php?page=103&) start at EEK84 ($6.50)
♣628.finst April 3rd, 2006, 10:57 AM Too expensive??? I think Northern Manitoba is 2 times more expensive than its Southern counterpart... especially in towns like Churchill or Thompson. (Thompson is slightly better but still depends on what you are going to buy there :) ) Further North in Nunavut... an average Non-White person there earns half of our average income and have to buy things which is 2-3 times more than Southern Canada. So life of Inuits are always harsh... Their lands are not available for crops, and without them they could only go hunting to sustain their lives. It's the tundra environment that makes their life even harsher... though if the population are mainly white it would be slightly better... because of better skills and industry (Iceland is a brilliant example) (That's sad, our government treated them as slaves, and their bad living standard actually does affect everyone, including both White Canadians and Quebecois)
Jonesy55 April 3rd, 2006, 10:58 AM Japan isn't too expensive actually. The hotels are pricey and the rooms are small, but food costs are actually quite reasonable compared to the West.
As long as you don't eat melons :D
http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/jprice.htm
Jonesy55 April 3rd, 2006, 11:00 AM For us Swiss who are used to high prices Scandinavia is the prove that it can be much worse (especially Norway) ;) France (Paris), London and Spain also tend to be very expensive and what German restaurants did after the inauguration of the Euro is just public crime
I've always found Spain to be very reasonably priced, certainly much cheaper than London, Paris, Scandinavia or Switzerland.
Küsel April 3rd, 2006, 11:08 AM That's true - but if I compare the INCREASING of the prices in Spain in the last 20 years, then it's more than in a lot of other places - thanks to tourism as well. And clear you can't compare Barcelona or Benidorm to central Spain...
Justme April 3rd, 2006, 12:06 PM Paris a coffee 5 €
On the Champs Elysée maybe, but it's much cheaper elsewhere. One point to keep in mind about Paris. Many Cafe's have a different price for the seats outside or those by the window inside. I have seen a few with distinctive seperate menus on the tables (the inner seats had different colour menus and were cheaper). Likewise, it's often cheapest to drink at the bar. There are tricks the locals learn, who obviously don't want to pay high prices for a cup of coffee.
From what I've found, away from the tourist spots, there is no difference where you sit. A good cheap cup of coffee can be found at any seat.
Pavlo April 4th, 2006, 02:29 AM As long as you don't eat melons :D
http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/jprice.htm
Wow holy shit meat costs $52 per pound. Insane!!
coldstar April 4th, 2006, 04:11 PM Japan isn't too expensive actually. The hotels are pricey and the rooms are small, but food costs are actually quite reasonable compared to the West.
Compared with London, NYC, Tokyo's hotel price is quite reasonable, but transportation is expensive.
Bahnsteig4 April 4th, 2006, 04:23 PM I found Norway to be WAY to expensive. Switzerland was pretty bad, too, when we did not have the Euro but apparently the Euro has raised prices in Euroland to an extent that makes Swiss prices appear average. :(
rhz April 6th, 2006, 08:08 AM I heard Iceland is the most expensive country to visit.
hkth April 6th, 2006, 08:50 AM Actually, the fairest way to count if a country is expensive is to count with the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP or 3Ps) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity). It is a matter of the wages level and the market price level. Therefore, it is cheaper to shop in Thailand than in US within the same kind of wages in US. :|
_00_deathscar April 6th, 2006, 09:45 AM It depends...generally with regards to city - there will always be places you can find good deals. For example, here in Hong Kong there are plenty of places you can eat good food for cheap - or buy clothes for cheap.
Living on the high end of the scale however, there are also plenty of places that could make you bankrupt in a week - so it's two sides to a coin really...I know places that offer some of the best deals in the world, and also places that have prices I've yet to see matched worldwide.
Depends how long you live in that city for really.
A country as a whole, it's quite hard to be expensive, and I haven't explored a 'whole country' so to say, but I'd wager that most Scandanavian countries as well as the likes of Switzerland, France and so on are expensive as a whole.
Found the United States to be moderately priced...
Arpels April 6th, 2006, 12:46 PM Iceland is very expensive!!
_00_deathscar April 6th, 2006, 02:32 PM Supposedly...what's that one city - Rasiak or something?
FREKI April 6th, 2006, 02:53 PM Actually, the fairest way to count if a country is expensive is to count with the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP or 3Ps) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity). It is a matter of the wages level and the market price level. That depends... Sales taxes ( VATs) and other regulations has a matter in the saying too... for examble the EU wich has laws that keep the Danish prices down... where Switzerland and Norway is not regulated in the same way, and therefore have higher prices as a result.
NorthStar77 April 6th, 2006, 04:04 PM ^what laws are that? They haven't stopped cars from beeing more expencive in Denmark than in Norway;) Most EU-laws apply for Norway too.
btw, wow 2,5$ for an apple in Japan! You can get a kilo of apples for that here.
tkr April 6th, 2006, 04:36 PM Brazil is cheap!! come over.. :)
vishalt April 6th, 2006, 04:59 PM yeah thats the only reason i wont go to japan, some overpriced essentials right there
FREKI April 6th, 2006, 08:35 PM ^what laws are that? They haven't stopped cars from beeing more expencive in Denmark than in Norway;) Most EU-laws apply for Norway too.
btw, wow 2,5$ for an apple in Japan! You can get a kilo of apples for that here.
Please don't get me started on the damn car tax in Denmark :gaah:
Danish prices lead EU
by Copenhagen Post - 12/01-06 - http://www.cphpost.dk/get/93270.html
Denmark tops the charts when it comes to prices and GDP per capita amongst the EU-15
While Danes can take pride in the fact that the nation’s GDP per capita is 42 percent higher than the average for EU-15 nations, the nation’s prices are also the highest in the EU, according to national statistics bureau Statistics Denmark.
The price of common consumer goods in Denmark in 2004 was 32 percent higher than the average for the ‘old’ EU member states.
Although Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, all non-EU members commonly considered to have a higher cost of living than Denmark, did have higher prices for food, the overall cost of all goods in Denmark was higher.
The differences mean that each time a Belgian or Austrian purchases DKK 100 worth of goods, a Dane would pay DKK 132 for the same products in Denmark. Also close to the EU average were Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Great Britain.
Portugal and Greece were the EU’s best bargains, with a price index of 82. Spain followed closely with an index of 84.
In addition to higher wages in Denmark and a 25 percent VAT, lax competition was also seen as contributing to the relatively high price index.
BTW fruit isn't normally that expensive in Japan... it was about the same price as in Denmark last summer in Tokyo and Osaka - but I suspect the price to be higher in the more isolated areas, just like in every country
( Just try to buy a pineaple on Greenland :) )
vtower April 6th, 2006, 10:42 PM The public transport is cheap in Japan. A single ride for the Subway in Tokyo can be as cheap as Y160 ($1.6). Wheares the London underground is outrageous, costs £3 ($6) for a single ride! I don't think Japan is an expensive country, it's cheap everything. The rent is also extremely cheap too, $2,000 a month can do a quite reasonable one room flat with a room with bath, kitchen & toilet. In the West, it must be a crap share property for that amount. But then the VAT is like only 5% so it's rather understandable.
atariboy15 April 6th, 2006, 11:17 PM The public transport is cheap in Japan. A single ride for the Subway in Tokyo can be as cheap as Y160 ($1.6). Wheares the London underground is outrageous, costs £3 ($6) for a single ride! I don't think Japan is an expensive country, it's cheap everything. The rent is also extremely cheap too, $2,000 a month can do a quite reasonable one room flat with a room with bath, kitchen & toilet. In the West, it must be a crap share property for that amount. But then the VAT is like only 5% so it's rather understandable.
okay, $2,000 a month can rent you a HOUSE with a yard and garage etc in many US cities......even in california and new york you can get what you listed for compareable prices and those are the most expensive places we have to offer
Jonesy55 April 6th, 2006, 11:21 PM The rent is also extremely cheap too, $2,000 a month can do a quite reasonable one room flat with a room with bath, kitchen & toilet. In the West, it must be a crap share property for that amount. But then the VAT is like only 5% so it's rather understandable.
If you think $2,000 is cheap for a one room flat that shows how expensive Japan really is. Even the most expensive parts of Europe like London or Paris are cheaper than that. In my town you could rent a 10 room mansion for $2000.
Also most people on't pay £3 for a ride in London, they have oyster cards or monthly tickets that are much cheaper.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2006/single/tubedlr.shtml
NorthStar77 April 7th, 2006, 08:29 AM @MrDenmark: so Norway is generally cheaper than Denmark:banana:
@vtower: Oslo ranks at the top of many cost of living-surveys, but for $2000 a month you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment in the finest area of the city, 5 minutes walk west of downtown. Just out of curiosity, I tried searching for apartment costing $2000 in the area I live, 25 minutes walk east of downtown, but there are none for rent at that price. The most expencive I could find was a 3 bedroom apartment for around $1500
MoreOrLess April 7th, 2006, 01:12 PM The public transport is cheap in Japan. A single ride for the Subway in Tokyo can be as cheap as Y160 ($1.6). Wheares the London underground is outrageous, costs £3 ($6) for a single ride! I don't think Japan is an expensive country, it's cheap everything. The rent is also extremely cheap too, $2,000 a month can do a quite reasonable one room flat with a room with bath, kitchen & toilet. In the West, it must be a crap share property for that amount. But then the VAT is like only 5% so it's rather understandable.
An offpeak underground daypass at £6 is actually one of the few cheap things a tourist can do in London besides the free big Museums and just walking around in my expereince.
Zaki April 8th, 2006, 04:07 AM I haven't been to Tokyo in a while but one thing that i will never forget was the fact that when i was there one apple cost $30. I never seen anything like that ever before and ever again. In general i find scandinavian countries too expensive compared to north america.
luv2bebrown April 8th, 2006, 04:51 AM I haven't been to Tokyo in a while but one thing that i will never forget was the fact that when i was there one apple cost $30. I never seen anything like that ever before and ever again. In general i find scandinavian countries too expensive compared to north america.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
luv2bebrown April 8th, 2006, 04:53 AM The rent is also extremely cheap too, $2,000 a month can do a quite reasonable one room flat with a room with bath, kitchen & toilet. In the West, it must be a crap share property for that amount.
$2,000 a month rent for a 1 b/r is cheap !!!!!!!!!!???
HEART ATTACK!
Alfa-Omega April 8th, 2006, 08:29 AM I am from Mexico, and I work for an American Company, usually when I travel around USA I can rent cars, and stay in a 5 start hotel, when me and the American buddys goes to countrys like Finland, sweeden, we travel by bus, and stay and regular hotels, northern europe is very expensive. Even USA is cheaper than countrys like Mexico in a lot of things, like plane tickets, car rent, etc, etc
Taller, Better April 8th, 2006, 02:49 PM I have to say it is certainly a factor for me when I travel.... I admit I probably
wouldn't make plans to travel to Scandinavia because when I exchange my money
it doesn't go far there. Norway has a reputation here as being exceedingly expensive.
source26 April 8th, 2006, 03:18 PM Oslo joins the group of most
expensive cities in the world
By Tann vom Hove, Editor
Deciding on which is the world’s most expensive city is a little bit like choosing between the merits of various world heavy weight boxing champions. Until recently the choice has been between Tokyo and London. But in its latest ‘Worldwide cost of living survey’ the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says Oslo had overtaken Tokyo as the world’s costliest city. On the other hand, Mercer Consulting still places Tokyo at the top of its table, with Oslo being ranked 10th, while the Swiss Bank UBS puts London in first place, followed by Oslo, New York and Tokyo.
UBS survey: Most expensive cities (Intro) | Most expensive cities (table) | Richest cities |
Mercer survey: Most expensive cities
The problem with all three surveys is that they convert local prices into US dollars, which means that any changes are as much the result of currency fluctuations as of price inflation. For example according to all three surveys, the cost of living in European cities becomes more expensive if the dollar weakens even when local prices remain unchanged.
In its 2006 survey the EIU says that after 14 years at the top Tokyo had been overtaken by Oslo as the world's costliest city. Elsewhere an improving economic outlook has pushed Brazilian cities up the ranking and Asian cities make up many of the cheapest destinations. The bi–annual survey compares the cost of a representative basket of goods and services in dollar terms from over 130 cities worldwide to provide guidance for the calculation of executive allowances. The data quoted uses New York as a base index of 100 for comparisons.
Findings from the EIU survey
Tokyo is no longer the world's most expensive city. Oslo has replaced it at the top. Despite decoupling the yuan from the weakening dollar, Chinese cities have seen a fall in relative living costs as the economy opens up. Reykjavik in Iceland has seen the largest jump in the relative cost of living over the last 12 months. Meanwhile the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo experienced the sharpest jump in ranking on the back of economic recovery across the region.
The survey describes 1991 as a landmark year. It began with the launch of operation Desert Storm and finished with the official dissolution of the Soviet Union. Also significant, says the EIU, was that it was the last time that the most expensive destination in the world fell outside Japan.
In 1991 Tehran occupied the top spot thanks to an overvalued official exchange rate, with Tokyo coming second in the world rankings. Unsurprisingly, revaluations quickly sent Tehran to the bottom of the ranking, where it now languishes. Tokyo, meanwhile, has held the dubious honour of being the world's most expensive city ever since – sharing the title with Osaka briefly in 2001.
Despite spending so long at the top, the displacement of Tokyo comes as little surprise to the EIU. A gradually weakening yen has been compounded by years of low inflation and deflation in the Japanese economy. Six months ago Oslo overtook Osaka as the second most expensive city in the ranking, making it a question of when, rather than if, Tokyo would follow suit.
Norway has seen strong economic growth following a recovery in 2004, enjoying high consumer confidence, rampant investment and still–low interest rates. The position of Oslo at the top of the ranking highlights a much wider increase in the relative cost of living across Europe, driven by the long–term underperformance of the dollar. Reykjavik saw the largest proportional rise in the cost of living, gaining 19 percentage points on New York and moving above Osaka into third place. Eight of the ten most expensive cities in the survey are now based in Europe, although only Paris (France, 4th) hails from the euro zone.
Not surprisingly the more developed western European cities make up the bulk of the most expensive cities in the region (and the world). Only one city (Moscow, 29th) from eastern and central Europe features in the 30 most expensive destinations, compared with the presence of 20 cities in western Europe.
Despite this, cities from the transition economies are seeing advances in the relative cost of living, some buoyed by entry into the EU or accession talks. Belgrade (Serbia & Montenegro, 107th), Bucharest (Romania, 95th), Kiev (Ukraine, 82nd), Warsaw (Poland, 63rd), Prague (Czech Republic, 58th) and Istanbul (Turkey, 48th) all saw a relative jump of more than 5% in the cost of living.
The survey also says that only two cities across Europe saw a decline in the relative cost of living. Tashkent (Uzbekistan) fell 12 places to 117th making it the cheapest city in the region alongside Almaty of Kazakhstan. However, both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are, of course, in Central Asia.
A strong regional performance in 2004 has filtered through to consumption and inflation levels in many countries of Latin America, causing a relative jump in the cost of living among many cities. Only four cities saw a decline in the relative cost of living in Latin America. Two of these cities, Quito (Ecuador, 100th) and Panama City (Panama, 95th), have dollarised economies and therefore have not seen the cost of living rise on the back of a weakening dollar. Asuncion (Paraguay, 124th) is the cheapest city in the region, with a cost of living index of just 45 per cent of New York's.
The sharpest rise in the overall rankings came from two Brazilian cities Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Each city jumped 22 places to joint 87th on the back of rising consumer prices and a 25% increase in the value of the real.
In North America, Canadian cities are now more expensive than all but the largest cities surveyed in the United States. Of 16 US cities featured in the survey only New York (27th), Chicago (35th), Los Angeles (35th) and San Francisco (40th) are pricier than Montreal and Vancouver (joint 43rd).
Although Tokyo and Osaka both fell in the ranking, ending 14 years as the costliest cities in the survey, many cities in Asia have seen economic growth pushing the relative cost of living up.
Australia and New Zealand saw thanks to buoyant exchange rates and rising petrol prices. Seoul (South Korea, 13th), meanwhile, overtook Hong Kong (14th) as the most expensive city in the region after Tokyo and Osaka.
Despite rampant economic growth, and the decoupling of the yuan to the US dollar, Chinese cities have experienced a relative fall in the ranking as increased investment opens up pricing competition and lowers tariffs on branded goods in larger urban centres.
High levels of income disparity mean that, although Tokyo and Osaka remain the most expensive cities in the world, many cities in Asia offer much better value for money. Five of the seven lowest–priced cities surveyed are based in Asia. The cheapest of these is Manila (Philippines, 127th), also the second cheapest destination surveyed.
Cities surveyed in Sub–Saharan Africa saw costs generally rising because of high inflation. Lagos (Nigeria, 63rd), Lusaka (Zambia, 91st) and Nairobi (Kenya, 93rd) all experienced double–digit inflation. This had the greatest effect for Lusaka which rose 18 places in the ranking.
Conversely, cities in the Middle East saw a relative decline in living costs due to extremely low inflation, price controls (especially on fuel) and the pegging of so many currencies to the US dollar. In the Middle East only Dubai (UAE, 71st) and Cairo (Egypt, 113th) climbed the cost of living ranking.
The 10 most expensive cities in the world, with previous positions in brackets
Rank City
1 (3) Oslo
2 (1) Tokyo
3 (8) Reykjavik
4 (2) Osaka
4 (4) Paris
6 (5) Copenhagen
7 (7) London
8 (6) Zurich
9 (8) Geneva
10 (10) Helsinki
OtAkAw April 8th, 2006, 05:52 PM I don't understand why some cities are so expensive and others are so cheap. A 5-star room in Manila can go as low as $120...
North_Beach April 9th, 2006, 12:15 AM A weekend in Oslo is shit because it is so expensive. Lovely city, and great to live in as you will earn very high wages working in Oslo, but rubbish to visit unless you are loaded!! £6 a beer!!! I had a pizza and a coke and it came to £18!! The price of things ruined my weekend trip to Oslo!
and i'm from the UK!!...God knows what it would be like if you were from a country with a low currency value!!
vtower April 9th, 2006, 04:36 PM I felt like London's rent is twice as higher than in Tokyo. I don't believe that Tokyo is such an expensive city. The most expensive city in the world must be London.
$2,000 a month rent for a 1 b/r is cheap !!!!!!!!!!???
HEART ATTACK!
Perhaps it comes with the lounge as well, seperated from the bedroom.
vtower April 9th, 2006, 04:40 PM @vtower: Oslo ranks at the top of many cost of living-surveys, but for $2000 a month you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment in the finest area of the city, 5 minutes walk west of downtown. Just out of curiosity, I tried searching for apartment costing $2000 in the area I live, 25 minutes walk east of downtown, but there are none for rent at that price. The most expencive I could find was a 3 bedroom apartment for around $1500
I don't think the standard of living is measured only by the property price. Oslo is the wealthiest city in the world due to many other factors. :)
Audiomuse April 9th, 2006, 07:36 PM 2 words-- U.K. and Japan. I went out to eat at a pub called the Crazy Horse in Chelmsford the other day and it cost me 14.95 for a Burger, beans, and fries, not to mention 2 Fosters at 4 pounds each. It was not even fancy and it tasted awful. Double that and that equals around $44 just for myself. On top of that, the Brits don't make as much as us Americans so going out to eat at a real restaurant (not fastfood) can cost a bunch. Think about a family of four on a mid-income. As for Tokyo it is just as bad. Jeez! Tokyo is a killer.
Jonesy55 April 10th, 2006, 09:34 PM 2 words-- U.K. and Japan. I went out to eat at a pub called the Crazy Horse in Chelmsford the other day and it cost me 14.95 for a Burger, beans, and fries, not to mention 2 Fosters at 4 pounds each. It was not even fancy and it tasted awful. Double that and that equals around $44 just for myself. On top of that, the Brits don't make as much as us Americans so going out to eat at a real restaurant (not fastfood) can cost a bunch. Think about a family of four on a mid-income.
That's very expensive even for the UK. I'd normally expect to pay £6-7 for a burger and fries in a pub and about £2.50 for a pint of beer. For £15 you can get gourmet food.
At current exchange rates i'm not sure there's a huge difference between the UK and US earnings for mid and lower paid jobs. Median full time salary here is about £22,000 ($38,500), mean is £27,500 ($48,200). London and the SE are a bit higher, the rest of the country a bit lower
Taller, Better April 11th, 2006, 12:32 AM That's very expensive even for the UK. I'd normally expect to pay £6-7 for a burger and fries in a pub and about £2.50 for a pint of beer. For £15 you can get gourmet food.
At current exchange rates i'm not sure there's a huge difference between the UK and US earnings for mid and lower paid jobs. Median full time salary here is about £22,000 ($38,500), mean is £27,500 ($48,200). London and the SE are a bit higher, the rest of the country a bit lower
A pint of beer is about the same here in a pub, but I have always found
food in Britain to be twice as expensive as here- either at the low end or
upper end.
I don't think the standard of living is measured only by the property price. Oslo is the wealthiest city in the world due to many other factors. :)
uhuh.. those many other factors are called "OIL"
_00_deathscar April 12th, 2006, 06:35 AM Still think HK is the most expensive city I've been to/lived in.
But then again, I haven't been to Tokyo yet.
KB April 13th, 2006, 07:18 PM On the Champs Elysée it's 5 € but luckily, not everywhere !!!
It's generally 1 € (0,20 in my company at the coffee-machine).
r u kidding ? 0,20 at the coffee machine?
most of the place i find it around €2 :dunno:
hey, can i have ur company address, plzzz?
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