Think things cost a lot where you live? Here’s a little perspective from our friends across the Atlantic.
While on a business trip through England, there were a few things I couldn’t help but notice about their financial situation. Although most of what I found was narrowly limited to my travel agenda, I thought I’d share my list of observations:
Conversation Rate:
The currency in the UK is the “British Pound” which is abbreviated with a “£” or “GBP”. The exchange rate at the time of my trip was approximately £1 = $1.55.
Observations:
• What do you pay for sales tax? Wanna try a 20% sales tax!? I should also mention that they do pay less on other forms of tax. One nice feature is that the price on items in their stores is the number WITH tax included; not the other way around like it is here in the US..
• Gas is wildly expensive! The price of a Liter of gas = £1.30 or $2.01. By the American equivalent of a US gallon (3.79 L), this would be = £4.92 or $7.62!
• And, therefore, a taxi ride is outrageously expensive! For an approximately 30 minute drive = £60 or $93. And don’t forget the tip!
• Gourmet coffee = £3 or $4.65. Not a terrible price compared to the fancy coffee shops here in the US. Plus, it was really good!
• A pint of beer = £3 or $4.65. Note that a UK pint = 19.2 oz US. Again, not too bad when compared to what you’d pay for a draft beer here in the US.
• Hotel stay per night = £133 or $206. However, this price also included all my meals plus access to a full-service fitness spa/pool. So I’d say it was a deal.
• Food menu at the hotel, low to high = £10 or $15.49 to £16 or $24.79. I take this one with a grain of salt because hotels always charge more for their food because they have a captive audience. Regardless, the prices are somewhat comparable to other hotel restaurants.
• Upset over your changes to your retirement plan? On Wednesday, Nov 30 2011, all of the government workers decided to hold an organized strike over unfavorable changes to their pension plans. There were many images of rioting and police retaliation on my TV set. And as luck would have it, this event took place during the week that I planned to make an International trip. Fortunately my flights did not occur on that date.
• Getting re-adjusted to our time zone (5 hour difference). Priceless!
Readers – What changes in prices have you noticed while traveling? Any bargains? Anything to watch out for? On the pension riots, what have you noticed about other economies and their decisions towards taking care of their citizens?
Related Posts:
1) Wasted Time Waiting for Service Appointments Equals $38 Billion!
2) Go Ahead and Buy Yourself a Coffee – You Deserve It
3) Does Extreme Couponing = A Good Use of Your Time?
Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art
England is a very expensive country in general. Hopefully the company you work for is paying for your stay there since you’re on business!
Oh yes! Everything is covered. I’m not sure I would have accepted the project otherwise 🙂
Unfortunately for me I haven’t traveled out of the country much so I haven’t been able to experience these awesomely high rates.
I’ve noticed that when we go to Colorado that there is a 12% tax in many of the hotels/places we stay. They jack it up because of the tourism. Annoying!
Ouch! 12%? That is kinda high! It stinks when they know they can hit you up as a tourist.
I’ve often wondered what life would be like living overseas(specifically, in Europe). However, the cost-of-living over there is so inexpensive by comparison to that of the U.S. When you really think about it, we don’t really have it so rough.
Although most of my everyday purchases cost a lot, I do know that there are some differences in terms of housing cost, cars, etc. I’m sure if you were to dig deeper it may not be such a bad setup.
Wow that is some expensive gas. I thought the prices here in BC were excessive, but they’re nowhere near those levels. It sounds like some pricing & taxing there is set to take advantage of tourism. They know what a hot destination London is, especially with the upcoming Olympics. I guess they have to pay for all those facilities and the security somehow.
I wish I was near London! I’m about two hours north in Coventry. And even still, gas and food has been outrageous. My colleague just paid about $20 for a $10 SD card for his camera!
You hit the nail on the head: travel costs in other countries is rediculous! We complain about $3.50 gas here and actually still have it pretty lucky.
Exactly! Things could be a lot worse! Especially the 20% tax!
OMG I thought gas was expensive here! That’s crazy. Their sales tax seems pretty high but I love the idea of it already being marked on the price tag. I have never traveled outside the US, visiting England seems so exciting.
I somewhat like the idea of having a higher tax on purchased good and less tax taken out of my paycheck. I guess it all evens out!
Wow! I guess over here in America we should be thankful the gas prices are as “low” as they are. I think I prefer to go to countries where the dollar has more value. 🙂 Traveling costs can get crazy.
You see a lot more “tiny” cars over here – that’s for sure!
Gas prices are unreal! I guess you see similar prices all over Europe? The hotel on the other hand is a good deal, how many stars is that considered?
That hotel was pretty nice (I stayed there in November). I’m not sure about the stars, but it was a Barcelo which is pretty popular in Mexico and the Caribbean. I’m now staying at a Hilton for about the same price with the same amenities – Full exercise room, pool, breakfast, etc.
Wow. I knew the UK was expensive, but the numbers make it more real. Here in the US we’ve been spoiled by cheap gas. Here I am thinking $4/gal is exhorbant when halfway around the world people are paying $7/gal.
I do have a new appreciation for our gas prices. But my wallet still hurts at the thought of $4 gas! 🙂
I think hotel room tax in NY is around 15%. It’s amazing that even within 50 states,cost of living varies in various states tremendously.
Wow, 15%??? I guess it’s probably supply and demand. They probably know that with all the hotels there that they can command those types of rates.
Hi, just came across this article which I think is very interesting. I’m born and bread in the UK and have only ever been to Vegas for a weekend. The cost of living is high over here. Depending on where you live. I happen to live in London. Not the city centre but a suburb about 40 mins commute. Houses are very expensive and they are no where near as big as the houses I saw in the US. £350,000 – £400,000 (about $550,000) will get you a small 2 – 3 bedroom house. No swimming pool either! A car (depending on make and mileage) can be cheap but the real expense is car insurance, car tax (which are both compulsory under British law) and petrol. You guys are definitely lucky gas is cheap. It seems that everything is expensive here nowadays. Even McDonalds! I paid about £5 for my big mac meal the other day.
When I visited Vegas, it was a bit strange tipping everyone for everything. Over here service charge is usually included in all bills so there is no need to tip. I only tip a few places like a restaurant but never a bar or pub.
But don’t let any of this put you off from visiting. What I do enjoy is how cheap air travel is. Flying to another European destination can be as cheap as £40 return, especially if you take the first flight out. You can also take a train (EuroStar) or even a coach – through the channel tunnel from Dover to Calais. This is even cheaper. Granted the journey can last a while but it’s worth it and so are all the great tourist attractions.
Funny story – it can actually be cheaper to travel abroad then it is to travel within the country. I recently paid £120 for a ticket to Manchester (north England) by overground train!! Ridiculous. I should have just flown to Holland, Germany, France or any of the other destinations.
Also I love how the country is so multicultural – every race, every religion, every language can all be found in London. Food is amazing, so many different cuisines to try, shopping is great, though expensive, tourist attractions, clubs, pubs and of course the great British weather!!
Cheers! Thanks for commenting and adding more content to the theme.
I would have loved to have made it to London. But unfortunately, I was further north in Coventry. While I was in your country I visited Birmingham and went to the Bullring mall. I noticed many of the stores had clothing and jewelry that was similar to ours but FAR more expensive (even after I mentally factored out the 20% VAT)! But nonetheless, I thought the mall was beautiful and would love to bring my family back to visit the country.
I had a hard time NOT tipping during my trip. It felt strange to always go to the bar first to order, pay in full, then get my food, and leave with no tip. Sort of the opposite in the U.S. I did have some pretty excellent dishes!
On the gas, I also noticed all your cars were small and got much better mileage (especially the diesels). My colleague and I figured that since your cars were getting twice the mileage, that’s why gas was also about twice we pay.
I’m glad you enjoyed your time here. You should definitely visit London. There are so many things to see and do. We just had the Queens Diamond jubilee over the weekend and what a spectacle it was. The weather was predictable but that didn’t hinder the festivities.
With the Olympics coming up it’s going to get even better.
I see what you mean about the tip. I was completely the opposite to you when I was in Vegas. I think a lot of people thought I was just cheap. But in reality I’m just not used to the social etiquette you have over there and I didn’t know that service charge was not included on the bills like it is over here.
Unfortunately the cars here are pretty small. That’s mainly due to the fact we don’t have a vast amount of land and also the roads are small. Trying to drive an SUV down a small road brings around a lot of challenges. Especially when you’re trying to park your car on a narrow road. But I’m guessing those smaller cars do probably get better mileage. And if you have one of those hybrid cars, Prius comes to mind it’s even better. The majority of cars on the road here tend to be manual (shift stick) so shifting it up in gears can give you better mileage.
I think it’s wonderful how similar yet how different the 2 nations are.