sbrownpac

is there a site on the internet that shows the relative costs of average items you may encounter on a trip to UK or the rest of euope from country to country...e.g a glass of beer, a glass of wine, a baguette, a bottle of water?? etc..??

i may know what the dollar to euro or pound exchange rate is , but that is useless if i dont know what the "cost of living" is...

in italy in 2000 pre-euro the dollar was strong, but costs of things seemed relatively low despite that...$1=2000lire and a 500mLbottle of water was only 500L-1000L at that time.. in some places ($0.25-$0.50)..that was still cheap compared to US. But what are things like now? the dollar is weak i know but what has the Euro done to inflation since in each country???

thanks

Christina

I haven't seen one, although there is usually published in a newspaper some relative measure of a McDonalds hamburger or something (which I don't find that useful, but maybe to get a gross idea of price comparisons). To be honest, whenever I've seen sites listing prices for the kinds of things you state, they always seem to be wrong or you wonder where the author bought them. Also, comparison of certain food ideas or things may not really be the best measure of comparative costs overall -- for example, a baguette in Paris in a bakery is very cheap because I believe it is price-controlled or subsidized, so that doesn't translate to hotel rooms, for example. A bottle of water can vary from less than a euro in a grocery store to five euro in an expensive cafe in the most expensive area.

I think for a tourist, the relative cost of hotel rooms may be more important than a loaf of bread in a grocery store. Maybe a range for a glass of beer/wine in a cafe in the area tourists would be might be helpful, or a cup of coffee, actually, which is usually what I notice the most. I just re-read a travel journal I had from one of my first trips to Europe about 20 years ago and had to laugh when I wrote about how expensive coffee was in Amsterdam. Apparently that really bothered me, which is odd as I had come from London.

m_kingdom2

Inflation reports and more detailed information is usually available at a charge from various web-sites.

As for cost of living, it varies greatly from place to place. London's cost of living is skewed due to very high property prices. The price of petrol is pretty consistent throughout the country. A bottle of water can cost as little as 25p (for a big brand name bought in a supermarket - they've very cheekily opened a Tesco Express in Curzon Street!) or as much as 10+GBP in a fine restaurant/bar.

A baguette costs a matter of pence, but if you have one filled with something like lobster look at 30GBP.

Wine - depends on the wine, etc.

You must specify brands/types and where it will be purchased.

jeffwill4you

I think the cost of most things in europe is about the same as in america
maybe even a little less! Most people forget like I did that the folks over there are paid in Euros and not Dollars,
so no matter what the exchange rate in "Euro to Dollar" it is still a counrty and not a ride at Disneyland and real people live there just like here. How much does it cost for a beer at Applebee's? or Red lobster? do the math and thats what it cost there.

Travelnut

Here is a list of basic expenses, only a little 'outdated' (ie. metro ticket is now 1.4E, not 1.3).
http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/features/expect.asp

nytraveler

I would strongly disagree about things in europe costing the same as in the US. You haven't taken into account the huge price differences in various parts of the US.

Prices in London, Paris and Rome will be way higher than they are in a small town in the US - although they may be similar to those in NYC.

(A couple of years ago we met an elderly couple in Stockholm who were horrified by the cost of everything - because they were comparing prices to those in their small town. And I had been thinking that a lot of the restaurants were bargains for what we were getting - at least in comparison to NYC.)

So I think saying the prices are similar can be very misleading for a lot of folks - no - dinner will not cost the same as a burger and coke in Applebees.

taggie

A pack of cigarettes (according to a British soap I watch) is running about £4.50 in the UK. I don't smoke so I don't know how much a pack is in the US but you can use that figure to compare. It's almost double the cost of a pack in Canada.
I generally find the cost of things in the UK is about double that in Canada - except for beer!

ira

Hi sb,

Would you care to be more specific about what it is you wish to buy?

Some things (housing) are more expensive, others (beer) are cheaper.

Robespierre

Rule of thumb: things in the UK cost the same number of pounds, and things in the EU cost the same number of euro, as things cost in the US in dollars. Same difference everywhere between small towns and larger ones.

So if a Best Western in Booneville, MO costs $65, figure £65 in the midlands and €65 in central Germany. The same accommodation will cost $135 in Chicago, London, and Paris.

There are variations on an item-by-item basis, but I think the rule holds often enough that you can rely on it. Beer is $£€1.50 in the provinces, and $£€3.50 in the cities.

The wild card is real estate.

jeffwill4you

You guys said it better then I did. I was talking about the cost of things on vacation like beer,hotels, gum, cigarettes, bread, bus fare Etc, In America
The price gos up as to get to the bigger cities or tourist areas as do the prices in Europe.

bardo1

Here you go:
http://www.finfacts.ie/printpage/costoflivingpr.htm

Scroll to the bottom for:
Wine, Bread, Potatoes(?), CD's, Phone rental, & 2-BR apts.