Former frequent poster from the US has temporarily given up on Europe because of the costs. Any more like me?
Oct 22nd, 2007, 07:46 PM
#142
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 45,322
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dukey, forgive me if you think my comment is out of order but you stated on a thread in the Lounge that you won 3.5 million dollars after taxes. If so your travel style and ability is quite different I would think then the average poster of Fodor's. So yes you are quite fortunate and I say that with a smile and a "bravo" for you..winning that amount of money is wonderful.
Oct 22nd, 2007, 10:05 PM
#143
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,190
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
interesting thread
I love Buenos Aires too, it is European feeling but it's not Europe.
Surely the point is not how you work out prices /cost of living etc. it's how much it is worth to you as an individual.
I can't afford to travel every year but I do love to travel. I don't own my own home I prefer to travel than tie myself into a mortgage (plus house prices are so high I may never be able to afford it)
I love Buenos Aires too, it is European feeling but it's not Europe.
Surely the point is not how you work out prices /cost of living etc. it's how much it is worth to you as an individual.
I can't afford to travel every year but I do love to travel. I don't own my own home I prefer to travel than tie myself into a mortgage (plus house prices are so high I may never be able to afford it)
Oct 22nd, 2007, 10:27 PM
#144
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ira, your 3600E coming to $5100 for 2 weeks really put it in perspective for me. Where I'm from (Down Under), 3600E comes to $5900 in my currency, and that might (just) buy the return airfares for 2 of us to get to Europe! Naturally people in our part of the world seek other ways to economise (the accommodation & meal prices I see bandied around on this forum seem ludicrously expensive to us), but even so it's no wonder many of us look upon a trip to Europe as a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Oct 22nd, 2007, 11:01 PM
#145
I finally, for the first time, read through some of this thread, which I have been avoiding on purpose for a variety of reasons.
Interesting debate, but I am not qualified to intervene, because it has been so long since I lived in the US that I am completely unhooked from the cost of living there, particularly since over the past 15 years or so, I have mostly gone there just to visit family and wasn't even paying for hotels and restaurants.
What is very clear is that people with no financial worries can still easily afford Europe. Those on a strict budget can also still visit Europe, but it takes more research and a few sacrifices that some people are unwilling to make. The 30€ hotel rooms and the 5€ meals that you can still find in Paris will not appeal to a number of you.
Interesting debate, but I am not qualified to intervene, because it has been so long since I lived in the US that I am completely unhooked from the cost of living there, particularly since over the past 15 years or so, I have mostly gone there just to visit family and wasn't even paying for hotels and restaurants.
What is very clear is that people with no financial worries can still easily afford Europe. Those on a strict budget can also still visit Europe, but it takes more research and a few sacrifices that some people are unwilling to make. The 30€ hotel rooms and the 5€ meals that you can still find in Paris will not appeal to a number of you.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 03:54 AM
#146
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 9,017
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
>3600E ... and that might (just) buy the return airfares for 2
You can easily find a flight from Europe to Australia for little above 1000€ rountrip. Is it really so much more when you start from Australia?
You can easily find a flight from Europe to Australia for little above 1000€ rountrip. Is it really so much more when you start from Australia?
Oct 23rd, 2007, 05:27 AM
#147
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi all,
Yesterday was my Lady Wife's birthday, so we went up to Watkinsville to La Maison Bleu - one of the best restos in the greater Athens area.
Dinner for 2:
Crepe stuffed with crab and spinach
Potato skins stuffed with duck confit
Tilapia stuffed with crab
Grilled Barramundi Cod
Lava chocolate cake with ginger ice cream
Blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream
1 glass of red and 1 bottle of Pinot Grigio
With tax and tip: $135 (95E)
This is about the same, or slightly more, than I would pay for a similar meal in similar surroundings in Paris.
In France, eg, Albi or Cahors I would expect to pay somewhat less.
Yesterday was my Lady Wife's birthday, so we went up to Watkinsville to La Maison Bleu - one of the best restos in the greater Athens area.
Dinner for 2:
Crepe stuffed with crab and spinach
Potato skins stuffed with duck confit
Tilapia stuffed with crab
Grilled Barramundi Cod
Lava chocolate cake with ginger ice cream
Blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream
1 glass of red and 1 bottle of Pinot Grigio
With tax and tip: $135 (95E)
This is about the same, or slightly more, than I would pay for a similar meal in similar surroundings in Paris.
In France, eg, Albi or Cahors I would expect to pay somewhat less.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 06:36 AM
#148
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,361
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow that sounds like a fortune to pay for a meal of fish that is farmed and likely frozen to boot! With one glass of red and a bottle of almost always boring PG!! What the heck is "barramundi cod?" Is it barramundi or is it cod, or a wierd hybrid of both???
Oct 23rd, 2007, 07:26 AM
#149
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi EK,
Barramundi is a kind of codfish from Australia.
The Zenato PG (2006) was quite fresh and zesty. It went well with the fish.
Truth to tell, I've had better meals.
My point was that Europe isn't all that expensive, even at $1.42/E.
Barramundi is a kind of codfish from Australia.
The Zenato PG (2006) was quite fresh and zesty. It went well with the fish.
Truth to tell, I've had better meals.
My point was that Europe isn't all that expensive, even at $1.42/E.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 09:22 AM
#150
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 23,361
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ira: The barramundi I am familiar with has nothing to do with cod! It might be a bit similar to perch...barramundi cod sounds like an attempt by a restaurant to make an unfamilair fish palatable to diners. Don't imagine they flew it in from Australia, though! Tilapia on a rstaurant menu does not bode well, either!! Sorry your dining possibilities are so llimited but hope you had fun.
I have to agree, for about 100 euro or so one could have a truly good meal in Europe!
I have to agree, for about 100 euro or so one could have a truly good meal in Europe!
Oct 23rd, 2007, 09:29 AM
#151
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You know, my family of 4 wanted to go to Mexico for winter school break-- of course, Christmas time is a very expensive time to vacation somewhere warm-- but $10,000 at a 3 star all-inclusive for 5 nights???? Give me "expensive" Europe any day!
Oct 23rd, 2007, 09:29 AM
#152
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi ek,
>The barramundi I am familiar with has nothing to do with cod! <
I googled Barramundi from Australia.
It seems that there is Lates calcarifer and Cromileptes altivelis (Barramundi Cod), which is a sort of Grouper.
The resto only said that it was from Australia.
>Sorry your dining possibilities are so limited
Our local restos are about as good as going to Atlanta - at about the same prices. Unfortunately, that's not saying much.
>but hope you had fun.<
No use complaining.
>The barramundi I am familiar with has nothing to do with cod! <
I googled Barramundi from Australia.
It seems that there is Lates calcarifer and Cromileptes altivelis (Barramundi Cod), which is a sort of Grouper.
The resto only said that it was from Australia.
>Sorry your dining possibilities are so limited
Our local restos are about as good as going to Atlanta - at about the same prices. Unfortunately, that's not saying much.
>but hope you had fun.<
No use complaining.
Oct 26th, 2007, 12:36 PM
#154
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 111
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well you could match that $14.00 at an Ihop or Denny's.
You can still get a nice Italian dinner in the states for $28.00 to $30.00, bread, soup or salad, entree, and a beverage. Now if you can tell me where I can get a good comparable meal in Paris for $25 I'd be thrilled.
You can still get a nice Italian dinner in the states for $28.00 to $30.00, bread, soup or salad, entree, and a beverage. Now if you can tell me where I can get a good comparable meal in Paris for $25 I'd be thrilled.
Oct 26th, 2007, 12:46 PM
#155
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 36,842
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
mahya, there have been numerous threads about good full meals in Paris for under 20 euro -- that equals your $28 you mentioned.
Most GOOD Italian restaurants in our town have entrees starting at about $18 (pasta) -- meat entrees start around $22. Salads are usually $6 or more. Glasses of wine start at $7 "good wines" by the glass more like $11 and up. Now if you're talking Olive Garden, that may be a different matter, but for similar quality of food and atmosphere, I can easily match Paris or Rome prices to my local favorites.
Most GOOD Italian restaurants in our town have entrees starting at about $18 (pasta) -- meat entrees start around $22. Salads are usually $6 or more. Glasses of wine start at $7 "good wines" by the glass more like $11 and up. Now if you're talking Olive Garden, that may be a different matter, but for similar quality of food and atmosphere, I can easily match Paris or Rome prices to my local favorites.
Oct 26th, 2007, 12:59 PM
#156
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi M,
>Well you could match that $14.00 at an Ihop or Denny's.
You are kidding, right?
>You can still get a nice Italian dinner in the states for $28.00 to $30.00, bread, soup or salad, entree, and a beverage. Now if you can tell me where I can get a good comparable meal in Paris for $25 I'd be thrilled.<
A. If it costs $30 in the US, why do you want it for $25 in Paris?
B. Pizza Vesuvio 1 Rue Gozlin 75006, Metro St. Germain des Pres.
Actually, it is better. Real wood-burning pizza oven.
We went to Bischero Ristorante Italiano in Athens, GA last night.
The two of us had a good bottle of Primitivo for $33 (23E, a bit high); shared a nice salad of arugula (rocket), oranges and Moroccan olives; a reasonably good 9" pizza (Roman style) and very nice ravioli - $86 (about 60E) w/tax and tip.
Unfortunately, my Lady Wife was up most of the night with heartburn.
>Well you could match that $14.00 at an Ihop or Denny's.
You are kidding, right?
>You can still get a nice Italian dinner in the states for $28.00 to $30.00, bread, soup or salad, entree, and a beverage. Now if you can tell me where I can get a good comparable meal in Paris for $25 I'd be thrilled.<
A. If it costs $30 in the US, why do you want it for $25 in Paris?
B. Pizza Vesuvio 1 Rue Gozlin 75006, Metro St. Germain des Pres.
Actually, it is better. Real wood-burning pizza oven.
We went to Bischero Ristorante Italiano in Athens, GA last night.
The two of us had a good bottle of Primitivo for $33 (23E, a bit high); shared a nice salad of arugula (rocket), oranges and Moroccan olives; a reasonably good 9" pizza (Roman style) and very nice ravioli - $86 (about 60E) w/tax and tip.
Unfortunately, my Lady Wife was up most of the night with heartburn.
Oct 26th, 2007, 04:43 PM
#157
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Returned on October 19 from a 5-week trip to France.
In 2005 the same two couple did Italy.
I know you can watch the money spend, but we just tended to go to dinner at a nice place that we choose at random or through Fodorite suggestions.
The food was always good, the wine great and now and then we got a whopping surprise of a 21 euro piece of asparagus or two for a starter course.
It was very very expensive this time around. We definitely felt it. Probably will consider Quebec City when we pine for Paris next time.
I never have regrets as it was all wonderful and I feel pretty lucky to be able to go in the first place. We will definitely consider the euro when planning our next trip. I usually go to Europe every two years, but will probably think twice if the dollars doesn't get stronger.
In 2005 the same two couple did Italy.
I know you can watch the money spend, but we just tended to go to dinner at a nice place that we choose at random or through Fodorite suggestions.
The food was always good, the wine great and now and then we got a whopping surprise of a 21 euro piece of asparagus or two for a starter course.
It was very very expensive this time around. We definitely felt it. Probably will consider Quebec City when we pine for Paris next time.
I never have regrets as it was all wonderful and I feel pretty lucky to be able to go in the first place. We will definitely consider the euro when planning our next trip. I usually go to Europe every two years, but will probably think twice if the dollars doesn't get stronger.
Oct 26th, 2007, 04:48 PM
#158
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 36,842
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm curious why on earth anyone would order one or two pieces (or even a whole plate assuming you didn't know how many pieces) of asparagus for 21 euro as a starter then complain about the prices? That's crazy, but it is possible to do that in the US too if you don't use any common sense.
Oct 26th, 2007, 04:56 PM
#159
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Our waiter didn't speak any English and we spoke very little French.
The description of the starter sounded as if you could feast or at least share your starter with another person which we did on occasion.
When it arrived it was only two pieces of asparagus, mind you, very nicely arranged with sauce or whatever on a plate. We thought it was more of a side dish of vegetables and were rather shocked at the price when we saw what it actually was.
No stupidity involved whatsoever.
The description of the starter sounded as if you could feast or at least share your starter with another person which we did on occasion.
When it arrived it was only two pieces of asparagus, mind you, very nicely arranged with sauce or whatever on a plate. We thought it was more of a side dish of vegetables and were rather shocked at the price when we saw what it actually was.
No stupidity involved whatsoever.
Oct 26th, 2007, 05:03 PM
#160
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 36,842
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply "stupidity" but this board has been filled with reports of people ordering the "special" at US restaurants and being floored by the price. The bottom line is if you order something not on the menu, be prepared to pay anything for it, and don't complain later because it was so costly.
And there certainly is no way you should blame such gouging on the current exhange rate. Maybe you feel ripped off by what you got, but it has NOTHING to do with the euro to dollar rate!
And there certainly is no way you should blame such gouging on the current exhange rate. Maybe you feel ripped off by what you got, but it has NOTHING to do with the euro to dollar rate!
