We found thailand and cambodia to be quite reasonable.

Hyaptia: You never heard of waves in Bali? Unless something has changed, Bali is among the top surf spots on Asia and has been for decades. And I may be wrong and correct me if I am, but I did not think that the big tsunami of a few years ago did much damage to Bali. To Sumatra, yes, but to Bali???

Agree that the original question is sort of pointless. You want an answer: I just returned from Laos where the US dollar still buys plenty.

Southeast Asia....Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and even Singapore!!

I'm sorry to ask an off topic question, but neopatrick, where are you renting these wonderful apartments in Europe? i'll be in Prague, Budapest, Cracow and Warsaw, and i'm planning to stay in hostels...but apartements sound great...are there any mass listings of these apartments, or any that you've been to/recommend?

Oh yeah, i'm thinking Czech & Poland may be pretty good as far as good places to go for not that much money, neither of them are on the euro yet...

>>>>
I agree. The original question makes no sense. It isn't that the dollar was worth something in Argentina. It was simply that Argentina has LOW prices -- in any currency you want to use.
>>>>>

it IS a question of exchange rates. how do you measure 'low prices'? low prices in what currency? if you remove the effect of exchange rates (i.e. look at purchasing power parity), argentina is not a low priced country.

Walkinaround. I don't think you are disagreeing with me, but maybe my way of saying it. If Argentina is cheaper in dollars than France, then it's also cheaper in euros than France. In other words, it's no greater bargain for US tourists than it is for European tourists.

If a hotel in London costs 100 pounds but $200 dollars, then it costs a Brit and an American the same "value" of money, just twice as many of the American units as the British units. But whatever the price is for a hotel in Argentina, it's still going to cost the American twice as many of his units as it does the Brit. In other words a 1000 peso hotel in Buenos Aires costs an American $ 309. But it costs the Brit 154 pounds. In other words, it is no cheaper for the American than it is for the Brit. It's no better bargain in dollars than it is in any other currency. Get it? It IS that simple.

" argentina is not a low priced country" Huh? Have you been there recently? I think those who have would disagree strongly with your statement. I recently sat and looked at fabulous Buenos Aires vacation apartments to rent for something like $1000 a month (that's also 500 pounds) -- match that in London -- you'll find a month in BA similar to a week in London! Comments, Scarlett?

This string has gotten so convoluted with mind games, I'd like to rephrase what I think is the question.

What European, Centro, and South American countries are the cheapest for a US traveler?

I'm interested in the bottom line - I don't care if they are cheap because they are cheap or cheap because of the exchange rate.

I do wish you Americans would realize that there are other countries in the world with dollars as their currency.

Our dollar ( Canadian ) went a long way on our recent trip to Cambodia.

>>>>>
" argentina is not a low priced country" Huh? Have you been there recently? I think those who have would disagree strongly with your statement.... Comments, Scarlett?
>>>>>>

didn't scarlett move to argentina with USD? hardly proves that argentina is inherently cheap without the effects of currency/economic arbitrage. aren't you looking at apartments translating them into USD and GBP...and then comparing this to london?! this makes absolutely no sense in trying to prove that argentina is inherently cheap without the effects of currency. what does the average worker in argentina make? your $1000/month apartment doesn't look so cheap to them. you have no understanding of basic economics.

maybe you were trying to say that argentina is cheap for those visiting with western currencies.

if you are trying to say that argentina is inherently cheap without currency impact, what is your definition of inherently cheap? is it that you can go there from the US or Europe and it's cheap? that thinking is very flawed.

walkinaround, try hard to listen carefully.

Apartments cost less in dollars, euros or pounds than they do in European capitals or in the US.
Meals cost less.
Clothing costs less.
Transportation costs less.
The bottom line is that YES, ARGENTINA is a bargain for EVERYBODY.

In other words Argentina is cheaper for EVERYBODY, regardless of what currency they are using (or exchanging). It costs fewer euros, pounds, OR dollars. In other words it costs less units of any kind of money that you can name than its counterparts in other parts of the world. Do you get it yet?

I'm really not sure what you are trying to say. But let's assume I flew to Rome and exchanged all my dollars for euros, then flew to Argentina and used those euros to pay for things after exchanging them to pesos. Guess what. Argentina will cost me fewer of those euros than Rome would have. Get it yet? It isn't the fact that I'm using dollars when I'm getting to Argentina, it's that things are CHEAPER there. Period.

By the way, feel free to Google and do some looking. There are numerous reports about how Americans, EUROPEANS, and Asians are all flocking to Argentina and buying up the very cheap real estate. It really doesn't matter if they're bringing dollars, euros, yen, or pounds -- it's cheap in ALL those currencies. In addition the real estate taxes are really low, and they estimate that monthly utilities on a typical house are about 9 pounds per month (if that isn't cheap compared to the UK, please tell me what is).
A nice steak dinner in a nice restaurant in BA can be had for as little as 4 pounds. A nice bottle of Malbec? Add another pound or two. Cheap enough for you?

Now, I'm ready to listen to your examples of whom Argentina is EXPENSIVE for.

Ah, but to get back to kbarshay's question -- and now also weber's -- in Googling, I did run across an article that calls Asuncion, Paraquay -- "the cheapest city in the world". I had friends who recently returned from two years teaching there and the stories are amazing about how cheap things were.

you're still confused. argentina is cheap FOR US...and that's because of the currencies we use and the amount we make in those currencies. your correction of the OP's prospective on this (and christina's) is wrong. yes, it's an academic argument with limited interest to most but your correction was academic.

and Asuncion, Paraguay is cheap in USD as that's the measure used in the study you are talking about.

to isolate currency to determine the inherent 'cheapness' of an economy without the effect of currency you use purchasing power parity. the 'studies' often in the press (such as the idiotic big mac index) about where is cheap and where is expensive almost always use USD as a yardstick and therefore are controlled by currency fluctuation.

this is my last post on this as you just dig in your heels as usual and shift your arguments. i have an advanced degree in int'l economics so I can say with authority that you have no idea what you are talking about. you have changed your argument to a currency based one so i guess you are now acknowledging that the OP's perspective is correct.

so for someone to ask what country is cheap when i go there with my [fill in your home currency] is not only correct, the home currency is required information to give a proper answer to such a question as the cheapness or not is determined by the currency (and home economy). there is nothing wrong with the OP's question.

Well I found Thailand excellent value for money. Fantastic people too. But this is the Europe forum... So I suggest Turkey. So much diversity. And talk about bang for your buck! Greece and Spain too are fantastic value when you consider what you're getting. Haven't been to Portugal and Morocco but from all accounts well worth it too.

Walkinaround, as I said when I started the argument, I don't think you disagree with what I'm saying, only the way I said it.

That seems to be true. My basic point from the beginning was that Argentina isn't cheap to US tourists BECAUSE of anything "magical" about the Dollar exhange rate, or that the dollar is somehow MORE valuable than other foreign currencies there. The reason Argentina is a "bargain" is that the local currency is worth less against ALL other currencies -- not just the US dollar.

So while YES, it is a matter of currency rates that makes it a bargain, it wasn't the "dollar" being "Okay" that made the difference. In fact, a person using dollars there will have LESS buying power than he did two years ago compared to a person using euros or pounds, for example. It is cheap to all of them, but even cheaper to those using the other currencies. Of course it IS a matter of currency exchange rates. It is the Argentina peso being LOW that makes the difference, and clearly not that the US dollar is somehow higher there than other currencies. Of course, buying power for tourists is always based on exchange rates -- I've never argued that point -- but the dollar had no special buying power there -- no more special than any other currency.

And yes because of currency rates, it IS an inexpensive country to visit.

My argument remains (and no I haven't shifted it in the least), that Argentina is a bargain destination for all -- not just for Americans because of some magic relationship with the US dollar only.

I think it is safe to say that people armed with Euros will find better bargains than people holding US dollars. That must be true ANYWHERE outside the US.

Notice that the OP has not returned. Probably on his or her way to Bali toting a surfboard..

I asked you a question NeoPatrick, could you please answer it? About the apartments...

If one only values the price of a destination when travelling for the expenses one makes there..then Argentina is very cheap for everybody. But I really don't think that this is the only factor when calculating the costs of a trip.
Maybe you can have some "bargains" in flights to South America...I feel that's not the case here !

The designer racks at Bloomie's today were overflowing with Europeans grabbing up $400 designer jeans - it was a trip to watch. It took me back to the day I signed the papers on my house in France and was getting almost 7 francs to the dollar.

It fluctuates.

Sorry, worldview, I missed your question amidst all that nonsense above.

I've never rented apartments in any of those particular cities -- only done hotels there. And although I've used country or city specific sites like "sleepinitaly" and "parisattitude", I've also had great luck with VRBO.com and with homelidays.com which both have lots of apartments throughout Europe.

You mention hostels, so maybe we're on different courses here. When I say great prices I'm talking about something like $100 a night or a little more -- unlike the hotels I used to stay at that were generally more than that with a fraction of the space or charm. If you're looking for something around $50 US a night for an example, I'm afraid I can't help you. I'm not sure where you find a full apartment to save money over a stay in a hostel! That's quite a different matter.