maletas

This STINKS!!!!!!! And I read in the Bloomberg report that its a "one way street" for the dollar and its in " serious troble"
I dont care if hotels are cheaper in Europe than in New York!!!! I dont go there!!! Really, who can afford to go to Europe these days!!!!! Im sorry but this is so maddening!!!! UGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

Kascha912

Come on, maletas, let's do it together: Breathin - breath out, breath in...

I promise you: If you come to Cologne next year, I'll invite you to a cup of coffee! Cross my heart. ;-)

RufusTFirefly

I can afford to go to Europe.

dumas1870

I can afford to go and have a trip planned with tickets in hand.

Don't sell your travel dreams out by being too cheap to let loose with some cash. You can't take it with you.

Queenie

For comparison, I did a conversion using todays rates with products where I live in Switzerland:

McDonalds hamburger - $2.60

McDonalds Big Mac - $5.01

Bargain movie rate - $11.00

I just returned from a week in NYC where everything (OTHER than hotels) was so cheap, I had to buy a second piece of luggage to get it all home.

ira

Hi Queenie,

9 euro is a "bargain" movie rate?

Why are you comparing food at McDonald's? Is that a typical Swiss chain?

What are the prices at your local food store or market for:

a 4-liter jug of milk

1 kg of emmenthaler cheese

1 kg loaf of bread

12 eggs (large)

1 kg butter

1 kg onions

1 kg apples

1 kg veal shoulder?

1 kg chicken

ira

Dear Maletas,

You have our deepest sympathy, but please do believe that the fall in the dollar hasn't been aimed at you, personally.

George W Bush
Allan Greenspan

dumas1870

Cheer up and stop the leftist whining -the rising stock market, low inflation and our tax cuts have provided you plenty of extra dollars to spend in "the new Europe."

Merry Christmas

GWB
Alan Greenspan

Queenie

Hi Ira,
I used bargain movie rate as that is the low end. Movies cost between $11 and $16.

I also used McDonalds as a comparison. Many americans do not know how much 1 kg of meat is (we usually eat 100-150 grams)

I looked in my refrigerator:

1 liter milk $1.24

12 eggs $6.00

100 gr butter $1.40

1 kg emmentaler cheese $15.60

1 kg chicken $28.00

1 kg apples $5.20

BTW, the quantities you mentioned are way over standard quantities available in our grocery

Statia

Those prices are just about what I have paid in the Antilles for the same items over the past couple of years. Guess this means I can still go to Europe?

ira

Hi Queenie,

Thanks for the info.

I know that one doesn't usually buy a kilo of butter, but it is priced by the kilo, isn't it?

At least your cheese is relatively inexpensive.

I hope that you are being paid in Swiss Francs.

Our prices in Madiso, GA are:

Bargain movie $5.00

1 liter milk $0.99 (actually a quart, but most folks buy milk by the gallon (4L) for $2.89).

12 eggs $1.29

100 gr butter $0.90

1 kg emmentaler cheese $29.00

1 kg chicken $2.40

1 kg apples $2.84

Sue_xx_yy

So, Queenie, six bucks for eggs? I take it the Swiss hens joined a union.....

Maletas, from time to time, it is good to be reminded of how fate and not one's own actions can make life difficult. Meanwhile, consider the currency exchange flip a kind of built-in debt forgiveness for a lot of poor nations who financed their debt in US dollars.

ira

I just checked the historical data on Yahoo.

The euro is up vs the GBP, the USD, the SF and the JPY since January, 2003.

Could it be all those Middle East Eurodollars being converted to euro?

Queenie

Yes, Ira, thank goodness we are paid in ChF! Or else we couldnt have taken a trip to NYC.

So, looks like cheese is a bargain (should be - we are in Switzerland after all). Also cheaper here is wine and hard liquor (fewer taxes).

I am amazed that in the US chicken is only $2.40 a kg. Is that correct?

I have never seen milk sold in anything more than 1 liter quantities. Eggs typically sold by 6 or 10 pack. Butter in 100 or 200 gram weights.
Oh, and 1 kg of bread: $3.20

JonJon

Hmmm, first amateur tourists with mis-information and now amateur economists who like to blame everything on the "Middle East."

StCirq

Queenie:

A U.S. chicken is only worth $2.40 a kilo. You might as well be paying for cardboard.

Degas

Queenie, please contact me the next time you are in the States. I've got a whole lot of plumb and juicy chickens you can take back with you. A little moonshine will keep them quiet on the plane.

Does a 50/50 split on our huge profits sound good to you?

Budman

1 kg chicken $28.00??? I was in Paris last February and bought a chicken right off the spit, fully cooked, for less than $10.00. I'm sure it weighed more than a kilo (2.2 lbs).

Chicken in the U.S. is very inexpensive. $2.00 pound for boneless/skinless breasts.

I don't care what the cost will be. I'll be sipping Guinness in Ireland this coming May.

laverendrye

So travel to some places may now be a bit more expensive for Americans because of a weaker US Dollar. Chill out! The U.S. is still the second richest country in the world after Luxembourg (GDP per capita). Let the rest of us temporarily enjoy the benefits of stronger currencies and remember that US exports will now be more competitive.

VerSacrum

Maletas may I suggest a screen name change. With your attitude it does not sound you'll be packing them anytime soon. : )