Economics

[cosmolinguist]

I was just getting myself a glass of Coke and noticed that the two-liter bottle says £1.49 on the side. It reminded me again that I really think the prices for everything I buy in Britain are the same as in the U.S. That is, they have the same numbers in them--a buck forty-nine for a two-liter soda sounds plausible--but since pounds are worth more than dollars, this is a depressing realixation for me, so I try not to think about it too much, though the correlation has struck me several times in the past week.

Comments

[angel-thane.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I had the same issues when I was there.

Of course, I eventually got used to it, and then had a hell of a time adjusting when I got back to Canada (everything seemed so cheap!)

Although the major downside isn't the cost, but the fact that people don't make any more money in England than they do over here.

[cosmolinguist]

Since neither of us is making any money now--and, indeed, neither has any money now--that's less of an issue. :-)

Besides, things in Canada are so cheap!

[angel-thane.livejournal.com]

Except for Canadians themselves!

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

One of my friends goes to Germany a lot, and the higher price of stuff is one of the things she has to keep getting used to. Also in Germany most restaurants do not have "free refills" on drinks...if you drink it, you pay for it.

And you Northerners must like higher prices. Here, the typical price for a 2 liter of Coke is never more than $1.19, and $0.89 is easy to find.

[cosmolinguist]

I still see it at $0.99 occasionally, but I expect $1.19 or -29 or -39.

[ex-humanfema327.livejournal.com]

Whatever you do, don't go to sweden or norway.

Even in China

[5-rings.livejournal.com]

When I went shopping with a friend's mother here, she assumed that every price was in dollars, and I had to keep telling her that no, you should divide that price by 8 to get the real price.

"50 dollars for a floor mat!"
"Not dollars, yuan -- it's only 6 bucks."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot. ... 30 dollars for a towel!"

Too bad you have to multiply. Dividing by 8 is more fun.

[setharoo.livejournal.com]

At least the Coke has real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

[ladyortyger.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, it's way tastier anywhere overseas... *mmm*

[cosmolinguist]

Indeed. That's something that makes everything taste better here. And not everything is so sweet in the first place--things like bread don't have sugar (or corn syrup) in them here.

[setharoo.livejournal.com]

Why don't you mail me back a bottle? ;-)

[cosmolinguist]

Too bad I can't ask you for Chipotle in return...

Or just a cheeseburger that doesn't have BSE. :-)

(Food is both one of the things I like best about England and one of the things I miss most about the U.S.)

[setharoo.livejournal.com]

What in the world is BSE?

[cosmolinguist]

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. Mad cow disease. :-)

[setharoo.livejournal.com]

"Encephalopathy" is really difficult to pronounce! What a mouthful.

Please tell me your joking about the hamburger having BSE... can they even sell diseased meat?