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Post by johnc on Oct 5, 2023 7:50:06 GMT
Last weekend we took my daughter out to Madrid to start her 9 months in Spain. There were lots of tears and since coming home we have had long phone calls with statements that she hates it and wants to come home. Thankfully she now seems a bit more settled and is enjoying the work. One thing we noticed when out and about was that a good coffee only cost c 2 euros and proper breakfast out for 2 of us was no more than 12 euros. My daughter has now bought a Vodafone sim for her phone - she gets 100GB of data, 800 minutes of worldwide international calls, free roaming in the UK and it is cancellable at any time with 30 days notice. The cost is 15 euros a month or about £13. Similar Vodafone contracts in the UK are about double the price and I can't find any that offer 100GB of data with international calls.
As an under 26 year old she also gets an unlimited bus and Metro travel card for 8 Euros a month (although they are thinking of increasing it to the heady heights of 15 Euros a month). We were able to buy a 10 trip card (one stop or 20 stops it's the same price) for 10 Euros which is hugely cheaper than London or even Glasgow's clockwork orange.
The phrase rip off Britain used to be used quite a lot and looking at the differences I think it is once again quite appropriate.
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Post by PetrolEd on Oct 5, 2023 9:02:04 GMT
And with their constant sunshine I ask myself why I'm in the UK?
TBF, it does seem that Europe has suffered similarly or worse in terms of price rises. I was surprised how much everything had gone up in Greece for example this year over last year. I'm off to Barcelona on a jolly next weekend so will take advantage of those cheap beers and wine.
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Post by Tim on Oct 5, 2023 11:05:37 GMT
It's all relative though isn't it?
The travel card cost is going to almost double. Forget about how much it costs, that's a massive increase.
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Post by johnc on Oct 5, 2023 13:51:37 GMT
It's all relative though isn't it? The travel card cost is going to almost double. Forget about how much it costs, that's a massive increase. It is still an absolute bargain. My daughter is travelling 45 minutes each way to her two places of work, part by Metro and part by bus. Ignoring any personal use, it costs her less than 40p a day for two 45 minute commutes. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 5, 2023 15:33:27 GMT
And with their constant sunshine I ask myself why I'm in the UK? TBF, it does seem that Europe has suffered similarly or worse in terms of price rises. I was surprised how much everything had gone up in Greece for example this year over last year. I'm off to Barcelona on a jolly next weekend so will take advantage of those cheap beers and wine. You might have to look long and hard for them in Barcelona. |
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Post by johnc on Oct 5, 2023 15:42:12 GMT
We have lost 3 clients to Dubai over the last year - they have gone for the tax free income, the weather and just to get away from this depressing place.
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Post by woofwoof on Oct 5, 2023 15:48:30 GMT
We have lost 3 clients to Dubai over the last year - they have gone for the tax free income, the weather and just to get away from this depressing place. I've never seen where I live as depressing. The weather could be better I suppose but I'm fair skinned and I burn very easily, my mother had skin cancers removed from both arms and face and that may be in my future too so a hot sunny country maybe isn't the nest idea for me. I find the politics of these times depressing but apart from that I do think the UK is a pretty nice place  |
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Post by Martin on Oct 5, 2023 15:58:47 GMT
And with their constant sunshine I ask myself why I'm in the UK? TBF, it does seem that Europe has suffered similarly or worse in terms of price rises. I was surprised how much everything had gone up in Greece for example this year over last year. I'm off to Barcelona on a jolly next weekend so will take advantage of those cheap beers and wine. You might have to look long and hard for them in Barcelona. Not if Ed is comparing it to London prices. I wouldn’t call it cheap, but it was less than I expected to eat and drink, even in the hotel. Back to the OP, the travel cost is excellent as is the SIM deal. I could get that with my discount but it wouldn’t include International calls and I’d have to sign up for 12 months. |
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Post by Alex on Oct 5, 2023 17:58:23 GMT
I always wonder whether lower prices in other countries are all relative and that it usually comes with lower average wages and poorer standard of living but in the case of the latter the UK isn't doing particularly well. You can get phone deals in this country that are similar just not on Vodafone. Smarty mobile or GiffGaff will get pretty close to that on price.
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Post by Big Blue on Oct 6, 2023 8:22:22 GMT
There is a combination of cost of living, business expectation, average salary etc.
We’re always shocked that items we buy in the U.K. as routine purchases are the same price in countries where the average income is less than half that in the U.K. don’t even start on German cars in Central Europe.
I’ve always been shocked at the small business mentality of the U.K. which is “charge more and retire early” as opposed to “charge fairly and pass the business on”, which is affected by various administrative issues and local psychological make-up. Then there’s business rates, salary expectations and energy costs which all have an effect on the cost of a cup of coffee or a breakfast. When you then extrapolate up again the cheaper breakfast in a cafe means the cafe sells more breakfasts or breakfast out becomes the norm whereas an expensive breakfast seller might think they’re covering their costs better but in reality they’re under utilising their staff or employing fewer of them.
Obviously there’s other issues: in London you want to get in, eat and get out and your relative salary is high enough not to be that fussed that a Pret sandwich consisting of a slither of smoked salmon and two slices of factory-produced bread costs more than a full English in a dirty caff. So because your income has been changed in relative terms everything else has gone up as well so the status quo is maintained. Given that a few years ago my mother remarked that she liked coming to Waitrose when she visited the U.K. because it was so cheap we can see that everything is relative. I don’t think I’d command my income anywhere else in Europe but then I don’t think I’d pay over £3 for a latte every day either.
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Post by Tim on Oct 6, 2023 10:34:19 GMT
We got a surprise when we were in Czech earlier this year because prices had gone up noticeably since our previous visit, many things are now on a par with UK.
Not sure if their salaries have done the same but the coffee and cake shops all seemed busy enough.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 6, 2023 15:58:22 GMT
Crete has gone up as well - they're trying to charge nearly 5 Euros a pint - I don't even pay that at home!
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Post by woofwoof on Oct 6, 2023 16:15:15 GMT
I found Thailand reasonably priced for most things. BIL has just bought a very nice house for about £70k.
I thought Singapore expensive but I gather they have subsidised housing and utilities.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 6, 2023 19:10:23 GMT
I found Thailand reasonably priced for most things. BIL has just bought a very nice house for about £70k. I thought Singapore expensive but I gather they have subsidised housing and utilities. It costs you £88k to own a car in Singapore, and that’s before you even buy it. |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 6, 2023 21:04:13 GMT
I blame Bernie Ecclestone for Singapore being so expensive. Until he took F1 there for the night race, prices weren't that much higher than neighbouring Malaysia. Now the gulf is immense; I think the Singaporeans saw how much money there was in F1 and thought that everyone could afford that
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Post by Martin on Oct 6, 2023 21:21:34 GMT
I found Thailand reasonably priced for most things. BIL has just bought a very nice house for about £70k. I thought Singapore expensive but I gather they have subsidised housing and utilities. It costs you £88k to own a car in Singapore, and that’s before you even buy it. I read that’s it’s gone up recently too. A Toyota Camry is £150k inc the permit! |
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Post by woofwoof on Oct 7, 2023 10:48:38 GMT
I found Thailand reasonably priced for most things. BIL has just bought a very nice house for about £70k. I thought Singapore expensive but I gather they have subsidised housing and utilities. It costs you £88k to own a car in Singapore, and that’s before you even buy it. I did like their public transport but I did worry about how people with mobility and health issues would cope. BIL in Singapore recently retired, early too. He has a fantastic pension and a very nice apartment and all this from being a rather humble low level factory worker, not a manager or even supervisor. To get the same in the UK would likely require a very good job or being born into money, or being very good at internet fraud I suppose. |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 8, 2023 21:19:02 GMT
I flew out of Heathrow on Saturday (or at least I was in a plane that flew out of Heathrow).
Terminal 5 shops in the departure area: Standard size tube of Pringles crisps: WH Smith £3.99 ; Boots £3.49.
I didn't buy; all I did get was bottled water to keep me hydrated for the flight; Boots had an offer of 2 x 750ml bottles for £2.50, which didn't seem too bad for UK airport prices
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 9, 2023 12:11:23 GMT
I paid 4.50 Euros for a 750ml bottle of water in Heraklion Airport - I did suggest to the lad in the shop the bottle should be in the shape of a horse but he didn't seem to get the reference.
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Post by johnc on Oct 9, 2023 12:24:55 GMT
Easyjet want £4.50 for a bottle of Harrogate water on their flights and it's not even cooled. Anything to do with travelling or where there is a captive audience seems to attract a significant premium
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Post by Tim on Oct 9, 2023 12:57:12 GMT
Does it still cost 50 cents to use the bog at European motorway services?
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Post by Big Blue on Oct 9, 2023 14:27:15 GMT
Does it still cost 50 cents to use the bog at European motorway services? yes: quite a German / Austrian / Czech thing. In the past I've been in Czech services where they hand you a rationed quantity of toilet paper after you've paid to enter the toilet - a hang over from the communist era. The French don't dare charge for the toilet as they know the locals will just shit and / or urinate by the side of the building. Always remember to go to the toilet BEFORE going to the snack shop as the receipt from the toilet gives you a discount at the till. It's infuriating when you have a handful of toilet tickets from a road trip but the service station you're currently at doesn't match the company that issued the discount tickets on previous stops! |
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Post by bryan on Oct 9, 2023 14:50:06 GMT
WHSmith always used to do a buy the Telegraph and get free bottle of water deal, which I always found the most cost effective. Suspect it stopped ages ago!
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Post by Tim on Oct 9, 2023 15:14:22 GMT
Does it still cost 50 cents to use the bog at European motorway services? yes: quite a German / Austrian / Czech thing. In the past I've been in Czech services where they hand you a rationed quantity of toilet paper after you've paid to enter the toilet - a hang over from the communist era. The French don't dare charge for the toilet as they know the locals will just shit and / or urinate by the side of the building. Always remember to go to the toilet BEFORE going to the snack shop as the receipt from the toilet gives you a discount at the till. It's infuriating when you have a handful of toilet tickets from a road trip but the service station you're currently at doesn't match the company that issued the discount tickets on previous stops! Thanks, I didn't know about the till discount thing. I must remember to take some cash as paying to use the loo on your card is an expensive business! Glad to see you didn't mention Belgian services. We definitely won't be stopping at one of them |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 9, 2023 16:07:45 GMT
Does it still cost 50 cents to use the bog at European motorway services? It costs me 30p to use the toilet in the car park at Coldsteam, when I'm on my way north. Last time it actually cost me 50p each way as I didn't have change and the machine doesn't give change.  . I need to perfect the lorry driver trick of peeing in an empty bottle of Irn Bru while driving and lob it out the window. |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 9, 2023 18:57:38 GMT
Another example at Heathrow: USB-C to USB-C cable : £35 !!
Currys/DSG seem to have gone from Terminal 5 unless the place operating there is another new trading name they've dreamt up, but the store size is significantly smaller as is the range of goods on offer.... no interchangeable lens cameras or lenses for sale, for example
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Post by Alex on Oct 9, 2023 21:26:39 GMT
Another example at Heathrow: USB-C to USB-C cable : £35 !! Currys/DSG seem to have gone from Terminal 5 unless the place operating there is another new trading name they've dreamt up, but the store size is significantly smaller as is the range of goods on offer.... no interchangeable lens cameras or lenses for sale, for example Good travel tip: Never buy cables if you'll be staying at a hotel. So many people leave them in their rooms that most have a stash behind the front desk or in their lost property that they'll be happy to lend you. I've found that out a couple of times over the years when I've forgotten my charger. Once in a hotel in Belfast I even managed to get a HP laptop cable to use in place of the one that was on my bedside table back home. |
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Post by Tim on Oct 10, 2023 7:31:37 GMT
Does it still cost 50 cents to use the bog at European motorway services? It costs me 30p to use the toilet in the car park at Coldsteam, when I'm on my way north. Last time it actually cost me 50p each way as I didn't have change and the machine doesn't give change. . I need to perfect the lorry driver trick of peeing in an empty bottle of Irn Bru while driving and lob it out the window. It's Coldstream, doesn't everyone just stand in the middle of the car park and pee there? |
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Post by Big Blue on Oct 10, 2023 8:02:24 GMT
It's Coldstream, doesn't everyone just stand in the middle of the car park and pee there? As I said that’s the reason they’re free to use in France. |
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Post by franki68 on Oct 10, 2023 11:41:34 GMT
I e just had to order a faac gate motor ,price in the U.K. is £500 ,from Italy it is £300 .
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. I need to perfect the lorry driver trick of peeing in an empty bottle of Irn Bru while driving and lob it out the window. 