Why is London so expensive?

s land balla · 07-07-2002, 04:17 PM

I just got back from London yesterday, and was surprised how much they rip you off. Since when do Chinese restaurants charge £4 ($6) for one serving of white steamed rice...and what's up with charging for water?? I know the tap water there might not be the best for drinking, but I'm pretty sure they boil the free water served at restaurants here in the US...

ROXRAN · 07-07-2002, 04:18 PM

It's all about the pounds!

Elliott03 · 07-07-2002, 04:31 PM

I used to live in london and it was a pain. Everything costs so much, but that city is bad ass. I think it has to do with all the tourism though

Mrs. JB · 07-07-2002, 04:34 PM

Few people realize how inexpensive food is in the US. We are spoiled beyond belief when it comes to both abundance and cost.

As an example my beloved Rainier cherries are grown in Washington state and are available for 6 weeks a year. They average $5 to $8 per pound here. That seems high, but compare it to Japan where they sell for up to $1 per cherry!

Sometimes I just stand in the middle of the produce section and marvel at everything that's available.

lpbman · 07-07-2002, 04:54 PM

The free water you get from 98% (<-made up stat) of US restaurants isn't boiled or filtered an any way

for that matter, many bottled water companies sell nothing but tap water

dimsie · 07-07-2002, 04:57 PM

Frankly I think food in both the US *and* the UK is incredibly expensive, and the variety of fresh produce is average at best. It seems to work this way: the more your currency is worth against the rest of the world, the more expensive your food is! (So poorer countries have magnificent food for hardly any cost - Thailand or China, for example, are apparently the shiznit for a tourist in a restaurant (although I don't know about their supermarkets, and it would probably be better for their economies if their food cost slightly more, I suppose).) Someone's ripping you guys off, somehow...

Yesterday here in NZ I had an enormous serving of Eggs Florentine with fresh spinach, a huge pile of smoked salmon, capers, hollandaise sauce, a toasted bagel, fresh pesto, salsa, and homefries with full service for, um... well, it must work out to about $6US. No tax, no tip, no worries.

I was never charged for water in England, though... where were you eating?

AroundTheWorld · 07-07-2002, 05:04 PM

London is great, but it is so "%$"%ing expensive it is not even funny. One aspect is that it is a financial center with a lot of rich investment bankers, filthy, arrogant lawyers, etc. That drives prices up.

right1 · 07-07-2002, 05:13 PM

dimsie, are you in Auckland? Or a different part of NZ? How are the housing costs there? I mean, to rent a place by the month? thanks.

dimsie · 07-07-2002, 05:29 PM

I'm in Auckland. The rental market here is really out of control as there's a housing shortage. If you moved to the South Island - or basically somewhere other than Auckland or Wellington - I would say rents would be about half/three-quarters the prices I'm going to quote you. In US dollars (the exchange rate is 2:1 right now, so double these figures for NZ dollars), a nice one-bedroom would be $400 a month (although we pay rent weekly, as a rule). My cousin and her boyfriend have a 3 bedroom in central Auckland (the most expensive area, in huge demand) for about $600 a month, but they got a good deal. The further out from the central city you live, the less you'll pay. To rent a room in a flat with a lot of other people is usually about $250 a month. Rent is just too high here right now...

tacoma park legend · 07-07-2002, 05:48 PM

As far as bargains go, you can live in India, easily, for 10$ a day.

SJC pretty much summed up why things are expensive in London. It varies slightly in other parts of the UK; Scotland, where I usually stay, is about 10% less cost wise.

right1 · 07-07-2002, 05:51 PM

Thanks, Dimsie! Did you grow up in NZ? I know it's a beautiful country with a varied climate. What are some of the best places to visit? Coromandel? Nelson? Sorry, off topic, but I wanted to ask you while you were here

. I love the idea of WWOOFing(willing workers on organic farms) there. Staying on a nice family farm, participating in farm life, etc. But for the price of airfare, I would rather stay longer- a few months. It's hard for Americans to get work visas, though, I think?

dimsie · 07-07-2002, 06:27 PM

Right1:

Wow, WOOFing, what a cool idea.

Um, in terms of best places to visit it depends on what your priorities are. We do scenery very very well, and most of the incredibly stunning stuff is in the South Island - fjords, glaciers, hiking, skiing... although there are things in the North Island like the Waitomo glow-worm caves and the thermal mud/geyser things in Rotorua that you shouldn't miss. Plus the surf and black sand beaches up north are really worth seeing, too.

*My* New Zealand holiday plan would also include Napier, which had a very destructive earthquake in the twenties and was almost entirely rebuilt with deco architecture. But that's just me. Oh, and most people don't stay in Auckland for long, but go and see the Civic Theatre on Queen Street, built in 1929. It's so beautiful it hurts.

It is hard for people without NZ relatives or sponsors to get work visas, yes. I think it's somewhat easier to get student visas. Of course, as a tourist from the USA you can stay for up to nine months with very little paperwork - you'd just need to have some spending money while you were here, and since the exchange rate is so favourable to US dollars... although I'm not sure how it would work if you were an agricultural worker. Hrm. Have a look here: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/visit/index.html

right1 · 07-07-2002, 06:39 PM

Thanks for the info. Dimsie!!!

Elliott03 · 07-07-2002, 08:18 PM

Other parts of England and Scotland are much cheaper. IN Aberdeen cost of living is fairly low, but Glasgow is very expensive. It is a bit like here houstons cost of living is low and New Yorks is very high.

RocketForever · 07-07-2002, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sLaNd B a L L a
I just got back from London yesterday, and was surprised how much they rip you off. Since when do Chinese restaurants charge ? ($6) for one serving of white steamed rice...and what's up with charging for water?? I know the tap water there might not be the best for drinking, but I'm pretty sure they boil the free water served at restaurants here in the US...

are you serious??? $6 for 1 serving of steamed rice?? i would rather starve!!! LOL

RocketForever · 07-07-2002, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RocketForever

are you serious??? $6 for 1 serving of steamed rice?? i would rather starve!!! LOL

are you serious??? $6 for 1 serving of steamed rice?? i would rather starve!!!

Panda · 07-07-2002, 09:40 PM

Come to China if ya want to save on food, or eat a hell lot. The produce here is incredibly cheap. One pound of pork costs about one dollar. A value meal of McDonald here sells at about $2.5, and that is still a rippoff. I bet they can sell them at $1.5 and still make a handsome profit. Sometimes I pity the peasants in China 'cause they can't make much money off such low prices.

Cohen · 07-07-2002, 11:20 PM

Mrs. JB,

$1 a cherry?! We like Raniers also. When are they in season?

Ottomaton · 07-08-2002, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cohen
Mrs. JB,

$1 a cherry?! We like Raniers also. When are they in season?

The only reason that they are that expensive in Japan is because of artifically astronomical tariffs on non-domestic produce. In otherwords, it's that expensive for other reasons, not because it's really that expensive.

BTW, cherries are in season right now.

R0ckets03 · 07-08-2002, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tacoma park legend
As far as bargains go, you can live in India, easily, for 10$ a day.

$10 a day?

I know places where you can survive on less then $1 day (as long as we are talking about American dollars). Of course you would be living in a straw hut and eating crap two times a day.

Then of course there are places in India that would make a person living in Beverly Hills think twice about relocating. Recently my dads brother was thinking about purchasing a flat in a high rise. Breach Candy (an oceanside location in Bombay), one of the best places to live in India runs about 2-3 million dollars for a modest looking apartment!

There are restaurants in Bombaby that would put Tonys of Houston to shame.