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And we just popped by Whole Foods on the way to our Villa to get some basics.
I like Whole Foods as I consider the quality similar to Waitrose.
$190 for what wouldn’t even come close to a weekly shop. I have a winning strategy of ignoring the prices and just buying what I want as it might be a grand in groceries over a holiday but that’s still a fraction of other costs.
But we look at the prepared meals/cooked food at Whole Foods and find it preferable in terms of quality, nutrition (and ambience when taken away) compared to eating out and it will probably be dinner for us most nights.
And we just popped by Whole Foods on the way to our Villa to get some basics.
I like Whole Foods as I consider the quality similar to Waitrose.
$190 for what wouldn’t even come close to a weekly shop. I have a winning strategy of ignoring the prices and just buying what I want as it might be a grand in groceries over a holiday but that’s still a fraction of other costs.
But we look at the prepared meals/cooked food at Whole Foods and find it preferable in terms of quality, nutrition (and ambience when taken away) compared to eating out and it will probably be dinner for us most nights.
Also a big fan, of both the food and the price-ignoring! It’s all a bit “ah, well – we wouldn’t be doing/eating this at home”! Any supermarket visit is also a weirdly good spot of entertainment for the kids/tadpoles.
A quick unscientific search for stats online shows that to reach the top 10% of earners in the UK in 2023 you needed £66,669, or about $84k. In the USA, it’s more like $135k. After years of stagnant salaries the USA is expensive, for Brits. Americans are complaining about the effects of recent inflation, yes, but middle class people there have seen earnings rise at a pace that allows them to maintain their standard of living. We have slid further and further behind.
Wasn’t it Bora Bora where the couple took a camping stove (and possibly pot noodles) 🤷♀️
Nowt wrong with slipping a couple of pot noodles or cup a soup into your luggage – handy if you arrive at your hotel late in the day and don’t want to go out in search of food.
I do personally draw the line at taking anything much more than that. I’m not taking a full Christmas dinner which has been known to happen!
We had people in the RAF that did that, they were nicknamed Delsey Diners or Samsonite Snackers.
Free breakfasts with Hilton status
In the US???
I’ll usually have a porridge pot and a banana in mh room for breakfast if it’s not included in my rate/free due to status, it’s generally good enough for me at home.
A quick unscientific search for stats online shows that to reach the top 10% of earners in the UK in 2023 you needed £66,669, or about $84k. In the USA, it’s more like $135k. After years of stagnant salaries the USA is expensive, for Brits. Americans are complaining about the effects of recent inflation, yes, but middle class people there have seen earnings rise at a pace that allows them to maintain their standard of living. We have slid further and further behind.
‘Slid further and further behind’ is one of the recent misconceptions.
In PPA terms, there has not been much divergence. The nominal changes due to fx rates can move either way at any point – wait for the rate cuts by Fed later this year.
That is true, but when you travel to the US you don’t pay stuff in PPP, you pay in dollars. And people in the US get a lot more of those now, so prices are higher for us-
That is true, but when you travel to the US you don’t pay stuff in PPP, you pay in dollars. And people in the US get a lot more of those now, so prices are higher for us-
This is spot on, go to the US every year and prices have been increasing greater than inflation and any exchange rate differences. Example from 10 years ago showed we paid £115 for hotels in Santa Barbara and Cambria. Even looking way ahead these prices are £330+per night but basic hotels (I know they are tourist hotspots but they always have been). In my opinion prices are going up with salary increases in the US. Big tech are paying silly money for really basic tech jobs and it pushes up salaries and prices!
GDP is GDP, inflation adjusted top 10% household incomes have risen from £188k in 2010 to $216k at 2023 prices in the US (internet stats again). Here, we’ve remained stagnant during that time and that’s before you take the exchange rate into account.
Well, GDP is GDP, but household income is a totally different thing.
It certainly is.
There was an interesting programme on Channel 4 last night which showed how the UK has fallen behind in GDP compared with other countries in the G7 and gave suggestions how things could be improved.
Wasn’t it Bora Bora where the couple took a camping stove (and possibly pot noodles) 🤷♀️
That made me smile. I hope they didn’t take it in the cabin on the plane. Some time ago, when there were less restrictions when flying, a close friend was cabin crew for Gulf Air based in Bahrain. The crew hated the flights to and from India, as there was always at least one person who got out their stove to cook on board!
There was an interesting programme on Channel 4 last night which showed how the UK has fallen behind in GDP compared with other countries in the G7 and gave suggestions how things could be improved.
Are we suggesting that cutting taxes would stimulate growth and increase GDP, that won’t go down well with the Blob?
There was an interesting programme on Channel 4 last night which showed how the UK has fallen behind in GDP compared with other countries in the G7 and gave suggestions how things could be improved.
Are we suggesting that cutting taxes would stimulate growth and increase GDP, that won’t go down well with the Blob?
That was one of the suggestions. We’re paying more tax than anytime since WW2 and investing far less eg in infrastructure, house building etc. Salaries have hardly increased since the financial crisis which makes us all poorer.
@Rui N, don’t go to the US then, if one cannot afford it! 🤷
There are far better places to travel to!@LD27
In every economy, there are winners and losers. We are doing worse because taxes are low on wealth and high on income.
End result – the winners are those bought houses before 2015, have retired or have a decent inheritance.
As they say, you get the leaders you deserve.What a weird comment. You don’t have anything to add to the conversation except ad hominem comments?
Who said I couldn’t afford it?And popped back into Whole Foods to get some lunch and a few other bits and bobs like tea, coffee and cinnamon buns.
$146.
I know it’s where wealthy Americans go but I’m starting to feel everywhere like I used to only feel in Las Vegas where the whole setup reminds you that there is a class of people for whom money is no object.
@Froggee Is it more expensive than the Heathrow sweetshop?
We were in NE PA for Easter and a McD for four was $50+ dollars for 2 x adult meals and 2 x kids happy meals. Even my mother-in-law (living there) couldn’t believe it and remembers NYC subway fares in the low double digit cents. Mandatory add-on tips in restaurants start at 18% too – gulp.
@Froggee we currently have family staying over from TX for the week ahead of the F1, and have shown them around the sites including visits for provisions to our local supermarkets. They compared our local Waitrose with their Whole Foods (which they call “Whole Pay Check” and consequently never visit) and I must admit, I’d never been in one to compare but they too said nicer products, wider aisles etc.My biggest issue in the US is getting decent quality food – I just find fruit and veg costs an absolute fortune (like $7 or $8 for a small punnet of strawberries or similar) yet nasty processed stuff is plentiful and often cheap. Good luck in your quest!!
There’s a whole foods near Picadilly circus if you ever want to see what it’s about.
They don’t really do deals and nothing is cheap but never felt it was crazy pricing in the U.K.
I actually prefer M&S to Waitrose and find it pretty well priced. The problem in the USA is beige processed food is a plenty and depending on where you are fruit is a luxury. Remember paying an extortionate amount for fruit in vegas a few years back, I’m not exaggerating it was about $30 for would set you back less than £10 even today in pre prepared pots in M&S. I dread to think what it costs now lol
I have had a couple of friends recently relocate to the US with work and remark on how eye watering their original $ salary looked, however astronomical rent and cost-of-living soon put pay to that and so are making plans to return (vs. previous colleagues who moved 15+ years ago are now settled out there). Eg kids karate lessons for £20 here vs $50 in the US. Or £4.99 for a cinema ticket here vs $15 in the US.
I remember picking up a brand new iPhone on Fifth Ave just after release when it was $2 for £1, and the overall lower costs and favourable FX made it feel like you couldn’t give money away back then. How times change.
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