Inflation Wingers Post Here!

[jp]

We boil water instead of purchasing the big bottles of it

Have you thought about getting a water filter? We paid around 300 pesos for a Watts tap mounted filter. Makes tap water taste great, and much less hassle (and energy) than boiling water. Plus boiling water won't get a lot of the unpleasant tasting crap out of it...

 

[chris]

Seems quite a few expats have left and more are going to leave. Living under these conditions is stressful, especially if it is by choice. Eventually the economy will crash and there will be a correction but I think that is not on the foreseeable horizon. By that time non subsidized prices will be at European levels.

 

[jb5]

It's so surprising that restaurants still look very busy on the whole. Who's eating out, is it just tourists?

 

[Greg2231]

By that time non subsidized prices will be at European levels.

Already happened, I am in a Europeen capital city right now, and the grocery store prices are about half of BA for the stuff I usually buy, never mind the selection of quality products here, and the abundance of imported goods from all over. Taxi fares here are 2 pesos a KM, apartment prices seem to be on par with BA, plus there is long term financing available. Used car prices are on par with the US, also electronics are only slightly higher than the US. Restaurants prices feel a little less than BA, but most impotently Beer prices are lower, 6-8 pesos for a half liter in a bar in the center of town.

 

[chris]

Already happened, I am in a Europeen capital city right now, and the grocery store prices are about half of BA for the stuff I usually buy, never mind the selection of quality products here, and the abundance of imported goods from all over. Taxi fares here are 2 pesos a KM, apartment prices seem to be on par with BA, plus there is long term financing available. Restaurants prices feel a little less than BA, and most impotently Beer prices are lower, 6-8 pesos for a half liter in a bar in the center of town.

I agree that some things are cheaper in Europe, the US is even cheaper. In general though I think London is worse than BA but other European cities are cheaper than London (but not in Switzerland!). Housing prices? That depends on location. A friend spends his summers in Paris and tells me that provincial cities can be a lot cheaper than Paris so it may be that housing prices in some cities of Europe are comparable to BA's better areas. I can believe that grocery prices in Europe are competitive.

Restaurants? I think people are spending because inflation is eroding the value of their money.

So how long will this go on?

 

[Greg2231]

I agree that some things are cheaper in Europe, the US is even cheaper. In general though I think London is worse than BA but other European cities are cheaper than London (but not in Switzerland!). Housing prices? That depends on location. A friend spends his summers in Paris and tells me that provincial cities can be a lot cheaper than Paris so it may be that housing prices in some cities of Europe are comparable to BA's better areas. I can believe that grocery prices in Europe are competitive.

Restaurants? I think people are spending because inflation is eroding the value of their money.

So how long will this go on?

Yah london and Paris, and for that matter The northern European capitals are more expensive than BA for overall cost, though I wouldn't be surprised if a grocery store in Oslo was cheaper than BA. The Capital EU city I am in right now housing prices seem to start just below a €1.000 M2, which is on par with BA, obviously if you go out from the city the prices drop off here just as in BA. I think if cost is a deciding factor in where to live for someone BA should not be even considered as an option.

 

[French jurist]

In Paris, price per square meter goes from 6.000 EUR to 15.000 EUR (yop -> like 2 millions of US$ for a 100 sq meter flat=900 sq.ft)
http://www.meilleursagents.com/prix-immobilier/paris-75/

Inflation is not always bad, my parents generation did profit from the inflation & could buy quite easily a house back in the 1960s (inflation helped paying it).
Long term loans have been mentionned in this thread, but I'm not too sure that it's an advantage for an employee to contract a 30 years loan (even with a 2 or 3% interest rate).

 

[elhombresinnombre]

...but most impotently Beer...

Too much beer certainly has that effect on me

 

[chris]

Yah london and Paris, and for that matter The northern European capitals are more expensive than BA for overall cost, though I wouldn't be surprised if a grocery store in Oslo was cheaper than BA. The Capital EU city I am in right now housing prices seem to start just below a €1.000 M2, which is on par with BA, obviously if you go out from the city the prices drop off here just as in BA. I think if cost is a deciding factor in where to live for someone BA should not be even considered as an option.

Average prices around 7,000 euros? What does it cost in other French cities? I suspect less than half.

 

[French jurist]

Average prices around 7,000 euros? What does it cost in other French cities? I suspect less than half.

Even less, the cheapest cities to live in cost around 2.000 Euros per square meter : http://www.dessine-moi-une-maison.f...r-2011-villes-les-moins-cheres-de-france.html

For instance, life in Perpignan isn't bad (South of France, sunny, the French Catalunya, close to the sea, close to Spain, etc.).