I'm tired of you UK boardies that keep boasting your "favorable" exchange rates Sigh, our exchange rates are fine; we make proportionately as much as you and more due to cost of living. How much of the "middle class" in the UK make £50,000 a year? Most Americans don't make that but thats what it takes to buy a house in many places... If we can't buy a single thing with $0.01, does that mean you can buy something with 1p? If not, that means that you're money is even less efficient than ours. Also, you guys have VAT and typically spend 10-20% more converted on the same stuff. Don't feel sorry for some of us. (You can feel sorry for me though, I haven't even a real job) Bottom line: If you pay £10 for something, we pay $18 or less...
We're Really only happy because the rate is a better than it used to be, which proves pretty handy when buying from the US, whilst our cost of living/tax etc. has remained constant.
We also have a free health service and with our £0.01p we can buy $0.02 hehe It's great for us importing at the moment though as on more expensive purchases we can more easily afford compared to lower exchange rates. It costs a lot more than £50k for a middle class house here nowadays though with inflation and the rest of that shit - but peeps don't have to buy a house in a year, it's why there are things called mortgages :smt023 My granded lived in london his semi detatched was worth £300k - he sold that and movfed back to wales and got a bigger house for £100k hehehe
Yea, I mean 1500 square ft houses cost upwards of a disgusting £325,000 where I just moved from so you'd need two people making ~$100K a piece for a semi-urban house...
I earn £13,094, my house is worth £90,000*. I will have paid it all off in 25 years (with the Mrs), unless I sell in a few years and use the equity as a deposit on a larger/better house. With 1p I can buy: 1x 1p sweet (most are 2p now, but if you find an old fashioned confectionery style shop, you can still get 1p blackjacks and fruit cocktail chews) I get the feeling, this has less to do with UK-ies gloating, but more to do with pride. I don't think I have seen anyone "lording it up" and making comments on the US economy and the like. They merely have said that it's nice, because for once we can buy things and not get quite as shafted. *3 bedroom semi, conservatory, fitted kitchen, large dining room, toilet and seperate WC, established mature garden, close to local amnenities, off road parking, etc etc.... oh and 2 sheds!
lol, if we all started making topics about our annoyances with other nationalities, I wouldn't be done posting until next month :smt042 (no offence meant or anything ) Though I'd give it my first shot: -contrary to some popular belief, not everyone on the internet is from the US -we have SCART :smt042
I started this because exchange rates are exchange rates Theres nothing favorable about one to another, they flucuate so insignificantly. With inflation, when the rate goes down, you get paid more... It's not like you can buy twice as much because a GBP = almost 2 USD, that's what I was getting at. It is true though that we get shafted when buying from the UK because: A) All post offices are not equal B) UK profiteers can be extremely scandalous with markup (all markup in GBP is 2x more painful for us C) Sellers get the impression that most (UK) buyers will spend GBP like water (in which quite often they do.) so if Americans try to buy from the UK, ugh... I must say, lots of UK sellers make ballsy businessmen. (Buy a gross console from Hong Kong for US$55 shipped to the UK, clean it up a little, sell it to Americans for GBP75 which comes out to only $141!
a) All , or atleast most post offices are equal. Kitchen fitting took me all ove rthr country and many a time ahd to mail stuff - they're all governed by the same rules, regulations and organisation! b) Profiteers exist in all countries c) Americans have a hard time buying from the UK because of the exchange rate and higher shipping costs (distance + exchange) :smt083
Yeah I meant our post offices aren't equal (as in cost the same) It will cost me $10 to send a package to you and cost me at least £10 to get it back.
You so sure about that...I'd ask Blair what he thinks....oh yeah...forgot that he asks Bush what he should think... :smt043 Joke
Ever heard of "you get what you pay for"? :smt043 I see where people could be happy, but don't give each other reach-arounds, just buy heapds of stuff. I had a similar thing while selling games from Japan. I had the rate fluctuate from 110 to 135 while selling, and even lower/higher when not selling. As an expat, you almost always buy stuff from Amazon, so I know what it's like for you guys.
well i am happy when i pay my taxes in Denmark after i went to the hospital with pain over Thorax what ever that means(just happened for about half an hour ago) but luckyly it was not my heart and in Denmark we all pay taxes and then the hospital is free and the time is right now 6:57 gmt1
Heh... this thread's got that sinking feeling... As for our health service, we do pay for it: in taxes. It's not cheap either. Personally, I'd like to see a hike in tax to pay for the national services like health and education, but that's not popular with most people.
I'm locking it, don't want another fucking: "Amrrrrrica is t3h 5uxx0r!" "Engalund fellates herpes ridden goat herders"