Just How Expensive is London Now?
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:06 AM
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Just How Expensive is London Now?
I haven't visited since 2001 and I'm trying to decide if I want to brave a week in an apartment and a few days in Paris or if I should skip London altogether. My budget is limited and the prices of everything seems so extraordinarily high right now.
Personal experience anyone??
Personal experience anyone??
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:39 AM
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If your home currency is US dollars, here is a general guide… You can assume London will cost you twice what a visit to a major US city like NY would. I was in London last month, and in general, something that would cost me $1.00 in New York was £1.00 in London. At current exchange rates, that’s roughly $2.00 US.
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:40 AM
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I agree, its decieving...
You go to an average dinner and spend the same numerical amount you would expect to pay in the US....a $30 dinner will cost you around 30lbs.
Except the exhange rate is actually making that dinner twice as much.
You go to an average dinner and spend the same numerical amount you would expect to pay in the US....a $30 dinner will cost you around 30lbs.
Except the exhange rate is actually making that dinner twice as much.
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:43 AM
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This is exactly right. The number printed on things in the shops will be the same; it will just be in pounds, not dollars. Think of it this way: if you buy a compact disk at home, it says 16.99 (or whatever) on it. That's dollars. In London, it will also say 16.99 on it, but it will be pounds. When the pound and the dollar were almost equal, several years ago, the cost to you was about the same; now that the pound is worth twice as much as a dollar, the cost to you will be double. That makes for a very expensive city!
If you LIVED in London, and were being paid your salary in pounds, you wouldn't notice the difference, aside from the usual inflation, raises, what have you. But since your money is dollars, and you have to change them first before you can spend them in London, the difference is going to set your wallet on fire.
Is London now the most expensive city for Americans? Or is it still Oslo?
If you LIVED in London, and were being paid your salary in pounds, you wouldn't notice the difference, aside from the usual inflation, raises, what have you. But since your money is dollars, and you have to change them first before you can spend them in London, the difference is going to set your wallet on fire.
Is London now the most expensive city for Americans? Or is it still Oslo?
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:46 AM
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The Euro isn't a whole lot better, I'm afraid. Paris is not cheap for Americans. The "same number, different currency" rule doesn't really work there. The problem from our perspective isn't that the pound (not "lbs"
or the euro is that strong; it's that the dollar is so incredibly weak right now.
or the euro is that strong; it's that the dollar is so incredibly weak right now.
Feb 15th, 2007, 08:58 AM
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One thing to factor in is your plane fare. I know that sometimes there are some very inexpensive fares from DFW to London. Say the fare to London is $500, and the fare to Paris is $900. The lower fare gives you an extra $400 to play with.
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:09 AM
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When I went to the UK the first time, the pound was at $2.40 - so a US penny was the same as a Brit.
Then "all" I had to do was to figure out how many pennies there were in 13/9, and I was done.
(I <u>did</u> learn my twelvesies pretty thoroughly, though.)
If t-w-o-p-e-n-c-e is pronounced "tuppence," why isn't n-e-w-p-e-n-c-e pronounced "nuppence?"
Then "all" I had to do was to figure out how many pennies there were in 13/9, and I was done.
(I <u>did</u> learn my twelvesies pretty thoroughly, though.)
If t-w-o-p-e-n-c-e is pronounced "tuppence," why isn't n-e-w-p-e-n-c-e pronounced "nuppence?"
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:33 AM
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" Expect to pay in pounds what you pay in dollars in the USA (I'm assuming you're American)."
I keep hearing that over and over again, but I do NOT find it to be true. Maybe if you're comparing London to a small midwest town, but if comparing London to similar things in New York (which is a much more logical comparison), I think you'll find prices very similar -- in other words -- half the number of pounds in London than it would be in dollars in New York. If you compare eating a meal in a fine London restaurant to a cheaper US one, then yes, of course, the number of pounds may be equal to the number of dollars or double the price -- but that is an unfair comparison. A nice meal at a good restaurant at home can be twice the cost of Outback. Let's compare apples to apples.
A few SPECIFIC examples:
Top price ticket to Mary Poppins or The Producers in New York: $110
Top price ticket to Mary Poppins or The Producers in London: 55 pounds
Hamburger and fries at Joe Allen in New York: $ 12.50 -- liver and onions at Joe Allen in New York: $ 20.00
Hamburger and fries at Joe Allen in London: 7 pounds -- liver and onions at Joe Allen in London -- 11 pounds.
(I used this specific restaurant because the two restaurants really are THE SAME).
AND DESPITE WHAT SOMEONE ABOVE SAID ABOUT COMPACT DISCS:
Today's price for Maximum Madonna CD at Virgin Megastore in London: 6.99 pounds.
Today's price for Maximum Madonna CD from Amazon.com: $ 14.49
Today's price for Casino Royale DVD at Virgin Megastore in London: 14.99 pounds.
Today's price for Casino Royale DVD at Amazon: $ 27.95.
One major exception is the cost of taxis and bus or underground tickets in London which are likely to be about double total cost in London compared to New York.
Compare similar restaurants, or similar hotels in the two cities and you will find them to be similarly priced -- that means half as many pounds as dollars, but equal in final amount.
So the bottom line? We spend a fair amount of time in both New York and in London doing the same sorts of things and eating at the same quality. We find that the bottom line is nearly always equal in both cities -- certainly not double in cost in London! But yes, we could probably do a week in Topeka for a whole lot less.
I keep hearing that over and over again, but I do NOT find it to be true. Maybe if you're comparing London to a small midwest town, but if comparing London to similar things in New York (which is a much more logical comparison), I think you'll find prices very similar -- in other words -- half the number of pounds in London than it would be in dollars in New York. If you compare eating a meal in a fine London restaurant to a cheaper US one, then yes, of course, the number of pounds may be equal to the number of dollars or double the price -- but that is an unfair comparison. A nice meal at a good restaurant at home can be twice the cost of Outback. Let's compare apples to apples.
A few SPECIFIC examples:
Top price ticket to Mary Poppins or The Producers in New York: $110
Top price ticket to Mary Poppins or The Producers in London: 55 pounds
Hamburger and fries at Joe Allen in New York: $ 12.50 -- liver and onions at Joe Allen in New York: $ 20.00
Hamburger and fries at Joe Allen in London: 7 pounds -- liver and onions at Joe Allen in London -- 11 pounds.
(I used this specific restaurant because the two restaurants really are THE SAME).
AND DESPITE WHAT SOMEONE ABOVE SAID ABOUT COMPACT DISCS:
Today's price for Maximum Madonna CD at Virgin Megastore in London: 6.99 pounds.
Today's price for Maximum Madonna CD from Amazon.com: $ 14.49
Today's price for Casino Royale DVD at Virgin Megastore in London: 14.99 pounds.
Today's price for Casino Royale DVD at Amazon: $ 27.95.
One major exception is the cost of taxis and bus or underground tickets in London which are likely to be about double total cost in London compared to New York.
Compare similar restaurants, or similar hotels in the two cities and you will find them to be similarly priced -- that means half as many pounds as dollars, but equal in final amount.
So the bottom line? We spend a fair amount of time in both New York and in London doing the same sorts of things and eating at the same quality. We find that the bottom line is nearly always equal in both cities -- certainly not double in cost in London! But yes, we could probably do a week in Topeka for a whole lot less.
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:35 AM
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I agree London is very expensive, but don't agree that things cost twice as much as in New York City, which is also very expensive. Maybe twice as much as some other US cities, but not NYC. Prices in London have always been high, though, in comparison to Paris IMO, regardless of the exchange rate. There's something wrong over there, I don't know what, that makes hotels so expensive, for example. I remember reading articles years ago about how British citizens would go to France to buy high-ticket items because they were so expensive in England, even for them.
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:42 AM
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The cost of flying to either city is approximately the same for me.
I live in the Bay Area so I'm not unaware of "city prices". We're fortunate that San Francisco is quite reasonable when it comes to wonderful restaurants at quite reasonable prices.
That said, I do love to shop and I do love a bargain. I know there are none to be had in either city.
I'll probably go to Asia in the fall for a big anniversary so this trip has to be economical.
I live in the Bay Area so I'm not unaware of "city prices". We're fortunate that San Francisco is quite reasonable when it comes to wonderful restaurants at quite reasonable prices.
That said, I do love to shop and I do love a bargain. I know there are none to be had in either city.
I'll probably go to Asia in the fall for a big anniversary so this trip has to be economical.
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:44 AM
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You should also consider some of the things that are cheap/free in London. Museums don not charge an entrance fee but request donations.
Priceline works well for London so accomodation usually works out cheaper than NYC. Travel by tube or bus not taxi... or walk.
Eat Indian food!
Priceline works well for London so accomodation usually works out cheaper than NYC. Travel by tube or bus not taxi... or walk.
Eat Indian food!
Feb 15th, 2007, 09:46 AM
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"That said, I do love to shop and I do love a bargain. I know there are none to be had in either city."
Ah, there you are definitely wrong. London or New York like most cities have wonderful shopping bargains -- often better then smaller cities. But you have to know where to look.
I think that is part of the problem of all those suggesting that everything costs twice as much in London as in New York. They know special places to go at home, but end up going to more expensive places in London because they don't know where to look. Or a shopper may go to a super discount store in New York, then go to Harrods in London and say "wow, everything costs twice as much as at home".
Ah, there you are definitely wrong. London or New York like most cities have wonderful shopping bargains -- often better then smaller cities. But you have to know where to look.
I think that is part of the problem of all those suggesting that everything costs twice as much in London as in New York. They know special places to go at home, but end up going to more expensive places in London because they don't know where to look. Or a shopper may go to a super discount store in New York, then go to Harrods in London and say "wow, everything costs twice as much as at home".
