I was delighted to discover that long-time blogger Rachel Lucas is back in the USA after living in Europe for several years. She’s very happy to be home, and is writing about her experiences with her usual exuberance.
I particularly enjoyed her enthusiasm at the open friendliness of people in Texas, and being able to shop for everything she’d missed in Europe. Being an immigrant myself, I sympathized with her comments about the high cost of ordinary household items in Europe compared to what are, by comparison, their very low prices here. We may complain about our tax burden, but our food, fuel and other necessities are much less taxed here, and have been subject to much lower inflation, so that our dollar cost of living is half or less than half what it would be in Europe. Something to be thankful for!
Welcome home, Rachel. Nice to have you back.
Peter
A good part of the high cost of everyday items comes from the VAT tax which varies from country to country. There may be no income tax, but the VAT can be as high as 20%.
My wife had some trouble adjusting to the South. She wanted to know why are all these strangers waving to us when they drive by.
Damn Yankee!
Gerry
Electronics may be cheaper in the US, but,former combloc countries are far less expensive places to live in.
Western Europe -true, but you are unlikely to go bankrupt because of medical bills..