The CityHangover Price Index
At this point, it's no secret that London is expensive. Being "from" New York City and all (North Shore, and now Joey, put it best - "You flew here, I grew here"), I was expecting only a negligible cost of living increase. Ha! Such naivete.
Fellow Yankees have suggested that I avoid the conscious conversion from pounds to dollars to prevent purchase anxiety. I've started to do so, but also wanted to dig a bit deeper into these price gaps. Who knows? With a bit of clever analysis perhaps I can find ways to stretch my dollar. Pound. Whatever.
And with that, I provide you with the inaugural CityHangover Price Index. My, um, basket is indicative of things I tend to spend my money on, and all London prices were converted at yesterday's final currency conversion rate. (1.749 dollars to the pound):
Notice any outliers? As Corso would put it on College GameDay, "I say nothing!"
Fellow Yankees have suggested that I avoid the conscious conversion from pounds to dollars to prevent purchase anxiety. I've started to do so, but also wanted to dig a bit deeper into these price gaps. Who knows? With a bit of clever analysis perhaps I can find ways to stretch my dollar. Pound. Whatever.
And with that, I provide you with the inaugural CityHangover Price Index. My, um, basket is indicative of things I tend to spend my money on, and all London prices were converted at yesterday's final currency conversion rate. (1.749 dollars to the pound):
| NYC Price | London Price | Premium | |
| Monthly subway pass | $76.00 | $148.67 | 96% |
| Movie ticket | $10.75 | $17.14 | 59% |
| Six pack of beer (Hoegaarden) | $11.99 | $9.60 | -20% |
| Chicken pad thai (takeout) | $8.00 | $12.24 | 53% |
| Dry cleaning (pants) | $5.00 | $10.41 | 108% |
| Bottle of wine (Ravenswood) | $12.99 | $10.48 | -19% |
| CHPI | $19.10 | $32.04 | 68% |
Notice any outliers? As Corso would put it on College GameDay, "I say nothing!"
posted by cjb at 8:14 PM
9 Comments:
Interesting. When I was there we weren't exactly coherent with our money, and it was pre-Euros so we were dealing with pounds and quid in UK, Gilda in Amsterdam, and a whole lot of... ummmm... confusion.
Peace.
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2006/03/new-look.html
I see the following additions as necessary in order to create a comprehensive CHPI:
(1) a greasy slice of 4am pizza, inevitably served by a non-Italian minority who goes by “Luigi” or the like
(2) the extra three drinks you usually have to buy in a given night at the bar to compensate friends for crude comments (“Shoopie, you know I love you, right?”)
3) incremental tip money for cab drivers who endure nights like “HJs all around!”
whoop whoop indeed! (and joey, i agree -- there's definitely a movement underfoot.)
in sheraz's absence, i'd like to also post the inevitable on his behalf: "Curt, what's the price premium on h00kers and $trippers?"
Thanks for the comments, guys. I also appreciate the suggestions for the 2G CHPI, Shoopie. This version was completed, as my Corporate cohorts would say, "quick and dirty". (By the way, I decided that this term had tipped when my German contact used it with her thick accent on a big conference call. She did Sheraz proud. I had to press the "Secrecy" button on my phone prior to bursting out in laughter.)
As for the CHPI additions - I actually did stumble upon a late night pizza place down the block from where I live. They have some type of Papa Johns related branding, but I think the similarities end there. It was good though. Don't remember how much it cost me...
Well,.
It seems that alcohol is your best bet!
Ah, I think I remember that the small pizza cost around 6 pounds or about $10.50.
And that a pair of Nine West shoes costing $70 in the US are $87 in London.
NYC Rent: 1200 London Rent: Free
Whiner.. =)
Whoop whoop!
I think you need to ask yourself if you are experiencing a 68% increase in the extent to which you enjoy your life. That would make this all worth it, right? Your higher costs are somewhat problematic and perhaps the elevated cost of living is an impediment that prevents participation in certain activities. However relative and absolute per-unit spending on your core goods (beer and other alcohol) are both down. That circumstance could theoretically produce an experiential net gain if the positive emotion that accompanies cheaper prices for a staple like alcohol is worth more than the overall increase in outlays. If I lived in Tulsa, OK, I'd have more money but would go to far fewer hip-hop shows and see far fewer friends. That would be a net loss as far as I'm concerned.
You would also most likely be killed by a giant tornado. I hear they can get up to one mile wide. That's a huge bitch.
Joey - Good points, but really man, you need to get out of the office.
I'm not sure about London's natural disaster quotient...
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