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purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:26 pm
by Torco
related to this, how much does stuff cost where you live? take, for instance

a big mac
a liter and a half of mineral water
a simple ballpen
two liter cocacola bottle
a can of insecticide
a dildo
a plain notebook
a brand new toyota corolla
a monthly gym subscription
the services of a cheap hooker

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:08 pm
by faiuwle
I don't think I've bought any of those things in like, ten years.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:14 pm
by vampireshark
Oh, this should be fun! My responses will be in violet, and all values in United States Dollars.
Torco wrote:a big mac about $4 or so before tax, but who buys just the sandwich here?
a liter and a half of mineral water depending on where you look, $1.00 or so, but mineral water isn't common
a simple ballpen not more than 50¢ each
two liter cocacola bottle varies greatly... anywhere from 89¢-$1.89 per bottle, excluding tax, but I normally pay about $1.20 where I shop
a can of insecticide $3-ish
a dildo wouldn't know, but I'll guess about $10
a plain notebook normally about $1, but you can get them for about 20¢ a pop closer to when school starts
a brand new toyota corolla if you pay cash, probably about $15000... I think
a monthly gym subscription $20 seems about standard
the services of a cheap hooker probably about $50 for a short session, but I'm a virgin, so I wouldn't really know

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:53 pm
by finlay
These are all guesses.

a big mac - a quick google says around £2 ($3.10) on average, although I thought it was at least £3 ($4.65). I don't go to McD's that often.
a liter and a half of mineral water - i don't think we get 1.5L bottles, but it'll be something in the region of 80p ($1.24) for the cheapest
a simple ballpen - not sure, but i think i've got them for about 30p ($0.46) before
two liter cocacola bottle - £1.20 ($1.86) ish, not sure because i hate coke and never by 2L bottles anyway
a can of insecticide - no idea, we don't have insects unless you go up north into the countryside.
a dildo - start at £10 ($15.50), probably £20 ($30) for a decent one
a plain notebook - argh, not sure. £1-£2 ($1.50-$3), I would try and get away with paying less than £1.
a brand new toyota corolla - A Toyota auris (which has superseded the corolla in the uk) is £12,295 ($19,080) - £14,495 ($22,495) according to the website
a monthly gym subscription - I dunno. It was £40 ($62) at the place near my uni but I think it went up over the 5 years I was in York to £100 ($155). That's not a low-end place, though. At the municipal gyms in Edinburgh it's £5.20 ($8) a go if you've got the membership card, which is £25 ($40) for a year. If you go once a week that's an average of £24-25 a month. A private gym that came up on google is £25-35 ($40-55) a month with a joining fee of £45 ($70).
the services of a cheap hooker - Absolutely no idea, and I couldn't google this one for you... I hear £100 ($155) or £200 ($310) will get you sex with a normal hooker, no idea if that's overshooting the mark though.

Yeah, it's expensive here. :(

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm
by Yiuel Raumbesrairc
[quote="Torco"]related to this, how much does stuff cost where you live? take, for instance

a big mac = 4$
a liter and a half of mineral water = 0,75$
a simple ballpen = 1$
two liter cocacola bottle = 1,50$ (easily found cheaper on special)
a can of insecticide = 5$
a dildo = ??
a plain notebook = 1$
a brand new toyota corolla = 15 450$
a monthly gym subscription = 25$
the services of a cheap hooker = ??

Montreal, Canada

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 7:54 pm
by Salmoneus
I have only ever purchased one of those items. It was a long time ago, and my memory of the event is clouded by time, and possibly other factors.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 7:59 pm
by Shm Jay
Why on earth are you comparing the prices of dildos? (or is it dildoes? dildi?)

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:52 pm
by zompist
There's this neat toy called "Google" which gives all sorts of information...

E.g. prices of dildos. Looks like $28 to $109 covers their best-sellers. Vibrators run from $18 to $52— a bargain!

Searching for hookers in Chicago gives this paper by Levitt and Venkatesh, which gives an average of $34 per sex act— but the most frequent act is oral sex. Vaginal sex will run you twice that. And prostitutes turn out to do racial profiling: white customers pay a premium.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:26 pm
by Torco
Salmoneus wrote:I have only ever purchased one of those items. It was a long time ago, and my memory of the event is clouded by time, and possibly other factors.
Goes to show you how things that I figure are absolutely everyday [save for the dildi and the hookers, which I just threw in there for fun, and the big mac, which I threw in you can guess why] aren't everywhere.

Out of sheer curiosity... was it a can of insecticide?

@Yiuel: are those canadian dollars?
Why on earth are you comparing the prices of dildos? (or is it dildoes? dildi?)
why not
There's this neat toy called "Google" which gives all sorts of information...
Sure I can google "buy dildo minessotta" or something, but this isn't what this is about.
a liter and a half of mineral water depending on where you look, $1.00 or so, but mineral water isn't common
Really? curious
a can of insecticide $3-ish
that's cheap! I pay around 5 at the supermarket
a dildo - start at £10 ($15.50), probably £20 ($30) for a decent one
seems cheap to me, they start at $30, $50 for a decent one here.
a liter and a half of mineral water - i don't think we get 1.5L bottles, but it'll be something in the region of 80p ($1.24) for the cheapest
0_O how do you not die of thirst!

finally, I'm surprised... our hookers are expensive in comparison to elsewhere [save for fin's estimate, which is probably inflated]

I guess my list isn't cross-cultural. how about we add to it:

a big mac
a liter and a half of mineral water
a simple ballpen
two liter cocacola bottle
a can of insecticide
a dildo
a plain notebook
a brand new toyota corolla
a monthly gym subscription
the services of a cheap hooker
a kilo of beef
gasoline/petrol/whatever
a pack of your favourite cigarrettes
a joint [of marihuana]
running shoes
a hot dog

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:30 pm
by Astraios
Torco wrote:0_O how do you not die of thirst!
We have drinkable tap water. *is way superior to Chilenos* ;)

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:35 pm
by Torco
Astraios wrote:
Torco wrote:0_O how do you not die of thirst!
We have drinkable tap water. *is way superior to Chilenos* ;)
xD we do too, but it tastes like soap and swimming pool... do consider most of our supply comes from the Andes mountains, and is therefore pretty hard.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:40 pm
by Astraios
Torco wrote:xD we do too, but it tastes like soap and swimming pool... do consider most of our supply comes from the Andes mountains, and is therefore pretty hard.
I consider Latinos at their best when it's hard. :D

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:43 pm
by Yiuel Raumbesrairc
Torco wrote:@Yiuel: are those canadian dollars?
Son.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 11:17 pm
by vampireshark
That works out a bit better for more fun stuff. Lessee...
Torco wrote:a kilo of beef depends on the cut of beef you want. The steaks I prefer run normally about $11 per kilo on a good day
gasoline/petrol/whatever Just over $3 per gallon/$0.79 per litre, but it varies quite a bit
a pack of your favourite cigarrettes Here in NC, about $3.50 per pack of a decent brand; up in Wisconsin, about $6.50 (but I don't smoke, I just notice these things...)
a joint [of marihuana] wouldn't know
running shoes I wouldn't pay more than $30, and you can get a decent pair for that
a hot dog $2 or so
Torco wrote:
vampireshark wrote:a liter and a half of mineral water depending on where you look, $1.00 or so, but mineral water isn't common
Really? curious
Unlike in Germany, most people don't drink carbonated water unless it's soda/pop/cola and, as such, is heavily sugared and with lots of chemicals thrown in for good measure. I use the cost of tonic water and club sodas, which are the closest things... and those are mostly used as mixers.
If you want to talk about actual drinking mineral water, a bottle of Perrier here in the US isn't more than $1.80 at most grocery stores.
Torco wrote:
vampireshark wrote:a can of insecticide $3-ish
that's cheap! I pay around 5 at the supermarket
I do have the advantage of a military grocery store here that sells things for not much more over cost, but that's really the only place we purchase insecticides. That price isn't surprising, though, considering I think I remember seeing that level of price out "on the economy". And we really don't use insecticide much, especially back when we had the Venus' flytrap.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 11:53 pm
by Bob Johnson
Torco wrote:a big mac-- USD 4.00 or so, plus tax, but eww McDonalds
a liter and a half of mineral water-- distilled water is $1/gal = $0.264/litre = 0.396/one-and-a-half-litre, though I only use that for chemistry
a simple ballpen -- all my pens are about 7 years old, and none are "simple"
two liter cocacola bottle -- 12 cans x 335 mL = about $4, with a recycling deposit of $0.60 (take cans for recycling, get the deposit back), so about $2
a can of insecticide -- the winter makes bugs go away
a dildo -- 40-50, fancy ones can be really expensive
a plain notebook -- loose 3-hole paper is cheaper
a brand new toyota corolla -- lots and lots, less if you argue with the salesman. I hear it's more for women and so forth
a monthly gym subscription -- shovel snow, it's free. Then go hiking in the month of summer
the services of a cheap hooker -- you don't want a cheap hooker, you want an expensive one
a kilo of beef -- good meat is expensive, cheap "meat" goes as low as $2/lb~$1/kg but ugh
gasoline/petrol/whatever-- nearing $4/gal = ~$1.056/litre, though the price changes almost daily. I've been to France, I know how ridiculous this is
a pack of your favourite cigarrettes-- zero, since I prefer not to smoke. I hear they're taxed quite heavily
a joint [of marihuana]-- I decline to answer on the grounds that doing so might tend to incriminate me (but really zero again)
running shoes-- as much as you want to pay. I pay $15 per year on average for shoes
a hot dog-- $4 for 12 at the store, I think
Torco wrote:xD we do too, but it tastes like soap and swimming pool... do consider most of our supply comes from the Andes mountains, and is therefore pretty hard.
We have a bit (note: understatement) of chlorine in ours, positively ruined my tea until I figured out that leaving a pitcher of water to "breathe" for a day really helped.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:02 am
by faiuwle
Well, if you buy like a package of uncooked hot dogs from the grocery store, I bet they probably work out to $0.50 each or so, but if you buy them from some roadside hot dog stand, then yeah, they are $2.

From the gas station: 2-liter coke is $2.35. When I bought cigarettes for my sister, I remember them being about $5. Gas is $3.25/gallon here right now, but I remember when $1.50/gallon was considered highway robbery. :( (On the plus side, I don't drive anymore.) Something else you might want to add is a gallon of milk ($4 in the gas station, probably a bit less in the grocery store).

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:10 am
by Radius Solis
The only one of those I've ever bought is a two liter bottle of Coke, and I know the price of that because I drink it all the time. Typically $1.99 as a base price, but frequently on sale for as little as $1, if you are willing to buy six to get that price.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:18 am
by Bob Johnson
faiuwle wrote:Gas is $3.25/gallon here right now, but I remember when $1.50/gallon was considered highway robbery. :( (On the plus side, I don't drive anymore.) Something else you might want to add is a gallon of milk ($4 in the gas station, probably a bit less in the grocery store).
Back in my day, gas was around USD 0.80/gallon = 0.211/litre. I don't recall the exact number in France, but double digits of francs/litre, back when the franc was about 4 or 5 to our dollar (and still existed).

Milk is $2.50/gal at the convenience store across the street, $2 at walmart, $3 at the supermarket unless you have their "club card" in which case it's $1.80. Also taxes. Robbery! (Tired of working out litre conversions, bah. Can't we all go metric?)

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:18 am
by Radius Solis
hito wrote:We have a bit (note: understatement) of chlorine in ours, positively ruined my tea until I figured out that leaving a pitcher of water to "breathe" for a day really helped.
That can work, but it's slow. If you don't want to wait, you can also get rid of a lot of the chlorine by vigorously stirring/churning the water around for a couple minutes, in a way that gets a lot of air bubbles mixed in; when the bubbles pop at the surface, they take chlorine with them. Pouring water back and forth between two containers works great, for instance - anything to increase the exposure of water to the air. Install an aerator on your kitchen faucet if it doesn't already have one - very easy to do. And since your purpose is tea, it may help to know that bringing water to a full boil for a couple minutes will also remove virtually all chlorine. (If it still tastes bad after boiling it, chlorine isn't the culprit.)

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:46 am
by Kereb
okay here it is for stuff in Vancouver, to the best of my knowledge
(all values in Canadian Beaver Pelts)

a big mac

about four dollars. Seven for the combo with drink and fries

a liter and a half of mineral water

two dollars

a simple ballpen

thirty to fifty cents, but they usually come in packs of ten rather than singles

two liter cocacola bottle

three dollars

a can of insecticide

dunno. Ten bucks?

a dildo

low end to high end .... thirty dollars up to like two hundred

a plain notebook

three bucks

a brand new toyota corolla

twenty thousand dollars

a monthly gym subscription

forty bucks

the services of a cheap hooker

dunno. never paid for it. Don't intend to.

a kilo of beef

six, seven bucks

gasoline/petrol/whatever

it's like $1.15 a liter at the moment

a pack of your favourite cigarrettes

I like Du Maurier and Camel ... they're about ten bucks a pack
but you can get some pretty ghetto smokes for like six dollars a pack

a joint [of marihuana]

five dollars, pretty consistently. But it's not worth buying pre-rolled. I can get a QO for fifty bucks.

running shoes

fifty bucks for some bargain jankity ones, up to two-hundred-plus for fancy ones

a hot dog

two bucks for a crap 7-11 one, five or six bucks for a fancy one with onions and sauerkraut and whatnot from a street cart

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 7:27 am
by finlay
Torco wrote:
a liter and a half of mineral water - i don't think we get 1.5L bottles, but it'll be something in the region of 80p ($1.24) for the cheapest
0_O how do you not die of thirst!
We get half litre and 1 litre bottles, definitely, I'm just not sure about 1.5L bottles. I'm also guessing here, anyway, but 80p isn't expensive. Also it's cheaper to think ahead and fill your water at a tap. Also, again, not as hot here so carrying water around isn't as much of an issue. (ie, you can get away with not doing it)

a kilo of beef - about £6 depending on the quality and cut
gasoline/petrol/whatever - £1.25/L, I hear, and it's gonna go up by about 2p ( :o :o :o :o ) because the government is raising VAT.
a pack of your favourite cigarrettes - I've never smoked, but it was £5-6 for 20 last I checked, which admittedly was a few years ago.
a joint [of marihuana] - i've only bought it in Amsterdam where it was €10 for a packet. Here probably £10 or £20 for an eighth of an ounce (although it could be a quarter - I don't know the sizes well enough) and it wouldn't be as good quality (it'll be a round amount of cash, though)
running shoes - £20-40
a hot dog - <£2, but not sure.

Incidentally, never bought any of these items to my knowledge. I've only bought half-kilos of beef.

As for the dildos, you were surprised that I said they were cheap, but I'm only going on what I would pay, which would be up to £30 for a good one (they do go higher than this though, ofc). I have a catalogue which states that the entry price is £9.99, but it's only a few inches long. The one i have cost £15.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:28 pm
by Cathbad
Embarrassingly enough, I have no idea what the actual prices for these items are here in Slovenia. :? I could tell you the price for a large, hearty loaf of bread (<1 euro), a small pot of yoghurt (25-90 cents, depending on size and brand), and most fruit (~1 euro per kilogram)... I would guess bottled water is around 60-80 cents per 1.5 liters (although you shouldn't quote me on this). I don't eat fast food, smoke, or hire hookers, and I only eat red meat in restaurants... etc.

According to pdfs here, a Corolla apparently costs between 15,000 and 23,000 euros, depending on what kind of engine you choose (from 1,33 regular to 2,0 Diesel). Last I checked, gas is around 1.2 - 1.3 euros per liter, for 95 octane unleaded (I think diesel might actually be more expensive).

The ballpoint pens I buy (actually not technically ballpoint, since they use liquid ink; I write a lot by hand, and can't really stand the increased friction of cheap ballpoints) cost around 1.70 euros each, although I've paid 2+ pounds for a similar one in Britain.

I would add to the list, at the very least...

- monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment (40-60 square meters)
- average cost of a square meter of a flat/house (known to be ridiculously high in Ljubljana, usually 2000+ euros per square meter)
- a loaf of bread at a bakery
- 1 kilogram of salt, sugar, flour
- 1 kilogram of pasta
- 1 kilogram of onions
- 1 kilogram of lettuce
- 1 kilogram of apples
- 1 kilogram of bananas
- 1 kilogram of tee/coffee
- 1 liter of milk
- can of beer
- a single/daily bus ticket (for urban transport)
- cost of a long-distance train ticket (say 100 kilometers) or bus ticket for an equivalent journey
- yearly "vehicle upkeep" cost (including any road tax you must pay, the cost of registration & insurance...)
- cost of 1 year at university (in terms of fees)
- cost of a GP consultation
- cost of a dentist's consultation
- cost of a new LCD television
- cost of an iPhone
- cost of an average monthly mobile payment plan/subscription
- monthly costs of trash disposal, heating, electricity, water, and sewage for a smallish flat (~75 square meters)
- monthly cost of a high-speed internet connection
- 3-course dinner at a decent restaurant
- decent (ie. not overpriced English grocery-store) sandwich

At least among the majority population on this board, this could then possibly begin to provide a general idea of how 'cheap' certain places are (since around 75% of the above list is probably relevant to around 75% of the population). If not, I stand corrected... :roll:

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:35 pm
by Kereb
Cathbad wrote:I would add to the list, at the very least...
- monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment (40-60 square meters)

$600-$1000 or more

- average cost of a square meter of a flat/house (known to be ridiculously high in Ljubljana, usually 2000+ euros per square meter)

no clue

- a loaf of bread at a bakery

four dollars

- 1 kilogram of salt, sugar, flour

$1, $1, $1 ... ish

- 1 kilogram of pasta

three dollars

- 1 kilogram of onions

seventy cents

- 1 kilogram of lettuce

two dollars? Usually not bought by weight but by the head

- 1 kilogram of apples

one dollar for like ... spartan, macintosh
more for fancy varieties

- 1 kilogram of bananas

two dollars

- 1 kilogram of tee/coffee

apparently you can get really terrible coffee like maxwell house for ten or eleven bucks for a kilogram tin
but I buy snobby coffee for like sixteen dollars a pound

- 1 liter of milk

three dollars

- can of beer

$1.50

- a single/daily bus ticket (for urban transport)

single trip $2.50
daily pass $8
I buy monthly passes for about 80

- cost of a long-distance train ticket (say 100 kilometers) or bus ticket for an equivalent journey

uh hell I don't know. You can get to Kelowna on Greyhound for about sixty dollars, and that's like 400 km

- yearly "vehicle upkeep" cost (including any road tax you must pay, the cost of registration & insurance...)

I haven't had a car in a couple of years. I remember paying about $1000-1200 a year for insurance. Never did add up how much gas and maintenance was costing. Oil change was $30-40; $20 would get me half a tank of gas (it was a little Honda Civic)

- cost of 1 year at university (in terms of fees)

man that could be anything from five thousand to fifty thousand dollars or more depending on what you're taking

- cost of a GP consultation

I pay about sixty a month for the Medical Services Plan (canadian health insurance) and it covers my GP and anything my GP refers me to. So I don't really know.

- cost of a dentist's consultation

$100 for a cleaning without anything fancy

- cost of a new LCD television

$1000

- cost of an iPhone

$500

- cost of an average monthly mobile payment plan/subscription

$30 in the ads, $50 when you actually get your bill

- monthly costs of trash disposal, heating, electricity, water, and sewage for a smallish flat (~75 square meters)

all together about $100

- monthly cost of a high-speed internet connection

$40

- 3-course dinner at a decent restaurant

how decent? Let's say $50 a person for steaks and appies at such as The Keg

- decent (ie. not overpriced English grocery-store) sandwich

$7

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:48 pm
by Bob Johnson
Kereb wrote:- a loaf of bread at a bakery
four dollars

- 1 liter of milk
three dollars
I heard the loonie hit parity with USD recently, so did it suddenly drop to CAD 4 = USD 1? Or do you have to import the wheat and cows from Kansas and pay 400% tariff?

It's USD 0.80~1.00 for both those, down here.

Re: purchasing power parity

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:53 pm
by Yiuel Raumbesrairc
hito wrote:
Kereb wrote:- a loaf of bread at a bakery
four dollars

- 1 liter of milk
three dollars
I heard the loonie hit parity with USD recently, so did it suddenly drop to CAD 4 = USD 1? Or do you have to import the wheat and cows from Kansas and pay 400% tariff?

It's USD 0.80~1.00 for both those, down here.

You can get cheap loafs of bread at the supermarket for 2$ (650g), but the best bread are at least 3$.

As for milk, fixed price, though I pay 1,50$ for a liter, but it varies from province to province.

I being from the oddball province where food seems to be cheaper, those prices seem "reasonable". (Then again, while in Japan, I paid 75¢ for a liter of milk, and I liked it that way and food was, surprisingly, mostly cheaper.)