[NeoCaveman]

But their discomfort hides a paradox. This December, the American visitor to Europe finds himself paying $4 for a cup of coffee or metro fare that would cost $1 at home. His familiar $40 meal will cost $100, and the hotel room that runs at $60 in the typical Midwestern city of Edwardsville, Illinois, say, costs five times as much in London or Manchester. If only he had stayed at home.

So in Euros Europeans are currently paying:
$3.00 for a cup of coffee
$3.00 for metro fare
$75 for the meal (the one that is $40 in the states)
And 3.5 times as much for the European hotel.

WOW your price level is wacky, if the author is to be believed.

[FBD]

what's the inflation rate in the EU?

I understand the uneployment rate is around 8.8%, correct?

[Centurion2000]

WOW your price level is wacky, if the author is to be believed.

They do pay more for a lot of goods than we do.

[Brit_Guy]

"WOW your price level is wacky, if the author is to be believed."

Well, we have fondly reffered to our prices here as 'rip off Britain' for quite some time. Though it has been noticible in the last couple of years that the gap has narrowed - it is only now with the tumbling dollar that we really notice the difference again! For me the big difference is I used to look at the States and see wage parity, but that your prices were much cheaper meaning the US had a vastly, vastly better quality of life. Now though I look (I work for a multinational) and note that my US colleagues of the same grade earn far less than me when converted - so even with the cheaper prices the lifestyle difference narrows. Of course, I should probably be worried as if the market works my job will be outsourced! And of course, my tax burdern is much heavier. That said, the draw to spend a few more years in the States for financial reasons isn't quite what it was. However, in the meantime - let the party continue. New York Shops... here I come!