Cost of Living -- It Ain't that Bad

Summary: Londoners whine about the cost of living in London, but it’s not that bad if you aren’t from America.

Word of the day: slag
Another good "sl" word to describe a loose woman.

What I learned today: In London, people will say it’s warm and that you need a jacket in the same sentence. Well, I’ve heard it twice now.

Pound for Pound
So everyone talks about how expensive it is in London, and it is, but I don’t know what the Brits are complaining about. I guess having healthcare paid for isn't enough for them. If I weren’t using American dollars, life would be great. And even then, a lot of things only cost as much as they would for me in the U.S. of A. For instance, a loaf of bread here costs 1 pound or $2. So I’m still spending the same amount on bread. (That’s really the only example I can think of actually—everything else is way out of my normal price range!)

But, my point is, if I were British, I think I would pretty much be spending an amount comparative to $1 on bread (as the pound seems to have the same worth to the British as the dollar to Americans). And cigs are 5 pounds, just like they are $5 in America (or more). Basically, everything seems the same as in America (and I’m not from an expensive city). Sometimes it even seems to be skewed a little cheaper. Of course, I’m not factoring in wages. Minimum wage here is way low, come to think of it. But I still feel as if a lot of salaries are similar to American salaries.

Today I realized that even with the exchange rate, having an expensive flat in London for an American is still on target with a flat in NYC. It might even be more in NYC. (I know its way into the four figures for many Big-Apple dwellers.)

So why is London listed so much higher on the expensive cities list? I guess it’s just because of their overpriced currency. So people should explain that it’s expensive to travel here, not to live here and get paid in pounds. Londoners got the latter into their heads.

Basically, being over here is like “pissing away money” as my co-worker called it. But for me. I’m sick of hearing native Londoners tell me it’s expensive for them. They live on the top of their world with their fancy pound that is totally worth too much because they have so many exports and no imports. (Is that how that works?) They could buy a house in America for half price, so I don’t want to hear them complain.

I am now watching: I think I’ve reached an all-time low. It appears that One Tree Hill is on my tele and the remote is too far away…