We are being totally taken for a ride in the UK

[checkedcloth]

Just had a week in on a Balearic Island
Did 5 supermarket shops.
shelves fully stocked, brilliant choice of food and produce and significantly cheaper than here.
we are being absolutely screwed over by this government, and all the other wealthy robbing companies.

I know some Brexit loving lunatics will be along soon to suggest otherwise….

@TheThingIsYeah Exactly, it’s very expensive, especially Lisboa & The Algarve

@ConstitutionHill Fuel and house prices and rent is v v expensive where I am in Portugal. Things aren’t the same in places like Spain & Portugal
as it was before, everything has gone up, but wages remain v low. You have much higher wages in the U.K. at least

14 of us in a villa in Ibiza. 5 trips to a couple of supermarkets, one was called Hooper Centro

Cheese, ham, bread, wine, beer, crisps, eggs, butter - all way cheaper than than here

@fullbloom87 i guess with snow 10 months of the year, home grown is expensive. Their meat is like £20 for a chicken to roast (I was complaining our large chicken was £7.50 in Asda last week. Not sure how earnings compare because we’re a very British family who doesn’t discuss salaries 😂

We always go to the supermarket daily on holiday - to get fresh bread and because we don't have a car to carry it home.

Looking forward to going to Italy next week and having the annual "whose country is more of a shambles this year" conversation with all the cousins!

Unless that’s put in context with average earnings and other household costs, eg rent, mortgage payments and utilities, it’s meaningless.

Maybe the op was self catering 🤷‍♀️

Thing is, comparisons like this are almost always meaningless because you were on holiday. If you were planning to relocate then you'd have an argument to make r.e finding similar style jobs/careers with a similar salary and subsequently earning potential based on your qualifications and the job market over there, childcare costs, healthcare costs, location, travel and so forth. Comparing your quality of life in the UK (based on many factors), albeit relatively, to week stay in the Balearic Islands isn't a fair comparison

I believed that Bexit would mean better border controls, better support for British farmers and industry, better wages for lower paid workers and more money into schools and hospitals.

Christ - how bloody depressing you believed that pile of shit. Said by the most mendacious liars ever simply to get to be PM and advisors.

And we are now fucked as a country as a result.

Your visiting 5 supermarkets is hardly a ground breaking reason to get so wound up.
I've not known food stortages to be that extreme that people are having to go with out big time, and I live on an island where it's shipped in.

Prices may well be cheaper. But how do wages compare?

Also you’re spending your own money at an exchange rate. Being cheaper o/s is an outcome of that rate

I live on a Balearic Island. Minimum wage is very low. It was around €700/ month if I remember rightly. But don't quote me!

I went back to the UK a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked at how much cheaper things were. Eggs, ham, bread, fruit (unless in season here) were much cheaper there.

I can easily spend €100 a week. For 1 adult and 1 child. That's lots of fresh produce and some meat, but nearly all own brand, and mainly essentials.

Everything is going up noticeably too.

Good thing your greater confidence in the Tory government has been so handsomely rewarded.

These things are all relative. When we lived in Copenhagen my food bill was maybe times and a half the Uk- but quality was better- apart from ready meals which they don't really do.
However our rent was less (a big house too) , there was no council tax and if you had young children childcare was way less- tax was more , but so were wages. Every economy does things differently.

The problem in the UK I don't think is food prices on the whole - it's incredibly high housing costs, unless you bought years ago or have social housing- an awful lot of people not working or working part time for various reasons , far too much low paid work and add ins such as council tax, expensive utility prices, poor or expensive public transport meaning2 cars are often needed plus low pensions in many cases too .

Brexit is an issue (and I'm very much a remainer) but it's not the only one by a long chalk- other factors make the cost of living seem ludicrous for many to do much but 'get by'

Go to Germany and see how easy it is to still eat out regularly at modest cost and good quality. You can still get a great glass of wine for 6 euros in a bar or a great pint for £4.50 or so. It means places there still thrive, people go out. Same applies in a lot of Spain too .

I'm in France. It's so much more expensive than home. Fuel is 1.60 euros per litre.

Normal restaurants are charging 20 euros per main meal.

Supermarkets are more expensive than home for many items.

@cocksstrideintheevening I'm in Ibiza atm. Shocked by how (relatively) cheap eating out is

tbf eating out has always been stupidly expensive, for worse quality, in the UK. Since long before any of this kicked off.

Genuine question, where in the country are you that there’s food shortages in supermarkets? Really not seeing that where I live.

What about the Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire farmers that erected massive "Vote Leave" billboards on their land facing the motorways ? (You can tell I use the M5 and M40 a lot ...)

Go to Germany and see how easy it is to still eat out regularly at modest cost and good quality. You can still get a great glass of wine for 6 euros in a bar or a great pint for £4.50 or so. It means places there still thrive, people go out. Same applies in a lot of Spain too

Missing the point, but £4.50 for a pint! Daylight robbery.

I agree, plenty of suede around! We are doing great!

Not

Of course the produce is going to be cheaper, that's where they grow the stuff. They can go into their orchards and pick all the lemons they want, send them two miles down the road and Bob's your uncle, they're in the shops. They haven't had to send them hundreds and hundreds of miles by lorry, ferry, (or worse, air) to get to the supermarkets here.

Food is cheap in the UK vs many Euro counties.
As a pp said housing sucks up so much of working people's income (obviously older people more likely to own outright) & no social housing. Add in wage stagnation & now higher bills. Low interest rates masked it all

I live on the continent and it has gone up as well. For example our food shop is easily 1,200€ as family with multiple small kids. HOWEVER still areas you can buy property reasonably and also the quality of the food is probably - as basic for here- comparable to the highest quality organic Waitrose fare ( although very sadly they have rubbish ready meals here- none of that delicious variety).

@Merapi fair point!

We have just had friends from The Netherlands over to stay for a week. They came over on the ferry with their car specifically so they can stock up on cheap UK goods to take back. Bedding, towels, foodstuffs, clothes, shoes, all much cheaper in England according to them. We were also talking about car tax, ors two cars are £30 / year and £160 / year. Their car is 1,500 euros / year for the tax. Petrol seems to be about the same.