Really fucked off with Euro exchange rate

[GrumpyOldBag]

We have been going on holiday self-catering to the same place in Europe for over 10 years.

This year everything feels prohibitively expensive - to the point where it is really inhibiting what we can choose to do.

We are here for 2 weeks and it's really hard as family of 4 (with 2 teenagers) to spend less than £100/euros a day on activities/eating out.

Not in a beach resort type place, so taking a picnic to the beach for the day isn't an option - nearly everything there is to do here costs money. 3 euros for a coffee, 3 for an ice-cream - it all quickly adds up. Even the 'cheap' food in the supermarket is expensive. Practically at parity with £.

Bloody Brexit!

If naice middle class people can't go on holiday then nobody can other than the very rich.

Not seeing any benefits from Brexit as regards disposable income for the majority.

Orlantina - I'm sure "the locals" have learned to budget according to their local economic conditions.

Some of us are experiencing massive price rises due to the changing exchange rate. If we can no longer afford to travel to countries in the Eurozone, locals who benefit economically from our tourism won't be benefiting so much in future, will they?

As a family we always aim to eat out in small, local, family-owned restaurants when we go on holiday. This year, we simply can't afford to do that as much. Not when it costs £9 for a coffee and a piece of cake. So instead we are spending our money on cheaper food from the big chain supermarkets. So that's not going to be great for the local economy, is it?

If we can no longer afford to travel to countries in the Eurozone, locals who benefit economically from our tourism won't be benefiting so much in future, will they

OTOH - businesses in the UK benefit from increased UK tourism, making people who work in such industries a bit richer and maybe they can then afford to spend more on UK services, making the UK economy grow and giving people just a bit more spending money to go abroad?

The cheap pound will not lure anyone who would normally go to the Mediterranean, and British people who can't afford a caravan park in Brittany, won't be able to afford one in Cornwall

So what value would you like the pound to be at?

And why?

Wasn't the point of Brexit to turn the U.K. Into Switzerland or something?

Have you seen the cost of a sandwich in Switzerland?

Mind you, at least you don't have to tip the waiter if you can scrape enough Swiss Francs for dinner out.

I'd like it to be at a level I don't worry about whether we will need to send back money to feed FIL

And what do you say to the people who are benefiting from the low pound - such as those who work in the UK tourist industry and the UK export industry who may have a different perspective and are grateful for the extra business so they can feed themselves?

Have you seen the cost of a sandwich in Switzerland?
I live there. Prices are reflected in Salaries.

Quite so (although not great for tourists with teenage boys with hollow legs).

I don't see UK salaries increasing in line with UK food costs though.

A low pound might increase home grown tourism, but with Brexit who will work in such industries anymore. The EU people who traditionally work in the services industry in UK will not be allowed in, or at least that is what I was led to believe in the hysteria pre the vote.

I suppose that will have to change now though. See how ridiculous it all is.

So what value would you like the pound to be at?

I think this is an interesting question. Why should we expect to find other countries cheaper than our own to eat out etc? It is a weird entitlement really that Spain should have lower prices than the UK/ France shouldn't be more expensive than at home. And if cheap is what you are after then go for somewhere like Turkey or Bulgaria.

And the point about the Euro being strong generally is being completely blanked and ignored. It is also strong against the USD which has nothing at all to do with Brexit. When the next country defaults (and it will happen) things will change.

My point was that the eurozone has now become more expensive than the UK for most things because of the exchange rate.

We visit this part of Europe because we have elderly family here who can't travel to see us - so there's not a lot of choice about where we go.

Within the eurozone there are still variations due to the local economy - I have always found Spain to be cheaper than Germany, for example, using my cup of coffee barometer.

Everyone we know who has holidays in Europe this summer has complained about the same thing everything is expensive.
We are going to Spain in October. We paid a deposit for a villa a while back. But due to the exchange rate the last instalment has just cost us a lot more than had we pad it all up front originally. Just hoping it won't get much worse before we actually go away now.

Personally i don't expect to go to a country and find it cheaper than here (with a few obvious exceptions)

But if i had been going to spain for years and i saw it had gone up i would express surprise

I dont expect my local coffee shop to be cheap, but if all their prices jump up by a pound in between (my obviously annual ) visit i will expect surprise

And if i only just managed my holiday or cup of coffee and now know i cant afford it i might be a bit upset

Again personally im not upset, but i sympathise with other people...and their coffee conundrum

Yes I sympathise. Where we are is much the same as I said earlier not more expensive. Not actually strictly 'Eurozone' but the kuna is tied to the Euro so the currency fluctuations are the same.

To be fair increasingly

I have a memory like a sieve

I wouldnt have a clue what the prices were last year

And i tend to take the price at face value and translate it to pounds straight away so dh is excited as the exchange rate is really good but ive no clue as i am just looking at the price

The benefit to exporters of the weak pound is often given as an argument in favour of the decrease in value of sterling. However, recently released figures by the ONS here suggest that although there have been some increases in exports, import costs have risen at an equal rate so these two things have actually more or less cancelled one another out.

My annual holiday to France is the thing I look forward to most each year. I intend to carry on with this even if the exchange rate worsens. To pay for it, we'll have to limit our spending in the UK instead. We have been fortunate enough to sometimes manage a short break in the UK at Easter or New Year as well as our summer holiday but this year we will cut this out so we can afford our summer holiday in Europe.

Well yes exactly pebbles, there are advantages and disadvantages of high and low. The effects of both are likely to even each other out. It is why it is when people call it 'scary'. If you want to holiday or live elsewhere in Europe it is inconvenient and annoying. No more no less.

Trouble is, the average person is more likely to be affected by higher prices on imported food and holidays than to gain from an increase in exports. Personally, I feel the pinch.

The benefit to exporters of the weak pound is often given as an argument in favour of the decrease in value of sterling. However, recently released figures by the ONS here suggest that although there have been some increases in exports, import costs have risen at an equal rate so these two things have actually more or less cancelled one another out.

Especially as most exporters will be importing raw materials / components to make the product that is then exported.

Also a PP said that the drop in value of the GBP against USD couldn't be blamed on Brexit. Of course it can and for the same reasons as the drop against the EUR.

But not being able to travel to Europe is scary. Only the offspring of the rich experiencing other cultures, improving their language skills, able to go on school trips is a big concern. Only wealthier members of the public being able to travel to Europe for work, visiting family etc is very limiting. Standards of living for the majority dropping is surely more than just an inconvenience.

Exactly Ironing. And then the UK will become even more inward focused, insular and xenophobic, compounding many of the issues which led to Brexit in the first place.