Current cost of living

[caroline]

We don't really do much supermarket shopping when we're in Florida aside from a few basics for breakfast + drinks as we eat out most of the time - but aside from the exchange rate the actual prices of bread, juice beers etc in the supermarket don't appear to be any different from last year to this. Restaurant menus still show the same prices as last year so again it's just a different exchange rate - when we were over in February/March the rate was around $1.38 to the £ so now we're getting about $1.59 everything will seem a bit cheaper [msnwink] or.... dearer than when we we're getting $2. [msnwink]

Oh and I forgot to add eating out is still loads cheaper than where we live just outside London[msnsmile2]

[mfairhurst]

We find it is cheaper to be in FLORIDA than in the UK the cost of petrol alone saves us a lot we have a 3 litre car and we get a quarter of a tank compared to a full tank for the same money and at £1.3 a litre to $ 2.43 a gallon it speaks for its self .
Eating out we find is cheaper than UK and food is cooked properly and not kids cooking as some do in our local eating places here in and around were we live ,I wished they could cook a good steak,when we have and complained you just get a bad look or just sorry and nothing else .
That is one of the good reasons we love Florida and travel as much as we can ,And would live there if only we could .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:We find it is cheaper to be in FLORIDA than in the UK the cost of petrol alone saves us a lot we have a 3 litre car and we get a quarter of a tank compared to a full tank for the same money and at £1.3 a litre to $ 2.43 a gallon it speaks for its self .[/quote]
Whilst fuel is obviously more expensive in UK, it isn't 4 times the price.

I returned a couple of days ago and the cheapest fuel I saw was $2.59.
However even at $2.43 that works out at 40p a litre. I assume you mean £1.03 a litre in UK?

In any case I suspect the majority of Orlando visitors don't cover vast mileages and US cars aren't noted for their economy.

Whilst eating out in Florida might be cheaper, by the time you add the expected 15%-20% tip I don't think there is a large difference in the cost of eating out compared to UK.

I can't say I grocery shop in UK but I was astounded at some of the prices of fresh produce in Florida. Tomatoes at $4.99/lb in Publix, some oranges I bought worked out at over $1 each(sold by the lb). Some visiting friends - the wife is particularly price savvy - couldn't believe the high prices.

[MarkJan]

The golf is much cheaper in Florida this year [msnsmile2]

[FraserLynn]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:We find it is cheaper to be in FLORIDA than in the UK the cost of petrol alone saves us a lot we have a 3 litre car and we get a quarter of a tank compared to a full tank for the same money and at £1.3 a litre to $ 2.43 a gallon it speaks for its self .[/quote]Whilst fuel is obviously more expensive in UK, it isn't 4 times the price.

I returned a couple of days ago and the cheapest fuel I saw was $2.59.
However even at $2.43 that works out at 40p a litre. I assume you mean £1.03 a litre in UK?

In any case I suspect the majority of Orlando visitors don't cover vast mileages and US cars aren't noted for their economy.

Whilst eating out in Florida might be cheaper, by the time you add the expected 15%-20% tip I don't think there is a large difference in the cost of eating out compared to UK.

I can't say I grocery shop in UK but I was astounded at some of the prices of fresh produce in Florida. Tomatoes at $4.99/lb in Publix, some oranges I bought worked out at over $1 each(sold by the lb). Some visiting friends - the wife is particularly price savvy - couldn't believe the high prices.[/quote]I have to say I agree, I just did the maths and we spent exactly 0.34% of our total holiday spend last trip on petrol (excluding the fuel included in the Gold package) - cheaper yes, material not at all.

Also, the car I had last time averaged 16 mpg, my car at home averages 37 mpg, therefore the cost of petrol for every mile traveled on my last trip was 13p per mile in the US vs 10p per mile in the UK.

I can't believe that I just sat and worked that out, I really should get a life[msnwink]

[roger]

I log all our spends in Microsoft Money. I've just done a quick report of our grocery bills (generally Super Target and Publix) for the last 24 months, and the monthly average cost for each of those months confirms just a tiny percentage change.

Also did the same for eating out costs. Nether have changed notably over a 24 month period (bear in mind this is US Dollars, not taking in to account any UK exchange rate changes). I don't think our eating habit's have changed much in 2 years.

The items that have increased most are House and Car Insurance and Electricity bills.

[Mo Green]

Before I went shopping at Winn Dixie, Rotonda two days ago I found a till receipt from a trip to Sainsburys made a week before back in the UK. As I went round I jotted down the equivalent prices in Winn Dixie. My total bill from Sainsburys was just over £50.00 (at the current rate $82). The price of the equivalent items from Winn Dixie $75 (including tax)so from that particular list Florida is definitely cheaper.

Agreed some items such as breakfast cereals are dearer and always have been dearer than the UK ever since we first started taking our family to Florida over 25 years ago. Oranges for some strange reason are dearer but why buy oranges when there are many exotic fruits at a fraction of the price one would expect to pay back in the UK. Yesterday I bought 2 lbs of fresh figs for $5 (with three types to choose from!)and although not so exotic 2lbs of huge cherries for $1.50. A case of 18 Buds was $13.99 compared to £12 for 15 at Sainsburys and Diet Coke $1.34 compared to £1.56. If you try and buy the exact brands you would buy in the UK they are likely to be more expensive but there are plenty of cheaper things around. Obviously by shopping around there may be even cheaper prices in some UK supermarkets but equally I could have saved money by shopping around here.

Restaurant prices seem to be exactly the same price in dollars as they were last year and certainly far better value than in the UK even after leaving a 15% tip.

Mo

[Katys Grandad]

Isn't this thread about prices in Florida? We're in danger of going seriously off topic if we're not careful here.

[Mo Green]

Blott in Walmart today a large Beef Tomato cost $0.50 (£0.31). Also bought very drinkable bottles of Shiraz and Merlot at $2.97 per bottle (£1.82).

Mo

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
Isn't this thread about prices in Florida? We're in danger of going seriously off topic if we're not careful here.[/quote]Oh yes indeedy. Thank you so much for reminding me and I will be more alert in the future.

Roger lives in Florida so what he has already stated twice covers my experience. So I'll leave it at that.