Yes, this is for real. Whenever I’m fortunate enough to leave the US and visit basically any other country I’m jealous of two things: the price of food (groceries are cheap even if restaurants are not) and the quality of food (even non-organic produce is just more vibrant).
It’s been a thing for at least 10 years now that other countries have higher quality food for less money. It was probably true before that but in 2016 I was old enough to be living on my own and beginning to get invested in eating better food despite the damage it did to my budget. I might have to work my whole life and never retire but I am going to have my health as best as I can control it.
I went to Australia for a year the next year and was shocked by how affordable it was. Everyone told me it was ridiculously expensive, and yeah, eating out was easily $30 for a burger and fries or pizza but if I went to the grocery store or a market I could buy a week’s worth of food for the same price. I then needed to buy a new pair of ear buds down there and I found out that electronics are also very expensive, ~50% more after the exchange rate. But the food was cheap. I paid $150/week for rent. And there was public transportation.
Yes, this is for real. Whenever I’m fortunate enough to leave the US and visit basically any other country I’m jealous of two things: the price of food (groceries are cheap even if restaurants are not) and the quality of food (even non-organic produce is just more vibrant).
It’s been a thing for at least 10 years now that other countries have higher quality food for less money. It was probably true before that but in 2016 I was old enough to be living on my own and beginning to get invested in eating better food despite the damage it did to my budget. I might have to work my whole life and never retire but I am going to have my health as best as I can control it.
I went to Australia for a year the next year and was shocked by how affordable it was. Everyone told me it was ridiculously expensive, and yeah, eating out was easily $30 for a burger and fries or pizza but if I went to the grocery store or a market I could buy a week’s worth of food for the same price. I then needed to buy a new pair of ear buds down there and I found out that electronics are also very expensive, ~50% more after the exchange rate. But the food was cheap. I paid $150/week for rent. And there was public transportation.
Fucking “richest country in the world” my ass.