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Friends just got back from London vacation

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Bah I just got back from visiting London and Paris. Nothing like an 8 Euro 11 oz diet coke with no ice.

Cheapest way to eat over their is stop in at a small supermarket and pickup a pre-made sandwich for like 2 pounds for lunch and then share a dinner.
Also ask for tap water to save on the bill. My wife and I could get away with a 15 pound dinner for the two of us at a decent restraunt that way
 
Originally posted by: aphex
They have no "combo" meals. Everything is sold separate on the menu.
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WTF are you talking about. Having eaten quite a few myself in the UK, thats totally wrong.
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My complaint is the horrendous value for money you get at the hotels.
 
Originally posted by: sportage
Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
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Here are some of the ways we pay:

Income tax - 20% up to $72,000, 40% is charged on any earnings over that. Deducted automatically from your salary/wages
National Insurance - 11% on average, deducted automatically from your salary/wages
VAT - sales tax at 17.5% for most items, 5% for gas/electricity
Fuel duty - nearly 50%. Once VAT is included, tax comes to almost 70% of the price paid*
Road tax - annual licence for vehicles, average is $380*
Inheritance tax
Stamp duty - between 1 to 4% on most property purchases
Capital gains tax - 18%
Excise tax - duty paid on alcohol and tobacco
Council tax - paid annually to the local authority responsible for public services, based on the value of your property. The average for last year was over $2600

* $90 billion a year in tax comes from road users while $15 billion is spent on building and maintaning the roads


 
Originally posted by: sportage
I understand "FREE", or no charge for the many museums or art galleries.
There was a charge for "the eye", and I think the "tower of London" also.
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The eye is pretty expensive for a 30 minute ride, but the views are spectacular. The tower of London does have an admission charge, as does nearly everything else I visited. Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, etc. There is a "free" event at the Tower of London called the Ceremony of the Keys, but you have to write in advance for tickets. It's actually pretty cool to watch.

And there are combo meals... I actually ate a Happy Meal in London. I also had fish and chips, but not at a hotel (actually, I stayed in a hostel.) It was at a stand outside of the Tower of London, but I don't remember how many pounds it cost. We were at Covent Garden and we were going to eat at the Fish and Chips place recommended by one of our travel books but completely forgot.
 
OP what your friends told you is 90% (or more) wrong.

As most people have already pointed out:

They have value meals, everything is NOT a seperate item on the menu.
And a burger at BK is not even close to $8 US. The value meal is around 4 pounds, which is 8 dollars. The burger itself is maybe 1 pound or 2 dollars.

Gas is more like $10/ gal (or maybe more now). When I was there in March, it was 1.20/liter which is about 4.80/gal (~$10)

ASDA is very popular, and is owned by Wal Mart. Trust me, everyone there has heard of Wal Mart

It does not take 3 hours, or even close to 3 hours to go through customs. They are actually alot faster than most of the times I have returned to the US and had to go through Newark or JFK customs.

And they dont make you take off your shoes while going through customs. Why would anyone be required to take off their shoes AFTER they have already flown and are arriving in a country. (PS Customs is the part you go through when you land)

Just in case you were confused and meant "go through security" this also takes less than 30 minutes not 3 hours like your friends claimed. Also much faster and efficient than going through TSA checkpoints.


 
Originally posted by: Paratus
Cheapest way to eat over their is stop in at a small supermarket and pickup a pre-made sandwich for like 2 pounds for lunch and then share a dinner.
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problem with sainbury's sandwiches is you go in for a 2# sandwich and when you get there you say 'oh, prawn and rocket, i bet that's good' and put a 4# sandwich in your basket.

best lunch was getting samosas from a bakery for 2 for 1#.
 
There were combos, though they're more expensive. You don't HAVE to pay that much for food though...it all depends on how careful you are.

The rampant stabbings are fairly new. Crime has been going up for a while, but this specific thing is quite new.

Otherwise yes, that all looks accurate. I spent 10 days there a couple months ago. Was an AMAZING time.

btw, tell your friends 'mind the gap'. They'll likely get a kick out of it...at least we all did. Still hearing it in my sleep.
 
Originally posted by: sportage
I understand "FREE", or no charge for the many museums or art galleries.
There was a charge for "the eye", and I think the "tower of London" also.

High food costs may have been because they produce little on their own.

In a restaurant, you can expect the bread to be from France, the drink from Italy, and so on. Most everything is imported, food wise.

Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
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Are you joking? Why would Britain import bread? Just think about it for a second. Bread.
 
Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper
Originally posted by: sportage
Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
Click to expand...

Here are some of the ways we pay:

Income tax - 20% up to $72,000, 40% is charged on any earnings over that. Deducted automatically from your salary/wages
National Insurance - 11% on average, deducted automatically from your salary/wages
VAT - sales tax at 17.5% for most items, 5% for gas/electricity
Fuel duty - nearly 50%. Once VAT is included, tax comes to almost 70% of the price paid*
Road tax - annual licence for vehicles, average is $380*
Inheritance tax
Stamp duty - between 1 to 4% on most property purchases
Capital gains tax - 18%
Excise tax - duty paid on alcohol and tobacco
Council tax - paid annually to the local authority responsible for public services, based on the value of your property. The average for last year was over $2600

* $90 billion a year in tax comes from road users while $15 billion is spent on building and maintaning the roads
Click to expand...

So basically you pay the same amount of tax as we do in California. We don't get nearly the benefit though since much of our tax money goes to subsidize the Southern states.

Edit: I'd like to point out that the UK doesn't have tax on residential property.
 
Originally posted by: Pabster
Originally posted by: Aimster
credit card companies add extra fees since they have to convert. Well both my AE and MC did. bastards
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Should have used Capital One Platinum. No FETFs.
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It's the only reason that I own a Capital One card. I only use it when I'm overseas.


Also, I find it least expensive to avoid money changers (especially at American airports) and use an ATM despite the potential ATM fees. Citibank dropped their fees overseas Citibank ATMs a couple of years ago and they give a market rate on the exchange. I know where the Citibanks are in Tokyo, large cities in Taiwan, and Hong Kong. There are none in Paris so I paid the US$6 ATM fee. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Originally posted by: sportage


Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
Click to expand...
Did you miss the part about $8 dollar hamburgers and 36 bucks for fish and chips?
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I think that the prices have to do with the weak dollar and the idiocy of eating at the "4 star" hotel. Walk outside and find the US$10 fish and chips.

I paid US$12 for two 500mL bottles of soda at a Paris airport last month. It would have cost US$8 if I wasn't at the airport. :Q

 
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper
Originally posted by: sportage
Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
Click to expand...

Here are some of the ways we pay:

Income tax - 20% up to $72,000, 40% is charged on any earnings over that. Deducted automatically from your salary/wages
National Insurance - 11% on average, deducted automatically from your salary/wages
VAT - sales tax at 17.5% for most items, 5% for gas/electricity
Fuel duty - nearly 50%. Once VAT is included, tax comes to almost 70% of the price paid*
Road tax - annual licence for vehicles, average is $380*
Inheritance tax
Stamp duty - between 1 to 4% on most property purchases
Capital gains tax - 18%
Excise tax - duty paid on alcohol and tobacco
Council tax - paid annually to the local authority responsible for public services, based on the value of your property. The average for last year was over $2600

* $90 billion a year in tax comes from road users while $15 billion is spent on building and maintaning the roads
Click to expand...

So basically you pay the same amount of tax as we do in California. We don't get nearly the benefit though since much of our tax money goes to subsidize the Southern states.

Edit: I'd like to point out that the UK doesn't have tax on residential property.
Click to expand...

No your taxes subsidize illegal Mexican immigration into your safe haven cities, plus their medical bills. MY taxes subsidize my state and illegal immigration into YOUR safe haven cities.
 
Originally posted by: mrkun
Edit: I'd like to point out that the UK doesn't have tax on residential property.
Click to expand...

Yes we do. See stamp duty for residential purchases and council tax for annual tax related to the value of your property.
 
Originally posted by: freegeeks
are you sure your friends went to the UK?
90% of what you are saying is wrong
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No, 90% is right...

For London.

Outside London is a different story.
Cheaper prices, more cars, less mass transit, cheaper prices (worth mentioning twice), often less stabbings, etc etc.
 
Originally posted by: Lonyo
Outside London is a different story.
Cheaper prices, more cars, less mass transit, cheaper prices (worth mentioning twice), often less stabbings, etc etc.
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There's a growing divide between the stabs and the stab-nots 😛
 
Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Originally posted by: sportage


Also, I wonder how they adsorb the "free healthcare' costs?
Click to expand...
Did you miss the part about $8 dollar hamburgers and 36 bucks for fish and chips?
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Bullshit. That was at a Hotel where a simple breakfast will run you upwards of $30.

I had fish and chips there for $4 a couple of years ago. Even a proper pub won't charge anywhere near $30 for a staple like fish and chips.

Median household income in England is less than the US after conversion, so don't think this friends trip to the most expensive city in England on a holiday budget is representative of the norm over there.
 
Yeah, a friend of mine got back from a vacation in Europe recently, he went out with his wife in London, a little Italian place, nothing fancy, and said he paid $100 for two plates of pasta and a couple glasses of wine.
 
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Yeah, a friend of mine got back from a vacation in Europe recently, he went out with his wife in London, a little Italian place, nothing fancy, and said he paid $100 for two plates of pasta and a couple glasses of wine.
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Quite frankly they got stiffed or went to a touristy area for that meal. I've paid the equivalent of $100(£50) for three starters, three main courses, three deserts and a couple of bottles of nice red at a little family Italian in central London and still had some change to spare for some coffee at the end. Whilst it's not cheap as say many meals I had in Asia, it certainly isn't too expensive yet, although prices are rising! 🙁
 
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