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$ vs £

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amother

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:34 pm

Alot of Americans it seems make 100k and dont consider themselves wealthy.

In the UK if you're making 100K I think you're wealthy. Or am I wrong?

ectomorph

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:35 pm

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Last edited by ectomorph on Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

boysrus

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:38 pm

ectomorph wrote:

1 dollar is 2.2 pounds

that is inaccurate Im afraid.

1 dollar is approximately 80p right now.
80p is less than 1 pound

ectomorph

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:39 pm

boysrus wrote:

that is inaccurate Im afraid.

1 dollar is approximately 80p right now.
80p is less than 1 pound

Oops, I mixed up pounds with kilos

boysrus

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:39 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Alot of Americans it seems make 100k and dont consider themselves wealthy.

In the UK if you're making 100K I think you're wealthy. Or am I wrong?

yes I think you are right to a degree

amother

Ruby

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:45 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Alot of Americans it seems make 100k and dont consider themselves wealthy.

In the UK if you're making 100K I think you're wealthy. Or am I wrong?

When you compare the cost of living in the tristate area to a similar standard in other Western countries, the disparity makes sense.
I live in a large, expensive Canadian city and when I compare my costs to my American relative's, my dollars go a lot further.
The exchange rate has no direct relevance since people earn and spend in their own currency. It only somewhat matters in Israel where many people get paid in dollars and spend in shekels.

pesek zman

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:49 pm

Healthcare and tuition are our largest expenses in US, both are which are greatly subsidized in England

amother

Amber

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:57 pm

I think it depends where you live. In NYC, 100k is barely getting you anywhere, especially if it's the only income. In most OOT communities, 100k is a great salary.

amother

Smokey

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:26 pm

pesek zman wrote:

Healthcare and tuition are our largest expenses in US, both are which are greatly subsidized in England

This!

amother

Yellow

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 9:25 pm

pesek zman wrote:

Healthcare and tuition are our largest expenses in US, both are which are greatly subsidized in England

Right. Housing in the UK is much more expensive, so families tend to live in smaller houses. Between having less storage space and different social expectations, people also tend to have less "stuff". (Clothing, toys, etc.)

pesek zman

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 9:31 pm

amother [ Yellow ] wrote:

Well aware. I’m married to a brit

amother

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 10:52 pm

pesek zman wrote:

Well aware. I’m married to a brit

What do you mean by people having different social expectations?

pesek zman

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 10:56 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What do you mean by people having different social expectations?

I think US (definitely NY) has more ‘keeping up with the jones’) than in UK. Plus everything is bigger here in NY. From the home sizes to the cars to the coffee cups, everything is bigger which = costs more

SuperWify

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 12:02 am

The pound before brexit was about $1.30 but now it’s gone down to $1.20. London is really expensive I don’t know how people live. Maybe free healthcare?

Raisin

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 6:00 am

Many Jewish schools in the uk are state subsidised which means parents only need to pay a small "voluntary" contribution. And no one needs health insurance. (although better off people do buy it)

Housing outside London (eg Manchester) can be a lot cheaper.

I don't think NY and London housing prices are that different. Also, many people in NY live in tiny cramped apartments. Sure, if you live in a suburb you may have a huge house with a garden, but not in Brooklyn, unless you are very rich or bought a house a long time ago. And if you live in Manhattan, either you live in a shoebox or own a bank.

I think food prices in the UK are not that high either. There is a lot of competition to keep prices low between Tesco, Aldi, lidl, sainsburys etc. Locally made kosher products and meat are not so expensive either. Obviously imported stuff from the US is very expensive so don't judge prices by your favourite yogurt or whatever.

I think the average young family in the UK has a better standard of living then a similar income level in the USA.

People also get more vacation time then in the USA. (and maternity leave!)

As for cars, frum families seem to drive very similar cars whether in the USA or UK.

Raisin

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 6:01 am

and yes the pound is in freefall now. Great time to go on holiday in the UK!

chanchy123

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 6:04 am

[quote="amother [ Ruby ]"
The exchange rate has no direct relevance since people earn and spend in their own currency. It only somewhat matters in Israel where many people get paid in dollars and spend in shekels.[/quote]

Huh?!
I thought the end of this sentence would be that it matters in Israel because many people shop online on foreign platforms and travel to other countries. People in Israel do not generally get paid in dollars. The shekel is probably the strongest currency lately - people in Israel get paid in Shkalim. However because the dollar, euro and pound are so low we do spend a lot of foreign currency.
It is true that up to about 18 years ago Israel was using the US dollar as reference point for pricing in housing, and more.

Sorry for the rant.

chanchy123

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 6:10 am

Raisin wrote:

and yes the pound is in freefall now. Great time to go on holiday in the UK!

I heard a report on Israeli radio last night interviewing Israelis shopping on Oxford Street and cleaning up. Because we can no buy so much more for our Shkalim .
I was in a European city this week and also felt it very clearly. All the prices in euro seemed super cheap to me and this is an expensive city. Europeans and Brits are paying the same amount of euros or pounds, so prices remain the same for now - but we are paying less shkalim for the same products or services.

Metukah

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 6:55 am

pesek zman wrote:

Healthcare and tuition are our largest expenses in US, both are which are greatly subsidized in England

That is absolutely true and makes a huge difference to our lives, as food and housing is way way more expensive in UK.

However, in London a salary of 100k is not that much, to get a mortgage on a smallish property or a house out of the area you need to earn way more than 100k.

If someone is gifted a home, or has bought one years ago, 100k is a lovely salary. But, the taxes on a single salary of 100k are exorbitant. A couple earning 50 each is way better off.

amother

Salmon

Thu, Aug 01 2019, 9:05 am

I agree with OP.

£100K is a good decent wage but nearly half of it goes on taxes at that level.

Our healthcare in UK is not free.. its paid for by our taxes and national insurance.

(Most people I know also have Health Insurance).

Our school fees are not free... yes they are partly paid for by the council however that money also comes from our taxes.

We also have a very generous benefit system here which people see as free money. But this also comes from those of us that pay our taxes.

Nothing is free in life.. Smile

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