When I first arrived here, with no job, and a limited amount of funds- when the dollar was 1.55 to the pound, everything seemed amazingly expensive. Currently the dollar is improving at 1.81 to the pound. This however, makes everything here even more 'expensive'.
Trying to understand the relative value of things is the key to not going mad about figures. This has been illustrated in the now famous 'Big Mac Index'. The theory is that the cost of similar items in different places modifies the relative value of the currency. In other words, when I got to London, I quickly understood that the only way for me to ascertain if something was 'expensive', 'cheap', or 'reasonable' was to drop the pound sign from before the number and just make it a dollar sign. In other words, if I can get lunch for three pounds, that is the equivalent spending power in the states of getting lunch for three dollars, even though with the conversion I have actually just spent closer to five dollars. Following?
The flaw in this scenario of course is that I am not earning in pounds what I would be earning in dollars with the dollar sign removed and a pound sign inserted. In fact, I earn less in London in converted currency than I would be earning most places in the states. And that's with my extra teaching money factored in. So in my relative cost model what this means is that things cost what I think they should cost, but I earn about half as much as I think I should be earning. Which means my money doesn't go nearly as far here as it would in the States.
This particularly annoys me when I need to buy clothes. Since not only does the purchase of clothes tend to eat into my monthly spending budget, but even with the relative currency exchange as opposed to the actual currency exchange applied, clothes in the UK are fucking expensive. Meaning, stores here are more expensive in pounds for the same item than they would be in dollars. Prime example- GAP jeans which may cost forty to fifty dollars are priced here at sixty to seventy pounds. Ridiculous.
What this means is that every time I travel, I try to buy clothes. Because pretty much anywhere is cheaper than London. However, sometimes I can't avoid buying something- as I need a particular article of clothing. This is when I'm really happy that I live in a 'developing area' aka Hackney. Right around the corner from me is an MKOne and Primark as well as a Peacocks further down the road. Primark is the KMart of the UK. And while I may be ashamed to buy clothes from KMart, I was not brought up with such prejudices here. All I see is damn cheap clothes that if you dig through enough, you can find things to work with. I have three pairs of jeans from Primark that I am constantly complimented on. Two cost twelve pounds and one cost ten pounds. When I say I got them at Primark, people are astounded. Hey, it works for me.
I mean, don't get me wrong... I'd rather have an Old Navy nearby or a Target. And this is really me trying to make due with the situation. Luckily I'm not a clothes hog and I can pretty much wear whatever I want to work (jeans, jeans, and more jeans) so I don't need a work wardrobe. And I know this helps alleviate the burden.
I mean, just this morning I spent twenty-five pounds on one pair of linen pants (no UK comments about pants v trousers, that will be another post), two short sleeve tops, one long sleeve hooded top, and one long sleeve button down shirt. It would be hard to beat that with a stick I tell ya...
Still, it's an interesting thing, this relative cost. How easily one can slip into it. I know that if I sat down daily to figure out how many dollars it cost me to live here, I'd probably cry. The minds ability to adapt is an incredible thing.
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