Reply to: Cost of living - Germany -unbelievable

[snaw]

I did. And in the center of it too. But yet the studio flat was much bigger than what I would have got in London for the money.

BS. I lived there too, and they're tiny flats. And if you compare them as a percentage of your wages, then dutch flats were pretty bloody expensive compared to equivalent in London.

[Francko]

They are? You've never lived in Amsterdam then Franko ...

I did. And in the center of it too. But yet the studio flat was much bigger than what I would have got in London for the money.

[snaw]

That is more like an excuse. Holland for example is much more densely populated than UK. Yet the houses there are generally much bigger. I have never heard anybody in England complaining that their flat is too small, despite the room size is minuscule compare to european standards. Therefore you get minuscule rooms.

They are? You've never lived in Amsterdam then Franko ...

[Francko]

Think you've forgotten population density in your theory Franko. And I'm guessing people in the rest of Europe, generally are much poorer, normally ...

That is more like an excuse. Holland for example is much more densely populated than UK. Yet the houses there are generally much bigger. I have never heard anybody in England complaining that their flat is too small, despite the room size is minuscule compare to european standards. Therefore you get minuscule rooms.

[snaw]

Well, yes, if people thought that this was a necessary thing to have then people would have it. I don't think people in the rest of europe are much richer than in UK but yet 100sqm would be considered a normal flat, not a super-luxury flat with double/triple super-large rooms as in UK. In London some 2-bed flats are as big as a studio flat in Spain or Italy.

Think you've forgotten population density in your theory Franko. And I'm guessing people in the rest of Europe, generally are much poorer, normally ...

[Francko]

Riiiiight so if more people wanted spacious housing, there'd be more spacious housing :-/

Well, yes, if people thought that this was a necessary thing to have then people would have it. I don't think people in the rest of europe are much richer than in UK but yet 100sqm would be considered a normal flat, not a super-luxury flat with double/triple super-large rooms as in UK. In London some 2-bed flats are as big as a studio flat in Spain or Italy.

[snaw]

No country is a rip-off. Each country adjust its prices according to the demands of the local population.

It is unfortunate that the majority of the population in UK is chavs. Therefore all chav goods are fairly cheap and non-chav goods are fairly expensive.

So booze, cars, sunny holidays in noisy chav-infested locations, jewelry, obstentatious clothes are cheap but if you are into nice things like good food, spacious housing, elegant clothing then you are better off anywhere else in Europe. It is just a matter of supply and demands.

Riiiiight so if more people wanted spacious housing, there'd be more spacious housing :-/

[Francko]

No country is a rip-off. Each country adjust its prices according to the demands of the local population.

It is unfortunate that the majority of the population in UK is chavs. Therefore all chav goods are fairly cheap and non-chav goods are fairly expensive.

So booze, cars, sunny holidays in noisy chav-infested locations, jewelry, obstentatious clothes are cheap but if you are into nice things like good food, spacious housing, elegant clothing then you are better off anywhere else in Europe. It is just a matter of supply and demands.

[DaveB]

Over the last 1000 years we've spent far more time warring with France than with Germany. Pre 1900, they were mainly our allies.

Indeed, infact we fought with them against the French during the Napolionic wars. Most memorably at Waterloo where the arrival of the Prussian troops was a decisive factor in the allied victory alongside Hanoverian troops already taking part in the battle.

[snaw]

Over the last 1000 years we've spent far more time warring with France than with Germany. Pre 1900, they were mainly our allies.

Pre 1900 Germany had only existed for about 30 years ...

[NotAllThere]

Over the last 1000 years we've spent far more time warring with France than with Germany. Pre 1900, they were mainly our allies.

[gingerjedi]

A few years ago whilst on an 8 day sabbatical to Oktoberfest me and a mate went to watch Bayern Munich v VFB Stuttgart and it only cost us 12 Euro per ticket, whilst finding our seats we were so impressed with being able to buy beer and sausages at the top of the stand we didn't bother sitting down.

The VFB fans sang 'you'll never walk alone' in perfect English.

I don't know why the English tend to berate the Germans? Culturally there’s not an awful lot of difference, they just tend to have a more sensible attitude to almost everything.

[expat]

That was me, when I was living there - and I distinctly remember paying out more in tax than I was earning. That was around 8 years ago so perhaps things have changed ...

If you are a foreigner you must sign up to the 30% deal (get 30% of your salary tax free, but few other expenses claimable). If you're Dutch then you'll pay more but you'll get more for your money, like a health service and a pension.

[snaw]

From the figures that I quoted in the arithmetic. I did say that was "on the top", we could compare overall rates instead.

35% is indeed more like it as an overall rate on say 100k in the UK. I have just received my latest NL salary slip: it shows a total deductions rate of 35.5%. I have no idea where the 55% that someone else quoted comes from.

That was me, when I was living there - and I distinctly remember paying out more in tax than I was earning. That was around 8 years ago so perhaps things have changed ...

[expat]

Don't get your figures (I'm not all that great at this, so excuse my igfnorance) - but I htought if you earned 100k in the UK you'd pay something like 35% of your wages in tax, inc NI. Where you getting 53.8%?

Doesn't take too much pay to hit the heights in Holland btw ...

From the figures that I quoted in the arithmetic. I did say that was "on the top", we could compare overall rates instead.

35% is indeed more like it as an overall rate on say 100k in the UK. I have just received my latest NL salary slip: it shows a total deductions rate of 35.5%. I have no idea where the 55% that someone else quoted comes from.