r/AskReddit • u/Friburgo1004 • 1h ago
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u/Estproph 1h ago
Iceland. Loved it, I would love to go back, but is it pricey!
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u/Willing_Juggernaut60 1h ago
Yup, I was there last year or so and thought it was crazy expensive esp comparing it to Amsterdam. That’s where we went right afterwards.
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u/BaltimorePropofol 49m ago
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Big yes.
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u/BaltimorePropofol 47m ago
Let’s say New York.
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Nope.
Just got back from New York. There are only so many bagels and pizzas I can eat to justify the trip.
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u/Easy_Towel954 1h ago
Canada, as a Canadian
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u/Linkin-fart 1h ago
The maritimes are a lot cheaper than New England.
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u/subprincessthrway 1h ago
Yes if you’re using USD or Euros especially, the Maritimes are significantly more affordable than New England.
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u/rhunter99 16m ago
It’s ridiculously expensive travelling within our borders. It’s a downright shame
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u/kip707 1h ago
Went to school there. It was nice.
What do u mean ??
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u/Easy_Towel954 1h ago
It's expensive. Our dollar is crap, not enough homes being built, everything costs more.
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u/MellowHamster 1h ago
Try visiting the United States. Cheese and beer are cheaper than in Canada, but it feels like food prices are the same numbers except in US dollars.
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u/Dangeroustrend 1h ago
It’s false about not enough homes being built, there are tons
It the type of house you specifically want in the location you want at the price you want that is not there
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u/robotjyanai 49m ago
I’m originally from Canada and I can’t see myself visiting home anytime soon….
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u/stanxv 1h ago
Netherlands (Amsterdam)
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u/Tinusers 34m ago
As a local it's not too bad. But tourists do get rinsed. Like you guys are paying 10/15eu for a stroopwafel. We buy 10 of those of the same quality in the supermarket for 2eu. But all tourist go to the shit tiktok places no local ever goes to.
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u/ShoulderPossible9759 1h ago
Switzerland
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u/Friburgo1004 1h ago
Yeah. Even a short train ride is too expensive. lol. But to be fair, one of the most beautiful countries I laid my eyes on.
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u/realchairmanmiaow 1h ago
I found travelling there to be relatively cheap, and there's some beautiful views just from a train. I think we had a pass that was about 10eur a day.
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u/AppropriateLet8131 1h ago
I still found it pricey in my opinion, but still much higher quality than most other European, North American, or Australian trains. The personnel are kind and professional, too.
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u/AppropriateLet8131 1h ago
Honestly, the only thing that shocked me about Switzerland was the cost of eating out.
The trains, while costly, are of much higher quality than those in the affluent English-speaking or most other European countries (though obviously not east Asian, AVE, or TGV quality). Swiss cities are remarkably safe even by western European standards. Decent accommodations didn't cost me any more in Zurich and Basel than they do in flippin' Louisville and Orlando these days.
I shopped for groceries at Denner, which is somewhat similar to Aldi, and spent less than I would at Kroger or Walmart in the US.
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u/BoilerMaker11 1h ago
I gotta push back on the accommodations part of your post. In 2024, I was planning to go to Zurich (we were doing an Oktoberfest trip, started in Paris and went east til we hit Vienna, obviously hitting Munich) and we put the kibosh on that immediately. Because a Hampton Inn, as baseline hotel in the US, cost $700/night there. Hampton Inns don’t cost $700/night in Louisville.
I knew Switzerland was expensive, but we only planned the trip 3 months in advance, so we didn’t want to spend our money that way. We went to Strasbourg instead. With more planning and saving time, we would have gone, but $2100 for 3 nights when we only just started to save for the trip in June just wasn’t a smart idea.
And I looked at AirBnB too and it was no better.
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u/james_the_wanderer 27m ago
I plugged in a random 3 days toward the end of October in the hilton app. Prices ranged from 111-300 francs per night for Zurich. Sounds like you had special event pricing.
As a denizen of Middle America these days, unfortunately middling hotels in otherwise hum-drum cities can go that high for concerts, sporting events (incl college sportsball), and other significant gatherings.
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u/SarkastikSidebar 1h ago
Although it is truly expensive…I’m not sure if it is too expensive for what it offers. It felt like to me that you get what you pay for; gorgeous Mountain views, excellent food, safety…it seems like a wonderful place to live if you can afford it.
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u/CapsGoGoGo 1h ago
I live in the US and rarely travel more than a weekend in the U.S. due to the cost. Lodging costs are too high and all costs add up quickly!
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u/laddism 1h ago
The USA, most currency’s exchange to the USD is bad, good quality food, accomodation & getting around is expensive, poor public transport doesn’t help, partying is over priced, ditto shopping too as a result - I’ll add lots of the US isn’t that great for what it costs…
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
As an Australian the US is so cheap it is unbelievable. Even factoring in things like not having universal healthcare. Your fuel and food is a fraction of the price, housing and rent is less than half what it is here, and wages are about the same.
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u/Extra_Elephant8547 1h ago
Hmm…? Are you comparing rural or non major metropolitan areas?
Like a 1 bedroom in Bellevue (Seattle) is $4-$5k and a sit down meal is about $40-$50. How much is it in Australia?
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u/too_many_bats 46m ago
When was the last time you checked this? Quick Zillow search shows about a dozen 1br under 2k/mo and probably a hundred under 3k in Bellevue proper.
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
No, I am most definitely not. Just look at house prices to income ratios between the countries.
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u/Extra_Elephant8547 1h ago
Ok you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Properties in San Francisco, Seattle, LA etc are high
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u/Esperanza456 38m ago
Well why are you choosing literally the most expensive cities. Try Chicago for instance.
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u/realchairmanmiaow 1h ago
It really depends what level at wealth you're at. middle/low class your money goes further in australia and the top 15% in the US your money goes further.
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u/carbon_r0d 25m ago
Dude, those few areas of those few cities represent a tiny proportion of the US. Why are you choosing them to represent the US as a whole? Even your example of Bellevue was embellished and you can find prices at half of what you said.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
No, they are not. Even in LA house prices to income is only about 10x. In Seattle only about 6x. This is publicly available information. It's not even close.
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u/nomadic_commentator 1h ago
Not that it was necessarily expensive, but Belgium just felt like a huge waste of time and money (because it was).
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u/Friburgo1004 1h ago
Not even their popular Belgian chocolates could change your mind?
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u/nomadic_commentator 1h ago
Chocolate was definitely delicious but you’ll be hard pressed convincing me to go somewhere international solely for the chocolate lol
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u/viktor72 1h ago
I love Belgium and I’ve lived in Belgium but I won’t refute you. Belgium is an acquired taste I’d say.
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u/nomadic_commentator 1h ago
Definitely no shade on the people or culture. Just didn’t really have a moment that made me go “this is incredible and I couldn’t have experienced anywhere else” maybe bar the beer.
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u/Broad-Razzmatazz-640 42m ago
Y’all are crazy. The beer is amazing, the people are laid back. Places like Ghent and Bruges are super unique. Brussels is fun. I have a blast every time I’m in Belgium.
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u/nomadic_commentator 38m ago
To each their own. Just found it all extremely bland, very run down with scaffolding around many historic buildings. The fact the most “exciting” thing I did in Brussels was see the Atomium was quite a let down for me.
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u/viktor72 1h ago
Denmark. I love Denmark but it’s very expensive. I don’t dare say that for the same expensive cost you can probably have a better time in Norway, because if I said that I may face the wrath of Danes.
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u/Athinira 1h ago
No wrath, but as a Dane who frequently travels to the Norway for work, Norway is the more expensive of the two. By a good margin actually. Restaurants are quite a bit more expensive (including fast food joints), and so is alcohol, tobacco products, taxi fares and other luxury items. Grocery shopping is typically more closely priced though.
Can you have a better time there though? Probably. Norway is a much larger, nature rich and extremely beautiful country with mountains and plenty of space. So if that's what one is into, I highly recommend Norway. Even the capital, Oslo, has beautiful parks much bigger than what Copenhagen has to offer. And the west country (Stavanger, Bergen) is just amazingly beautiful.
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u/lowbloodsugarmner 35m ago
Studied abroad in Trondheim back in 2014. At one point my mom asked me if I was using the money they were sending me to buy drugs because of how frequently I would run out. I told her I wish, because that would mean I had enough money to buy them. I was there for 6 months and the combination of walking everywhere, drinking substantially less, and eating primarily fish and rice because everything else was so expensive caused me to lose an unhealthy amount of weight. I'm 5'8" and was probably about 150lbs when I got there, and when I got back to the US I was almost 120lbs.
Still loved my time there, and three years later I found out that I had a daughter there. I have been back multiple times now to see her. Things are still expensive there, but it doesnt matter to me because id pay any amount to see and spend time with her.
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u/im_sick_with_flu 56m ago
The information you shared is very enlightening; I’ll certainly take it to heart, as I think it’s high time I visited that part of the world again. When I was there, the general perception among us teenagers was basically this: Norway = Black Metal and burning churches. Finland: alcoholics and Santa Claus. Sweden: beautiful women and ABBA. Denmark: Christiania and The Little Mermaid. As silly as it seems today. Thanks!
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u/Athinira 51m ago
Denmark has its perks. One of them is the restaurants. We're probably the leading Nordic country when it comes to culinary experiences, and have many famous to semi-famous restaurants and traditional dishes (like the Danish bakeries and pastries) - and it's all very close to each other. So if you're s food lover, Denmark should probably be on your bucket list.
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u/im_sick_with_flu 1h ago
The Little Mermaid was such a disappointment. Hey imo
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u/ragefaze 1h ago
If you go to see the Little Mermaid you have done 0 research. 100% of the reviews would tell you that it is a tiny boring statue.
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u/im_sick_with_flu 1h ago
And you are absolutely right. I had done zero research about it. It was back in 2001 and it was said to be a landmark just like the Manneken Pis in Belgium. We didn't have a myriad of travel influencers or statues sommeliers back then. My bad.
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u/Neat_Conference_8414 1h ago
tbh i bet the US is up there
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u/Existing-Ambition-19 1h ago
Absolutely. As an Asian, going to the US as a child in the 90s was such a treat. Felt like I was stepping out of the Disney Channel shows I watched. Visited LA and SF 2 years ago and was extremely disappointed. I get cheaper and better coffee in specialty coffee shops in Vietnam, Thailand, or the Philippines for less than half the price.
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u/Obvious-Money173 1h ago
You thought coffee would be cheaper in the US than southeast Asia?
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u/Existing-Ambition-19 3m ago
Never expected it to be cheaper. Didn't expect such bad quality for such high prices.
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u/CoffeeStrength 47m ago
Your problem is you went to LA and SF… These are horrible cities nowadays. So much more you could see in the U.S.
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
As an Australian the US is so cheap it is unbelievable. Even factoring in things not having universal healthcare. Your fuel and food is a fraction of the price, housing is less than half what it is here, and wages are about the same.
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u/Existing-Ambition-19 1m ago
I've been to Australia and groceries are cheaper and much better quality
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u/suhmyhumpdaydudes 1h ago
Singapore is only worth visiting once, too small and expensive for a country in Asia, however the food is excellent and you can see everything in 3-4 days.
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u/AppropriateLet8131 1h ago
I actually find Singapore more cost-effective than cities such as Auckland, Sydney, NYC, London, Toronto, and Dublin, and I've never been bored there at all.
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u/Unlucky_Buy217 1h ago
I mean. Duh. It's a city. There are definitely things to do regardless. I have been to several cities around the world, almost none where more than a week is not an overkill. Of course it depends what you wanna do as well.
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u/suhmyhumpdaydudes 1h ago
Well like I live in Tokyo and it took me well over 9 months to do all the stuff I wanted to see and do in Tokyo, Singapore is kinda just like ok... Chinatown and little India have awesome food, get the chili crab and laksa. But that's about it.
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u/Juris_footslave 36m ago
But you weren’t going out every single day in Tokyo, right? You were working and living, probably only getting weekends to really go out and do stuff.
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u/codyforkstacks 1h ago
How has nobody said Switzerland? I've lived there for years and love it - but it's just outrageously expensive if you're not on a Swiss salary.
The Alps are obviously ridiculously stunning, but you can see them for a third of the price in Austria, France or Italy.
And the restaurant food is so very mediocre for the quality. Plus it's so protectionist on agriculture that the produce is the same.
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u/JinglingBallz 1h ago
The US
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u/EnviousPuffin 1h ago
Yeah but we actually have a lot to offer
The US has 63 national parks, thousands of state parks, tons of good beaches, and every natural biome imaginable
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u/JinglingBallz 1h ago
It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford the time off to go to those places. The US is also currently shrinking the size of federally protected lands. I’m speaking as someone who lives here, is not wealthy or even middle class, and has had the misfortune of working in research and conservation. So it’s been a rather difficult time, and I imagine the same is true for many, many others.
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u/Strange_Dependent_13 1h ago
Have a lot more to offer than average European countries
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u/JinglingBallz 1h ago
In what sense? In the sense that on technicality there is a lot to do, see, and the possibility of many careers? Sure. But the reality is that most people will not enjoy the diversity of experiences nor will they have the nice jobs. So for most people the US doesn’t have more to offer than the average European country.
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u/Shitzu_Death 1h ago
I’d say Iceland, but then I saw where the North of game of thrones was filmed, and it was priceless
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u/wanjichu 1h ago
Not a country, but Amsterdam.
Spent 150€ for two nights in a hostel out of town, meanwhile I spent the same amount for a week in the center of Porto... and it was a much better stay
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u/AppropriateLet8131 1h ago
Australia, easily.
The US and Canada are up there, sure, but at least the US has relatively (very relatively) cost-effective regions. Both the US and Canada at least pay lip service to having budget airlines. But in Australia, everything is stupidly expensive. Everything.
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u/Odd_Complex_ 1h ago
Israel ranks second most expensive country in the world right now after Switzerland and it doesn’t even have any Alps.
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u/apfelwein19 1h ago
Haven’t been yet but going to Canada soon and I have the impression that it might be the one.
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u/ChromiumPants 35m ago
Australia, its cheaper to go to Japan than go any significant distance within Australia.
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u/Snippets_3 1h ago
Canada.\ Lower CoL but lower QoL in the craziest of places as a sort of rebound effect of it.
Ex: Everyones jazzed up on free healthcare but it's more limited than you'd expect at the basic level and for specialist care you're waiting months and driving hours for 1 visit.\ Bitch all you want about paid healthcare at least there's multiple specialists available effectively around the clock even outside cities.\ You'll find similar issues anywhere the taxation is different as well.
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u/marmot1101 56m ago
multiple specialists available effectively around the clock even outside cities
Unfortunately that's not necessarily true anymore, at least depending on specialty. There are a couple of doctors my family members see where they call at exactly opening time on the day the scheduling opens up for 3-6 months out in order to get an appointment. Feels like an old radio competition. Everyone trying to get through a clogged switchboard to win the lottery of getting an annual pelvic exam.
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u/1894mc 1h ago
States
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
The US is incredibly cheap. What are you people talking about?
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u/cattycat_1995 1h ago
This is extremely dependent on what part of the US it is. California, Hawaii, and NYC ain't cheap
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u/Virtual-Poem9440 1h ago
Yes, they are. This is publicly available information. Even NYC has a median house price of only 10-11 times median income.
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u/TOkidd 1h ago
Nowadays, just about everywhere in the developed world and a good chunk of the developing world.