And groceries. I was _shocked_ at how expensive buying fresh food was in the US, and funnily enough, the most desired food was imported from the EU and was far more expensive. Here's a great comparison - aged parmesan cheese from the supermarket [0] [1] is $11/lb here, or $17+tax in the US. This is the same for a huge amount of ingredients too; cheeses, meats + veg. I helped a friend do his grocery shopping in a trader joes, by my best guess it was twice the price of my shop in Sainsbury's (a middle-of-the-road supermarket)
> aged parmesan cheese from the supermarket [0] [1] is $11/lb here, or $17+tax in the US.
No shit, it’s literally an import from Europe. It’s like comparing California wine prices in Las Vegas vs in Sydney.
> veg. I helped a friend do his grocery shopping in a trader joes
Trader Joe’s is not a grocery store for middle class people. It’s a high end convenience store. Unless you’re really well-off, you only buy a few select items from there occasionally.
If you want to see prices the working/middle class pays, look at the prices at Walmart.
No. Imported wine is quite often cheaper than domestic ones in the US.
Also, you want to compare the quality of products and you can not base yourself on Walmart for that. The average American eats horribly compared to the European counterpart.
> Imported wine is quite often cheaper than domestic ones in the US.
Not anything of quality. Most good wines in California that aren’t nasty blends are California wines at $10/bottle range.
> want to compare the quality of products and you can not base yourself on Walmart for that.
Yes you can. The milks, meats, vegetables, and fruits are fine quality-wise. “Walmart == bad quality” is a meme based on their cheap home goods. The food is fine.
> The average American eats horribly compared to the European counterpart.
Having lives in both places (uk, France, and Italy), the supermarkets in the US are vastly superior. The only reason an American would eat worse is if they chose frozen meals, snacks, or just straight up fast food over what’s in the grocery store.
European food costs more and is of more limited variety. The quality is consistently decent though.
Given we're talking about why salaries are higher in the US, i think it's fair to point out the comparison of items that are possible to buy in a normal supermarket here. I searched for parmesan in Walmart and could only buy an entire wheel for ~$26/lb.
The people who I'm comparing myself to in the US strive to buy imported European food, so that's the comparison I'm going to end up making.
Even basic things like fresh vegetables and fresh meat far more expensive than they are in supermarkets here.
[0] https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/parmigiano-regg... [1] https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-parmi...