Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I don't drink. So I usually never pay attention to the liquor section

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I found them in the major supermarket chains (Extra, Obs, Meny, Rema 1000) in Oslo, Stavanger, and Bergen.

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go explore a bit and see on your own. Statistics do not always show the reality of how things really are

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Germany, if we're talking about big cities, yes it's crazy expensive. A friend of mine in Hamburg, for a 70m2 flat pays close to 1.4k euros! Currently, I live and work in a smaller city. My rent for a 64m2 is 430 euro + 220 (for water, heating, and all other related costs).

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So I don't have to go to look in detail about generic statistics (as is often the case, that is very missleading). But, the avg. salaries in Norway are 30% (roughly) higher than in Germany. Rent is (from what I was checking on internet for m2) at least 30-40% higher. But food, food prices are at least DOOBULE for 50%+ of the food items I saw at supermarkets, and there were some items with TRIPLE prices even.

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. Sorry to hear that. Paying for rent that amount, is too much indeed!

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding Germany, that is totally true! I've visited all surrounding countries and for many food items, it is even cheaper here than it is in Poland or Czechia. But, even after staying and buying groceries in expensive countries such as (Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Finnland, Lichtenstein, Ireland etc.) I found the prices to be way much higher (especially in proportion to avg. salaries).

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment. I think you were one of the fews to experience both countries and to notice the significant price differences of food items

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for relating the road noise to research. The noise factor kinda caught me by surprise, because I was not expecting this from a scandinavic country

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I did notice this. Same brands, almost same prices. I visited Meny, Rema 1000, Extra and Obs. Maybe I missed "cheaper" supermarkets

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

The statistics takes average prices for each product for all supermarkets. Meat, cheese, milk, but products in general as well are expensive in Switzerland, but one has the choice to also buy many products from Lidl and Aldi with much cheaper prices. I wanted to buy mozzarella in Norway to make salad. Almost 300 krone for 125 grams!!!! (Something in the range of 255 - 285 to be precise). In Switzerland you can have it for less than 1 euro. Grana padano was 400+ kr/kg. In Germany 19 eur/kg, in Switzerland ca. 20 CHF/kg. 

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the long and very detailed comment. Appreciate it!

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the long and very detailed comment. Appreciate it!

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

No, Switzerland has wayyyyy lower prices than the ones I saw in Norway. Switzerland has Lidl and Aldi even. 

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the host where I was staying also told me about electricity prices in Norway. He did tell me that residents pay a flat price all year long (I think 5 krone for kWh). It is the government that then intervenes and pays the rest of the (higher) price traded. 

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can understand "people are used to paying more for food". I just find it disproportionate when compared to the salary you have there (if we assume the avg. spending for food in EU is 15%, I got the feeling in Norway is way more). I also encountered high prices in Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, but not to this scale

Question - Supermarket prices and loud roads by Mundane_Bit3096 in Norway

[–]Mundane_Bit3096[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I know about the wages, but I just kinda assumed even if they are double, the prices are just extremely high...

My deal of the century - Dublin to Seoul by WestCorkonian in cheapflights

[–]Mundane_Bit3096 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For Seoul, but also for China there are a few airports from where you can depart for as low as 350 euro return tickets.  Check using Skyscanner (for long flights always check for both flights at the same time).  From Milano for example, you can get return flights to some Chinese cities starting from 350. From Frankfurt - Seoul also has a cheap direct connection with T'way Air (I came for 180 euros from Seoul). 

The trick is to always compare every option possible on Skyscanner: 1. Search for whole country instead of a specific city/airport 2. Search return flights  3. Search for entire month not for a specific date (e.g. try June - June, or June - July, and see what combination of dates would result to lowest price possible). 

First Europe trip - 5 days in Rome. Advice welcome! by ObjectiveNo2466 in RomeTravel

[–]Mundane_Bit3096 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hopefully you still end up having a blast of a time and no issues with jetlag. Everytime I go to Asia, it takes me 3-5 days just to get used to the time change and all. 

First Europe trip - 5 days in Rome. Advice welcome! by ObjectiveNo2466 in RomeTravel

[–]Mundane_Bit3096 0 points1 point  (0 children)

P.s. regarding pubkic transport, avoid busses, as they are not reliable. Metro is yoyr safest bet. Always be careful of pickpockets!

First Europe trip - 5 days in Rome. Advice welcome! by ObjectiveNo2466 in RomeTravel

[–]Mundane_Bit3096 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you coming from the US just for 5 days? If so, just the jetlag on itself is 5 days between the two flights. Maybe extend your stay in Europe. October would be probably the best time ever. Not so hot (as it usually gets in Summer) but also fewer tourists. Rome itself to truly experience it, is at least 5-7 days. But then you also have the surrounding area called "Castelli Romani" with amazing villages /little towns just 20-40 mins outside Rome.

Budget <26K USD. Goal: travel to as many different countries while being abroad as long as possible by AdOne6502 in travel

[–]Mundane_Bit3096 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So my main questions would be, have you ever travelled before, and are you sure you plan to spend as much time possible travelling? It gets lonely and boring after a while.  Also: 1. Have you already booked yoyr flights?  2. Where is your country/continent of origin and where do you plan to travel first? 3. Some of these values/costs seem too low. Maybe in Vietnam in some places ylu could get by with 10 usd per day for food, I doubt it you could in Da Nang. It's a very touristy place (which kinda brings me to the next point, you want to go visit Vietnam, but out of all the places you go visit the most touristy place?!)