Originally Posted by bluewatersail
I've always found England overpriced even when the $US was strong. What puzzles me is that you constantly hear people going on about how expensive Switzerland, Norway and Japan are, but rarely do they mention England. England is the most painful of them all because you don't really get the quality that you get in other expensive countries.
Our neighbors 15 year old son has an 8 hour Heathrow layover and they're going to give him an extra $US 150 to keep himself fed and occupied during that layover.
Having also been too Japan this year, I can tell you that Japan is now less expensive than the UK. It's basically because most things still cost the same number of yen in Japan that they did 15 years ago. Zero inflation. So while you still have to be careful with your money in Japan, admission prices and food can be found at "normal" prices.
The Economist magazine likes to do their "Big Mac" index to compare prices in different countries. My variation would be McDonald's "dollar menu." In Japan, there's a decent "100 yen" menu. In Britain, there's a smaller "1 pound" menu. Do the math, and you'll see what I mean about relative expense.