Saturday, June 14, 2008

Cost of living in Spain

I'm not worried about running out of money in Madrid anymore. I already did! What is there to fear now? The worst has happened and I am just happy to be blessed with parents who wish me shelter & food.

However, having Hannah & Kyle & Kristin here has reminded me how expensive it is to live on the dollar in a European city. I did some research at the (fully stocked!! strikers are taking a break for the weekend) Carrefour today.

Loaf of bread: 1.40€ or $2.15
Peanut Butter (small jar): 4.15€ or 3.40€ from a natural foods store or $5-$6
Milk (1L): 1.25€ or $1.92
Soy milk (2L): 2.40€ or $3.69
Diet Coke (2L): 1.32€ or $2.03
Clean&Clear face wash: 6.70-7.25€ or $10.30-$11.14
Herbal Essences shampoo: 2.95€ or $4.53
store brand shampoo: 1.60€ or $2.46
Olive oil(1L): 3.45€ or $5.30

For bread & milk, these are the cheapest prices or the milk I've seen Anna buy (I go soy). Also keep in mind that US brands (like that face wash) are more expensive than local brands. I've tried many knock-off shampoos & conditioners and all have been lacking in quality.

What I would love to know is: how do these prices compare to US prices?

2 comments:

Hoi Polloi said...

Honestly, to tell you the truth, I feel like they are cheaper than here in LA. This might be rough estimation, but I would say your prices seem cheaper than the average grocery store here. Granted, we don't really have Wal-Mart in LA and it's also if you count a normal grocery and not Trader Joe's.

I guess the thing about the U.S. is that we have all these different chains of stores that offer everything at such a sliding scale of prices. It also depends on the quality you want.

Maybe after I get back in LA (I am going to MO tomorrow!) I will go to several groceries and write down the cost for you :o)

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Thanks for this post, I was idlely dreaming about living in Madrid and it was nice to seem so basic item prices...

Here are the equivalent US prices for South Dakota (from WalMart), as best as I can remember them:

Loaf of bread (12-grain): $2.52
Peanut Butter (small jar): ??
Milk (1 Gallon): $3.78
Soy milk (2L): ??
Diet Coke (2L): $1.18
Clean&Clear face wash: ??
Herbal Essences shampoo: ??
store brand shampoo: ??
Olive oil(3L): $12

Hope that helps!

- Paul