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biltonjim wrote: Kawboy - I work in the car trade in Britain, and my MONTHLY pay - after the government has taken (robbed) a portion for tax etc to spend on benefits for immigrants and for foreign aid - is about £ 1400 ( one thousand four hundred pounds ). We are ripped off when it comes to prices for goods , though for services involving skilled work, such as sleeving those brake calipers, I would happily pay for a quality job.

Thanks for the reply. I often wonder about the cost of living and associated wages. Sometimes I need to be reminded of these to really appreciate the differences we all are exposed to. It's obvious that the folks over in Europe pay a lot more for extravagances than we do in North America. My hat's off to you.

Kawboy wrote: My hat's off to you.

I sold my hat years ago to afford to live, Europe isn't the only "rip off" area, Australia is shocking, it's almost getting to the point where us Aussies can't afford to live in our own country, our wages are high so the cost of everything also skyrockets, taxes are silly and then they also add GST to everything, but the politicians don't care as they are well paid, reminds me of a question asked of out PM years ago, he was asked what is the price of milk ... he or his advisors didn't know so they guessed and came up with a low figure, seems they don't live in the real world and minions or servants must do the shopping for them, and don't get me started on the postage costs to us down here for all the parts for a 13 that are overseas

I was in Sydney Australia on Valentines Day this year. The wife and I ended up at Denny's restaurant for dinner since all of the other restaurants were booked for Valentines at a minimum of $100 a plate. We had 2 cheeseburgers and 2 diet cokes. The bill came to $59. That same "meal" in Canada would have been less than $20. I truely feel your pain. The ONLY bargain I got in Australia/ NewZealand was the 14 day cruise.
On the bright side,what beautiful countries to ride a motorcycle in.

Kawboy wrote: I was in Sydney Australia on Valentines Day this year. The wife and I ended up at Denny's restaurant for dinner since all of the other restaurants were booked for Valentines at a minimum of $100 a plate. We had 2 cheeseburgers and 2 diet cokes. The bill came to $59. That same "meal" in Canada would have been less than $20. I truely feel your pain. The ONLY bargain I got in Australia/ NewZealand was the 14 day cruise.
On the bright side,what beautiful countries to ride a motorcycle in.

Are you kidding me? $59 at a Denny's? That is insane! I ate a Denny's a fee times while in the US and two people can easily eat for $20. This was a few years ago mind you but damn...

I know the Aussie dollar is on par with the Canadian dollar so I don't get their disparity in prices.

It's not all sunshine and roses here though. Cost of living goes up every year and some things cost us a fortune over what they cost our US friends. Like gas, booze, cigs etc. Our power rates are ridiculous. My province is one of the highest in Canada. At least our housing is a bit cheaper... but in big cities like Toronto or Vancouver it is out of this world.

Sounds like you got a raw deal. If that was offered to me anywhere in Oz I would tell them to stick it in any orifice they pleased.
Any place I go in Australia for that sort of meal would probably be a bit over $20 and as far as I am concerned a rip off at that.
They must have mistaken you for a Yank and took you in.
I have done a search for Denny's and cant find a Denny's in Australia and they say on their Farcebook page that in 2017 they will start to build one in Sydney. Did you end up at "Denny's Pancakes on the Rocks" by mistake which is fairly central to Sydney CBD and poisonously expensive.