Mach said:

If home base for you is TN, Then, I am north of you on the I 75. Wow, I surprised at the prices. I guess the war jacked every bodies petro up.
[Edited 2/29/08 9:30am]

We're averaging $3.44. Thankfully, I've got great gas mileage.

minneapolisgenius said:

yes, and don't they use some kind of petroleum derivative to fertilize corn? crazy!

Reminds me of Steve Martin's joke about his cool stuff he'd bought since becoming rich:

"$3000 pair of socks, electric dog polisher, gasoline powered turtleneck sweater..."

When Clinton was in office, I paid .85 cents a gallon at a local Arco.

Generally, it was around $1.20.



Now, I pay between $3.00 and $3.40 a gallon.

June7 said:

I remember paying less than a dollar at Arco Hard to believe now...

NDRU said:

I don't know. I wasn't paying attention to that part probably.

I love Steve Martin.

$40 took my gauge from 1/4 to 3/4 yesterday.
$1.13 x 3.785 is $4.28 a gallon

i would love to have a smartcar for boppin around town.

MsLegs said:

"Home" for me is western NC about 15 minutes from the TN state line

Mach said:

Ok. Gotcha.

god help me, gas is now 3.69 a gallon!!!!!

emm said:

math turns me on.

saw a sign @ $3.99 this morning. for regular unleaded

about 3.19 a gallon

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Where are u?

Graycap23 said:

So Cal / LA

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

fucking fuck. guess i'm not commuting to l.a. for work at all this summer.

$3.30 a gallon for regular.

One of my customers owns an oil company and i was with him today. He said that within 2 months we will be 1.20 a litre, that is nearly 10 bucks a gallon.

I never pay attention, I just fill my tank.

From googling, it looks like the average in the Twin Cities right now is $3.04.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

That must mean that premium is $4.60 a gallon?

$3.18 a gallon. Appalachia, Ohio

ella731 said:

i know you are gonna think this is wierd but i was thinking of you today and wondered where you were. It is good to see you again.

Stymie said:

Its not weird. Im just super busy.

Good to see you!

ella731 said:

Is that, like, hillbilly country?

2the9s said:

Yes. And who the hell let you out

ella731 said:

I saw my evey and had to post.

too mutha fuckin' much

2the9s said:

miss you too.

I don't know if I'll make anyone here feel better [I understand most of you on this thread are from the US] but the situation here in Moscow is not pretty either.

Here below are two recent news stories that give an interesting comparison between the cost of living in the US & Russia/Moscow. Ex: a can of Coca Cola is 180% higher in Russia than the US equivalent, and just about any other food items is more expensive here, while quality/quantity-wise the Russian food items pale next to their American equivalent. One exception: Heinz ketchup is cheaper in Russia than in the US - go figure:)




Fred Goes Shopping[in Moscow]
Passport Magazine, February 2008
http://www.passportmagazi...icle/1047/

Fred Goes Shopping
Fred has been watching his grocery checks climb during the past couple of years. There was a time when he could live cheap in Bedrock. No more. In October, Fred set off with Wilma and Fred Jr. to visit the Jetsons to see how Bedrock food costs compare with theirs. He took a list of common Bedrock grocery and household items and compared them on a kilogram, liter or unit basis. It came as no shock that, for almost every item, prices were higher, and for many, significantly higher.
One difficulty when making such a comparison is quality. For many food items, like packaged pasta, canned tuna or mayonnaise, there is no large apparent difference in quality, but in some other cases the difference is large. The lowest-priced decent bacon in Moscow comes from Hungary, but does not compare even closely to the meaty, American bacon, even though it is almost two and a half times as expensive as the American. Or take eggs - 12 large cage-free, clean Iowa eggs priced at $1.89 per dozen compared with 10 Russian eggs, priced 150% higher, feathers and all. A Russian frozen pizza, thin on cheese and other ingredients, is 270% the price of a US Tony’s Pizza, heavily laden with sausage, cheese and tomato.
Transport doesn’t explain the price dif ferences – a 750 ml bot tle of Perrier is 214% of the US price and a liter plastic bot tle of Evian is 143% higher. A bot tle of Russia brewed Heineken beer is 114% higher than an authentic Dutch brewed Heineken in America.
Transport doesn’t explain the price dif ferences – a 750 ml bot tle of Perrier is 214% of the US price and a liter plastic bot tle of Evian is 143% higher. A bot tle of Russia brewed Heineken beer is 114% higher than an authentic Dutch brewed Heineken in America.
Since many name brand products are now produced in or near Russia, the only apparent explanation for higher price is “whatever the market will bear.” For instance, a can of Coca Cola is 180% higher, Bon Aqua bot tled water 158% higher than the US equivalent, a bot tle of local brewed Miller 188% higher, Nescafe instant cof fee 164% higher, and Pampers (4-6 kg) a whopping 361% higher.
Bread and vodka are among the very few bargains remaining in Russia. Of all the items in the Fred’s comparison, only red potatoes, Orbit chewing gum, TV Park magazine, oatmeal, and, surprisingly, Heinz ketchup were lower than US prices.
The Russian government has become alarmed about the rising food prices, and has pressured food retailers to keep prices stable before the election. If history is a teacher, the principal ef fects of this will be shortages of cer tain food items, and big price hikes af ter the election. Fred, Wilma and Fred Jr returned from the holidays to find some prices continue to rise – a 200 gram package of Valio (Finnish) but ter is now 71.5 rubles, up from 41.5 rubles in October.



New York a Bargain in Comparison to Moscow
Tuesday, February 12, 2008. Page 11.
http://www.themoscowtimes...2/009.html

New York a Bargain in Comparison to Moscow
By Anya Levitov
Moscow is the most expensive city in the world for the second year in row. According to the yearly rating by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive than New York. How accurate is this rating?

Moscow prices do exceed those of New York by a large margin on most goods. Almost any shopping item you can imagine is cheaper in New York than in Moscow: Clothes, cars, jewelry, furniture, supermarkets and restaurants are considerably cheaper. Even expensive restaurants and gourmet-food stores are much more affordable in New York. For example, Dean and Deluca's prices are half those of Globus Gourmet. Moreover, the affordable mid-market brands, like Gap or Banana Republic, are not even represented in Moscow.

Entertainment, which was cheaper in Moscow for years, has now become cheaper in New York. You can get a decent parquet ticket to the Met for $65, while an equivalent ticket at the Bolshoi costs more than $120.

But real estate is the main driver in the cost-of-living index. In this area, New York is cheaper than Moscow. Moreover, the variety and quality of Moscow real estate lags far behind. New York's new luxury condos can be much cheaper than Moscow's. Many beautiful new buildings in good locations, such as the White Space in Chelsea or Phillip Stark's Gramercy, are priced around $12,000 per square meter. In Moscow, such properties would go for $25,000 to $30,000 per square meter. Most of the new buildings also offer services that are not available in Moscow, such as library rooms, common terraces, entertainment spaces and elaborate concierge services.

But real estate services -- with the exception of mortgage rates -- tend to be more expensive in New York. Taxes, maintenance, brokerage fees and acquisition expenses are much higher in New York. As a consolation, though, most of these expenses are tax deductible. U.S. property taxes are charged on the assessed value, which is much closer to the market value than the nominal prices that are used for the same purpose in Moscow. Profits realized from real estate appreciation are taxed at 15 percent for residents and local companies, so the difference with Russia's 13 percent rate is marginal, but still favors Moscow.

Although, on the whole, the grass is greener on the other side of the ocean, there are two key items that are clearly more expensive in New York than in Moscow: education and health care. But this is still a great opportunity for a smart investor to buy a beautiful pied-a-terre in the Big Apple -- particularly if he is already healthy and well-educated.

Anya Levitov is a managing partner of Evans Property Services.


So here goes... Obviously this price madness is now global or nearly, but anyway, I thought this overview of things here might be some consolation...

CarrieMpls said:

Don't you compare prices from different stations?