Monday, July 21, 2008

So, how much does a pint cost in...


When we traveled in the Czech Republic in 2002, we thought we were in paradise. I mean, it is a very lovely country, and they make fantastic beer, and a pint of it cost a mere 80 cents. Sadly, that figure has doubled now, but it's still a heck of a bargain.

The average price for a pint here in Austin is $3-4. Still reasonable, but I do so long for dollar pint nights at Waterloo.
Meanwhile, our friend Karla is languishing in Norway, where the average price of a public pint will set you back almost $12.00!

For the average Norwegian, the price of beer is comparable to how it was for us when we were poor, starving college students. To wit--- the average salary in Norway is 320,000 Kroner, and a bargain pint might cost 50 Kroner. Thus, before facing the formidable Norwegian tax system, a Norsky could buy 6,400 pints of beer with his/her annual earnings. That's EXACTLY how many 75-cent Shiners I could have bought back in college with the money my folks sent me each year! Coincidence? I think not!

By comparison, the average American can afford to do a lot more bellying up here in the land of the free. Our average annual salary is $26,000* which can pull in 8,666 local pints before taxes.
Now, that's what I call an investment!

Check out more global pint prices here.
Grim footnote: With the current dismal exchange rate, the 320,000 Kroners the average Norwegian earns translates into $63,000 here.
*True average is more like $43,000 in the US, but this is thrown off by all the super fat cats. Take five blokes who make $15K and one who makes $200K, and the average of the group is over $45K. A bit misleading.

3 comments:

stephen said...

excellent resource!

Unknown said...

Fodor's needs to add this as a regular feature of their travel guides. One cannot be too prepared, they say.

mrpod said...

You're like some kind of gawddam Milton Fiedman, ain't you.