How is it that two mainstream articles are written within days of each other and ohh so different? I was shell shocked to see Brazil not even mentioned in the first article. Am I crazy? Is it normal to see $40 salmon dishes and $50 steaks at most of the restaurants nearby? Sure, there are exceptions and they are basing a lot of this off the cost of items like bread or cigarettes which are still very reasonable in Sao Paulo (actually not sure about cigarettes) but EVERYTHING else isn't! Jim wrote a great article that gets to the bottom of it, purchasing power. Economies are all very different but the most important factor wherever you are is how much does it cost to maintain your standard of living.
Take for instance the other day at the mall, I spy the EXACT same George Foreman grill for sale for a whopping 400R ($250)! I had literally just bought that same grill at Target in the US for $35... thats a 700% markup! Now I understand a markup on imported goods but I am sorry, you have to be a CEO to 'college kid' cook your chicken? I told a cab driver about it, he knew all about George Foreman grills, put it on the same level as acquiring a Louis Vuitton bag! In the US you get a forman grill for your dorm room because you dont have a place to cook your food. Its cheap and probably embarrassing that I just bought one and was super excited to use it (less dishes when you have to handwash everything)! But c'mon!?! Even my old space heater I had at my desk at work in Chicago was $18.99 ....and $75 at the Sao Paulo Wal-Mart! Forget how you cook your chicken, freezing in this winter weather for that price just isn't fair!
So yea, how many times can I say it, its expensive here! From $7 ice cream cones to $70,000 mini coopers... we feel it all around us and I am glad that Bloomberg finally legitimized it. Now... about those beaches.....
