Hey there friends from all over the globe! The previous Cost of Living Indicator item was a parking violation fine. From @don-t we learned that in Spain it can be anywhere from $20 to about $100 depending on different things, then it gets more complicated with speeding tickets and such. From @hangin we learned Australia is looking to take as much money off you as possible. He paid almost $700 for a simple parking ticket. @frot explained something not so different coming out of New Zealand. Meanwhile my ticket here in Thailand was eleven dollars.
The conclusion I was able to draw was that the western countries really try to take advantage of their citizens with exuberant fines and penalties, where the less wealthy countries seem to make things a bit more simple and in line with the average daily wage. If you'd like to learn more about the real time prices of parking violations from around the world compliments of the awesome Blurt contributors you can see more in the comments of the post here.
Today's item is a classic. Something your great grandmother a hundred years ago could probably tell you the price of off the top of her head. That's right, it's is one whole raw chicken from your local supermarket. Nothing special, just a cheap chicken, no mention of organic or anything. This chicken in Chaing Mai Thailand weighted 1.6 kilos and costs the equivalent of $3.65 in Thai Baht.
How much is a chicken in your location? To encourage engagement and to learn about the cost of living in real time around the world, I'll be giving out 50% and higher up-votes for those who share in the comments the cost in their location. Please convert prices to US dollars and give your location or country so an easy comparison can be made.
Today's Item from Chiang Mai Thailand: One Whole Chicken = $3.65
Travel Pro Tip! : Wrap some foil around the legs and tie them together with some dental floss before roasting, makes for a juicier more tender bird! Also a pleasure to have with Thai papaya and mango salads with sticky rice!
$5 for a chicken in Canada. But we can catch about 10 lbs of Fish per day for Free. Small mouth bass, Pickerel (Walleye) Trout, Salmon.... You can eat for Free all year if you like Fish. Dried and smoked in the winter ... Or just cut a hole in the ice and go Ice Fishing for Pickerel and Northern Pike.
I'll take the fresh caught fish over the chicken any day of the week. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a nice informative comment.
Lots of cheap land available in Canada also…. $49 k for 2.2 acres in Nova Scotia…
On the water… filled with Lake and Rainbow Trout …
Looks very "off grid".... I like it!
Lots of land with lots of lakes with lots of fish to build Offgrid here …
$5 here in Canada and USA for a huge bird carcass, fully seasoned and cooked. Costco has been doing that price for decades now, as a loss leader. They have millions of birds living horrendous lives in factories, never seeing the light of day in their entire lives, never breathing fresh air or drinking clean water, never feeling the love of their mother, never a moment of comfort until they're gassed to death, plucked, and sent to the shops. Full of hormones and big pharma medications to keep them from rotting alive. All to keep the 1980s price ($5) from changing. Like eggs, chicken is a loss-leader, and they will drive to cost down to bring in customers. But each item is a sentient being. Imagine if your life/death was worth $5? (Which includes all costs of operation, energy, corporate profits, etc.)
So I read your reply last night, now it's the following morning and I woke up. How the heck do I reply to this comment! lol So I'll give you some options let you pick the one you like most....
A) I'm a morally bankrupt savage heathen, what can I say?
B) Bet you wish you could have downvoted this post! hahaha
C) I agree 100%, and I hear they even feed the chickens arsenic to help them retain water so they weigh more, then we eat that crap. But unfortunately I'm hopelessly addicted meat, especially cheap meat that I can easily afford.
D) I gave up on giving a shit a long time ago...if I get hungry enough, I ll go full cannibal and not give a shit about that either.
E) I'm a morally bankrupt savage heathen, what can I say?
F) If it was up to me, things would be different, and why I'm very much encouraged to make a life in @junglegirl's tribe where all chickens live a good life until they they become dinner. But in the mean time, I'm not going to lie, I was salivating like a dog looking at this thing roasting in the oven and yes, I'm hopelessly addicted to meat, since I was a young child, I grew up and have lived my life as a big time carnivore and I've had to consciously change my eating habits to include far more fruit and veg to compensate for all those dead animal bodies rotting in my colon. But, the good news is I gave up hotdogs a long time ago...
G) $5 dollars for a roast bird! That is great! Prices haven't changed back in the states and Canada in almost forty years. Wow! What a wonderful blessing and service to the people. I love Wal-Mart and Costco!
Let me know which answer you like best! or none at all for that matter! lol
I'm pretty sure I recall you mentioning that you're a vegan or vegetarian? I assume you didn't grow up that way. How did you cut out the meat? I've tried, but I just miss it way too much. I've met others that said the same, and then others who rolled with it, feel great, and have now been vegan for almost 10 years. For each his own I guess. Thanks as always for stopping by and making my blog more interesting!
Raw whole chicken costs 32 Turkish Liras per kilo. 1.6 kilos of whole chicken is 51.2 Turkish Liras. When rounded to dollars, it is 2.86 dollars.
The strange thing is that if you buy the whole chicken from places that cook it, the cooked version is the same price. Here competition comes into play to encourage the chicken to be bought from itself.
Of course, these prices are cheaper than most places, but it should not be forgotten that the dollar has increased more than 2 times in the country in the last year.
Wow! You've got Thailand beat. That is a cheap chicken! Almost half the price from our friend @leifasaur out of Ghana in Africa. Turkey is a really good country to live in. I spent a few weeks there back in 2018, I found it really enjoyable with a culture that was unique and welcoming to foreigners, and of course a good value, especially when you can get a chicken like this for under 3 bucks. Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated!
Before I had this information I would have guessed Thailand chicken would have been cheaper.
It offers more information with well thought out content and commentary. I congratulate you on this and thank you.
That is so nice of you. Thank you so much for the kind words.
At Sainsbury's, a fresh chicken, 1.6 kg, is £4.50 ($5.47).
A whole cooked chicken, 1.1kg is £5.00 ($6.08).
It's probably a bit cheaper at Lidl.
That is the UK I believe....
Sounds like east or west...or south or north....the going rate is about 5 dollars give or a take a bit.
Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated!
Here in Jomtien, Thailand in my local area I can buy a whole bbq chicken from a street vendor not sure of the weight but would be close to 1.6 kilos for the cost of 100 baht ($3.05 US) But if I were to buy this same chicken with seasoning stuffed inside in Australia I would be looking at paying $22 to $25 US dollars.
Street Vendor Store.
Wow. That is about the lowest price I've ever seen in Thailand. Man, you picked the best "bang for your buck" spot to live in all of Thailand I do believe. Makes living in Australia simply look like a total bad deal. Which is how I feel everytime I go to the US. I spend money, compare it to other places, and just feel like I'm getting ripped off at every turn. Today, I learned though that you can get a basic job in the US for about 20 dollars an hour. So after taxes that's about $15 dollars an hour, but still you'd have to live with a roommate or in the ghetto, and accept a lower standard of life just due to the fact that you basically can't take a shit, without emptying out your pockets. So again, totally get why we both chose to live very comfortably and take an early retirement here in Thailand.
Thanks again for the contribution, much appreciated!
Certainly did pick the best "bang for my buck" and I feel the same way when I visit back home ripped off well we know how to live it here...lol :)
In my country, Venezuela, a 1.6 kg chicken costs around $6, if it is raw and when it is roasted it costs $15 and if you order it with a side dish it costs approximately $20. .
Holy smokes. Is that affordable for the average Venezualen? Doesn't seem that way from all I hear in the news and what others have been telling me. If you guys are not eating chicken, what are you eating these days? I recall hearing in the news during the worst of the collapse, people in Venezuela were eating zoo animals...how much for a two ton Rhinoceros?
Although it is not accessible to everyone to eat chicken, we Venezuelans work as hard as we can to feed ourselves well, we raise chickens at home and if we buy a chicken we serve it with vegetables and that is also healthy, people do not eat zoo animals, and here in Venezuela there are no rhinos. We also eat eggs, cereals, vegetables and fish, we take advantage of harvest times, believe me that although it is not easy to eat well at least we make an effort to do so, it has not been easy but it has not been impossible, thank God we have had strength and desire to fight and also faith that this will one day change.
Indeed. The spirit of your country is strong and you seem to be a great example of the attitude and preserverence. The news about zoo animals and crap was being pumped all over the news in the western world. I'm certainly not trying to poke fun of the situation...but that is very factual. I recall the western media hyping that topic big time back a few years ago. My heart goes out to the people there very much after what has happened. But I'm very much happy to hear that things are not as bad as they have been made out to be. That is what I heard, people just grow a lot of their own food, I think that is a great example for much of the world actually. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time. Hope you are having a good day!
Things are not easy at all, but those of us who fight with faith and perseverance survive, here the money is not enough to cover medical expenses, we only manage to raise money for food, but I will not deny that there are those who eat. of the garbage Because here the minimum wage is $32 a month and if people do not do any other activity that generates more economic income, they choose to eat what they find.
I'm yet to see anyone from Venezuela on hive, steemit, or Blurt....doing any kind of documentary style posting on current day life in Venezuela. I do believe that is a fascinating topic, especially since many countries around the world are slowly and some quickly following the Venezuelan socialist hyperinflation model of self economic destruction...even real inflation from shadow stats came out with 17% inflation this year alone in the US.
If you start doing posts highlighting "real life" Venezuala, you can count on me to support your efforts.
Thanks again for sharing such details. Extremely interesting from my perspective. And of course wishing you and your country the very best.
I am going to try to show the reality of my country, the truth is that those of us who are on these platforms avoid talking about these things so as not to be misunderstood, we do not want others to think that we only do it to gain followers or support, because those of us who are here We have found on the internet and in cryptocurrencies and on platforms like these an option to alleviate the crisis, but our lives are not easy.
Thank you and I wish nothing of what we are experiencing. to any other country in the world.
Totally understood. Either way I'll be following and supporting your efforts here.👍
Argentina: $980.80 ARS ($3.54 USD)
In Argentina, converting from the native currency to another is complicated. If you pay for government services at the embassy, they will respect the official rate but the ability to obtain dollars at the official price has more to do with who you are than what you know. Moving dollars in, is complicated, sending dollars out seems to be complicated when going through the banking system. In the end the free market price as of today is 277 ARS/USD.
I hear things are getting ever more complicated in Argentina. I was thinking of going there in a few months or next year and staying for three months. Would you recommend traveling there now, or am I going to have major headaches exchanging my dollars for a fair rate?
Thank you so much for taking the time. Much appreciated.
Here in Ghana it is about $5.
I would have had not even the slightest clue. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and let us all know.
Accra is now probably the most expensive city in Africa and we have had hyper inflation as of late.
How long have you been living there? And how did you end up making a life in Africa of all places? Maybe a silly question, especially if you are South African.....
I have permanently been living in Ghana since 2013, so 9 years this year.
I first came to Ghana in 2004 as a student at the University of Ghana for a semester while I was a student in the US at the University of Denver. I came and went a few times and really wanted to be back in Ghana even though I was born and raised in the US and lived in the US until 2013. I started a Ecotourism adventure travel company in 2010 while I was still living and working in the US that did trips to Ghana using local operators. I came to work for one of the operators I used in 2013 and that is how I ended up staying here.
That is a most unusual story, but a great one!
You and I have quite a bit in common but very different avenues that got us to similar places and mindsets. I dropped out of college! Then went to South Korea and started my own teaching business. Like you I went back and forth from the states for a while, and then realized I preferred life elsewhere. Thailand and Ecuador were always high up on my list of preferred countries to spend my time. So I got permanent residency and stayed two years in Ecuador, and since Covid I've been in Thailand. It will be three years this march. Looks like you and I are of a similar age too. I'll be hitting the big 4 0 this September. I'm from Albany NY by the way.. Always good to connect with fellow Americans here, especially of a similar mindset. I'll have to start following you more closely here on Blurt. I certainly like your style. Until next time...hope you are having a great day! :)
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