alt.certification.cisco - California vs UK

Author

California vs UK - please rate

The Oracle

2003-07-24, 2:24 pm

Friends,
I have laboured this over three threads. I will say this and shut up on the
subject since I know this is a certification board not a rant about tax and
prices. I mention this because some guys have said California is really
expensive. Who am I to argue? However, please read and answer me again
about me wanting to live in California. To repeat, this is my last post on
this.

These are some typical British rip-off prices with exchange rate of approx
1.6 US to the UK pound sterling

Loaf of bread = $2
lb of bananas = $2
Big Mac Meal = $7
Packet of 20 cigarettes = $7 = thank god I quit
BMW 320i = $35000
Gallon of gas = $7 - $8 varies like our weather
Cinema ticket (movies) = $10
Levis 501 = $80
DKNY shirt = $140

The place is an outrageous rip off. These are prices that you'd pay in a
provincial city - not London - it'd be more expensive still there. I have
been to stores in Rodeo Drive and paid less than the prices these bastards
demand in England!!!
Us English people even have a phrase for it - "rip off Britain". We are all
being ripped off by the government and businesses.

TAXES

Here is my pay check for this month - I had some back payments for work last
month. It makes no difference to the percentage figures: I quote at the
above rate of 1.6 dollars for 1 pound:

£4977 gross (before taxes) $7963

deductions
£1439 tax $2302
National Insurance £229 $366
Company car levy £207 $331
Pension plan £187 $300

I take home £2913 $4660

Only 58% of what I earn gets paid to me, the rest goes to the central
government to pay for asylum seekers, bombing Iraq etc.

Of that $4660 into my bank account, I immediatly pay $250 to my local
authority. Exempting food, books and childrens clothes EVERYTHING you buy
is subject to VAT (value added tax) levied at 17.5%. EVERYTHING. I buy a
new $30000 motor? Work it out for yourself. Fuel like gas, electricity is
also taxed at $5.

Out of the $8 for the gas and $7 for the smokes? 95% goes to the government
as "excise duty". A pint (16ounce) beer? $5 of which $4 to the government.
Any savings or shares/stocks? Taxed at your rate of tax - for me 40%.
Since interst rates are so low, I lose money by saving it in the bank since
the bastards in government still want their cut.

Buy a new property for $350000 ? Give the government 3% please.

IF I get ill, or god forbid get cancer it is quite usual to wait two months
to see a specialist. Get a cataract in your eye or need a hip replacement
or hernia operation? You may have to wait for several years before you get
treated - I kid you not. Many people in the UK have gone to Turkey/Poland
and even Latvia and paid privately to avoid the pain and the waiting lists.
Another solution to waiting lists? Get private healthcare - just like you
guys in America (despite the fact that we Brits pay for Health care anyway
with our National Insurance contribution every month - 11% of salary). The
cost of this private healthcare? Just like you guys in the US. Got a
family and a wife then to pay for private health care? Wipe off another
$400 a month for private healthcare.

Our schools are rubbish, decaying and teachers demoralised. We have the
worse literacy rate in the top 20 industrialised nations. Worried about
your kids education and you want them to do well when they leave school?
Better get private education then. The cost? Another $2000 a term (three
months) minimum.

Now tell me, is California this bad?

"silEnt" <silent@ihate.spam> wrote in message
news:bfk6ja$8ia$1@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net...
> ok, ref. previous threads regarding skipping country etc.
> sound like a typical case of 'the grass is always greener ...'
>
> i live & work in SA, currently ccna, ccnp by the end of the year
> (825 for 605 exam yesterday)
> that said, life here aint as bad as you see on tv, very relaxed all
> considering
> but, i believe that moneywise i am worth more elswhere
> this brings us to the big question of cost of living..
>
> some facts:
> currency here - ZAR, curently trading at
> R1 = 11.9GBP or 8.4USD or 7.5EUR
> bmw 320i = R245000
> 911 turbo = R1725000 (wtf?)
> decent house in ok area = R500000 (in the city of course)
> beer / bread = R5
> night out = R100 - 500 (more if you have expensive habits)
> i currently earn about R150000 yearly (slightly above average i guess)
>
> my question is, are the USA & UK the only options?
> what about some of the other EU countries? (Holland, Germany etc.)
> i read somwhere that the IT industry in India is going nuts
> surely there must other alternatives, its a big rock we live on
>
> your opinions?
>
>

CybrSage

2003-07-26, 10:24 am

Since you already have made up your mind the Calif is better, why not just
move already?

Yes, taxes and prices in the US are lower than any western European country.
California is expensive compared to other places in the US. A lot depends
on where you live in the state. Living in any city will cost more than
living in the country. The jobs are all in the cities, though.

Good luck!

"The Oracle" <kojaknospam@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:bfp6as$h2hhh$1@ID-179018.news.uni-berlin.de...
> Friends,
> I have laboured this over three threads. I will say this and shut up on
the
> subject since I know this is a certification board not a rant about tax
and
> prices. I mention this because some guys have said California is really
> expensive. Who am I to argue? However, please read and answer me again
> about me wanting to live in California. To repeat, this is my last post
on
> this.
>
> These are some typical British rip-off prices with exchange rate of approx
> 1.6 US to the UK pound sterling
>
> Loaf of bread = $2
> lb of bananas = $2
> Big Mac Meal = $7
> Packet of 20 cigarettes = $7 = thank god I quit
> BMW 320i = $35000
> Gallon of gas = $7 - $8 varies like our weather
> Cinema ticket (movies) = $10
> Levis 501 = $80
> DKNY shirt = $140
>
> The place is an outrageous rip off. These are prices that you'd pay in a
> provincial city - not London - it'd be more expensive still there. I have
> been to stores in Rodeo Drive and paid less than the prices these bastards
> demand in England!!!
> Us English people even have a phrase for it - "rip off Britain". We are
all
> being ripped off by the government and businesses.
>
> TAXES
>
> Here is my pay check for this month - I had some back payments for work
last
> month. It makes no difference to the percentage figures: I quote at the
> above rate of 1.6 dollars for 1 pound:
>
> £4977 gross (before taxes) $7963
>
> deductions
> £1439 tax $2302
> National Insurance £229 $366
> Company car levy £207 $331
> Pension plan £187 $300
>
> I take home £2913 $4660
>
> Only 58% of what I earn gets paid to me, the rest goes to the central
> government to pay for asylum seekers, bombing Iraq etc.
>
> Of that $4660 into my bank account, I immediatly pay $250 to my local
> authority. Exempting food, books and childrens clothes EVERYTHING you buy
> is subject to VAT (value added tax) levied at 17.5%. EVERYTHING. I buy a
> new $30000 motor? Work it out for yourself. Fuel like gas, electricity
is
> also taxed at $5.
>
> Out of the $8 for the gas and $7 for the smokes? 95% goes to the
government
> as "excise duty". A pint (16ounce) beer? $5 of which $4 to the
government.
> Any savings or shares/stocks? Taxed at your rate of tax - for me 40%.
> Since interst rates are so low, I lose money by saving it in the bank
since
> the bastards in government still want their cut.
>
> Buy a new property for $350000 ? Give the government 3% please.
>
> IF I get ill, or god forbid get cancer it is quite usual to wait two
months
> to see a specialist. Get a cataract in your eye or need a hip replacement
> or hernia operation? You may have to wait for several years before you
get
> treated - I kid you not. Many people in the UK have gone to Turkey/Poland
> and even Latvia and paid privately to avoid the pain and the waiting
lists.
> Another solution to waiting lists? Get private healthcare - just like you
> guys in America (despite the fact that we Brits pay for Health care anyway
> with our National Insurance contribution every month - 11% of salary).
The
> cost of this private healthcare? Just like you guys in the US. Got a
> family and a wife then to pay for private health care? Wipe off another
> $400 a month for private healthcare.
>
> Our schools are rubbish, decaying and teachers demoralised. We have the
> worse literacy rate in the top 20 industrialised nations. Worried about
> your kids education and you want them to do well when they leave school?
> Better get private education then. The cost? Another $2000 a term (three
> months) minimum.
>
>
> Now tell me, is California this bad?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "silEnt" <silent@ihate.spam> wrote in message
> news:bfk6ja$8ia$1@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net...
> > ok, ref. previous threads regarding skipping country etc.
> > sound like a typical case of 'the grass is always greener ...'
> >
> > i live & work in SA, currently ccna, ccnp by the end of the year
> > (825 for 605 exam yesterday)
> > that said, life here aint as bad as you see on tv, very relaxed all
> > considering
> > but, i believe that moneywise i am worth more elswhere
> > this brings us to the big question of cost of living..
> >
> > some facts:
> > currency here - ZAR, curently trading at
> > R1 = 11.9GBP or 8.4USD or 7.5EUR
> > bmw 320i = R245000
> > 911 turbo = R1725000 (wtf?)
> > decent house in ok area = R500000 (in the city of course)
> > beer / bread = R5
> > night out = R100 - 500 (more if you have expensive habits)
> > i currently earn about R150000 yearly (slightly above average i guess)
> >
> > my question is, are the USA & UK the only options?
> > what about some of the other EU countries? (Holland, Germany etc.)
> > i read somwhere that the IT industry in India is going nuts
> > surely there must other alternatives, its a big rock we live on
> >
> > your opinions?
> >
> >
>
>

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