Is the Cost of Living Cheaper in the UK than in Taiwan?

[ChewDawg]

I live in Berkshire and food is quite cheap with great variety. Marks and Spencers, Tesco, market stalls, etc. Huge bags of bananas for one quid, large organic soups for 2 quid, etc. Way better variety than North America or Taiwan.

[ChewDawg]

@Gain

I just remembered something really cheap: Wetherspoons. A gin and tonic is like £2.something in zone 2 which is crazy (though they probably use the worst alcohol since I never get drunk at one of their pubs).

I love their chain. 1.85 for the local brews.

[Gain]

@BHL4life

12 free range medium eggs = £1.85 thats 74 NTD. never seen 12 eggs here for that price. eggs are cheaper in england.

What? 10 eggs are usually like 40-50 in supermarkets unless you buy expensive ones. Here that’s the price of 6 eggs at Sainsburys.

@BHL4life

not sure your assessment of fish is accurate either. i used to buy salmon in england, never buy it here.

I buy salmon here too. One small piece (100g) is like ~£1.75 at Sainsburys, which isn’t to bad for a single person. In Taiwan at Costco it’s usually $4-500 per kg, so 40-50 per 100g. Now the problem is that doesn’t work too well if you’re alone. At supermarkets it’d be like 300 per catty (=600g) so that’d be like 50 per 100g as well.

I wish we had a Tesco nearby. I feel like it’s cheaper. Or Iceland … though they sell way too much junk food.

@rooftopclown

That’s their business model. They charge 2 quid a glass, but you need three times as much to get the same effect as from a 5 quid G&T elsewhere.

Yeah that’s probably true. If I buy my own gin and tonic water I usually get drunk after 4 or 5 glasses. I still like the pubs and bars here though. It’s probably the best thing in England.

@ChewDawg

Huge bags of bananas for one quid

Bananas are indeed very cheap here, but bananas are very cheap in Taiwan too. However the fruits from British supermarkets are just kinda rubbish in general, both in variety and in taste. I bought mango once and that was offensively bad. Now I just buy mandarins (which are TINY, btw), grapes, avocados and bananas.

The other thing that’s really good is the milk alternatives like hazelnut milk or almond milk. I don’t think it’s common at all in Taiwan (except maybe soya) but here there’s plenty and they aren’t expensive.

[sampomixer]

The cheap white eggs in plastic case are like 40, but most other eggs is like 80.

[Taiwan_Luthiers]

If you thought fruit varieties are bad in Taiwan, I guess you’re looking at apples, oranges, bananas, avocados, or grapes. Taiwan aren’t known for those (except bananas) so you’re looking in the wrong place for those kinds of fruits.

You need to eat real tropical fruits. They have things here you will never find in any western countries, and they don’t even have a name for there. Like star fruit, persimmon, that green scaly thing, wax apples, mangoes, lychee, longan, dragonfruit, etc.

Good luck finding those in the UK

[sampomixer]

I think the food in whole Europe is better and cheaper than in Taiwan. Also much more variety. Here you can choose 50 different types of rice and soy sauce. Products I generally don’t buy myself… In carrefour there is zero frozen pizzas. ( only those small 8 packs) For someone who loves eating pizza that’s pretty annoying…

[Gain]

I said the fruit varieties are bad in England. They have apples, grapes, bananas, oranges, mandarins, avocados, berries … that’s it.

[Gain]

@sampomixer

The cheap white eggs in plastic case are like 40, but most other eggs is like 80.

There are no cheap white eggs in England or I would buy them.

@sampomixer

Here you can choose 50 different types of rice and soy sauce.

Where can you find 50 different types of rice and soy sauce? I have problems finding short rice at supermarkets here unless I go to a Chinese supermarket and they are far away for me.

I also only see one type of soy sauce at local Sainsburys. I would love to get myself some Japanese soy sauce but only Chinese supermarkets have it.

[sampomixer]

I am talking about the stuff in Taipei, not UK.

[BHL4life]

@Gain

What? 10 eggs are usually like 40-50 in supermarkets unless you buy expensive ones. Here that’s the price of 6 eggs at Sainsburys.

lol no. you can’t even get 6 for that. and the english ones are free range too. not even sure you can still get non free range, which is nice. whats the deal with those white eggs? i never buy them. never saw them before coming to taiwan.

[sampomixer]

Like the selection of products is completely different. In Europe the frozen section will have a ton of pizzas, here none. Also some producers of the food, have products specifically for European market, which you can simply not buy here in Taiwan.

[Gain]

@sampomixer

I am talking about the stuff in Taipei, not UK.

Well if you mean there are 50 different types of rice and soy sauce in Taiwan and no frozen pizza then yeah I guess that’s true … but Taiwanese ppl eat rice and use soy sauce.

It’s like here with the porridge and cereal. I hate that shit but there are 50 different types of those here as well even at Tesco metro.

@BHL4life

whats the deal with those white eggs? i never buy them. never saw them before coming to taiwan.

They are 40-50 per 10-12 eggs and they are the same thing as the brown ones.

[BHL4life]

yea a lot of fruit is obviously imported so stuff like mangos should be avoided. theres good stuff though. apples. leaf spinach too… really miss having that, seems taiwanese don’t like it at all.
the nut milk has started to arrive in taiwan, really surprised me.

[sampomixer]

Yes, the locals don’t buy it, then the stores stop selling it…

[BHL4life]

@Gain

They are 40-50 per 10-12 eggs and they are the same thing as the brown ones.

i don’t trust them. i’ve bought them from 7 11 a couple times and the yoke is light yellow, the brown ones have a better colour.

[Gain]

@BHL4life

i don’t trust them. i’ve bought them from 7 11 a couple times and the yoke is light yellow, the brown ones have a better colour.

Brown vs. White Eggs — Is There a Difference?

Often, people who prefer brown eggs do so because they believe brown eggs are more natural and healthy than white eggs.

However, the truth is that all eggs are nutritionally very similar, regardless of size, grade or color.

Both brown and white eggs are healthy foods. A typical egg contains lots of vitamins, minerals and high-quality protein, all wrapped up into less than 80 calories.

However, scientists have compared eggs with brown shells to those with white shells to see if there is any difference. Several studies have found that shell color has no significant effect on egg quality and composition.

This means that the color of an egg’s shell doesn’t have much to do with how healthy it is. The only real difference is the pigment in the shell.

[rooftopclown]

@Taiwan_Luthiers

that green scaly thing

That thing is so sweet, it’s cray! I love myself half a dozen cinnabons, but half a green scaly thing is more than I can tolerate.

[Gain]

I don’t even know what “that green scaly thing” means. Sugar apple?

[rooftopclown]

@Gain

I don’t even know what “that green scaly thing” means. Sugar apple?

Yup, that’s the one. How come all these fruits are translated as apples? Sugar apple, wax apple, pine apple… They’ve got as much in common with apples as with bananas.

[Taiwan_Luthiers]

There’s no point selling frozen pizzas when most Taiwanese don’t have any oven bigger than a toaster oven. How would they bake it?