Where to Live

[john o keeffe]

Looking for responses from international members with cost of living being the main focus. I'll start

Year 2005 I earned Euro 59,000 = Stg 40120
Paid euro 16200 income tax & social welfare insurance = 27.45%
No rates (poll tax or community charges).
Private medical insurance of Euro 1800 (Stg 1225) for me, wife & 3 adult kids.
Waste collection = Euro 350 (Stg 240). Water is so far free.
Car tax = 350 (Stg 240) for a 1600 cc car. Bike road tax Euro 67 (Stg 46)
Comp car insurance = Euro 400 (Stg 272) Bike TP = Euro 310 (Stg 211).
Lack of competition for bike insurance providers means comprehensive cover is a crazy price.

A good pint of guiness =E 3.30 (Stg 2.25) but you can pay up to E 4.00 in the more exclusive joints.
Litre petrol presently about E 1.03 (Stg 0.70).

But here is the downside - A new XX = Euro 14900 = Stg. 10130 with car prices showing the same differential over English prices. This is because the Irish Government, trying to protect the Irish car sales industry and raise more revenue, introduced a vehicle registration tax (VRT). This also applies to imported secondand vehicles. E.g. I have just bought Nighthawkes XX (in Wales) and had to pay Euro 1370 VRT.

Property prices have also gone mad with a city suburban 3 bed semi costing about Euro 300,000. Dearer again in dublin and cheaper in the countryside

The whole point here is we were promised, in 1971 when we joined the EU, a harmonisation of all taxes - VAT, income tax, etc, throughout the continent. This obviously meant a harmonisation of prices for goods and services.
And what about other harmonisations, for example when, if ever, will England adapt the Euro. Think here of the advantages - no currency exchanges when doing a 3 or 4 country European tour.

Seems to me the EU requires different countries to only accept the rules of membership they want and ignore those rules that might give a disadvantage. E.g. VRT in Ireland, England's own currency and different tax rates all over Europe.

Hows that for a thread.

 

[R2B2]

Blimey! Didn't realise car tax was so high over there

 

[Stevebrooke]

I wouldn't know where to live cheaply in Western Europe. However I believe all the latest ten hangers-on (Poland etc) have a fairly low cost of living, but then again income would be proportionate.

As for the EU I wasn't even a teenager when we joined but I was always under the impression that we joined a European ECONOMIC Community, ie a large trading organisation. I also seem to remember that The ROI got quite a good deal in the way of subsidies, grants etc. So why the high taxes? You also quote the Government trying to protect the Irish car sales industry - I thought "protectionism" was illegal in the EU.

But here's a question I would like to ask about the EU - All over Eastern Europe countries that were joined together by an ideology (USSR) have torn themselves apart and gone their separate ways. So why are our politicians trying to bring together a group of countries with different cultures and languages under the umbrella of a single jurisdiction?

 

[Centaur]

It's called Empire building Steve

Politicians and civil servants are very very keen on it. Hence Sottish Assembly, Welsh Assembly, NI Assembly....proposed assembly in N.E. England. It means more posts ergo more chances for promotion. In UK it is in the name of more local responsibility and in Europe in the name of Peace. Harder for peeps to make war if they are all part of one country.....try telling the Irish that.lol. Don't vote.....you'll let some bastid in! uke:

 

[Barryboy]

Looking for responses from international members with cost of living being the main focus. I'll start

The whole point here is we were promised, in 1971 when we joined the EU, a harmonisation of all taxes - VAT, income tax, etc, throughout the continent. This obviously meant a harmonisation of prices for goods and services. And what about other harmonisations, for example when, if ever, will England adapt the Euro. Think here of the advantages - no currency exchanges when doing a 3 or 4 country European tour.

Aha... the classic mistake!!! You believed a politician. Look, young John, you're obviously a naive whippersnapper so I'll give you the lowdown.

Politicians, regardless of the colour rosette they wear, are a singular breed. They exist purely for their own benefit. Their entire raison d'etre is to be elected to a position of power. They do this so they can anoint (verb carefully chosen) themselves with ever more power and influence to interfere with the likes of you and I. They do this becuase this is how they get their kicks - most of us have to do with those that we get below the waist, but politicians want cerebral kicks as well.

The expansion of the EEC is a perfect example of this. It all started off as a perfectly sound idea - create a cosy little mutual market without duties and taxes giving all the countries that joined an economic reason not to invade and bomb the shit out of each other. It has burgeoned into what is effectively a super-state, with greasy little toe-rags from all corners of the continent making up ever more rules and regulations to blight our everyday existence.

And of course it all has to be paid for, doesn't it? Ask (ordinary) people from Spain, Greece, France, Italy and (dare I say) Ireland what has happened to prices since the introduction of the Euro. The answer is that there has been a substantial increase when you convert the Euro prices back to the old currency. So where is all the money going? You tell me. I think that a lot of it is going in hidden taxes but that's another story.

The harmonization that you were promised was never a harmonization as such. You were promised that taxes (never prices for goods and services - that would be left to our old friend 'market forces') would be harmonized within limits and those limits were never clearly spelled out. It eventually became clear that the politicians, all looking out for themselves, cut a deal that made the limits so wide that the word harmonization lost all meaning.
The UK, for example, has excluded Petrol tax, Excise tax and a host of other smaller taxes from any harmonization and I am certain that all European Governments have done similarly. And by the way, the UK will never, ever, adopt the Euro. The UK loves things as it is - the Americans don't really want the United States of Europe, and without the UK the United States of Europe is a total non-starter. As long as the UK holds out on the Euro then the UK politicians have more influence with America. Politics is great, isn't it?

No, the EEC was never intended to make life any easier for it's population. It has developed as it has because the politicians want ever more clout and the EEC (particularly since the expansion into the old Soviet Bloc) has given them the opportunity to gain this on the world stage.

You will note that I have so far resisted the temptation to use the expression 'gravy train' and accuse politicians of being venal. However I would suggest that you look into the expenses claimed by your MEP (if you can even find out who he/she is...) add salaries and any other income and work out just what their standard of living is. I did just this exercise last year and suffice to say that it is something that I would seriously aspire to.

So vote for me - I am your prospective candidate representing the Cynical Old Bastards party. I solemnly promise to represent your best interests (at least what I think they are, and I know best after all....) to the very best of my ability, give or take, and to try to avoid the worst of the sex scandals. And unlike the pig Napoleon in "Animal Farm" I will endeavour to avoid the 'more equal than others' syndrome for at least the first year. How's that for a deal?

 

[Jaws]

Mexico.. thats the place to live.. Somewhere out back of beyond with a huge sat dish and a bigger gun collection

 

[ianrobbo1]

Mexico.. thats the place to live.. Somewhere out back of beyond with a huge sat dish and a bigger gun collection

deffo not Mexico City, the most carjackings than any other country,

 

[Centaur]

Barrington old chap

I'm fookin impressed....summed up the attitude of politicians perfectly....I'll vote for you.....an honest crook! :bow:

 

[osprey03]

Well, we off to France sometime in 2006, 4 bed house with land about ?150k, so mortgage free, less crowded, hopefully.

 

[KevKing]

Oh well, I will just have to make do with my 3 bed mansion in a select area of Daytona Beach Florida and a garage big enough for 20 bikes. Will hopefully be taking bookings for 2007 bike week once we kick the lodgers out! And yes, gas is still only ?1.60 a gallon and we dont have to subsidise the overfat BBC and its left wing pinko hangers on coz we dont need a TV licence!

 

[john o keeffe]

Very nice KevKing but what about the hurricanes

 

[NoBBy]

Well, we off to France sometime in 2006, 4 bed house with land about ?150k, so mortgage free, less crowded, hopefully.

There is always a down side, you will have to put up with the French as Neighbours.

 

[KevKing]

Well John, we have hurricane insurance and they are a lot better than the storms in wintery scotland - and warmer! Besides we just decamp to the S Caribbean LOL. incidentally Daytona gets the least hurricanes of the whole area - you really dont want to live in Miami (they also only speak spanish there!). :yo: