Skip Navigation
101 comments

  • Norway has been considered to be super-expensive among tourists and others looking in from abroad. However, Norwegians going to the US really have to mind their spending nowadays, especially when eating out. Forcing employees to rely on tips to get above slave wage is generally not a thing in Europe, so the price we see on the menu is what we expect to pay.

    If you go to a gas station near an airport in Western Norway, you can get a massive 300g burger (3/4 lb) with added cheese and bacon for about 200 kroner, which is $19. If you want something that normal people can finish, a regular 150g cheeseburger is about $12. A McDonald’s double cheeseburger is 43 kroner, or $4.12. If you order a burger at a restaurant or a pub, you’ll probably be spending about $25 for a bacon cheeseburger with included fries. You’re not expected to tip in Norway.

    Considering that the prices Americans here refer to don’t include taxes and tips, I’m actually pretty sure it would be more expensive to eat out in the US than in Norway, and average pay for a waiter/waitress here is about $41 000 per year.

    • Forcing employees to rely on tips to get above slave wage is generally not a thing in Europe

      It is in England (which while not in the EU, it is in Europe). And unlike the US, they will try to guilt you into a big auto tip.

  • Here in Japan, a chain has a cheese burger with beef from Kobe, caramelized onions, and gravy made from the drippings for 7.50USD Half that if you want it with regular beef.

    I investigated why things are so cheap and businesses can have the weirdest hours (there's a bar in Tokyo that's only open for 5 hours a week on fridays), they tax unused commercial property (for certain definitions of unused, like in rural areas just throwing some gravel down and letting your neighbor park there for a few bucks can be enough to dodge the tax), so companies offer extremely competitive rates to get businesses in. The .4% interest rate and very cheap remodeling costs (except plumbers for some reason) serve to keep startup more accessible, so places don't have to be super profitable to exist. The taxes work in conjunction with the interest rates to keep banks and capital firms from just buying everything up with the free money to establish a local monopoly and drive up prices. There's probably other things driving down home and commercial property costs, it's mindboggling to see a 3 floor+attic, 800sqft/floor building in the center of a city with 10 million people and have the business owner say he's renting it because the owner wanted 2.5m to buy the whole thing, and that was too much.

    I know China manages to keep commercial property somewhat cheap by having 5 year plans and SoEs/universities guarantee the commercial sectors have the inputs such as steel, concrete, and skilled labor they'll need at a specific price point, but I've never managed to talk to someone about tax policies and the like.

  • Burgers are fine-dining now. Still trying to find cheap food that's nutritious and doesn't contain too much fiber for medical reasons. Eventually that will be fine dining prices too.

101 comments