3 ms·

I traveled to Mauritius and went to a “Whole Foods” style fancy grocery store there. The food was pretty affordable and I was surprised it was relatively cheap.

I traveled to Mauritius and went to a “Whole Foods” style fancy grocery store there. The food was pretty affordable and I was surprised it was relatively cheap. And my friend who lives there said “yeah but you have to take in to account the purchasing power. The average income is very low.” Also you give the price figure for delivery converted to dollars. But the ruble has crashed hasn’t it? So $8 could be a lot of rubles.

zdragnar 5y ago
The ruble has largely recovered, though whether that will hold is uncertain. Too many large economies didn't join the sanctions, so the sanctions largely redirected, rather than halted, the flow of goods and money.
- LegitShady 5y ago
  even if the ruble recovers, the gdp per capita of russia is ~$12,000. $9 delivered food is very expensive when you're only making $1000/month. The american GDP per capita is ~$69,700. That $9 meal is like spending $50 in the US it's not throwaway money for the average person.
  - heavyset_go 5y ago
    GDP doesn't reflect household incomes[1]. [1] https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_GDP_per_capita_vs_median_household_income.png https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_GDP_per_capita_...
    - LegitShady 5y ago
      this is true for russia as well.
  - zdragnar 5y ago
    > But the ruble has crashed hasn’t it? So $8 could be a lot of rubles. is the point I was replying to. Yes, there's a cost of living difference, as well as an income difference. Whether that is new or just a simple fact (such as is the case in pretty much any country with different economics than the US) depends on whether the ruble has been affected by the economic sanctions.
    - TaylorAlexander 5y ago
      My understanding is that the ruble has been in decline since well before the sanctions. I wasn’t just talking about the recent changes. EDIT: yeah so it started to tank in 2014 https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=10Y https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=10Y
- TaylorAlexander 5y ago
  I thought there was a longer term decline in the ruble that affects conversions, beyond what has happened in the last two months.

zdragnar 5y ago

The ruble has largely recovered, though whether that will hold is uncertain. Too many large economies didn't join the sanctions, so the sanctions largely redirected, rather than halted, the flow of goods and money.

LegitShady 5y ago
even if the ruble recovers, the gdp per capita of russia is ~$12,000. $9 delivered food is very expensive when you're only making $1000/month. The american GDP per capita is ~$69,700. That $9 meal is like spending $50 in the US it's not throwaway money for the average person.
- heavyset_go 5y ago
  GDP doesn't reflect household incomes[1]. [1] https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_GDP_per_capita_vs_median_household_income.png https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_GDP_per_capita_...
  - LegitShady 5y ago
    this is true for russia as well.
- zdragnar 5y ago
  > But the ruble has crashed hasn’t it? So $8 could be a lot of rubles. is the point I was replying to. Yes, there's a cost of living difference, as well as an income difference. Whether that is new or just a simple fact (such as is the case in pretty much any country with different economics than the US) depends on whether the ruble has been affected by the economic sanctions.
  - TaylorAlexander 5y ago
    My understanding is that the ruble has been in decline since well before the sanctions. I wasn’t just talking about the recent changes. EDIT: yeah so it started to tank in 2014 https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=10Y https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=10Y
TaylorAlexander 5y ago
I thought there was a longer term decline in the ruble that affects conversions, beyond what has happened in the last two months.