Gaslighting

[msconduct]

 I've read a lot of complaints from people in the US recently about the price of gas, which seems to be about $3/gallon. I've always been vague about the conversion to litres, not just from gallons but from AMERICAN gallons, which I have no clue about at all. But I just looked it up and did the conversion. A US gallon of gas at $3.60 is around 95 cents a litre.

I'm crying. Gas, or petrol as we call it in New Zealand, is around $3 a litre, or more than three times the cost in the US. Other than a very brief dip in 2016, petrol hasn't been under $1/litre since 2000.

Comments

[echomyst]

I'm always annoyed when other Americans complain about their gas prices lol

Ours always hover around $6 per gallon. California always has some of the highest gas prices in the country and MY town always has the highest in the SF North Bay area thanks to monopoly of gas stations (almost all owned by a single family!).

$6 a gallon is still less than $3 per litre. But! The US is incredibly car dependent :( It's hard getting anywhere without a vehicle unless you live in a big city. My kids and I walk a lot, but even then it's just not feasible to walk/bike/bus everywhere, especially if we need to get out of our suburb.

[echomyst]

Same deal with electricity, natural gas, water, housing... Anytime someone in another part of the U.S. complain about how expensive it is, I just laugh.

It's amazing what a dramatic difference in costs of living it can be across this country. My friends in Texas have been snapping up fixer uppers at <$90k to rebuild and rent out. Here, there is absolutely nothing to be had for that price, not even a shed never mind mobile home or whatever. Fixer uppers here *might* start at $600k...

[msconduct]

Yes, I've seen some of those house flipping shows from the US and I've been astonished at the low price of housing in some areas. However, I'd still love to find a $600,000 fixer-upper in Auckland! We have one of the least affordable property markets in the world and the average house price is $1,125,000.

[echomyst]

That's in my town -- suburbia where it's supposed to be more affordable? :/ I'd love to move back to the GTA (greater Toronto area) but the prices are like yours. We're completely priced out unless we move in with my parents.