
A pint of Guinness gets cheaper when it leaves Ireland - SQL2219
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/david-mcwilliams-what-the-pint-of-guinness-index-tells-us-1.3335423
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roryisok
David McWilliams knows a lot more about the economy than I do, and maybe I'm
missing something, but he doesn't mention that there's quite a
disproportionate tax on alcohol in Ireland which probably makes the pint index
a little less accurate as an indicator of currency value than something less
taxed, like, ironically, a big mac

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fyfy18
A Big Mac is unfortunately quite a bad way to compare prices between
countries, as prices of Western brands are often overpriced compared to their
local equivalent in less developed countries.

Last year I was in India (Hyderabad), and a Starbucks coffee was more
expensive than in the U.K., as there it’s seen as a luxury item for the upper
class and Westerners.

I now live in Lithuania and when I first came around five years ago, two
people could eat out in a restaurant for not much more than the price of a Big
Mac (around 18Lt/€5).

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tedmiston
I experienced something similar with McDonald's in Taiwan as well.

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wiredfool
Those look like 'pint in a bar' prices, not packaged.

In my experience, the North is a little more expensive in general, but not
significantly. Specific things are different, you definitely want to buy
diesel in the South, but even that spread is narrowing.

Liquor wise, the both the north and south are at ~$30 for a mass premium
bottle of spirits (absolute), and I've seen the same in Germany for ~$14.
There's a reason all the Irish come back from holidays with full trunks.

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cyberferret
I've seen the same sort of economic weirdness with music gear right here in
Australia. Gear from M-Audio and Rode - both Australian companies, costs me
more to buy here than if I ordered it from US based resellers.

I am assuming that aside from currency variation, there may be the case that
it is cheaper to ship direct from the factories in China to the US than to
Australia.

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Symbiote
Shipping cost difference will be marginal, spread across a container of goods.
Less than $500 extra for the container.

You're paying a sales tax on products bought in Australia. You don't see that
tax on American websites, and if purchasing from them you would be liable to
pay import taxes.

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lrem
Fun fact: it also gets less tasty. Many Dubliners can tell if a pub is popular
by whether a pint tastes fresh.

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johnflan
I didn't realise there was such a significant Irish community on HN

