The shrinking dollar

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

One impediment to foreign travel is the sorry state of our dollar. I remember when a euro was about 80 cents. Now it is about $1.30. The dollar has lost over a third of its value in the last few years. It is not just against the euro. I remember when it was 32 Czeck crowns to the dollars and now it is only about 20. The British pound is up to $2.00.

If one owns timeshare overseas, this also impacts the cost of m/f's.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Yes....Our trip to Europe this summer will be costing us much more than it should be. It's a shame, really. At least I'm not traveling to London, that really hurts!!!!

I know that the Europeans are taking advantage of the situation, since there has been an increase in tourism, in the states. I wonder if they are buying up our real estate, too?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Yes....Our trip to Europe this summer will be costing us much more than it should be. It's a shame, really. At least I'm not traveling to London, that really hurts!!!!

I'm starting to think twice about our England exchange because of this...

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I'm starting to think twice about our England exchange because of this...

Lawren.......I know that some here have been there recently, so maybe they can give their opinion.

I have friends who traveled there recently, and they were paying $15.00 - $20.00 for a hamburger, etc. They said that it was an extremely expensive trip. They do much traveling, and said that they would not be going back until the dollar bounces back.

[JoAnn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoAnn]

We have been thinking about taking a Riverboat cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna this Spring, and the exchange rate does bother us. But going on the cruise (through Grand Circle) all our meals will be included and some shore excursions, so maybe it won't hit us as hard as it would if we went on our own. I plan on talking to our next door neighbor, who is German and living in Austria to get her opinion on our travels. And hopefully we can spend some time with her in Monsee, where she lives.

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

I, too, am rethinking our travel plans for Europe in 2008. I am planning the trip now, but mentioned to my wife that maybe we should rethink it as we planned to go to London and then Italy. Of course, no one knows what the exchange rate will be in 18 months, but it appears it will still be bad for us. I don't know what to do as my kids are looking forward to Italy. They had a great time in Venice (2004 summer) and want to see more of Italy.

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

From north of the 49th, welcome to our world!!

While I feel your pain, it's something we've been dealing with for years up here. However, the rising Canadian dollar has meant that travel is much more affordable for us. In late 2001, we were paying about $1.40 for a U.S. dollar, now we're paying about $1.14 - makes a big difference.

While we planned our vacations in advance taking the dollar into consideration, once the plans were made, we never cancelled due to exchange rates.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Go South !

Mexico's peso seems to be travelling right along side the dollar, so that may be the place to go outside of the country right now for the best value.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Lawren.......I know that some here have been there recently, so maybe they can give their opinion.

I have friends who traveled there recently, and they were paying $15.00 - $20.00 for a hamburger, etc. They said that it was an extremely expensive trip. They do much traveling, and said that they would not be going back until the dollar bounces back.

If they were paying that kind of money for a burger they were being ripped off. At the likes of McD or BurgerKing you won't pay much more than 1/3rd of that figure. Even in pub restaurants we only pay the equivalent of about $11 for a good quality burger with fries and salad.
London is viewed as the ripoff capital of the world even by many of we Brits, but there is a lot more to these islands than London!

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

Mexico, yes. We have plans for Spring Break 2007 and 2008 to go to Mexico. Those are one week vacations. I am more concerned with our big summer vacation -- 2 weeks -- and am rethinking whether to go to London and Italy. Maybe we should think about Eastern Europe where the Euro isn't used yet. Any views on that?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

If they were paying that kind of money for a burger they were being ripped off. At the likes of McD or BurgerKing you won't pay much more than 1/3rd of that figure. Even in pub restaurants we only pay the equivalent of about $11 for a good quality burger with fries and salad.
London is viewed as the ripoff capital of the world even by many of we Brits, but there is a lot more to these islands than London!

Keith that is very good to hear.

We probably won't spend more than 3 days in London itself before heading towards your neck of the woods.

and NO we wouldn't cancel for an exchange rate. If that were the case we would never have gone to Grand Cayman and look so forward to returning.

It just means budgeting a bit more stringently during the res of the year so that there will be more money to cover extra costs while we are there. Cheap air would certainly help.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

Most of my overseas visits are for business, and the changing exchange rate has cut back on the number of trips I make. Rather than going to a conference with one of my students, I often now send the student by himself.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Eastern Europe offers better value, but the dollar is hurting there, too.

One needs to go soon, before the euro comes and prices go up. The first eastern European country to get the euro will be Slovenia on Jan. 1, 2007, and I believe Estonia is next sometime later in the year.

Mexico, yes. We have plans for Spring Break 2007 and 2008 to go to Mexico. Those are one week vacations. I am more concerned with our big summer vacation -- 2 weeks -- and am rethinking whether to go to London and Italy. Maybe we should think about Eastern Europe where the Euro isn't used yet. Any views on that?

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

Eastern Europe offers better value, but the dollar is hurting there, too.

One needs to go soon, before the euro comes and prices go up. The first eastern European country to get the euro will be Slovenia on Jan. 1, 2007, and I believe Estonia is next sometime later in the year.

Does anybody know where I can see an official listing of when eastern European countries are converting to the euro?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Does anybody know where I can see an official listing of when eastern European countries are converting to the euro?

http://emagazine.credit-suisse.com/a...oid=95&lang=EN

Six candidates are currently in the "waiting room" to sign up to European Monetary Union. These countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia, Malta, and Cyprus – are all eager to switch to the euro. However, they will not be eligible to join until they meet the Maastricht criteria. Those closest to achieving this goal are Estonia, Lithuania, and Slovenia: They will probably adopt the euro at the beginning of 2007, becoming the first East European countries to do so. Latvia, Malta, and Cyprus are also unlikely to face any problems joining the club a year later. Slovakia too is expected to become an EMU member in 2009.


The larger countries of Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic are likely to encounter greater difficulties in joining the euro. Right now only the Czech Republic is on schedule, its aim being to meet all criteria by 2010. The Polish government is likely to fall short of its objective of joining EMU in 2009. "We do not expect Poland to adopt the euro before 2011," the economists state in their report. They believe Hungary's goal of euro membership in 2009 is more doubtful still. In light of that country's enormous economic and structural problems, membership is unlikely before 2011 at the earliest.