[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
[B]TKG, this is encouraging to see.

 

not to mention, for both our audi and benz, i signed non-export waivers for 3 years....hmmm, i wonder why?

if legal, exporting NEW cars could be a business unto itself......unfortunately, it's not.

 

My experience with my company is that, dollar for dollar (without converting), Americans will make slightly LESS than the Canadians. That said, as others have pointed out, us Canadians pay significantly higher taxes (50% if you make over $55K, I believe) and our food tends to be more expensive, as are cars. Houses tend to be cheaper, though, in my experience (except maybe in British Columbia). Again, all of these are dollar for dollar (no conversion).

I'd prefer to live in the USA in terms of costs of living and the ability to buy nicer things for less. That said, houses are typically atrociously expensive and crime rates are horrendous compared to here. You give and take, no matter where you are, I guess...

 

JonBoy got it.

You cannot use exchange rates for this type of a comparison since exchange rates are more influenced by financial flows rather than what economists call "real flows"

The UN publishes a purchasing parity index (PPP) that attempts to account for some of the factors Jonboy mentions -- the purchasing power of the monetary unit for a basket of goods, accounting for true disposable income. I don't know what the relative PPP for Canada and the US is so I can't comment on the relative value of the S2K. Spoken like a true economist!!

 

A variation of the PPP index is the Big Mac index. How much is a Big Mac in Canada vs US?

 

Just pick up an Economist magazine and check out the last page -- certain issues have the Big Mac index for a whole variety of countries.

 

Here's an online currency conversion site:

http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

Friday, December 20, 2002

1 US Dollar = 1.55300 Canadian Dollar
1 Canadian Dollar (CAD) = 0.64392 US Dollar (USD)

Median price = 1.55270 / 1.55300 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 1.54500 / 1.54590
Maximum price = 1.55480 / 1.55570