[az2fla]

The following posting has nothing to do with The Villages but it shows why overseas tourists are visiting the USA in great numbers.

On the Bloomberg financial website appears this information....
Interesting fact according to Tim Zagat who publishes the Zagat Dining Guide:

The cost of dinner for 1 person including a single drink is:

In London - $79.44 (US dollar conversion)
In Tokyo - $71.47
In New York - $39.30

Zagat used similar type restaurants in similar city locations for his comparison.

Prices for clothing and entertainment, such as Broadway-style plays, are similarly priced. Many of the tourists arrive with empty suitcases and return home with the cases filled with bargains from America. Pretty cool! I bet that they wish they could bring petrol home with them, too.

[SteveFromNY]

My wife and I visited London last year in November. We went to a pub for dinner. We each had 2 beers and an order of Fish & Chips. The bill was $80 (40 pounds). That's right, in a pub, $80 for a meal that would have been 1/2 that or less over here.

[schotzyb]

Made several business trips to the Netherlands and food , clothing and just about everything else was very expensive but the incomes were very good also and their health insurance was excellent. The higher wages offset the higher prices for the residents but not for the visitors.

[SteveZ]

Just shows how the exchange rate can beat you to death.

I can remember in the '60s when the Japanese Yen to US Dollar exchange rate was Y360=$1. In 1972 when Okiawa reverted from US to Japanese control the rate was Y308=$1. Today the rate is Y112=$1. So, the prices often haven't changed that much in the native currency, but factor in the exchange rate and WOW!