Comments:

1. 

    

   Letícia:

   Whoa, that’s a lot for a Big Mac! In Brazil it’s very expensive, too, about 34.31 SEK. And of course we pay a lot less for bananas, but that’s not a fair comparison since here we say that something that’s very cheap is “being sold at the price of bananas”. 🙂 (We pay about 6.70 SEK for 1 kilo)
   Unfortunatyely we pay about the same for a movie ticket. 100 SEK would be how much I paid to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D.

   I heard that some services in Sweden are very expensive, too. Someone told me that a haircut costs about 400 SEK, and that’s about the same price to get your nails done, is that so?

2. 

    

   Scott Glossop:

   Compared to the the wage you listed that looks cheap. Anyway I though i’d do a comparison to the UK in my area

   Minimal monthly wage = £690 after tax.
   1 litre of milk (mjölk) = £0.86
   Domestic beer 0.5 litre draught (öl) = £3.60
   Big Mac = not a clue, I don’t eat them.
   1 kilo of Bananas (bananer) = £1.98
   Movie ticket (biobiljett) = £5-£10
   1 litre of petrol (bensin) = £1.29
   Evening paper (kvällstidning) = £0.30
   A 33 cl can of Coke = £0.40
   Water, 1.5 litre bottle (vatten) = £0.45
   Bottle of Wine, mid-range (vin) = £8.99
   Pack of Marlboro cigarettes (cigaretter) = £5.00
   A pair of Levis = £45-£80
   Price per square metre to buy an apartment = £189’000.00
   Small house = £200’000.00

3. 

    

   warzaw:

   in poland everything is probablu cheaper except levi’s jeans (i guess chain store clothes have pretty much the same prices all around europe).

   1 litre of milk is about 6-8SEK (surprisingly small difference here)
   domestic beer is around 7-8 SEK in shops, and 15-22 SEK in pubs, clubs etc.
   movie ticketst 30-60 SEK (50 for 3d movies in IMAX)
   petrol is around 11 SEK per litre
   papers… we do not have evening papers, but tabloids are really cheap, i guess around 4SEK
   cola can… why does it cost so much in sweden? in poland 4-5 SEK
   water, it depends: mineral water is more expansive, but we drink a lot of regular bottled water cause we generally do not drink tap (as far as i know there’s no good reason for that, in most cities tap water is drinkable).
   wine… what wine? giving a price of wine without stating what wine is it seems ridiculous to me ;d
   marlboro is around 27 SEK
   flat in the centre of warsaw would be around 25 000 SEK per sq.m.

   and you know what, regarding sweden’s reputation and the fact that average income is poland is just around 7000SEK (brutto) i’m pretty surprised that the differences are that small. probably services are much cheaper in poland;-)

4. 

    

   Ronnie Nelson:

   Unfortunately things cost the same since we now also live in Sweden. However, we come from South Africa where things are much cheaper especially meat, fruit and vegetables. But than salaries are much lower also.

5. 

    

   Daniel:

   As expected, buying a beer in sweden is the easiest way to get ripped off. Where I live we pay not even half the swedish price of a beer. =)

6. 

    

   Jacques R.:

   I’ve been in sweden for a month in 2009 and couldn’t resist going back last summer. For price as much as for many other things, I think Sweden and Canada are very similar countries, except that Stockholm is much more beautiful then even Montreal.

   Specifically regarding prices, I thought they compared almost 1 for 1 with Canadian dollar prices after conversion. The biggest difference I have found was with restaurants. It was always more expensive eating in Stockholm or Göteborg than it is around here. Maybe because I selected better restaurants than I would at home?

   I am now planning to go back again, to go across sweden on my bike, so I will have a chance to compare the prices and standard of living more precisely during that journey. No matter the prices, jag älskar Sverige!

7. 

    

   0re0:

   My experience in Sweden has been that–on the whole–it is not much more expensive (for tourists, at least) than other western capitals like London, NY, etc.

   I currently live in Austin, TX, which all in all is about average cost for a major city in the states. Here are some highlights for comparison:

   Milk: 25 SEK, but that is per gallon

   Beer: 20 (domestic) — 40+ (higher end) SEK for a pint, but you can buy alcohol at any market for considerably cheaper (40 SEK for a six pack)

   Big Mac: 26.31 SEK

   Bananas: 6 SEK per pound, also considered a very cheap food

   Movie Ticket: 80 SEK, but you can go to a matinee for around 44.50 SEK. Considered costly, but it is a very common expense

   1 Gallon of Gas: 26 SEK, currently considered extremely high, but Texas generally has the cheapest gas in the country…some places may pay up to 10 SEK more.

   Evening Paper: 3.29 SEK, but this goes up to 10 SEK for the larger Sunday edition.

   Can of Coke: 6.5 SEK

   Bottle of Water (liter): “flat” water is about 14 SEK, less popular “mineral” water is slightly more.

   Wine (mid-range): 132 SEK, but growing access to quite good, but inexpensive, South American wines have opened up a respectable market in the 33-66 SEK range.

   Cigarettes: 46 SEK

   Levi’s: 230 SEK, but Levi’s are considered “everyday” jeans, not especially nice–premium brands are closer to 700 SEK

   Apartment per square foot (buy): 2400 SEK, but “buying” apartments (condominiums) is not very common in TX, so this price reflects an ultra-premium market

   Monthly Rent for an Apartment: 4000 SEK (1 bedroom) to 6500 SEK (2 bedroom), but that is Austin–places like NY or LA will AT LEAST double that cost.

   Typical house outside of the city: 1 400 000 SEK, which is around the national average. In some parts of the country, new homes may sell for half that, while in places like NY, homes may start at 4 or 5x that cost.

   Of course, non of these price include sales tax (VAT), which is never listed on the prices here…a fact that frustrates many foreign visitors. Expect to add 7.5 to 8.5 percent onto any store purchase, depending upon what state you are in.

8. 

    

   prissy:

   The place that I live now become more and more expensive aswell, A lot of swedish people live here in Huahin Thailand, Now the economic in Huahin no to good everybody said it to expensive comepare to last year. Have anyone been to Huahin?

9. 

    

   DSheroh:

   Wow… 501 694 SEK for a pair of Levis? 😉

   Seriously, though, it’s ridiculous how expensive jeans are here. Maybe it’s worse in Lund, but I’d expect a brand name jean, like Levis 501s, to run 1000-1200 SEK, maybe more – there are plenty of no-name brands going for over 1000. Maybe 700 on sale, but not as the normal price. (My Swede is trying to find herself some new jeans at the moment and often complains about it being impossible to find anything for under 500, even on sale, which makes me rather aware of such things…)

10. 

     

    Jennie:

    Dsheroh: You are right, jeans are ridiculously expensive! I personally always by them at the chains, like H&M or Vero Moda, cheap and great stuff!

    prissy: I haven’t, you recommend it?

    0re0: cheers for that, very interesting. Mmm you might be right, Sweden do seem quite pricey in comparesant to many other places, but I do think lots of people think it’s much more expensive than it is. And the bloody 25%VAT as well…

    Daniel: Had my most expensive one ever in Sweden at Lilla Torg in Malmö, it was 72 SEK for a normal stor stark, like Pripps or something similar. Jesus…

11. 

     

    Jennie:

    Ronnie: Do you like it in Sweden + apart from everything being so expensive?

    warzaw: Thank you! you are right, some prices are not that difference… I have never been to Poland but would love to go!

    Scott; I live in the UK as well, and my experience is that – as long as you stay out of central London – UK is cheaper when it comes to grocerys, eating and drinking out and those every day expences. But house prices are much higher here…

12. 

     

    Jennie:

    Leticia: Yes, haircuts can be stupidly expensive in Sweden, I would assume that a decent haircut in an avarage hair salon (not Toni&guy or anything similar) probably would be 350-400 for a girl. Add a dye and you are up to 1000 SEK…

    Btw, Måns is off again, let’s hålla tummarna for his travels this time! .-)

13. 

     

    Anna:

    damn, that is expensive

    if Malboro were 49 SEK here, there would be no smokers probably
    a pack of Marlboro costs 2.5 GEL (Georgian Lari) which is about 9 SEK xD
    oh and btw, Malboro is one of these pricy cigarettes

14. 

     

    nina:

    Hej! hyr mycket det is a fix phrase for asking how much is it??? or it depens on the noun that we want to buy? (en or ett word) is it the same with vad kostar det??? thanks!