Sticker Shock

[quote author=Mrs Robinson link=topic=68196.msg953894#msg953894 date=1299866700

Oh yeah - another thing I thought was weird - shopping malls being almost empty, because I guess people aren't driving as much or shopping as much or something like that since the recession started.
[/quote]

It was getting better until these last few weeks. The chain DS works for has an annoying policy where the shifts/hours for the upcoming week are based on how well the store did the previous week. So he's had two days this week when he was "on call" but they said not to bother.  And the managers keep nagging the rest of the staff to make sales (but nobody's coming in -- nobody wants to use gas to go to the Mall unless they really really need something)

I've been here in the States (NE Ohio) visiting my parents for about 2 weeks now and I am completely shocked at how food prices have creeped up in the 7 months since I moved to the U.k.  Regular food like gallons of milk and loaves of bread have gotten crazy high. One local grocery store was proud to have their cereal boxes on a special of 3 for $15. Gah.

I have no sympathy for the gas price whining that I hear everyday on the news since I arrived. But it is nice to have the option of not owning a car in the U.K. It just couldn't happen here, at least not in Ohio.