Choosing a Place to Travel based on Cost
Outline
1.
Overvalued and
undervalued currencies
2.
Ten common countries in
the cheapest countries listings
3.
Least expensive
destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
4.
Least expensive
destination in the Western Hemisphere
5.
Safety Factor
6.
What do you think of the
Leffel quote
Overvalued and undervalued currencies
If the value of the Big
Mac is based off of the US price, then only Sweden and Switzerland have
overvalued prices. In Switzerland it is
overvalued by almost 20%. In Egypt, the cheapest
country, it is undervalued by almost 70%.
Based on this index, Switzerland would be the most expensive travel,
while Egypt would be the cheapest.
Ten common countries in the cheapest countries
listings
10 cheapest countries to
travel to:
·
Thailand
·
Malaysia
·
Vietnam
·
Russia
·
Moldova
·
Egypt
·
Taiwan
·
Argentina
·
Cambodia
·
Egypt
Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
Upon researching these
countries, I found that Vietnam is fairly cheap to travel to. The round-trip flight costs $1,282.00 but the
hotel was only $182.00 for all 21 nights.
Vietnam was also way down on the Big Mac Index so everything will be
relatively cheap. I estimated that food would cost around $12.00 per day
bringing the total to $252.00. The total cost of the trip would be $1,716.00.
Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
Columbia was also on the
cheap end of the spectrum for the Big Mac Index. The flights will cost $1,027.00. The lodging would be $235.00 for all 21
nights and the food would cost about $252.00.
This would bring the trip total to $1,514.00.
Safety Factor
The safest country would
be Iceland. The US ranks in down 121
which is low but probably brought down by the high crime rates in certain
cities. Vietnam ranks at 60 which is
very good. Colombia comes in at 145
which isn’t terrible, but I have a friend who stayed there for a long time and
said it was peaceful.
What do you think of the Leffel quote:
"You'll learn far
more than you ever did at a university.
There is something to be said for this quote.
I agree with it, but only to a certain extent. Learning something hands on, while actually
experiencing it is the best way to learn for me. But that kind of learning, combined with
prior education on the topic, whether it be through reading or lecture, has
proved to be even more of a learning boost.
So my short answer would be that a combination
of reading and actually experiencing is the best way to learn about yourself
and the world.
Submitted by Dan Pavlik
on 2/22/19.