I haven’t posted often in the past five weeks, mostly
because nothing of note has happened. We haven’t been anywhere or done anything
of interest. It has rained every night for the past two weeks…something I have
never seen before. Our streets and sidewalks are covered with water every
morning, impeding vehicle and pedestrian traffic though not to the extent of
the flood six weeks ago. The entire Peru coast is getting this rain. Older houses, especially
adobe are collapsing in many of the coastal cities.
It’s raining every night and it’s hot every day. March is
the hottest month of the year and this year is no exception. This is the first
time I have seriously considered buying an air conditioner. I’m talking about
portable units on wheels costing from $650 to $950. We’ve done without air conditioning
in the past, mostly because its only needed for six weeks or so and we don’t
have a place to keep it when not in use. A couple weeks ago I decided enough is
enough, so I went to Sodimac and Saga Fagabella to look at them. Both stores had
only a few in stock. I couldn’t make up my mind so went home to discuss it with Maribel. We made a choice and the next day I returned to Sodimac. They were
sold out. So was Saga Fagabella. Neither store has ordered more because “Fall
is coming.” So we’ll suffer through it for the next four weeks like everyone
else.
I came across an internet site that compares the cost of
living between two different cities. According to that site it is 51% more
expensive to live in Milwaukee Wisconsin than in Chiclayo Peru. I believe it…I
thought it would be more. It’s been said that a person can live like a king on
$1000 per month in Peru. That is certainly not true in Lima, and is stretching
it a bit in the other coastal cities, but you can live very comfortably on that
amount.
After thinking about cost of living comparisons I thought
that maybe a cost comparison of specific, common items in Chiclayo and
Milwaukee would make an interesting post. With that thought in mind I went to
Plaza Vea, our nearest grocery/department store to look at prices. I looked at
one item, lost interest and quit. The one item was Peter Pan crunchy peanut
butter in the 16.2 oz size. Walmart in Milwaukee sells it for $2.32. In Plaza
Vea it costs $5.80. But that huge difference is true of all imported items. Maybe
when it cools off I’ll take up that survey again. I’ll go to the small markets
and get prices on fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, poultry and milk. I should be
able to get apples-to-apples comparisons on those items.
I was in Lima for two weeks in February with my daughter and family and was surprised at the high cost of a can of Pepsi. My daughter tells me this is because it is an import, in accord with what you say. It appeared to me that the cost of many things in soles in Lima supermarkets is about the same as what the same things cost in dollars in a U.S. supermarket. Since the dollar is worth about 3.5 soles that would indicate an American going to Lima with dollars could get 3.5 times as much as in the U.S.
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