Shopping in the North of Ireland

Over the past months much has been made of people travelling from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland where there is a lower cost of living and allegedly better value to be had. However, when one allows for the exchange rate difference between Sterling and the Euro, and unless one is travelling in a tax payer sponsored Ministerial limosine - one must also factor in travel costs. Today the Irish Times reports that 1 Euro will buy you 0.91720 Sterling, that means that your already down approx 10% on your Euro, and lets say for arguments sake you spend 20 Euro on petrol there and back, parking is mainly free in Newry. So lets take the ipod which is retailing in Newry at 108 Sterling but is retailing in Dublin at 139 Euro. By the time we convert our Euros to Sterling and account for our petrol money the saving is minimal. Other such luxuary items have a similar tail to tell, personally for these type of items unless your filling the your car boot its best to shop in the Republic, shop around. I was however able to buy a set of three painting canvases for 22 Euro in Easons in Newry while the exact same canvases were 59 Euro in Easons in Dublin, this type of disparity is not easy to explain. In relation to groceries and in particular any store giving you £1 Sterling for 1 Euro there is value to be had for a family sized trolley, yet if we shop around in the Republic we can find bargains, both Dunnes and Tesco are now providing a 55 cent white sliced loaf, both are also competing in frozen food and fresh meat departments. So my overall feeling is that shopping around in the Republic is the best option and it keeps our families, neighbours and friends in jobs. I dont think that anyone should deny themselves the experience of going to Belfast or Newry to shop, but I would ask people to do the hard sums before they go with the headlines of unbeatable bargains and money saving offers, just like the Republic you can find bargains in the north but you can also get ripped off. Happy shopping where ever its is.