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
Using the formula in
the Big Mac Index interactive site, how much is the Big Mac
overvalued in the most expensive country, and how much is it undervalued in the
least expensive? Which countries would be the cheapest for travel, and which
would be the most expensive based on this index?
When
looking at the Big Mac Index, the country with the most expensive Big Mac is Switzerland,
at 6.71 US dollars. The most undervalued Big Mac is in South Africa, at 2.15 US
dollars. Based on this index it would be cheaper to travel to places like South
Africa or Russia, then to take a trip to Norway, Sweden, or Switzerland.
Ten common countries in the cheapest countries
listings
1. Thailand
2. Mexico
3. Vietnam
4. Columbia
5. Cambodia
6. Philippines
7. Ukraine
8. South Africa
9. Indonesia
10. Laos
Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
I used a combination of the
Big Mac index, as well as the list I created above to find a country to travel
to. I decided on Bangkok, Thailand from April 6th-28th. Because I am
travelling alone for this trip, I decided a hostel would be a good choice. I
found lodging for about 7 US dollars a day, with the total cost for lodging
coming to 151 US dollars for three weeks. I used a trip calculator to figure
out how much food would cost per day. According to Budget Your Trip, it
will cost 5.83 US dollars a day for food in Thailand. The total cost of the three-week
trip would be just over 1000 US dollars (specifically $1094). If I looked for a
cheaper flight, I could easily get the price under $1000.
Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
Just like with my trip to
the Eastern Hemisphere I used a combination of the Big Mac index, as well as
the list I created above to find a country to travel to. I choose to go to Havana,
Cuba from April 14th – May 5th. According to Budget Your Trip,
it will cost 7.96 US dollars a day for food in Cuba. I once again choose to
stay in a hostel, for 8 US dollars a night or $168 total. Altogether the trip
would cost 701.01 US dollars.
Safety Factor
Consider
the safety factor in the destination you have chosen. Take a look the Global
Peace Index rankings (A ranking of countries based on the Peace Index begins on p. 8.)
Which country would be the safest? Where is the United States ranked? Where do
your chosen countries rank?
Interestingly
enough, the United States is ranked lower than I thought at 121 out of 163. The
safest country to visit would be Iceland. Both of my countries I chose are
considered safer than the United States. Thailand is 113 and Cuba is rated at
81.
What do you think of the Leffel quote:
"You'll learn far more
than you ever did at a university.
Remember the old days when people got a liberal arts education? They went to
Oxford or Princeton to learn about history, politics, social studies,
geography, religion, foreign languages, and economics. Well you'll learn far
more about all those things by traveling than you ever can in college. Ask
anyone in their 30's how much they remember about these subjects from their
university classes. "Not much" will usually sum it up."
I somewhat
agree with Leffel’s quote. This stance feels a little
extreme for me. I definitely agree that traveling teaches people different things
than a classroom setting, however I could argue that an education makes
traveling mean something. I have an interest in geography and social
studies, and because of what I have learned at school I have come to appreciate
both the information I am taught by professors and information I learn from
experience. Travel is important, but I need a reason to travel.
Submitted by Sabrina Short
on 02/28/2020.