Wow, just researching gas prices around the world and came up with this

http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2012-05-12/highest-cheapest-gas-prices-by-country.html#slide9

Norway pays 9.69 per gallon
Denmstk psyd 9.37 per gallon
Italy 9.35
Netherland 9.35
Greece 9.23
Sweden 8.97
Hong kong 8.89
Great Britain 8.84


puts things in perspective,, but I still wiah prices were more in the 2 dollar range..lol

I would still rather live in Amsterdam. No traffic jams. Awesome public transportation. Able to ride a bike to work.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q-ej1eihoU

I miss those days as well.
Would you happen to know what minimum wage is in those areas? If basic pay is much higher than it is in the U.S. then it may not be as bad as it appears.

seems to be about 9.50 per hour according to this article

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/illuminator26/top-5-reasons-to-move-to-amsterdam.html

Federal Level (USD/h) Notes
Federal $7.25 The Fair Labor Standards Act sets. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which was signed into law on May 25, 2007,[5] increased the minimum wage by $2.10 over two years.
[edit] State

Note: The following tables can be sorted alphabetically or numerically using the Sort both.gif icon.
State Level (USD/h) Notes
Alabama None Federal minimum applies.[6]
Alaska $7.75 In 2009, a state law was passed to keep the state minimum wage 50 cents above the federal level.[7][8]
Arizona $7.65[9] Raised pursuant to FMWA.[10] Previous rate pursuant to Arizona Proposition 202. The state minimum wage is $7.65. The state tipped minimum wage is $4.65 per hour. This rate will be automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index. This rate increase does not affect student workers in places such as libraries and cafeterias because those positions are given by universities, which are State entities.[11]
Arkansas $6.25[9] Applicable to employers of 4 or more employees.
California $8.00[12] San Francisco $10.24 since 1/1/2012.[13] The Minimum Wage Ordinance states that exempt employees must make at least twice the state minimum wage.
Colorado $7.64[14] Set to increase or decrease according to yearly changes in inflation.[15] The state wage was increased to $7.36 per hour on January 1, 2011. The tipped wage increased to $4.34 per hour.[16] The state wage has been increased to $7.64 per hour on January 1, 2012. The tipped wage increases to $4.62 per hour.[17]
Connecticut $8.25 This rate was increased by 25 cents to $8.25 on January 1, 2010. Tipped employees earn $5.69 per hour, which is a tipped rate that is 69% of the state minimum wage. The wage is set to increase .75 cents to $9.00 beginning July 2012, and again the following year to $9.75.
Delaware $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Florida $7.67 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Rate is increased annually based upon a cost of living formula. $4.65 per hour for tipped employees.[18]
Georgia $5.15[9] [19] Only applicable to employers of 6 or more employees. If fewer than 6 then there is no minimum at all. Tipped employees earn $2.13. The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act when the Federal rate is greater than the State rate.[20]
Hawaii $7.25 Tipped employees earn $7.00 (25 cents less than the current state minimum wage).[21]
Idaho $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Illinois $8.25 Employers may pay anyone under the age of 18 fifty cents less. Tipped employees earn $4.95 (employers may claim credit for tips, up to 40% of wage[22]).
Indiana $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Iowa $7.25[23] Most small retail and service establishments grossing less than 300,000 annually are not required to pay the minimum wage. Tipped employees can be paid 60% of the minimum wage, which is currently $4.35.
Kansas $7.25[24] For many years, the minimum wage was set to $2.65, the lowest in the nation. The state wage was increased to match the federal level on January 1, 2010.
Kentucky $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Louisiana None Federal minimum applies.
Maine $7.50 Tipped employees earn $3.75 (one-half of the current state minimum wage).[25]
Maryland $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Tipped employees earn $3.63.[26]
Massachusetts $8.00[27] $2.63 for service (tipped) employees, $1.60 for agricultural employees. With time-and-a-half on Sundays (for retail workers only) the Sunday minimum wage is $12.00/hr.
Michigan $7.40 $2.65 for service (tipped) employees. Minors 16–17 years of age may be paid 85% of the minimum hourly wage rate (currently a rate of $6.29 per hour). Training wage for new employees ages 16 to 19 of $4.25 per hour for first 90 days of employment.[28]
Minnesota $7.25 (see Note) Small employers, whose annual receipts are less than $625,000 and who do not engage in interstate commerce, can pay their employees $5.25 per hour.[29] (Note: The federal minimum wage for all employers grossing more than $500,000 is $7.25 an hour as of July 24, 2009, so the Minnesota large-employer rate of $6.15 an hour is obsolete as of that date.)[30]
Mississippi None Federal minimum applies.
Missouri $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. This rate is automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index rounded to the nearest five cents. In October 2011, the Missouri Department of Labor announced that the state minimum wage would not increase in 2012.[31]
Montana $7.65 Raised pursuant to FMWA. This rate is automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Tip income may not be applied as an offset to an employee's pay rate. The minimum pay is $4/hour for business with less than $110,000 in annual sales.[9] The indexed minimum wage was increased 10 cents to $7.35 per hour on January 1, 2011.[32][33]
Nebraska $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Nevada $8.25 Rises with inflation.[34] The minimum wage increased to $8.25 on July 1, 2010. Employers who offer health benefits can pay employees $7.25.[35] In April 2011, Nevada's Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek announced that the minimum wage would remain at $8.25 per hour for the July 2011-July 2012 period.[36]
New Hampshire $7.25 In June 2011, media reported that state lawmakers approved legislation that repeals the state minimum wage law and aligns it with federal law.[37] The new law does not affect the tipped wage rate, which will remain at $3.27 per hour.
New Jersey $7.25 Attempted for an increase to $8.50[38]
New Mexico $7.50 $10.29 in Santa Fe since 3/1/2012.[39][40][41](Santa Fe has the highest minimum wage in the United States), Albuquerque's minimum wage is $7.50 per hour (employers who provide health care or child care benefits can pay employees $6.50 per hour).[42]
New York $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. New York also has a minimum for exempt employees $536.10 per week as of January 1, 2007.
North Carolina $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
North Dakota $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Ohio $7.70 This rate is adjusted annually on January 1 based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index.[43] and increased to $7.70 on January 1, 2012. $3.85 plus tips for tipped employees; $7.25 for employees under 16 years old and employees whose employers gross less than $283,000 per year.[44]
Oklahoma $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Federal minimum wage used as reference; no actual amounts written in law.[9] $2.00 per hour for work not covered by federal minimum wage (OK Statutes 40-197.5).
Oregon $8.80 Rises with inflation since 2003 due to Oregon Ballot Measure 25 (2002). The wage increased 30 cents from $8.50 to $8.80 on January 1, 2012.[45]
Pennsylvania $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Rhode Island $7.40 $2.89 for employees receiving tips.
South Carolina None Federal minimum applies.
South Dakota $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA.
Tennessee None Federal minimum applies. The state does have a promised wage law whereby the employers are responsible for paying to the employees the wages promised by the employer.
Texas $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Federal minimum wage used as reference; no actual amounts written in law.[9][46]
Utah $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Federal minimum wage used as reference after legislative action; no actual amounts written in law. Current rate took effect on September 8, 2007. $2.13 an hour for tipped employees. [9]
Vermont $8.46 Rises with inflation.[9] Tipped employees are paid $4.10.[47]
Virginia $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Federal minimum wage used as reference.[9]
Washington $9.04 Employees aged 14 or 15 may be paid 85% of the minimum wage, which is $7.68 as of January 1, 2012. Minimum wage increases annually by a voter-approved cost-of-living adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The wage increased 37 cents from $8.67 to $9.04 on January 1, 2012.
West Virginia $7.25 Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees at one location not involved in interstate commerce.[9]
Wisconsin $7.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. Tipped employees are paid $2.33.[48]
Wyoming $5.15 $2.13 for employees receiving tips. FMWA.
[edit] Territory
Territory Level (USD/h) Notes
American Samoa $2.68-$4.69 Varies by industry.[49] Planned increases to $7.25 by 2014.[50] On September 30, 2010, President Obama signed legislation that delays scheduled wage increases for 2010 and 2011. Annual wage increases of $0.50 will recommence on September 30, 2012.[51]
District of Columbia $8.25 Raised pursuant to FMWA. This rate is automatically set at $1 above the Federal minimum wage rate if the District of Columbia rate is lower.[52] The tipped wage in Washington, DC is $2.77 per hour.[53]
Guam $7.25[9]
Northern Mariana Islands $5.05 Since May 25, 2010. Planned increases to $7.25 by 2015.[50]
Puerto Rico $4.10[9] Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject only to the Federal minimum wage and all applicable regulations. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the Federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.

Puerto Rico also has minimum wage rates that vary according to the industry. These rates range from a minimum of $4.25 to $7.25 per hour.
U.S. Virgin Islands $7.25 Except businesses with gross annual receipts of less than $150,000, then $4.30. (In practice, the Virgin Islands adopts the Federal per hour rate)
[


the island tinian
they make only $3hour thats there min wage

This needs to be put in perspective. In Europe they have socialized medicine and partial socialized transpertation. All of this "socializm" is payed for by very high taxes. Taxes on gasoline are significantly higher in Europe than here at home. Things have a way of evening out.

That really doesn't mean much considering how different each area is.

Really wonder why if everyone is so tired of high gas prices (cars, insurance, and taxes) and we could manage to help build mass transit in many of the other nations of the world why a bettersystem does not exist in the USA.

Money, that's really what it comes down to.

I think a gallon is around 4 litres, so our fuel would be close to $8.00 a gallon, here a low income family is classed at anything under around $42000 a year, if you bring in under that and you have children, you recieve around $100 per child each week to help. You can still recieve some of this money until you earn something like $80000 a year.

I am on an average wage and keep around $800 a week in my pocket after tax. As a mum raising 4 children here alone, I recieve $450 from the government each week to help with school fees or whatever we choose to use it for.

An average home here is around $250 to rent each week, most of our foods are more expensive than yours, especially take away foods, which are a treat as they are to expensive for the rubbish you get.
Although I found that our meat was pretty much the same.

Since the US and Aussie dollar are only 3% apart currently they're almost equal.

$80000 US would be considered a very good income in the USA, except in metropolitan areas (New York, Los Angeles, etc.).

The USA federal poverty level for a four person household is $22000. $80000 would seem rich in comparison and would never qualify for state assistance.

I would have to do research but Aussieland taxes would have to be high for petrol costs to be $8 per gallon (roughly 4 litres).

We think they are high, on a wage of $500 you are taxed around $50

On a wage of $1000 you are taxed around $160 as you wages rise so does your tax rate.

Your employer pays your super which is 9% on top of your wage this is for your retirement and is invested in a fund of your choice.

You can have private health insurance which is a few hundred a month for your family, depending on the level of cover.

If you get sick and have to go to hospital it is free in any public hospital, regardless of wether you have insurance or not. We have private hospitals, which are flasher, but normally our public hospitals are better equipped.

The money that the government gives families is called family allowance, that is pretty much available to everyone who has children.

Then they have low income one which is for people under $42000 for the family. This gives you rent assistance and all medications are available for $5

Welfare is completely different, that is for people who do not work at all or work under around 15 hours. It is only around 2 or 3 hundred dollars a week per adult then you recieve the family allowance which is around $100 per child each week, although they do recieve all their medications for $5 they also recieve rent assistance and other payment when the government decides to hand them out. There is no time limit for this and some people live on it most of their lives,

Then you have Youth allowance which is to help children who are studying or at Uni,the government gives them a certain amount of money each week to help them be able to afford to keep studying. It is around $200 per week plus rent assistance

Really after visiting America over the last few years, My children and I realise how easy our lives actually are and how much we expect.

Here a normal job gives you at least 4 weeks paid leave every year, normally it is at least 6 with pay, then you have paid sick days, and all of our public holidays, Christmas, easter which we have Friday Sunday, and Monday off, as well as many other random days. The thought of having a job where you had to work without much time off would realy not be acceptable to most of us.

Here if a holiday like Christmas was on a Sunday. then we would have Monday off to make up for the holiday we lost.

Compared to America and most of the world, we are very very very laid back. Life here is not that serious, there is always someway to get help if you need it.