Friday, September 23, 2011

THE SOUTH IS NOT SO CHEAP



The commonly held belief that it is cheaper to live in the South of Italy than in the North may be a myth, according to a survey published this week by the consumers' association Altroconsumo:

A nationwide inquiry into prices at 949 stores in 91 cities has revealed Siracusa in Sicily to be the most expensive city in Italy in which to do a weekly family shop with Catania, Palermo and Messina being the fourth, eighth and ninth most expensive cities respectively.  Sassari in Sardinia was second in the list and Aosta third. 

Pietro Agen, the president of Confcommercio Sicilia, has commented that prices are, in general, lower in the South but that there are fewer chain stores and, where these exist, transport costs may be pushing up the prices of their products.

My personal observation would be that the survey does not take into account the low prices in some popular local markets in the South.

And the cheapest city in which to fill that family shopping basket, according to the survey? Verona.


2 comments:

LindyLouMac said...

Catching up on your posts, having been without an internet connection for most of this week, thanks to last Sundays storm. Interesting post, we are certainly finding living in Italy a lot more expensive than it was.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, LindyLouMac. We ngot the storm on Monday. Sorry your internet has been down. Yes, prices are creeping up.

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