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senectus1

the current price of petrol in the use equates to about .98c a liter Australian.

We currently pay about $1.46 a liter....

so cry me a river US... you get it cheap.

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Since this story is primarily interesting to Americans, the price abroad per gallon is more helpful.

In Germany, the average price is $5.87/gal.

The price varies in the EU, but mostly reflecting average income. No one is surprised that it's more expensive in Finland ($6.38) and cheaper in Romania ($4.32).

https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Germany/gasoline_prices/

Worth noting that with what people make in Romania on average, $4.5 feels like $10-$15/gallon would feel like to Americans.

Yes, and that in absolute terms people in Romania pay more than people in the US.

A comparable price in US would probably be closer to $15. I don't know how to compute this with some public purchasing power parity numbers but I would be curious.

I'd imagine most folks in Romania can also easily get away with never owning a car in their lifetime, without any perceivable negative connotations to their quality of life, whilst it's not really a possibility in most parts of the US, especially in California.

Assuming that Romania is like the rest of ex-Eastern bloc, not really. You're good if you live downtown in one of the few major cities and don't need to get out of town (e.g. relatives in rural regions).

So sort of like US... If you move to NYC and don't need to get out of it...

I paid around $4.79 the other day in Poland - a country which is experiencing rapid growth in car ownership, because public transportation outside of cities has been all but dismantled.

All in all I think it wouldn't hurt to start driving either smaller or more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Poland is experiencing rapid growth in car ownership because people are getting wealthier and can afford cars and gas, while public transportation outside of dense cities is slow, inconvenient, expensive, or all of the above.

The point of the article isn't about how expensive gas is, but how much the price of gas varies between different states in the US. It would be like paying $1.46/l in Sydney, while the folks in Adelaide are only paying $0.70/l.

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