Spending a great deal of time overseas, I really do appreciate value for the dollar and I have not been getting much of it in recent years. The USD sucks everywhere. Or, so I thought. Here are some places the dollar is still strong.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/pf/080...neymag/?cnn=yes

True, I was just in Buenos Aires and it really is cheap. Their peso is tied to the US dollar so as we drop, so do they. In fact, it has become a major destination for Brazilians since their real is strong.

I found the same to be true of Uruguay. Their peso is tied to ours. Unfortunately, they don't have the same escort culture that Buenos Aires does.

In both countries, ATM's offered both their domestic peso and the US dollar and most cash registers held both currencies.

Dick

True, I was just in Buenos Aires and it really is cheap. Their peso is tied to the US dollar so as we drop, so do they. In fact, it has become a major destination for Brazilians since their real is strong.

I found the same to be true of Uruguay. Their peso is tied to ours. Unfortunately, they don't have the same escort culture that Buenos Aires does.

In both countries, ATM's offered both their domestic peso and the US dollar and most cash registers held both currencies.

Dick

Mexico is still pretty much a deal for Americans.

Spending a great deal of time overseas, I really do appreciate value for the dollar and I have not been getting much of it in recent years. The USD sucks everywhere. Or, so I thought. Here are some places the dollar is still strong.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/pf/080...neymag/?cnn=yes

Let's not forget that the dollar is always strong at Fox "News". There's no recession. There's no housing crisis and GWB is the greatest president ever.

I spent ten very affordable days doing nothing in Isla Mujeres off of the Yuctan Peninsula recently. A simple, yet nice ocean front hotel room was $100 a night. Traditional Mexican Meals could be had in the local Loncherias and Coctelerias of the town for $5-10. There's a great all night Taco stand that operates out of the town's baseball stadium from 8 pm to 5 am. A huge dinner can be had there including tacos, horchata and dessert for around $7.

If you're not enamored at the idea of eating the local fare, there is a more expensive and Americanized tourist district featuring bars and restaurants. Beer is a dollar a bottle everywhere on the Island.

There's no gay life of substance on the Island. But, you're only a short boat ride from Cancun if you can't live without for a few days.

I paid $1.63 per euro in Italy and $1.72 in France.

The upshot is obvious on any transatlantic flight. Not long ago these flights were jammed with Americans with a sprinkling of Europeans. The exact opposite is now true.