An American woman living in the UK has shared her surprise at the ‘cheap’ and ‘high quality’ groceries available in Tesco.
Mrs Haas, who moved from Alaska to the UK with her 11-year-old daughter to study for a PhD at Warwick University shared a video of her amazement while wandering through the aisles.
In a video shared to TikTok, the mother-of-two said: ‘One of the biggest moments I’ve been waiting for – getting to shop at an English grocery store and seeing the difference in the food, it’s everything I dreamt of.
‘Ella [my daughter] just found something we’ve never seen before,’ she added before picking up some Quorn scotch eggs.
She then excitedly shared her trolley, full of fresh fruit including grapes and plums.
‘Here’s what we have so far, I’m very excited,’ she added.
She then picked up chicken thighs and mince meat before declaring: ‘Look at the quality of the meat. It’s because there’s not a tonne of chemicals in there’.
She added that she was delighted that it was ‘affordable’, meaning she can eat healthily on a student budget.
After picking up a variety of fresh food, the mother-daughter duo headed to pick up three ready meals – delighted they could get them for £7.50.
‘We have a busy week, I’m starting my doctorate and Ella is starting secondary school, we need pre-made stuff’.
The mother-of-two added that she was ‘still on the same aisle’ and that she ‘can’t get down it’ because she ‘loves European food so much’.
‘I’m just in heaven,’ she added.
The mother-of-two, whose husband and youngest daughter stayed in the US to join them at a later date, said her three reasons for moving to the UK are ‘no guns, healthcare and food quality’.
An American woman living in the UK has shared her shock at the ‘cheap’ and ‘high quality’ groceries in Tesco. Mrs Haas, who moved from Alaska to the UK with her 11-year-old daughter to study a PhD at Warwick University shared a video of her amazement while wondering through Tesco
Mrs Haas excitedly shared her trolley, full of fresh fruit including grapes and plums.
It comes after another American mother living in the UK has broken down the price difference in groceries on both sides of the Atlantic, leaving people surprised by how much cheaper food is in Britain.
Abigael Lanai, who is from Colorado but living in London, often shares videos on the differences between the two countries on her TikTok page.
However her followers were stunned to learn that many of the UK’s basic food items are typically a lot cheaper than in the US.
In a video, which racked up more than 300,000 views, Abigael decided to compare the price of milk, apples, minced meat and carrots, taking into account the currency conversion.
She said: ‘Before I start, just for context, I’m going to be comparing Sainsbury’s here in England – which is the grocery story I go to – to the grocery store I shopped at in Colorado called King’s Super, literally down to the location.
Abigael Lanai, who is from Colorado but living in London, compared food prices in the US versus the UK on TikTok and people are shocked
‘This might vary depending on where you’re located in the US or what store you’re shopping at.’
Abigael went on to compare milk saying in the US it costs 50 cents or 40 pence more for the exact same amount.
She said: ‘Let’s start with whole milk. I need to buy this every few days for my daughter. It’s £1.65 for 2.27 litres.’
So if you put that into a conversion, you’re expecting £1.65 to convert to $1.99 in the US, if we were expecting the prices to be similar.
‘You can do the math if you want to, but 2.27 litres is equivalent to half a gallon in the US and where you would expect to pay $1.99 if you were here in England, it’s $2.49.
‘So that’s 50 cents or 40 pence more for the exact same item.’
She went on to examine the prince of apples, which can be double or even triple in the US.
Abigael added: ‘One red apple 25p, that’s the equivalent to 30 cents an apple if you were expecting the same in the US.
‘But it’s sure not – 67 cents for a small one or 95 cents for a large, so it’s depending on the size.’
Moving on to the minced meat she said 500g costs £1.99 from Sainsburys however in the US the same portion would be $5.49.
In a video, which racked up over 300,000 views, Abigael decided to compare the price of milk, apples, minced meat and carrots
Her followers were stunned to learn that the content creator found the UK’s food items are typically a lot cheaper than the US
She added: That’s $3.09 or £2.56 more in the US for the same product.’
Lastly, Abigael said a 1kg bag of carrots is 50p in the UK, while in the states it would be $1.99, which works out as £1.15 more.
Ending the video she said: ‘If you want me to compare other products please let me know in the comments. I felt like that was fairly well rounded with a dairy, a protein, a veg and a fruit.
US V UK Food Price Comparison
WHOLE MILK
UK price
£1.65
APPLES
UK price
25p
MINCED BEEF
UK price
£1.99
CARROTS
UK price
50p
US price
$2.49
US price
96 cents
US price
$5.49
US price
$1.99
Difference
40p/50 cents
Differnce
54p/66 cents
Difference
£2.56/$3.10
Difference
£1.15/$1.39
‘Obviously it’s going to vary a little bit because the salary that people make out here is typically less than the salary people will make in the US so that definitely plays a role. But for my family in particular, we went from being a two-income household because I was working full-time, to being a one-income household.
‘And my husband makes the same amount, so his money goes a lot further here.’
Many rushed to the comments to leave their own thoughts on the price of food.
One person said: ‘Lived in the UK in 2017, I was shocked at how much cheaper food was. Restaurants seemed more expensive though.’
Another said: ‘Sainsbury’s is expensive, but yes we are so much cheaper than anywhere in the world x
Someone else said: ‘I’m blown away by how expensive the US prices were compared to UK! Had no idea US was so much more expensive.’
A fourth wrote: ‘America is so expensive! how are apples so affordable in England !? I usually pay $5-6 dollars for 4 apples not organic at Walmart…ridiculous.’
