coming from London only recently, I've certainly had to cut certain luxuries out of my regular shopping list. Things which are disproportionately more expensive here: Parma/Serrano ham, smoked salmon, good cheese, good wine, corona (WTF?), clothes, pots of pans (of equal quality), the list goes on...

However, the meat here (with the exception of Lamb) is of great quality and really affordable. Fillet Mignon was a luxury in the UK, here it is standard stuff. Fruit and vegies are super cheap here, even the exotic fruit which costs a fortune abroad. The deli counters here are packed with funny looking pastries and while they may cause a heart-attack - most of them are really tasty!

The moral of the story for me? For every "European" luxury that I can’t put in my shopping basket here, I instead put a local product. And when you’re halfway through eating a perfectly ripe mango, who needs smoked salmon anyway?