Strong Euro, Weak Dollar

Every morning on my way to class, I pass by a currency exchange shop that caters to the many international tourists that flood the streets of Florence. Along the sides of the door, they post the exchange rates of different currencies, and every morning, I can see how the Yen or the Pound are doing against the Euro. Featured in the very front of the window is sign in red and blue marker posted is the exchange rate for the US Dollar to the Euro: $100 to €60. All I can say about that is that it hurts to be American in Europe.


When my plane touched down in Rome, I had €50 in my pocket and almost $100 in my bag. Today, if you weight both amounts of cash on the international value scale, it would balance out. The exchange rate has not been so kind to me in Italy, and I have felt it most in my wallet.
Everywhere I go, whether it’s the grocery store or the marketplace, I am constantly multiplying in my head. If every euro I spend is really $1.60, I look at everything as costing 1-½ times and then some. Being American in Italy, for me, means developing a sense of frugality, especially after weeks of spending almost double for everything.


In Capri, I met a couple from New York who had returned to Italy after 30 years in the United States. They reminisced about the good times when you could walk into a trattoria or wine shop in Italy and pay in American dollars. Back then the dollar was strong against the lire. The Italians would have been foolish not to accept American currency. It is a different world today.

The euro came into existence in the nineties under the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. Each member participating in the currency changeover had to meet strict criteria, which focused on budget deficit, debt ratio, inflation, and interest rates. Today, if money talks, the volume of the Euro would rival that of a Pavarotti aria.

It is especially troubling when a place like Florence is full of those tourist traps into which we often fall. On my first night in the city, my roommates and I stopped into a restaurant where we each paid €9.50 for Pepsi. Everyday items seem to vary in price depending upon where you go, and it can be difficult to get an idea of what the standard is.


There are some spots in Florence that are kinder to those of us with US bank accounts. JJ Cathedral, where all of the employees also speaking English, near the Duomo has a happy hour where you can pay in US dollars. This is one of the very few places where the Americans have the kind of buying power that we do at home.


My time in Italy has been very expensive, and I have been living without many of the luxuries that I have as an American. Every morning, I hope to pass by the shop and see some kind of gain on the sign. The good news is that the numbers are not written in stone. Since I arrived, I’ve seen two significant gains for the dollar. By the time I leave, living here might just become affordable.