In Europe, weak dollar wrecks Americans' dreams

Sylvia Westall
Reuters
Monday November 19, 2007

Andrew Curry once loved going out for dinner and drinks in Berlin, feeling far wealthier in the German capital than he did at home in the United States.

With the dollar now worth about 20 percent less than when he first arrived in 2005, the 30-year-old freelance journalist has a leaner lifestyle.

"I used to be able to brag that Berlin was really affordable but now my rent actually works out on par with Washington and New York. It's pretty terrible," said Curry, whose income is almost exclusively in the devaluing currency.

"I do everything to try to spend fewer euros now."

The weak dollar and recent tax laws are hurting many of the 350,000 or so Americans who live in the European Union, especially those who are paid in dollars.

It is being felt by students, professionals and pensioners in Berlin, Paris and London -- where the dollar is at a 26-year low against sterling and, according to a Reuters poll, expected to stay above $2 to the pound for the next six months.

Full article here.