Most people travelling to Florida will be aware or will have been told, that the shopping in America is so much cheaper than in the UK. People often plan their holiday around what they are going to buy; clothes, shoes, handbags, make-up, sun glasses etc.
However what you may not have thought of, or realised, is that just about everything is cheaper. This includes bed linen, towels, household appliances (excluding electrical goods, which are a different voltage) laptops, tablets, cameras, prescription lenses in spectacles, toys and many more.
An Apple Mac, for example, is £999 in the UK but $999 in the US. Laptops and tablets are dual voltage but you will need a different plug or an adapter to use them in the UK. I have never bought a laptop or camera in the UK since I bought my villa 12 years ago. I have all my glasses made up with my prescription lenses in Florida for half the price of the opticians in the UK.
Bed linen too I always buy in Florida to take home as the quality and price is so very much better. Sheets just keep going on and on wash after wash without showing any signs of wear. One tip though is to buy at least a 300 thread count or above. I usually buy 400 which is the best mid-range quality I have found. Towels are also beautiful and soft and if you go for a good quality, then you will get years of wear out of them. A good place to go is the Florida Mall and try J. C. Penny’s or Macy’s. I am afraid Walmart, although they do sell them, will not have very good quality and will not last through many washes.
It may be tempting to buy DVDs as they are so cheap, but be warned, they WILL NOT work in the UK unless you have a multi-regional DVD player. CDs though are fine. We go to our villa every November and we always buy all our Christmas presents in Florida, toys for the Grand children are so much cheaper and our children usually give us a list each as long as our arms!
So the golden rule is: Do not buy electrical goods as they are a different voltage and will blow up if you plug them into the wall, except goods which are dual voltage. Apart from that buy everything you have room for – or buy another case – they are cheaper too.
However what you may not have thought of, or realised, is that just about everything is cheaper. This includes bed linen, towels, household appliances (excluding electrical goods, which are a different voltage) laptops, tablets, cameras, prescription lenses in spectacles, toys and many more.
An Apple Mac, for example, is £999 in the UK but $999 in the US. Laptops and tablets are dual voltage but you will need a different plug or an adapter to use them in the UK. I have never bought a laptop or camera in the UK since I bought my villa 12 years ago. I have all my glasses made up with my prescription lenses in Florida for half the price of the opticians in the UK.
Bed linen too I always buy in Florida to take home as the quality and price is so very much better. Sheets just keep going on and on wash after wash without showing any signs of wear. One tip though is to buy at least a 300 thread count or above. I usually buy 400 which is the best mid-range quality I have found. Towels are also beautiful and soft and if you go for a good quality, then you will get years of wear out of them. A good place to go is the Florida Mall and try J. C. Penny’s or Macy’s. I am afraid Walmart, although they do sell them, will not have very good quality and will not last through many washes.
It may be tempting to buy DVDs as they are so cheap, but be warned, they WILL NOT work in the UK unless you have a multi-regional DVD player. CDs though are fine. We go to our villa every November and we always buy all our Christmas presents in Florida, toys for the Grand children are so much cheaper and our children usually give us a list each as long as our arms!
So the golden rule is: Do not buy electrical goods as they are a different voltage and will blow up if you plug them into the wall, except goods which are dual voltage. Apart from that buy everything you have room for – or buy another case – they are cheaper too.