I’m tired of people saying this. I was in Taipei recently and had to do a reality check, because obviously, the exchange rate means the food seems cheap, but I checked again against local incomes, and yes, it turns out: Taipei has abundant cheap food relative to local incomes, beyond the wildest dreams of most American cities.

Americans need to stop telling ourselves this lie. We get so little for our money compared to other countries, and we should be furious.

so you think restaurants are the most important indicator of wealth? Americans are rich in land and cars. Whether thats important to you is a different question.

But I think the average resident of Taipei would trade their street food for a 3000 sqft house with a yard and a pool and a quiet neighborhood and 2 large luxury vehicles.