I think his point was that you CAN buy a $7 beer in a bar, but you can also buy a $1 beer at a grocery store like Trader Joes. So $7 is the high end here, not the "frugal" option.
Years ago, I met a French woman who had decided to take up residence in Berlin. She told me that the city's unofficial motto was "poor but sexy".
I believe it may even have made it into official marketing campaigns since then. Berlin is gentrifying fast though. The Neukölln neighbourhood is unrecognisable to the place I moved to 4 years ago.
You'll pay $7 for a 20oz point of something nice at a bar.
You can buy 6 packs of good craft beer for $7/$8 at any grocery store.
Grocery store prices are not adjusted to local rental rates?
I don't see why not, they have to pay rent too.
That was my question. $7-8 for 6 pack of beer seems exceptionally good value for a city like SF.
Im thinkning of moving to München, this might be another reason too. A Heiniken 33cl beer in Stockholm costs around 12 USD if you are at a nightclub, otherwise around 10 USD.