I think it's in general a mistake to look at housing to get an idea of what a gil is worth, mainly because it's too tied to SE's rather unique housing philosophy - considering the size and the cost of a small house on Balmung, you're looking at prices comparable to Manhattan even at 10 gil per US dollar.
That said, looking at food prices is probably a good starting point. You can get a boiled egg for about 5 gil, whereas the same thing in the local ABC store is about $0.50. Fairly plan prepared dishes cost more than the egg, but not proportionately more. All together, I'd imagine the exchange rate to be around 5 gil per US dollar, but no more than 10.
This works for plain prepared dishes. It makes things like omelettes and orange juice work. The RPers 50 gil wine becomes something fairly nice. A 2000 gil courtesan ends up being affordable.
About the only thing it doesn't work for is housing and haircuts. I can live with that, though.
That said, looking at food prices is probably a good starting point. You can get a boiled egg for about 5 gil, whereas the same thing in the local ABC store is about $0.50. Fairly plan prepared dishes cost more than the egg, but not proportionately more. All together, I'd imagine the exchange rate to be around 5 gil per US dollar, but no more than 10.
This works for plain prepared dishes. It makes things like omelettes and orange juice work. The RPers 50 gil wine becomes something fairly nice. A 2000 gil courtesan ends up being affordable.
About the only thing it doesn't work for is housing and haircuts. I can live with that, though.
