Cost of living in European countries

Hi, this' Rose & Innocent , we actually are new bies to life and for sure living in France is worth expensive more than in Ireland, thgough with our much eforts, we harneses a new structural plan to live and invest in Europe more than elsewhere.

Hi!  So I live in a town where there only 2 Westeners (Americans).  SO life is not expensive at all.  I live in Karlivka, Ukraine, 50 kilometers from Poltava, about 300 kilometers from Kyiv.

I have a 2 room apartment  costs 300 hryvnia a month (1US dollar = 5 UAH)
Monthly Electric bill about 40 hryvnia.
Internet about 20 USD a month (not very good internet)
Transportation on a bus is like 50 to 75 kopek.  In bigger cities it gets up to 2 hryvnia.  The Metro in Kyiv is 50 kopek to anywhere.  Long distant busses and trains range from 2 USD to 25 USD.
Food costs range depending on the gardening season.  Summer and Fall are great.  ONe kilo of tomatoes is 1 hryvnia.  But in Winter and SPring it gets up to 17 hryvnia.
A bottle of beer is like 3 hryvnia.  Or you can get a 2L bottle for 7 hryvnya.
Going to a decent restaurant in Poltava (there are none in Karlivka) will put you back maybe 10 USD each.  A decent pizza chain (Chilentano's) will set you back 6 USD.
Theater tix are like 4 USD.  There are no English language cinemas, though the Kino will cost you 2 USD.
Cell phone usage usually ends up being like 25 USD. 
Oh what else?  I forget the list.  You also should know that the area of Ukraine where I live IS NOT PRETTY.  So you get what you pay for.  Kyiv is STUPID expensive, and still not very pretty.  For the same amount of money you could live in a much nicer area in Europe.  Poltava is nice though (for Ukriane).

Currently living in Bristol, United Kingdom. Costs given in Euros.

Let's compare the:
> accommodation prices
1100,- Euro for one room studio flat (L-shaped with kitchen/living room/bedroom all in one) in the city centre;

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
I don't take any, however, single starts with 2,50 Euro and roundtrip to outskirts up to 5,- Euro

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)
I'm looking after what I spend and most of my shopping I do in ASDA, but still - around 200-250 Euro a month

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
NHS. No costs so far. [touchstone]

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)
-

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Not sure to be honest since I don't drive and for my housing it's included.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
30,- Euro for 10 MB/s cable broadband;
140,- Euro per year for TV license;
40,- Euro a month for mobile phone (400 mins/200 sms/120 Mb GPRS/insurance etc)

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
Starting at 12 Euro (like Sunday roast)

> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub
Beer - 4,- Euro a pint
Coffee - 2,- Euro a pint

Does anyone live in Lisbon, Portugal?  My husband and I (he's Portuguese and I am American) plan to move there and would like to know the cost of living in Lisbon.
Thanks.

conrad wrote:

Hi

This is my first post and i will write about the prices in Romania .
I will write the prices in my city which is very close to the Hungarian border but you'll have to expect the accomodation price to be more expensive in Bucharest  which is the capital of Romania .

Updated prices for 2008 Romania, city of Iasi
(2nd or 3rd largest city by population, located in North-East)
All prices are in EUR and include VAT.

> accommodation prices
A furnished apartment (45 sqm = livingroom + bedroom + bathroom + kitchen) in an acceptable area = EUR 350-400 per month
(first payment is usually: 1 month in advance, plus 1 month security deposit, plus 1/2 month as agent's fee)

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
a bus ticket for two rides = EUR 0.70
a 30 day pass for one bus line = EUR 8.6
(a quite crappy) 2nd class train ticket to the other side of the country: the border with Hungary (611 Km in 11:30 hrs) = EUR 20

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)
10 chicken eggs = EUR 1.8
1.5L bottled mineral water = EUR 0.66
1L milk = EUR 0.55 (updated due to a currency exchange error )
0.7 kg bread = EUR 0.75
1 Kg grill chicken = EUR 2.4

Sorry. I don't know how much is this per month
NB: these are prices for small shops. Hypermarkets usually have special offers and lower prices.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
National insurance: 6.5% per month from your earnings (if you are self-employed; don't know for other employee types). Dental is not covered but it's waaay cheaper than Western Europe.
Warning: Hospitals are not very well equipped and medics not very well paid, so be prepared to pay extra for serious things (as a bribe/incentive to the performing doctor if you need surgery: EUR 100+)

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)
in a state University = free for some students, and usually EUR 450 to 650 per year for others (free/not free, depends on grades)

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
electricity = -i don't know-
heating during this winter was = about EUR 20/month x 4 months (for a 45 sqm apartment)
car gas or diesel = about EUR 1.10 per L

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Landline phone + 3 mbps internet with no other limits = EUR 10 to 15
Mobile 3G/EDGE/GPRS internet = EUR 24 (with a download limit of 6 GB per month)
Prepay Mobile phone (flat tariff plan): EUR 0.06/sms, EUR 0.19/min to any national network at any time, EUR 0.12/min to one favourite number
Cable TV, about 40 stations w/o HBO = about EUR 6

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
-don't know-

> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub
a 0.5L beer = EUR 0.90 to 1.40 (depends on brand and type)
a pack of 20 cigarretes = EUR 1.70 to 2

Amstelveen, bedtown of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Accomodation: 2,000 eur per month for a 120 sqm fully furnished semi-detached house, including gas and electricity but excluding waternet bill which is some kind of sewage tax you have to pay for living in the low-land.

Food prices: 200~250 per week for four of us.

Internet: for a internet + tv contract, 74 euro per month.

Food in traditional restaurant: You pay 15 ~ 20 euros per dish at a plain chinese restaurant.

Taxi ride : Once we called a taxi to the airport which is only 3~4 km away and paid 40 euros.

Education: Free for local school but international schools are expensive. ISA 17,000 per year, British 13,000 p/y, and the cheapest one where I send my kids costs 400 euro per month, of course per kid.

Gas: 1.55 Euro for gasoline(benzine) and 1.35 for the diesel

Car maintanence fees: I paid 900 euro for exchanging a door lock. and 750 euro for the scratch of front right panel.

Buying a car: There's a special road tax on vehicles, BPM or something, which makes the car price maybe the most expensive in the world. Check the website www.autotrack.nl for used car prices.


Life in the netherlands is not as fancy as I expected at the beginning because of,
cost of living being too high for a single earning family,
people are nice and possess good level of english but also force you to speak Dutch and will not emotionally accept you till you speak dutch,
depressing weather for the half of a year.

I am not the greatest expert on cars nor on taxes, but I think BPM is a tax related to the import of taxes. Unfortunately Dutch automobile construction is negligeable. However, used cars can be fine too.

You should be able to cut back a bit on at least some living expenses. I used to have a 30 euro internet contract and some 12 euro cable tv contract, and I used to pay about 450 euros a month for a mortgage on my house (in Utrecht, which is not more expensive than Amstelveen). As you may need a bigger house than mine was, you might not be able to cut back this much, but I am positive that you should be able to find something more reasonable than 2000 euros.

If you plan to stay in the NL for a while, you may want to consider to let your kids learn Dutch and send them to Dutch schools.

I'm curious to know what you consider 'not being emotionally accepted'.

I apologize for the depressing weather almost all the time... and also for the crowded beaches because of the past few days' weather. :-)

Take care!

hi there
i can give you some more info about living in ghent belgium
there is a big difference between Brussels and Ghent of course

so i can start with housing this is about 400 euro monthly for a nice house or a rather big apartment. Can be cheaper and of course more than that but the normal price is that and this does not include electricity, water and gas.

gas and electricity may vary depends on use but 100 per month
water 30euro on the 3 months.
Fooding this is not expensive like 60 - 100 a month
if you cook at home not in a restaurant
eating out can be as 5 euro if you get the chips with mayo
or 30 if you go to a restaurant- nice meal .
tabacoo way too much 5/40 per pack
internet around 40 euro
tel, mobile - can be 10 euro can be 25 if on contract depends on the provider.
clothing great deals on sales cheap really
if no sales pretty normal
school if language- 20 euro can be 400 if in the uni language centre.
but compared to uk uni higher education is really cheap
i study architecture and this is 500 euro a year .

well for one 1000 euro per month is good to have nice life style not too much but far from surviving. and this you can get with around 25 hours of work in a restaurant or a store.
if you have a better job you would earn more.

hello! I live in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, it is the most expensive Croatia's city, although it is very cheep comparing to other european capitals.

> accommodation prices
well, the rent of an apartment depends on the size and the location, you can get a bigger apartment half an hour from a center for 400 euro, and a studio one for 200 (even less, if you're lucky) in the center you'll pay a big apartment (4-5 bedrooms) 1000-2000 euro max, and a studio 250-500 (again, depending on luck). Students can also get a dorm, on campus, wich is also very cheep, 70-500kn (10-70euro) a month, depending on the dorm and the number of roommates. But it is quite difficult to get a dorm, because many students apply and there isn't enough space, so only a small percentage of students actually live there.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
there is no subway in Zg, a tram/bus ticket is 10kn (1,4euro) and is valid for an hour and half, and you can buy a daily ticket which is 20kn (2,8euro) or you month-pass or a year-pass. Student,pupils, disabled and retired people don't have to pay for a ticket, they get a free year pass. Train is the fastest way to go from one side of the city to the other and it cost max 15kn (2euro), depending on the distance.

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)
well, we spend up to 500euro a month on groceries, but we're a big family (5).. students eat in students restaurants very cheep, (depending on what you eat and how much, but you can't spend more than 2 euro, no way, you can't eat that much)


> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
hm...I don't know that information, I'm a student and the government pays our medical insurance.

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)
2 semesters (at the University)cost 5500-9000kn (700-1300euro), depending on the course


> energy prices (oil, electricity)
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
all together, my family has 2000kn bills per month (280euro), including internet and phone, but we have a big house.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
hm... again depends! you can get a good meal for 15 euros for two people
> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub
beer...10-20kn depending on the location (1.5-2 euro)
a cup of coffe, well depending on what kind of coffee and where... but 5-15kn (0.7-2euro)

Live in Dublin Ireland, pop about 1.2m capital of Irelaand

accommodation prices:
to rent 2 bed apartment within town centre - €1400, to rent similiar within 30 mins by pub transport €1100

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)
buses & trams about €2 per journey around city
> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)
big mac meal is €7, average food bill per month would be about €200
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
pay €50 per month for health insurance

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)
not sure
> energy prices (oil, electricity)
elec bill about €50 per month
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
internet - 20
tv - 30
phone - 20
mobile - depends mine is about 60 a month, use it a lot though
> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant
so dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine, in a nice enough place ( nothing too crap or too swanky) would be about €80-€100
> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub
beer about €4.50, coffee about €2 - €2.50

I live in Constanta, Romania a coastal city of more than 300.000 pop.

accommodation prices:
varies between 150 Eu for a studio to 500 Eu for a 3 bed apt.

public transportation:
30 Eu per month for all means of transportation within Constanta
1 single ticket: 0,4 Eu

food prices:
one can live with min. 150 Eu per month
examples:
McMenu at McDonald's is 3,5 Eu
Hamburger, cheesburger at McDonald's: 0,7 Eu
Whole chicken from supermarket: 3,5 Eu
1 kilo of white potatoes: 0,5 Eu
3 course meal in a restaurant: 6-10 Eu including drinks
tobbaco: 2 eu/ pack
kebab: 1,5 eu

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
high speed internet: 10 eu / month (need to say very cheap?!)
electricity: 20 eu/ month
TV: up to 15 eu/ month (including HBO)
mobile phone: app. 10 eu/ month, mostly less than that

education prices:
1 year at university (studying in Romanian): 550 Eu (for EU students, 3000$ for international students)

my conclusion, as a Romanian: Cheap!

All, very interested to also get information concerning cost of living in Europe. I could find 1 interesting link covering International cities: http://www.finfacts.com/costofliving.htm

Let me know if you can find any other source like this covering also taxes and other health care & expenses.

Thanks.

Hello,

I am going for an internship in Geneva in the summer 2009 and my gross salary will be 4355 CHF.

Would that be enough to cover my basic costs in the city? If not, how much more money you think I will be in need of?

Thank you all very much, it is so hard to find actual living cost info over the internet!

does any one know prices example gas electric ,place to rent in tenerife north

Hi all,

I'd be grateful fof some information regarding current cost of leaving in Barcelona, Spain.

Thank you in advance!!!

Jomtien Thailand:

Rental flat: 101 sq.meter one bedroom plus, water and electricity 650 euro per month
Cable Internet and tv: 45euro
Monthly pass for public transportation: 7 euro

Public health care: Very high quality and about one third of European prices
Private dentist: Check up and clean up - 11 euro

Food is cheap if it is produced here and if it is right season.
Local food in a local restaurant costs about 2 Euro's per head for several dishes..European style Restaurants cost 5 Euro's per head
Beer is 1 Euro in a pub, wine is comparitively expensive about 12 euro's a bottle for house wine.
Electrical goods are the same price as in Europe generally.
Clothes are about 60% of EU prices, unless bought at the many local markets. Typically a good pair of Jeans 6 Euro's, Tshirt 1 Euro, Skirts & Tops, 1 to 2 Euro's each

Johno > you should post your info in the cost of living in Thailand thread (this one is dedicated to cost of living ... in europe ) Thanks!

We are in agreement with noelkim above about The Netherlands!

Quickly: 1300/month for rent, admittedly nice but small (of course) house in nice neighborhood in Utrecht. But I was playing 30% less for 130sq/mtr in great neighborhood in Copenhagen.

Energy: Wow. 130/month for our first month here, and its SUMMER!

Food: can't get out of the store without spending 25 euros, which is more than 600/month if you eat home and enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner (its for two of us!) :-)

Public transport: for a 20 minute bus ride to work, which office reimburses because i work for an enviro group, is 6.40 a day.

Internet/tv: 40 euro/month
Phone: mobile is about 40/month

Health insurance: no idea yet. probably expensive.

Having just moved here from Copenhagen, which made 7th on the overall europe Cost of Living list, i have to say that that calculation is WRONG. MUCH more expensive here.

Best example: gym, best in copenhagen, TWO centers within biking of my apt, 179krn/month, about 25 euros. Here? Modest one starts at 40 euro/month, good one is 50.

whew. Thanks. GREAT blog topic, made me sign up.

Mitch

Hello.

I'm going to Milan in a few months, and the more I search, the more "scared" I get about the prices of stuff there!

Anyone from Milan around that can give me a more deeply idea of how is like to live there? Thanks

Curious what 2010 cost of living expenses are now in various European countries -- what with various economies having had a bit of a substantial depression......

Hello from crisis-struck Greece...

Here it is:

- Rent: 700 per month for a 2 bed flat
- Electricity: 300 euro per quarter
- Education: Free at state schools/universities
- Healthcare: Free at state hospitals, ridiculously expensive
  otherwise.
- Transport: 1 euro for a one-way metro ticket
- Telephone (mobile + landline) 80 euro per month. 50 euro more for cable tv.
- Heating: 60 euro per month
- Water: 20 euro per month
- Supermarket (for 2 adults and 1 baby): 450 euro per month
- Beer at a pub/bar 6 euro per bottle
- Coffee at a cafe: 4 euro
- Car Fuel: 1.60 euro per litre
- Issuing/renewing a passport: 75 euro
- Clothing: Obviously depends... a long sleeve Zara top costs 25 euro on average.

Take care

Really helpful, ekostop in crisis-struck greece.... such a lovely country in a painful mess like so many places world-wide these days...

Would love to hear from other countries in europe, too, who know the reality of what's going on....

Here is an update for Sofia, Bulgaria

Let's compare the:
> accommodation prices
Normal:
Rent: 350 EUR for apt. with 2 bedrooms and living room in new building and nice neighborhood
Buy: 100000 EUR for the same apt.
Minimum:
Rent: 100 EUR per month for studio in seedy neighborhood
Buy: 30000 EUR for the above studio

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)

Single ticket: 0.50 EUR
1 month pass for all lines: 25 EUR

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)

400 EUR for a family of three without tobacco & alcohol

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)

Free if insured, 10-25 EUR per visit without insurance

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)

schools & kindergartens - free
private university - 500 EUR per semester for EU citizens


> energy prices (oil, electricity)

electicity - 30 EUR per month if not used for heating
cold water - 5 EUR per month
hot water & central heating during the winter per 50 sq.m. averaged on an monthly basis - 37,5 EUR (60 EUR during 6 months cold season and 15 EUR during spring - summer months)

Petrol - 1 EUR per litre (varies according to international prices)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Internet - 15 EUR per month very fast broadband over LAN
Cable Television - 15 EUR per month, over the air TV free
Landline - 6 EUR per month
Mobile phone with average use - 30 EUR per month


> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant

10-12 EUR per person

> prices of a beer and of a coffee in a regular pub

1 EUR coffee cup
1 EUR beer

--- Line of normal living for family of 3 - 750 EUR per month

Hello all. 

New to this post and see most of it is old.  Any chance some of you could update your costs/experiences in mid/eastern europe -2011 euros? 

The more info the better, general costs, local friendliness towards outsiders and ease to acclimate and make friends.

I am mainly thinking Berlin, Ukraine, Croatia, Bulgaria,Kosovo and maybe Poland.....and yeah I realize Berline is a country and the rest are countries!    But any main cities in those countries intrigue me.   

Thanks all!

Cheers!  David 

Hi David,

you should have a look to the countries forums, I guess you'll find more recent posts there. And by the way your question about languages is kind of off topic, you should start a new thread

thanks,

Julien

BUSTED! 

Thank Juilien, it drives me crazy too on my blog when someone sneaks in a two for one in a post.  It's corrected and hopefully all you wise ones will shout out some current info cause it's a great blog. 

Thanks again!

For Oslo:

- Rent: 1000 euro for small flat, 1 bedroom
- Electricity: 150 euro for small flat 50 sqm, incl heating
- Education: Free at state schools/universities
- Healthcare: Free at state hospitals, ridiculously expensive
  otherwise.
- Transport: 70 euro for monthly pass, 4 euro for 10 km by bus
- Taxi: 10 km for 55 euro
- Telephone: 0,12 euro for 1 min prepaid, 40 euro for cable tv, 40 for 10 mb internet.
- Heating: 75 euro per month for 50 sqm.
- Water: if renting flat its included, if you own your own flat         you must pay about 85 euro for water and garbage monthly
- Supermarket (for 1 adult): 350 euro per month
- Sigarettes: 10 euro for 20 pcs.
- Wine: 12 euro at the shop, 3 euro for beer
- Beer at a pub/bar 9 euro for pint
- Coffee at a cafe: 4 euro
- Car Fuel: 1.90 euro per litre
- Clothing: like most of europe
- Restaurant: 1 drink for 12 euro, beer for 9. McDonald menu for about 11 euro. Eating at a lovely restaurant about 30 euro for main dinner without dessert and wine for one person. A bottle of wine for 30 euro at restaurant. Expect to pay about 130 euro for two persons incl wine and dessert.

What is most expensive in Norway: rental/buying flat and houses, nightlife and taxi, meat like chicken-lamb etc, restaurant, tobacco and alcohol,

Not expensive: Phone, internet, electrisety, gasoline, non-food groseries and clothes - if you compare to other european countries.

A norwegian income after tax: 2800 euro for a simple/easy job.

Hi zeast!

Thank you for your contribution.

Harmonie.

Hi everyone. Great post, I just registered to contribute. So let's see where Moscow, Russia is on the list in terms of prices/cost of living. (all rates in euros)

- Rent: about 800 for a studio
- Electricity: could be included in the rent; otherwise about 10  per month
- Education: Free for residents at state schools/some universities; really depends on the school.
- Healthcare: Free at state hospitals, but I prefer private doctors (a routine check-up with my ob-gyn is 30 )
- Transport: less than 1 euro for a one-way bus/tram/underground ticket
- Telephone (mobile + landline) 15-20 per month.
- Heating: usually included in the rent
- Water: usually included in the rent
- Food (for 2 adults): 800-1000  per month (we cook at home but we try not to save on food, read labels etc)
- Coffee at a cafe: 3-5
- A meal in an average restaurant for two (wine not included) 30
- Cinema - about 7-8
- A women's magazine - about 3-4

Hi feelingual!

Thanks for your contribution

Armand

ciao a tutti, vivo a Skalica in Slovacchia:

-affitto appartamento di 50/60m2 2camere,cucina,bagno 270/350€ compreso di acqua,luce,gas,riscaldamento

-comprare appartamento 1000/1200€ m2

-costruire villa/bungalow 1200/1500€ m2

-educazione gratuita fino all'università

-sanità: si paga un'assicurazione obbligatoria per tutti detratta dal salario.per i liberi professionisti è circa il 7% del fatturato con un minimo di 48€ al mese. in ospedale privato 50/100€ day-hospital, 200/400€ operazioni di routine

-trasporti pubblici: treno locale o diretto per 80km di tratta 3€, intercity 4,3€; autobus extraurbano 0,5/1€ in più del treno per gli stessi km, a bratislava biglietto autobus urbano 0,7€ per 1 ora

-taxi 0,9/1€ al km

-telefono cellulare: 15/20€ al mese per uso normale, ma con speciali opzioni e contratti e chiamando all'estero per lavoro 60/80€ mese.

-internet 7/12€ al mese se con o senza limiti di dati

-cibo per due persone comprando alimenti di marca e prodotti originali italiani (non molto comune qui) 400€ mese, ma si può tranquillamente spendere 300€ o anche meno.

-caffè e thè al bar 1/1,5€; birra 0,5l 0,7/1€,vino 0,25l 2€,torta 2,5€

-pranzo o cena al ristorante: ristorante costoso x2 persone con vino e carne (anche di selvaggina)30€. ristorante normale x2 persone con birra/acqua/cola 10/15€

-fast food in linea con il resto d'europa o 0,5/1€ meno

-cinema: 4,5/6,5€ a secondo se anteprima o 3D

-benzina 1.47€ al litro; gasolio 1.36€ al litro

-abbigliamento: t-shirt 5-10€, jeans 20/50€, intimo 2/10€

-piscina 2€ ad ingresso

-discoteca 1,5/2€ ad ingresso

Hello bubinko, thanks for your contribution, but I think that it would have been better in English as you are in the Anglophone forum.

Harmonie.

Lisbon, Portugal

Rent: 450 euro for small flat, 1 bedroom
- Electricity: 90 euro for small flat 50 sqm, incl heating
- Education: About the same  in private or state universities = 800/1500€ per semester.
- Healthcare: almost free at state hospitals, ridiculously expensive otherwise.
- Transport: 20 euro for monthly pass.
- Taxi: 1€ per Km
- Telephone: 0,12 euro for 1 min prepaid, 40 euro for cable tv, 40 for 10 mb internet.
- Supermarket (for 1 adult): 200 euro per month
- Sigarettes: 3.5 euro for 20 pcs.
- Wine: 3 euro at the shop, 2 euro for beer
- Beer at a pub/bar 3.5 euro for pint
- Coffee at a cafe: 0,80 euro
- Clothing: like most of europe
- Restaurant: 1 drink for 4 euro, beer for 3. McDonald menu for about 6 euro. Eating at a lovely restaurant about 15 euro.

Wow - This is amazing to me - almost everywhere seems so affordable to me. I live in Sydney, Australia, and I was looking at this post because I was thinking about moving to Europe.
Here are the costs in Sydney:

We live in a nice middle class suburb of Sydney. It's not very central, but it is near a nice beach. About 30mins drive to central Sydney or 30mins on the ferry or bus. It is about the same price as most central Sydney suburbs and places like Bondi Beach. I will convert the costs into euros so you can see the difference.

RENT:  We currently pay 1400euros per month for our room (for my husband and me) in a house sharing with 5 other people. We are  expecting a baby so we are trying to find a one bedroom apartment but the prices are so high and even a tiny little ugly one bedroom apartment is 1650euros per month. For a nice one bedroom with some sunlight it costs about 1865euros per month or more!

ELECTRICITY: Same as Europe or maybe slightly cheaper.

EDUCATION: University studies are about 5000euros per year if you are an Australian. But if you are a foreigner you have to pay "full fees" with no government discount so it is more like 19,000euros per year.


Food prices are running at 2.5 x UK cost of goods ( logistical costs / population density cited as reason why ?? )
Wine / Beer & Spirit prices ( retail ) currently running at up to 300 % !

FOOD/DRINK:
Prices near us are
Takeaway  coffee 3euros
Glass of Beer/Wine in a bar 7-9euros
Nice Restaurant Meal 30-50euros per person with a drink
WEEKLY FOOD/Groceries SHOPPING: We spend 250euros per week on average

PETROL: 1-1.3 euros per litre in Sydney I think many people spend 40euros per week on petrol

MOBILE PHONE: 40euros per month on average for me but some people spend more like 80-100

INTERNET: 50euros per month

TRIP TO THE CINEMA: 14euros per person

30 MINS FERRY OR BUS RIDE TO THE CITY: aprox 4euros

HEALTHCARE: Here is the one that is crippling for us personally. We pay 40euros per doctor visit for basic things and more for specialist doctors (this is after the government rebate the doctor actually charges about 70euros for ten minute appointment). We pay between 20 and 100 euros for medicines although if it is for something you caught overseas (as happened to us with a tropical malaria like disease) we have to pay 1000euros per month for medicine. Also my sister contracted lyme disease overseas and so the Australian Government and her private insurance will not pay for it so it is costing her 100,000euros for antibiotic treatment. Also I have decided to give birth at home with a midwife instead of going to the hospital and this costs an extra 5000euros compared to going to hospital!

CHILDCARE: 80-150euros per day (there is not really any help from the government in this area as far as I can see)

The unemployment rate is lower here than parts of Europe and wages are not bad but that is only relevant if you can both work. If you are unemployed, have young children, are unskilled, have health issues, are in your 70s or anything outside the 'norm' then it is very hard to live in Sydney. There is very little help for people who don't earn a lot of money and have extra burdens through health or other issues.

Hi There,
We are a family of four, and we plan to move to iceland. Would somebody please tell us how much money we would need per month?
Regards.

Hi there,
Well to live here in Cape Town as a family of four, you will need not less than ZAR 20.000, which is a little bit less than 2000.00 Euros. How would be the monthly living costs for a family of four, in Iceland?
Looking forward to hear from you all.

I'm living in Spain at the moment, and now is a cheap country, but people here don't earn too much money.

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mee too...