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Ask HN: Cost of living across the world (Ramen PPP Index for hackers)

• RealGeek 16y ago
  New Delhi (NCR), India Typical monthly wage for a programmer / designer: $300 to $500 Monthly Expenses: $860 Apartment Rent + Utilities: $500 Internet (2 Mbps): $50 Food: $100 Public Transport (Taxi+Bus+Metro): $100 (Higher if you mostly use taxi, and $300/mo for car) Coffee at a coffee shop: $60 ($2*30) Entertainment: $50
  • nileshtrivedi 16y ago
    So you would lose money by staying a programmer? :) Expenses seem to be on the higher side. 400$ is okay for a simple lifestyle.
    • RealGeek 16y ago
      Most programmers in India live in their parents house. So they save $500 on rent and are able to live on $400 per month. Programmers who move of parents house, share a 1 bed room apartment with 3 friends to save on rent and cover up their cost of living. Few of them make over $1000 per month and live independently, with a better lifestyle. You actually need at least $1000 per month for decent living in India. The $500 apartment I mentioned, is nothing fancy. Just a 1 bed room unfurnished apartment with bare minimum utilities and 12 hrs of daily electricity power cuts.
      • pbhjpbhj 16y ago
        >You actually need at least $1000 per month for decent living in India. $1000 USD is £630 GBP. Our family of 4 (2 young children) live on about £1000, ie $1600 - we have a private home with a bedroom each, run a car (necessary for work otherwise it we'd ditch it and use mass transit) and eat a moderately varied diet with meat/fish twice a day. I would say ours is probably unsustainable long term (clothing, building maintenance, increasing costs for the children) but a couple of hundred £GBP a month would be enough to change that (sadly the poverty trap probably means that we'd have to go to both being in full-time paid employment requiring full-time childcare just to get that £200 extra; poll tax mounts, allowances decline). Anyway, my point was I'm surprised by your figures for India. Cost of living seems a lot higher that I'd expect. But here's the rub - "decent living" has vastly different interpretations. I'd say we live decently despite living well below the official poverty line in our country. OT: we still pay taxes (but not lots) in part to help people on as much as 8+ times our per-person income to look after their kids.
        • RealGeek 16y ago
          $1000 is not poverty in India, its middle class. Officially, poverty is less than $1/day in India. But realistically, anything below $100 per month is extreme poverty. Most people with income of $1000 per month in India can afford a 2 bedroom apartment, a small car and good diet.
          • pbhjpbhj 16y ago
            >Most people with income of $1000 per month in India can afford a 2 bedroom apartment, a small car and good diet. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm surprised that it would be this much as I'm pretty sure that a couple in the UK can do a 2bed apartment, small car and good diet on the same amount; it would be hard and a little more would make it vastly easier. Maybe we're just doing austerity better than I thought we were.
        • blrgeek 16y ago
          His estimates are 2x what my wife and I spend. Our 2BHK was INR10K ~ USD200 pm. This is by far our biggest expense. Our monthly petrol bill is INR2K ~ USD50. Groceries (we eat 4/5 meals at home weekly) is INR4K ~ USD100. Utilities ~ USD100. Total ~ USD500 for a couple. And we live a good life! On the plus side, we're now saving nearly 55% of our monthly gross :) (incl mortgages)
  • solutionyogi 16y ago
    This breakdown doesn't seem right to me. From my other comment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1773273 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1773273), you can easily live on 250$/month in Surat, India. My friend runs an outsourcing company in Surat and he pays his programmers around 300-500$/month. When I started my IT career, I was in Mangalore (worked at Infosys) and my expenses were similar to what I listed above. [Except for the higher rent] I rented a two bedroom apartment with another guy and my share of rent was 4000 INR (approx 100$ USD). I think in Bangalore, you can expect to pay around 10 to 12k INR in Rent if you share a 2 bedroom apartment. Also, 4500 INR/month for Food and 2400 INR /month for coffee? That's really really high. In India, people mostly drink tea, which you can get for 5 to 10 rupees. Cafe Coffee Day (dare I say 'Starbucks' of India) charges 1$ for Cappuccino (http://www.foodiebay.com/menus/1/593/menu-photo-for-cafe-coffee-day-1.jpg http://www.foodiebay.com/menus/1/593/menu-photo-for-cafe-cof...), though I don't think someone making 500 USD a month will spend 30$/month (one coffee a day) on coffee.
    • RealGeek 16y ago
      How many years ago was that? The rents were low until few years ago. The $500 rent I mentioned includes electricity and other utilities. When I moved to New Delhi, my rent was $100. These days a livable apartment in New Delhi will cost around Rs. 15,000 ($330) + add cost of electricity($100), water and maintenance. In summer, electricity bill shoots up to $200 to $300. The estimate of rent is very modest, a good two bedroom house can cost $2000 per month in Delhi or Mumbai. India tops the most expensive real estate market in the world. A coffee at Barista or Cafe Coffee Day will cost between $1 to $3. Most hackers will require at least one coffee day if not beer. $100 per month will get you only two modest meals a day. Food could cost more than $200 depending upon what you eat. Yes, most of the Indian population survives on less than $1 a day. They live on streets and barely get a single meal a day.
      • boundlessdreamz 16y ago
        Dude, $2000 for a two bedroom? That's not true. I live in a Raheja Apartment, for 25K ($600) /month. Two bedroom , 1100 sq. ft. Comes with 24/7 security, car park etc etc.
  • blntechie 16y ago
    Your figures are unbelievable.Just check below. Chennai, India (live in the centre of the city) My typical expenses: Rent (Room + Bath + Kitchen) - 66$. Single. From next month it's shared by a friend and going to be 33$ for me. In a safe and good residential area. Electricity - 5$ Water - Included in Rent Internet (BSNL 512kbps unlimited) + Cable TV - 17$ + 3$ Food - 70$ (eat at my parent's home in weekends) Mobile - 9$ (600 mins local voice calls free + 5000 free text + 200MB EDGE usage) Transport - Train ticket.7$ for 3 months. Travel up to 30 km within city and unlimited. Entertainment & other expenses - 25$ ----------------------------------------- Avg income - 600$ My Expenses (Current) - 197$ My Expenses (from next month) - 164$ Savings (approx) - 400$ (a decent amount here) BTW, I'm not the least spender around. I can easily save 10-20$ still.
• gexla 16y ago
  Dumaguete, Philippines General expenses in USD (not necessarily mine because I'm detailing how to live cheaply here which is not my goal) Rent: Two bedroom unfurnished house as low as $80 / month or upgrade to western standard furnished studio for approximately $230 / month. Internet: $21 - $35 for 1 - 2 MBPS connection. Electricity: Big variation on costs depending on your lifestyle. My bill is around $30 / month. Food: Also hugely varies but it's pretty easy to live here on a bill of around $100 / month for one and more people gets cheaper per person. And most importantly... One bottle of San Miguel Pilsen (beer!) - approx $1 / bottle at the bar.
• jemmj 16y ago
  Lisbon Portugal Monthly expenses flat $700 internet $60 but 100mb/s food $300 Wage $1400 after tax
• trevelyan 16y ago
  Beijing, China $500 to $1000 in rent, plus equivalent amount food and entertainment for a non-stressful lifestyle. You can pare down costs to perhaps $800/month by getting a room in a shared apartment and eating inexpensively. Add on $2500 annual expenses for visa, entry-exit expenses, etc. Hiring programmers costs between $500 and $1500 per month depending on skills and experience. Without a legitimate Chinese business it can be hard to attract talent since you will not be able to pay social benefits, etc. Starting a legitimate business costs upwards of $30,000 in a one-time incorporation expense and pushes hiring costs to about $1500 per month per staffer.
  • malandrew 16y ago
    I had an American programmer friend of mine that lived on $100 a month in Beijing. The university paid his rent. He was a teacher.
  • garply 16y ago
    Beijing, China I live off about $400 / month, with $220 in rent (I split a relatively centrally-located apartment with a Western-style bathroom with my girlfriend). Most of the rest of the money goes to ordering / eating out, at about $1.50 / meal, and taxis. Riding to near locations (less than 10 RMB taxi fare) on my electronic bicycle cuts down taxi fares a bit. I have a Chinese corporation, and it was indeed a pain in the ass and expensive to set up.
    • trevelyan 16y ago
      I admire your commitment, although I think anyone who can't handle $1000/month shouldn't really consider moving to China. It's easy to have unexpected expenses, and $1.50 a meal is really slumming it. Most Xinjiang places charge at least 10 RMB for a plate of choamianpianr these days. That said, congrats on starting an official business here. I'd be curious to hear what you're doing and whether you can legally bill in RMB? My contact info is on my profile page.
      • garply 16y ago
        I can handle $1k / month, I just prefer not to. I go out for coffee periodically, which would bring that number up, but that's usually business-related. I can legally bill in RMB. $2500 sounds really high for visa and entry /exit expenses, unless you're including plane tickets. My year-long visa was $100-200. Anyway, I see you're near Dongzhimen - I'm near Yonghegong, so not far. I'll drop you a line some time.
• rarestblog 16y ago
  Moscow, Russia typ. exp: ~600$ per each family member for food/clothes/utilities (no fancy stuff) 700-1200$ renting 1 room apt. 20$ internet (10MBit+ is common) extras: 60-100$ meal for 2 at *reasonably* priced restaurant 15$ movie ticket 10-20$ taxi ride 1$ ramen noodles (called "Doshirak" here) 2.5$ BigMac avg. salary IT (after tax) $700-1500/mth (mostly around $1000/mth)
  • xentronium 16y ago
    Kostroma, Russia I don't include clothes because these are more difficult to consider. $250-350 for 2 room rent $200+ for some "normal" food (meat and veggies included), if you prepare it yourself $25 internet (10 mbit) $6 movie ticket $3 taxi ride $0.2 for cheap ramen $1 for some better ramen $2.5 big mac Average salary here for non-management position is around $600-800, I think. I don't agree on salaries in Moscow. It's not a big deal to find a 70k RUR ($2.1k) position for an IT guy.
  • eliben 16y ago
    Wow, that sounds totally unlivable
    • abalashov 16y ago
      Well, there is a reason Moscow has the dubious distinction of being the world's most expensive city. :-)
    • noilly 16y ago
      perhaps why a bottle of vodka is 3 dollars *also fun fact: doshirak is a Korean brand
    • ilya_b 16y ago
      It is. No medical insurance of any kind included if you work for yourself. $200 for visiting a dantist. About $100/month for running a simplest possible kind of local firm, maintaining accounting etc. It no staff and no taxes payed at all.
  • ilya_b 16y ago
• aymeric 16y ago
  Australia in AUD (about the same as USD these days): One bedroom rent in Sydney: $1200/month (EDIT: increased the rent based on comments) Food: $400 Wages:$60K-120K/year (gross) Internet:$50/month Phone: $50/month Bus ticket: $3.20 McDonalds Big Mac small meal: $6.45 -- By the way, I am looking to hire a Ruby on Rails developer for USD600/month in India / Philippines / Indonesia to help me develop my ideas. Please contact me if interested aymeric{at}wiselabs.net
  • hartror 16y ago
    +1 on accuracy of figures, Melbourne is pretty much the same.
  • srnm 16y ago
    Good luck finding a decent one bedroom apt in Sydney for $200/wk. Most places you'd want to live (eastern suburbs, inner west, northern beaches) will start at $350/wk. To get something nice in Alexandria or Newtown will be $450/wk plus.
    • pan69 16y ago
      Yep. I live in Newtown and I pay $510pw for a 2 bedroom apartment. I started living there 5 years ago at $420pw (AUD).
    • derrida 16y ago
      I live in newtown in a housing co-operative for $70/week. No landlord. No government agents. I don't know why there are not more housing co-operatives around. NOTE TO FOLKS THAT DON'T LIVE IN NEWTOWN: I agree with all other previous estimates, I thought I would just write this here to brag to the other sydneysiders about my cheap rent and plug a misunderstood housing model!
  • willcannings 16y ago
    I'd just add electricity to this list - I normally spend around ~$450 a quarter at a two bedroom place (in Sydney), so for one person you'd perhaps be looking ~$100 p.mth depending on whether you use air conditioning etc.
• sybreon 16y ago
  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I assume that this is for an entry-level position. Monthly salary : ~ US$650-$950 (Average US$800). EPF deduction: 11% Room Rent: US$150. Food: US$250 (3 ramen sized meals) Car Installment: US$100 (Perodua Viva) Petrol: US$50 These are the costs for survival mode living. Optional Movie ticket: US$3-5 Internet (1Mbps): US$35 Mobile (300 mins): US$10 Alcohol: Forget it.
  • angusgr 16y ago
    I'm guessing from a quick Google that EPF is Malaysia's compulsory retirement savings program?
    • sybreon 16y ago
      Yup, but foreigners get a choice of whether or not to contribute.
• mkramlich 16y ago
  i think non-typical income for programmers is fairly typical. varies by individual, moment in time, project, client, employer, etc.
• kingofspain 16y ago
  Manchester UK Expenses: Rent: £200-£500pm for a flat/small house. Lower end can be in somewhat interesting areas though. Bills: Utilities usually £40ish. Council tax £80-120 pm. Internet/Phone: Bundled from £10-£20pm. Pay a little bit more and you can throw in cable too. Bus: £10 unlimited weekly travel Train: Depends on how far you go, obv but city to outer suburbs never more than £4-5 return. Adv returns to London from £22. Trams: Free in city with train ticket. £2-3 to outlying areas. Cinema: £7-10 a pop. Or £13pm for unlimited. Noodles: 7p cheapo packs. 80p Pot Noodles (a "Welsh" delicacy) Beer: Scandalous £3+ pint. Go outside town for decent pubs anyway and you'll be a bit closer to £2. Find a Holts or Sam Smiths and it's nearer £1. Eating out: Mid-market £30ish. Posher £60-100. (for two). McDonalds/KFC around £3-4. Wages: I think typical would be roughly £1500-£2000pm, so I hear. I'm being horribly underpaid :) I wrote way too much for a place no one would visit :)
  • kingofspain 16y ago
    I neglected to mention healthcare since I kind of take that for granted. Emergencies are free but I don't know the costs for other things. If you are resident though, you'll be covered as the rest of us are.
  • semanticist 16y ago
    Don't know about no one visiting: MediaCity's going to be bringing a lot of tech people to Manchester over the next few years.
• jhen095 16y ago
  Auckland, New Zealand - NB: everything below has been converted to USD Expenses: * rent - small 1 bedroom in CBD - $1000 p/m * food - cheap 1 person - $300 p/m * electricity - $80 p/m * internet - 10Gb p/m - $30 p/m * supermarket ramen - $1.1 per meal * big mac meal - $6.8 per meal * coffee long black - $2.6 per cup total = ~$2000 p/m (incl. some entertainment + travel costs etc. NB: depends on lifestyle) Income: * graduate salary - $3150 p/m gross or * median developer salary - $4800 p/m gross recently #2 on list of easiest places to start up a business - according to a story from HN
  • heresy 16y ago
    Contract rates (also converted to USD): noob - $35-45/hr intermediate - $55-65/hr experienced - $75+/hr
  • chad_oliver 16y ago
    For Christchurch, New Zealand, rent is about US$550 p/m for a cheap 1-bedroom house. Everything else is the same as in Auckland.
• niyazpk 16y ago
  Bangalore, India Typical monthly wage for a programmer / designer: $600 to $1000. (This varies a lot, so there is no actual upper/lower limit) My expenses: Apartment Rent + Utilities: $80 Internet (1 Mbps): $23 Food: $135 Transport (Bike): $20 Books: $75 Contrast this with RealGeek's comment to get an idea on how different the expenses could be, depending on the person and the spending nature. Also keep in mind that I am not married. I expect the expenses to shoot out of the ceiling after marriage. :) EDIT: Less than 6 months ago I was trying to get a startup up and running and I was living off my savings. The lifestyle then was entirely different and the expenses were around one half of those given above.
  • RealGeek 16y ago
    Most of our expenses are similar, but apartment rent. How in Banglore did you get an apartment for $80? Its a steal :) How much is your electricity bill? Do you use air condition and computer?
    • niyazpk 16y ago
      The place I stay is relatively small and I would say that the rent is just right. My electricity bill comes around 300-400 INR ($7-9). I don't have an AC - you don't need it in Bangalore. I have a laptop and an extra monitor. My Airtel DigitalTV is connected to the monitor so I don't have a separate TV.
      • ido 16y ago
        I don't have an AC - you don't need it in Bangalore. As a westerner that spent about 2 months in India I have to say - although Bangalore's weather is mild in Indian terms, >30c weather (normal for high summer in Bangalore) is well within "requires AC" limits for Europeans :) Also, if you don't absolutely require high speed internet or being around other high-tech folks there are much cheaper (and IMO nicer) places in India than Bangalore. E.g. in Dharamsala, which is still expensive by Indian standards, you can lead a fairly lavish lifestyle for the prices niyazpk's quoted (and a lot less, too). Hope you like dialup internet tho ;)
• ze_dude 16y ago
  Not quite what you're looking for, yet still relevant: the UBS bank provides a (free) worldwide analysis of wages, purchasing power, benefits and the like - 2009 study http://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings?contentId=170298&name=PreiseLoehne_2009_e.pdf http://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_manag... - 2010 update http://www.ubs.com/2/e/medlib/wmr/pdf/Preise_Loehne_2010_e.pdf http://www.ubs.com/2/e/medlib/wmr/pdf/Preise_Loehne_2010_e.p... - web page http://www.ubs.com/1/e/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings.html http://www.ubs.com/1/e/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_re...
• hmsp 16y ago
  Hi, I've lived in India for the last few years working as a web designer/programmer. I worked for people in the US - a few clients and would make about 15K per year USD. This was more than enough to live and do as I pleased in India as well as travel around the area - it's really a great life style. The price of living in India varies based on location - I once rented a house from a family in the Himalayas for 30 dollars per month - add on the fact that I cooked most of my own food and probably only spent $100 max per month. I've also taken $100 hotel rooms in really neat little boutique type hotels in places like Ahmedabad and Delhi - so as you can see anything is possible. Generally, though, you can hire a nice room in a guest house for 10 dollars a day (max) and eat for $10 as well - this would be living pretty nice. If you can handle it you could get by for much less - not as little as you used to - but $10 a day would be very easy $5 is possible but you might not like what it entails. But again - it just depends upon where you are. India is very nice but living in New Delhi or Bangalore would be akin to insanity. Living in the Himalayas or on the beaches in the south or the any other small town is an amazing experience - and cheap. Also, there is a HUGE traveler scene in India so you are never alone. I've worked some for people in Asia and generally would hire myself out at $500 per month. It's not really worth it - you'd be much more satisfied in doing volunteer work for a project you have a passion for - and then maintaining a bit of freelance work back home that pays you real money. This is what I've done and it works quite well. You'd be amazed that even half way around the world you can still get jobs - and the fact that you spend about 4 or 5 times less than you earn means the downtime between jobs is just like a long vacation. If you are thinking about it - just go and do it. I know that it's the same in the rest of asia/se asia and south america: everything is cheaper - 3 times less, 5 times less, or even half the cost which is how i've found mexico. But these cheaper prices make the work you get stretch that much further. Once you get the people you work for used to the idea that you are not in the same country it is really not a big deal at all anymore - it's the same as you are in another town. One thing which really helps is to just call them randomly and check in or clarify something which is hard to explain via email - and skype makes this trivial and cheap. Let me know if you have specific questions and I can elaborate.
• ced 16y ago
  I spent three years in Asia, with no income. So I was looking for cheap places to live. Here's the monthly rent for one bedroom in a "decent" student shared flat: - Montreal: 300$ - University town, Germany: 250$, 180$ for the dorms - University town, Turkey: 120$ - India, monastery guest house: 60$ - China, Kunming (mid-sized city): 80$ In my experience, the other expenses are roughly proportional to the rent, except for manual-labor, which is even cheaper. I get a haircut for 1$ in China.
  • jacquesm 16y ago
    What did you live off without an income? Savings? That sounds like quite the adventure! Did you write about it somewhere?
    • ced 16y ago
      Savings. While in Germany, I had a good (tax-free) stipend and I was hoarding ~800 euros/month, for a year. Living in Asia was an amazing experience, but honestly, there isn't that much "adventure" to write about. I wasn't traveling, since that's expensive-ish. My primary goal was to do research in AI. That turned out to be quite challenging, with the lack of good libraries and peers, but the freedom to work on whatever I want made it entirely worthwhile. My next goal is to get a job, back in the West. Who wants to hire a physics grad school drop-out who spent three years roaming, with no portfolio and no professional experience? A drop-out who will surely quit once he has enough funds to start roaming again? Let's find out!
      • jacquesm 16y ago
        Ok. Man I'm jealous ;) Not with the money, but with the trip :) If you have the time please write it up while it is still fresh in your memory, so that us 'armchair Asia goers' can look through your eyes.
        • billpaetzke 16y ago
          I'm a programmer that saved up money, quit my job, and traveled around Southeast Asia for four months (in 2009). I blogged almost every day. I took some great photos, too. Have fun browsing my stuff... Top 100 photos: http://billpaetzke.smugmug.com/Travel/Best-of-Southeast-Asia-09/12402055_kqYWt#786525207_ZCpE5 http://billpaetzke.smugmug.com/Travel/Best-of-Southeast-Asia... Travel Blog: http://www.bp321.com/travels/ http://www.bp321.com/travels/ (I'm back in LA working, by the way).
• patio11 16y ago
  I live in a small town outside of Nagoya, Japan. I live fairly comfortably at $2,000 a month. The ramen profitable number for a single self-employed twentysomething is in the neighborhood of $1,500. Some costs: - A month's rent for a capacious apartment (by Japanese standards): $450 (This would be $700 inside of Nagoya, and you'd get a third the size of the apartment.) - Utilities: Gym ($100), phone + Internet + cell phone + gas + electricity + water + sewage = ~$300 - Health insurance: $300 / mo, assuming your income is in the "typical Japanese twenty-something" bracket - Pension: $200 / mo, ditto - Food: A cheap meal at a restaurant runs $8. For Western food (pizza, Italian, etc), budget $15. My best friends manage to make $300 a month work for a monthly food budget -- I don't cook at all and spend closer to $700. - A bowl of ramen: $1 if you make it yourself, $3 from a convenience store, $7 at a restaurant. - Sundries: Prices are similar to expensive metropolitan areas in the US. - Typical monthly wage for a programmer: if you work at a certain Japanese megacorp in Nagoya, you will earn $100 per year of age per month. All engineering salaries within five hundred miles of Nagoya are pegged to this number. Individual circumstances may vary (particularly for foreigners).
  • groaner 16y ago
    But the ramen you make for yourself in Japan is "real" ramen, not instant ramen, is it? I'm looking at the more interesting pictures here: http://images.google.com/images?q=ramen&biw=1714&bih=989 http://images.google.com/images?q=ramen&biw=1714&bih...
    • brianbreslin 16y ago
      japanese people eat maruchan too, just they have places that serve fresh ramen (not factory made).
  • gommm 16y ago
    When I lived in Kyoto, I had similar expenses... Housing: - 400$/month for a 15 square meter studio next to Kyoto University - $500/month for a 90 square meter house shared between with one other person (so total price would have been $1000/month south of Kyoto's train station in a poor area) Health insurance, pension was the same (but a big part of that was paid by my employer)... It's possible to get a refund of the pension when you leave japan (you get back about 40% of what you paid) Food: same. One thing to note is that the quality of food you can get for around $8 is amazingly high... It's very hard to find restaurants as tasty for this price in Shanghai or Malaysia where I've lived since... I really miss living in Japan for that. On the wage for programmers, on the contrary to japanese, foreigners have more leeway when it comes to negotiating salary. A friend of mine, worked in a game company and managed to get a 70% raise when he told them he would be leaving otherwise (it was a rather big game company who usually goes by the $100 x year of age + bonus if married rule for compensation) I now live in Shanghai and spend a bit more than when I was living in Japan but mostly due to housing and health insurance Housing: $720/month for a 110 square meter apartment in Pudong 20 minutes away from the city center by subway line 2 . It's much more confortable than what I used to have in Kyoto, but I'm too hold for 15 square meters apartments... Food: cheap chinese restaurants cost around $3, western food and japanese food is more around $15... While I love cantonese food, I really don't like Shanghainese food unfortunately, so I usually go to more expensive restaurants. Health insurance: $420/month for me and my wife (through a private expat health insurance)
• bobds 16y ago
  http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ Numbeo has lots of crowdsourced data. They ask contributors for city data, so you can even compare between cities in your target country. Hyderabad, India is at the top of their Consumer Price plus Rent Index for 2010.
• jacquesm 16y ago
  Europe, Netherlands (adjusted for one person): - rent/mortgage 500 (comes to about the same) - food 120 - mandatory health insurance 100 - internet 20M 75 (yep, that's splurging) - cheap car 250 (owning a car is expensive here) - energy bill 200 - various other insurances 100 - phone 50
  • seltzered 16y ago
    is this in USD or EUR? Are you in amsterdam?
    • jacquesm 16y ago
      Euros, and no, I live in the sticks in a province called Groningen (hence the need for a car).
    • sebi 16y ago
      amsterdam is quite a bit more expensive. i sublet an old, rusty, worndown (with views on a canal) 1 bedroom appartment in the best part of town (jordaan) for 900€/month. The bigger problem in amsterdam is to find something.
      • _exec 16y ago
        How would you recommend finding accommodation in Amsterdam? Also, any districts / neighborhoods one should stay away from? I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom apartment in a decent location (not necessarily the centrum, but the closer the better) but I'm having a hard time finding a place without signing up with any of the agencies (I cannot afford to pay the agency fee) I tried using Kamernet but I have found that being a foreigner + not speaking dutch really makes it difficult to get any replies
        • jacquesm 16y ago
          Be careful you don't get screwed. The best way to find something is to get to know lots of people, check in to 'anti-kraak' housing and if you can stay away from agencies, they'll cost you more than they're worth.
• zalew 16y ago
  Warsaw, Poland - single room flat $400-500 + expenses - internet 6Mbps $20 - public transport $50 - restaurant downtown $10-30, sushi $30-40, kebab $3-4, mcdonald $4 - beer in a club/restaurant $3-4, 0.5 can of heineken $1.6, marlboro $4 wages are really flexible (to call it nicely), if you have clients you can make more on freelancing than even some good programmers on 9to5, a lot of good programmers are paid below average they should get but it really depends on the company. noob $700-800, avg/well-skilled $1100-2500, specialist $3000+. take it only as approx. for the moment of writing this $1=2.8pln
  • adlep 16y ago
    $500.00 for a single room flat in Warsaw == 1500PLN Are you sure it is that much? Also, I call BS on "specialist" making 9000 PLN a month P.S. Official median salary in PL is 1500PLN a month.
    • zalew 16y ago
      $400-500 = 1100-1400pln, these are prices for a single-room downtown, currently I'm looking for one and that's it for me (quick proof: http://goo.gl/q0uB http://goo.gl/q0uB ), I mean you can find better and you can find worse, but that's a reasonable price for a reasonable location. You mean 9kpln too low or too high? I said 'from' and know people who make more (10-14k java certificated dudes with enterprise background) if that's what you're implying. Official median salary in PL is 1500PLN a month. Official median has been around 3000pln for years, not 1500pln, where did you get it from? Although, the truth is that the most common pay is still around 2000pln gros (GUS stats) for Poland overall, maybe that's what you're talking about. Warsaw is always a bit higher.
    • xyzzyz 16y ago
      Rooms in Warsaw are much more expensive than in other parts of Poland. Student's dormitories are much cheaper, but they frequently have quite terrible living condition - I pay $100 for a ~16 square meters room for three people, and it is not the worst one available. Median salary in Warsaw is more like 4000 PLN ($1400), it can be half of that in other voivodeships, though. Your calling BS is about 9000 PLN being too high or too low wage?
• darklajid 16y ago
  Cologne, Germany (labeled our 2nd most expensive city, after Munich) - 900 EUR for a decent,3 room flat (need a place for the SO..) - 45 EUR phone/cable tv/cable internet - 320 EUR Food (for 2, decent diet, mostly cooking and the occasional restaurant) - Ramen is more prominent as a novelty food here (the cheap, fast food equivalent might be "Doener" (kebap) or a "Currywurst" :)) and - except for really lousy "I have dishes from every continent" shops - are mostly limited to restaurants. Budget 7-12 EUR for a dish of ramen in a restaurant. Typical monthly wage for a programmer (after taxes, dreived from my network): 1200 - 2400 EUR
• kawera 16y ago
  São Paulo, Brazil - converted to US$ Expenses - Rent: small 300sqf one bedroom unfurnished apartment + utilities, in average area - $900/month - Internet: $60 for 5mbps - Cell phone: $150 for 300 minutes - Bus or Metro ticket: $1.50 - Petrol: $5.20/gallon - Movie ticket: $12 - Pizza, takeaway: $15 - Pizza, in restaurant: $25 - BigMac: $6 - Eating out, mid-market: $50 for 2 people - Bread, whole: $3/pound - Oranges: $1/pound - Expresso: $1.50 - Beer, in bar: $4 - Haircut, men: $15 - Apple Mac mini, entry model: $1600 (high taxes but also high margin by Apple Brazil) - Foreign books: amazon price x 2 Wages - Programmers: $30k beginner, $50k mid-level, $70-$100k senior - Webdesigner: $30-$60k - Customer support rep: $15k
  • rglullis 16y ago
    The dollar is what, now? R$1,70? I guess we are talking about nicer areas, like Pinheiros, Vila Madalena or even Jardins. R$1500,00 for a 300sqf apartment? That is really, really expensive. For that price you can get a 2 1/2 bedroom close to Morumbi or Brooklyn. Also, $4 for a beer? It has to be a really trendy, high-end club. How much does a large bottle of Original/Bohemia cost at a bar, or at a deli (padaria)? Also, I used to have a R$50,00 fix-priced cell phone plan. I would talk about 120 minutes and unlimited text. We should highlight that in Brazil you only pay for originating calls. So I would either call from a landline or text most of the time I was on the go, so 120 minutes was more than enough. Transportation: bus tickets was R$2,40 last I was over there. Metrô was R$2,25.
    • deleted 16y ago
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    • kawera 16y ago
      Rent for small apartments close to the Green or Yellow lines are in the R$1000-1200 range for rent only. You must add charges("condominio"), electricity and tax("iptu"). I have two units, one close to Clinicas hospital, another close to Ana Rosa station, that I rent for R$1200 each, plus charges of around R$350 each. At a far-from-trendy mid-market bar, the going price for a large bottle of Original is in the R$6-7 range, not only in Vila Madalena but also in Paraiso, Vila Mariana, Bela Vista, Jardins, Pinheiros. The price for a Bohemia at a "padaria" is R$4. My fix-priced cell phone plan for 300 minutes, unlimited text and very limited 3G is R$250. Bus or Metro tickets are R$2.70 now, not US$1 as I (mis)quoted. São Paulo isn't cheap.
• mallipeddi 16y ago
  Singapore Monthly expenses - S$1600 * Rent - S$900 (this will get you a room in a nice high-rise condominium with swimming pool/gym but you've to share the flat with 2 other flatmates). * Broadband - S$70 * Mobile + Unlimited 3G plan - S$40-50 * Food - S$400-500 (this will get you good tasty meals at hawker food stalls; not swanky restaurant dinners w/ alcohol). * Transportation - S$100-150 for public transport (forget about owning a car in Singapore, it's too expensive and unnecessary). Monthly wages for programmers - S$3000-S$9000 (this range is wide because it heavily depends on your work exp and your employer). Misc facts about SG * Taxes are lower compared to other developed nations. * Singapore is generally pro-immigration although they're trying to slow it down now. * English-speaking country so makes things easier compared to Taiwan/HK/etc. USD 1 = SGD 1.30 (as of today)
  • berntb 16y ago
    Thanks for info. I've talked to a few people that worked in Singapore and they loved it.
  • fezzl 16y ago
    There are single, air-conditioned rooms in Singapore that go for S$400, even near the town (yes, hunt them down). You won't need S$400-500 for food if you cook every other meal. I spend less than S$100 on food. I would revise the figure to less than S$1,000 a month, or less than US$800 per month. Also, if you sleep where you work, you can shave about S$50-100 off of your transportation costs.
  • happywolf 16y ago
    Another data point for Singapore, values in Singapore Dollar: My Monthly Expenses will run average S$1.5k Rent: S$600 (one room in 3-room apartment) Broadband: Around S$40 - 70 Mobile + 12GB data plan: S$50 (depends on usage on mobile) Beer: S$2.50 for Tiger beer 323ml can (expensive!!) Food: S$250 - 300. For lunch, I go for the so called 'economical rice' or 'mixed rice' which will cost you S$2.50 - 3.00 per plate. Dinner I usually cook at home. Average restaurants will cost you S$30 per pax per meal. Posh ones S$90++ and above. Transportation: S$20 (I live within walking distance to my office) Movie: S$10 a pop Big-Mac meal: S$6.50 A mug of Coffee at local store (we call it kopi-tiam): S$0.80 - 1.00
• clueless123 16y ago
  Lima, Peru on the upscale side of town (Miraflores) Rent $500 for a nice aptmnt near everything. Food from a $2 "menu" meal on the street (soup, main dish , desert and drink) to $50 on sushi with drinks at a fancy place. 3G unlimited Internet $50/month ~ 4Mbps (so they claim) cable $50/month Taxi anywhere in town < $5, bus $1 Monthly wage for a programmer/designer ~ $700 Fun/Quality of life/Things to do = Excellent Adventure sports within walking distance: Paragliding ,Surfing,Biking, Hiking, Skateboard friendly city. A bit further out: White water rafting, Off road biking, Hiking, Mountain Climbing and others. Availability and prices for computer equipment: Cheaper than Fry's or Newegg in the states.. plus you can find anything you could possibly need for hardware hacks (cooling stuff, routers, antennas, mods, laptop repair etc, etc) (Plus on the back door side you can find any software you can think of for $3 password hack included) Weather from 11C on the bitter winter to 30C in the worst part of the summer.
  • eliben 16y ago
    Oh, Miraflores. Such a nice part of Lima (an otherwise rather unpleasant city).
• gregschlom 16y ago
  I'm currently bootstrapping a startup on my savings, with no incomes. I moved from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). It's a very inexpensive place to live in. - Room on a flat: $150-$200 - Food: $120
  • prateekdayal 16y ago
    I was in Ho Chi Minh for the last two months. Its certainly a great place to live in and do a startup out of. How long are you planning to stay there?
  • rabble 16y ago
    I think Vietnam has got to be one of the better places to be if you combine quality of life with cost of living.
  • tomotomo 16y ago
    Hey, I'm also in Saigon (HCMC) but came from the US. I think $600/mo gets you a pretty comfortable lifestyle here. Details: http://www.saigonist.com/content/cost-living-vietnam-its-really-cheap http://www.saigonist.com/content/cost-living-vietnam-its-rea... I'm always up for meeting HNers if you want to look me up.
• rglullis 16y ago
  Can someone please do it for Prague? Or Budapest? As someone who used to live in (very expensive for non-basic necessities, cheap for basic necessities) São Paulo and moved to (reasonably cheaper for non-basic necessities, way more expensive for rent and food) Boston, when I went to Prague it felt cheap. I found 4-star hotels in Prague 1 for the price of not-that-great hostels in London, €18/day. I'd go to a bar or a club and pay €1.50 for a pint of beer. I could get a day pass at the tram/bus for Czk 100 (about €4). I heard that a 2-bedroom downtown goes for about €600-700. Internet would be €50/month. If someone can give more accurate prices or tell me how it's going for Budapest, I can guarantee you one karma point. :)
  • davnola 16y ago
    Prague Rent: Centre of town is expensive by any standard because much of the property is for tourist use of owned by expats. It drops quickly as you move away from pretty bits (check out Zizkov or Andel) €500-2500 for two bed. Bills: €30 internet. Travel: €200 annual travel card, singles about €1. Going out: Carnivorous? You're in luck. €4 will purchase an enormous hearty meal and 0.5l beer in a local pub. If you want to hand out with the beautiful people, you'll pay for the privilege. Other: Flat-rate tax! 19% corp and 15% income. The government is working hard to make Czech a business-friendly place but expect to spend hours in queues unless you pay lawyer to take care of it for you. Strong engineering and hacker culture. Great python and ruby communities. HTH
  • dejv 16y ago
    See my post on Brno, which is second largest city in Czech Republic and somewhere little bit cheaper than Prague (but not that much). Same apply to Budapest, it is pretty much like Prague, maybe little bit cheaper.
    • thingie 16y ago
      I'd say that Prague is actually cheaper than Brno, as you can very easily earn more there, and you can get food for pretty much the same price in the same chain store, public transit fares are almost the same, rents outside the city center are comparable, even better in Prague, as there is much more choice. (I live in Brno.)
• csmeder 16y ago
  San Luis Obispo, CA Apartment Rent + Utilities: $400-$600 Internet (1 Mbps): $25 Food: $250 Phone: $50 Transport (Bike): $20 A decent meal: $8-$30
  • Kaizyn 16y ago
    You must be living in a shanty at those prices (or you have roommates) in SLO, CA.
    • csmeder 16y ago
      You can get a decent 2 bedroom for $1100 or less ($550) per person. I just searched craigslist to confirm. If you luck out you can live in a really nice 5 bedroom house for $500 per bed room. I have two separate friends who have found such places.
  • TheEzEzz 16y ago
    Santa Barbara, CA Apartment Rent + Utilities: $900 Food: $250 Lawrence, Kansas Apartment Rent + Utilities: $200 - $500 Food: Same I miss Kansas sometimes =(
    • mcgraw 16y ago
      Nice. ;) I'm up North of the bay.... Apartment Rent: $1766 (4 mo. contract), was $1395 (14 mo. contract) Utils: $115 or so (electric, trash/water) Manhattan, KS Apartment Rent: $385 Utils: $100 Heading back to good ol` Kansas at the end of the year.
• aspir 16y ago
  Norman, Oklahoma (Monthly) Rent, 1 room- 250 Utilities- 60 Gas- 2.50/gal Groceries- 150-200/month (depending on ramen to steak ratio) Entry Level Programming: $3500/month
• mjnaus 16y ago
  Hatyai, Thailand (southern region, close to border with Malaysia) Monthly expenses: rent (three bedroom, two bathroom, AC, carpark): $150 electricity (incl AC): $40 water: $7 food (eating out in nice restaurants 80% of the meals): $300 groceries: $166 car/motorcycles: $183 other expenses: $133 total: $979 Starting salary for designers/developers just out of uni: $400 Salary senior developers/managers: $665
• augustflanagan 16y ago
  Oaxaca, Mexico 1 bedroom apartment in very nice building with weekly cleaning - $450/mo (all bills + wifi included). Food: $200-400 Beer: $1/bottle
• lfx 16y ago
  Vilnius, Lithuania Apartment Rent + Taxes ~ $180 (I live in 3 room flat, so we share apartment rent, witch for all of us is ~ $400 in good neighborhood) Internet (100Mbps): $40 (for all) Foot: $200-300 Transport not in warm season ~ $45 Phone ~8$ (with G3 7GB quota) Beer ~ $1-2 BicMac (big) ~$5 Daily lunch in Chinese restaurant ~ $4 Typical wage $650 - 2400
• gattone 16y ago
  Iasi, Romania - Rent for a studio plus water, electricity...= $350 per month - Internet, at least 30mbps = $10 per month - Beer in a pub = $1.35 - Pizza (more than enough for a single person) = $7 - Bus/Tram ticket = $0.63 for one ride or $32 for one month - Milk = $1.05 per litre - Chicken meat = $3.60 per kg Wages for 9-to-5 coders are around $700 per month, after tax and medical insurance (but Romanian hospitals are really crappy compared to North American or Western European standards, and also be prepared to pay bribes to the doctors in the range of $1000 per surgical intervention).
• eel 16y ago
  To be honest, I thought the rest of the world, especially India and South America was a lot cheaper than what a lot of the other comments have revealed. For a room, a share of the utilities, and food, it costs me about $625 / month in Phoenix, AZ. If you have to commute much, add $50+ of gas to that. I split a 3BR with 3 roommates, so if you live alone, expect to pay more -- $1000 / mo for an apt, utilities, and food would be expected.
• borism 16y ago
  Tallinn, Estonia Monthly expenses - basic stuff like food, shelter and public transportation shouldn't exceed $1000 per person. But it's inflating twice the speed of EU. Average monthly wage for a programmer was last reported to be $2600, but I don't know if it was before or after tax.
• sushi 16y ago
  Here's a small estimate of my expenses when I was in college (an year back). I used to live in a small locality opposite a 5 star hotel in South Delhi. Food = $100 (McDonald's and Domino's everyday) Rent = $70 (shared with two other classmates) Internet = $20 to $30 Transport = $20
  • prateekdayal 16y ago
    McDonalds and Domino's everyday for less than $3 a day?
    • sushi 16y ago
      2 McAloo tikki burger ~ $1 Smallest Domino's pizza (they don't do the home delivery of this one I believe) ~ $1 And make another $1 for noodles, bread, omelet etc.
• iuguy 16y ago
  Place: Reading, UK Monthly Expenses: Rent (two bed apartment) - £750 - £900 per month Alternative Rent (Studio or shared a bit further out) - £500 - £700 per month. Internet - £25 per month for 24 Mbit Health Insurance - N/A (NHS) Ramen Food and Drink - £5 per day Eating out (typical place) - £20 per head Eating out (somewhere nice) - £45 per head
• dejv 16y ago
  I live in Brno, Czech Republic Rent + Utilities: I am living in big apartment in the city center for $1000/month, you can easily get small apartment or studio for $300. Internet: using Netbox provider you've got 100/100MB for like $60, if you are ok with 20 mbps both ways you will pay around $20 - $30 Food: good meal in fancy restaurant (not most expensive) will cost you for about $18/person. If you want to live on ramen, it will costs you about $2 from Vietnamese "restaurant" or under $1 if you do it by yourselves. You can live comfortable on $250/month food budget. Health insurance and pension: is taken like a tax from your wage. If you are self employed it costs around $200/month (may wary by income level). Typical wage for mid level programmer $1700 - $2000 if you work for local company, slightly more if you work for companies like IBM or Accenture.
• djhworld 16y ago
  London, UK Rent: £675p/month in a shared property. Bills included. Zone 2. This is quite cheap in comparison to most places in London. If you was looking to get your own place (a 1 bedroom apartment) then you're looking at > £800 a month PLUS bill and taxes on top of that Travel cost: £99.10 a month for a zones 1-2 travelcard. Food expenses...£100-£150 a month I earn just under £30k and I've been in the industry for just over 2 years. I guess a typical programmer will earn £30k-£50k p/a during the course of their career, depending on what industry they're in
  • sl_ 16y ago
    May I ask which industy?
    • djhworld 16y ago
      I work for a company involved in the games industry. You'll probably find more money in the financial sector though
      • sl_ 16y ago
        Almost what i expected. I got a 34k offer (same industry) with good benefits but am unsure if its worth the move. Main problem seems to be the rent which is ridiculous if you want to minimze commute time to the centre.
        • djhworld 16y ago
          I think with most places in London you're looking at a 45min-1hour commute, unless you live REALLY close in zone 1 or something. For me my commute is as follows: - 20 minute walk from house to tube station(could take a bus which would take 10 mins, but I prefer the exercise) 15 mins on the tube to Bond Street 10 minute walk from there to work
      • ig1 16y ago
        Financial sector in london typically goes from about 30k (entry level grad) upto about 100k. Or if you're contracting day rate is normally in the £500-£800/day range.
• thomas11 16y ago
  A data point for the higher end: Geneva (also, Zurich), CH. Currency is CHF which is almost 1:1 with USD. Rent 1500-2000 (one person apartment!) Food 500 (eating at home, eating out is minimum 30/meal) Internet + smart phone w/ 3G: 150 Net salary after tax, health insurance, pension: 60,000 - 120,000 for a programmer.
  • loewenskind 16y ago
    If you go with Orange on the phone you can get 35CFS/mo for phone + 3G. They have a deal going for 10CFS off per month of all plans. The high end for a programmer is higher if you consult, and there is no real downside to contracting in Switzerland.
    • thomas11 16y ago
      Thanks for your additional information. I've been wondering about contracting/consulting since a while, but I'm not sure how to get started here. My mail is in my profile - I'd appreciate if we could exchange a few lines.
      • loewenskind 16y ago
        I'd rather talk on a site that has private chat, e.g. reddit.
        • preek 16y ago
          Mind if I join in? I'm also living in Zurich and have been evaluating contract work. Therefore I would be very interested in anything you would like to share on that topic.
          • loewenskind 16y ago
            Ok, what do you guys want to know? The easiest way is to find the job yourself and tell them that you'll be contracting. Then you can just get payroll done via some company (e.g. Harvey Nash who charges about 500 per time sheet. There are others but your costs here will probably be more like 800) or if not you can have your pick of agencies and negotiate the rate as low as you can. A lot of agencies will try to set their fee at 20%, but there are companies out there that will do 7% (more than payrolling but not bad). In Switzerland even consulting agencies have to deduct vacation from your check and pay it back when you actually take a vacation, but you should be able to sign a form to wave that away (i.e. get rid of that deduction and not get paid for vacation). Contract notice periods are usually one month. If you don't get extended and can't find another contract the normal unemployment rules apply (i.e. if you've worked for over a year you can begin drawing AHV immediately). I understand that according to swiss law you can switch contracting agencies at any time with no notice (the underlying contract has a one month notice period but who is carrying it can change during its lifetime).
• Cafesolo 16y ago
  Buenos Aires, Argentina. Living in a nice area such as Belgrano costs you around $800 (US dollars): - Apartment: $500 - Food: $200 - Public transport: $50 - Internet: $30 - Cellphone: $20 Most programmers here make between $800 and $1600. Really good ones make up to $2500.
  • seltzered 16y ago
    I'm a jealous american. How's the surf out there? How much would it cost to go ski in chile for a week?
    • Cafesolo 16y ago
      You can go surfing in Mar del Plata. Google brings up a couple of Argentinian surfing forums. Maybe ask there? No idea about skiing in Chile.
  • Blocks8 16y ago
    I've been looking to work out of BA for the month of February - coming down from NYC to BA. Any advice on subletting a short term space or getting connected with other internet entrepreneurs down there? Contact: brittany at gtrot dot com or @blocks8
    • Cafesolo 16y ago
      Craigslists is probably your best bet. There are Hacker News meetups here in BA every couple of weeks. Also, there's this thing called Palermo Valley (http://palermovalley.com http://palermovalley.com). Check it out. My email is in my profile.
• bryanwb 16y ago
  Rome, Italy Rent: euro 800-1000, $1,300 for cheap 1 bedroom apt Food: euro 1000, $1,300 Health Insurance: ? Transport: public transport euro30 / month, super cheap sundries: 2x that of US Starting Programmer Salary: euro1500-2000 How do young programmers afford to live here? I think they live w/ their parents and frequently their parents cook for them or they live off pizza
  • drtse4 16y ago
    Speaking for the Milan Area, Food: If you cook at home 300eu should be more than enough, if you eat out, well... yours could be a conservative estimate :) Definitely not a place where people eat out that often. Health Insurance: The state thinks about that (tax-funded universal health care) Gadgets: $ value translated to € (as in $599Ipad -> 599€Ipad). Starting Programmer Salary: Real range depending on the contract type (there are a few options), after-tax it could start at around 1200€/mo for a junior (with very little variance) to well below 3000€/mo depending on seniority and the like.
• iampims 16y ago
  Paris, France. (not the suburbs, in USD) - rent: $650/month for a small apt(215 sq ft) - food: $70/week - utilities: $40/month (High-speed internet, TV + landline phone) - transport: $80/month for unlimited rides in the city - cellphone plans: $30 (cheapest, 1h talking time) - monthly wage for a programmer: $3,000 (junior), $4,200 (mid),$5,000+ senior, before taxes (20/30/40% depending of your revenues and situation) - minimun wage: $1,900 before taxes. $1,475 after taxes. - free social security :) Outside of Paris, everything is much cheaper. But then again, you can't go stroll along the Seine, admire the Eiffel Tower, relax in Jardin du Luxembourg… (all of this is free)
  • ovi256 16y ago
    You forgot electricity, which can be quite expensive as most heating is electric. Maybe $100/m in winter. Also, let's meet and talk shop, I'm freelance engineer in Paris :) Mail is in profile.
• randomtask 16y ago
  Dublin, Ireland. Rent - €300 p/m (room/studio in a shared house). This is about as cheap as you can get. A room in the city centre would be more like €700-900 p/m. Food - €30-40 per week assuming you bring a packed lunch and cook at home. Bills - around €50 p/m. Includes electricity and TV. Internet - if you're a student you can get a 3G USB dongle for €20 with a monthly cost of €13 from O2. That comes with a 5 gig cap. Vodafone allow you to roam on any of their networks in Europe if you subscribe to their service. If you're lucky enough to live in the right area you can get Fibre to the home for €50 p/m. DSL is around the same price. Mobile phone - choose the pay as you go option (prepay) and you can send up to 250 text messages per month for free online. plans start from €15 with 50 minutes/texts. mobile calls about 12-13c per minute. i think some of the networks do free texts to people on the same network now. Minimum wage - €8.65 per hour Programmer salaries - typically about €30k starting off with senior (> 5 year's experience and typically more) able to charge up to 70-80k. someone in the bottom of that range (30k) will take home 80% of that after tax. middle of that range (55k) will typically take home 70% of their salary after tax, and someone on 80k will take home just over 60%. We have a fairly harsh budget in the works so that will probably change slightly. Tax calculator - http://www.hookhead.ie/Tools/tax2010.jsp http://www.hookhead.ie/Tools/tax2010.jsp Health insurance - companies will often provide this but if they don't then a decent plan will cost €800-900 and the comprehensive plan will cost €2000. under the drugs payment scheme (available to all residents) you will pay a maximum of €120 per month for prescribed medicine. Transport - typically about €60-70. cycling is definitely an option though as the city is small. As a student I have been living on €1000 per month for over a year now. This is while trying to be fairly frugal most of the time. By cutting down on the time/money I spend on socialising I could reduce these expenses significantly, but that is important to me so I don't.
• natorion 16y ago
  Austria/Vienna: -Rent for 2 rooms flat: aproxx 550 € -Electricity, water, sewag etc: 150 € -Internet: 30 € 10 mbit/s -Cell: ~10 € for 100 minutes -Food aproxx 300 € (cooking@home & eating fast food) -Ramen is non-existant but suitable fast food is available -Beer in store: 0,50 € to 1,00 € -Beer in pub: 2,80 € to 3,60 Euro -social security (health, work, pension) is covered automatically by your wage. -netto wage for junior programmer: starting at 1700 €
• domagoj 16y ago
  Rijeka, Croatia Expenses: Apartment(1 room flat): $300-$400 Internet (5 Mbps, flat): $25 Grocery: $300 Pizza: $7 Restaurant: $10-$50 Beer: $1.8-$2.8 Bus: 2.5$ -> 1 ride, $70 -> monthly ticket Taxi: $4 for 5km Mobile + 3G internet (1gb plan): $30 Electricity: $40/summer, $200-$300/winter (if you use it for heating) Petrol(1 liter): $1.7 Typical wage: $1000 - $2000
• user24 16y ago
  "a programmer" can vary from PHP monkey work to Java analyst roles, with salaries going from £16k to £160k. Check cwjobs.co.uk and type in a few languages to see the range of salaries in the UK.
• rudepeklo 16y ago
  I live in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic I don't need to pay rent (lucky me :)), so I'll summarize my expenses when I did: - monthly rent: $300 (small flat in the middle of the city) - electricity, heating, Internet: $100 - food: about $200 (you could easily live on $100 to $150 dollars if you wanted to save) - public transportation: about $110 (I don't have a car and I had to commute by train) Typical wages for programmers in Hradec are $1000 to $1500 but can go higher if you are self employed. The nearer you are to Prague, the higher go the wages (and expenses, but I guess the wages climb faster)
• _corbett 16y ago
  Zürich, Switzerland Monthly Expenses $2500+ Wages 100k+
  • preek 16y ago
    Second that. But for 2500$ you already have a 2 room/50qm flat and a Mini Cooper. At least I do. I don't know any other place where I would earn that much money as a student.
    • _corbett 16y ago
      yea–my basics: rent, health insurance, food, going out a few times are around $2000/month but I have shiny gadgets, adventure sports, and travel habits so end up spending more
• rabble 16y ago
  Montevideo, Uruguay * Rent: $400 (studio 35sq meters) (I actually pay $1000 for a 3 bedroom house - 100 sq meters) * Internet: $59 (2M/258k adsl) * Food: $400 (Restaurant meals cost $5 to $25) * Beer 1 litre: $2 * Corner Bar Food (cheap): $5 - $10 * Books: (2 to 3x US costs) * Health Insurance: $75 * Summer Vacation Rental (obligatory here): $75 to $150/night x 15 days * Utilities: $150 * Office (CoworkingMVD): $150 * iPhone Contract: $75 * Fulltime Nanny (for the kids, she also cooks): $400 * MacMini: $1700 (The $600 US one) * Petrol / Gas: $6 USD / Gallon - $1.5 / litre * Cars cost 3x US price Honda CRV is $46k new, plus $1k/year license fee (most people take slow buses) Uruguay used to be quite affordable, but the collapse of the USD, lost %30 of it's value in the last year, and it's not stopped, plus local %6 inflation, has changed things. There's basically no taxes if you do software export, %100 exemption, minus some fees. But there is a %22 VAT and a high import duty. And the Peso is strong and getting stronger, so costs are rising fast. That said, it's basically like living in a smaller european city, both in terms of cost, and quality of life. Software development is exempt from income / corporate taxes, and hiring help (nanny/housekeeper) is quite affordable. Programmer Salaries range from $750 to $4,000. With $1k to $2k being the norm. It's hard to read, but here are the new car prices: http://www.gallito.com.uy/Destacados/D71014.jpg http://www.gallito.com.uy/Destacados/D71014.jpg There's a %22 VAT on top of the list price.
• silverlake 16y ago
  New York City area, NY, USA. Manhattan is outrageous but the surrounding area is cheaper. I live comfortably with few compromises at $2800/month. Rent: $1500 for half a 1300ft^2 apartment. You can easily get much cheaper than this. Food: $300/month for expensive organic groceries Restaurants: $40/person at mid-tier restaurants, $20/person at lower end but nice places. Utilities: $150/electricity, $120/cable/phone/internet(15mbps) Transportation: $2/subway, $90/monthly pass Insurance: $250/month for health, $50/month for dental Salary varies widely. I think $60k for college grads up to $150k for senior people. Double it if you work in finance. Roughly 30-40% goes to taxes and stuff. Lots of hipsters working as waiters live happily here, so it's possible to get by on very little.
  • dmooney1 16y ago
    Fairfield County Connecticut is similar but you'll get more living space for the money. You can get a decent rent for <$1000. Fewer hipsters though. More minivans.
• Murkin 16y ago
  TelAviv, Israel * Rent+Utils: 700$ (each-with roommates) / 1300$ (2 room appt) * Internet: 30$ * Food: 500$ * Transport: 140$ * Beer 1 litre: 12$ * Corner Bar Food (cheap): 7$ * Lunch deal: 13$ * Cellphone: 55$ (~300 minutes) * Petrol: 2$/ltr * Cars are expensive, e.g.: Mazda3 30,000$ * Salary: 4,000$ - 8,000$ * Average salary in the country: ~2400$ Generally the life style of a tech person is very high compared to other professions.
  • ido 16y ago
    You should mention the salary figures are per month, not per year.
    • deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
• bendmorris 16y ago
  Taiwan (amounts are in Taiwan NT): Rent: In Taipei, $16,000+; in rural areas, you can find a good place around $6,000 Food, travel: I generally spent ~$8,000, but I ate out frequently (pretty normal there.) If you stick to mostly 7-11 food and don't eat much you can bring this down to 4,000. Food is also more expensive in Taipei than in surrounding areas. Public transportation is excellent and cheap, there's little need to get your own car. A bike or scooter works great. Total: $24k ($720 USD) in Taipei $14k ($420 USD) in rural areas (i.e. Yilan) $10k ($300 USD) will get you by if you're really on a budget Quality of life is very good for foreigners. The people are very friendly, and can speak enough English for you to get by (although speaking Mandarin is a plus.) You've got your standard McDonald's/TGI Friday's/Burger King/Subway/other American establishments if you miss them. Being an island, it is very humid and does get quite hot in the summer. Also, the entire city of Taipei has really cheap wifi! A couple bucks a month gets you internet access from anywhere in the city.
  • kachhalimbu 16y ago
    Those numbers are pretty much spot on. I have lived 5 years in taiwan and most of it in Taoyuan county (jhongli/yangmei) and my living costs were in 10~14k NT$ range.
• puli 16y ago
  Trivandrum, India Rent : $50 - $150 (ranging from single room to 3bed house) Utility: $20 Internet: $10 - $40(3Mbps unlimited bandwidth) Food: $100 (Assuming cooking at home and occasional $3.5 subway sandwich) Car: 2x US prices ($2000 for a decent non-imported used car. Motorcycle is the preferred transport here. You get a pretty good motorcycle for $1500 new. You get really good fuel economy too.) Gas: $1.3/Litre ($5/gal) Cellphone call expenses: $10 (Phone is not part of contract. Phone costs are comparable to unlocked ones in other parts of the world.) Monthly wage : $500 - $2000 Trivandrum is at the southern part of India with an emerging IT industry. I used to work here a few years back but the scene has changed a lot now. The pay used to be less than other cities like Bangalore, but has now improved with the IT giants coming in. Living costs also shot up due to this.
• dalys 16y ago
  Göteborg, Sweden This is monthly expenses in euro. 1 EUR = ~1.4 USD . Rent: Sweden is rent controlled. Expect €200-500 for 1 BR apartment in a large city depending on if you live on the outskirts or right downtown. The problem is the queues. If you want to live very central you can stand in line for many many years. Around €100-300 per month if you own a condo and only pay the condo association fee. Around €150-200k to buy a 1 BR very central condo. Electricity: Around 10 euro cents per kWh. Internet: €30-40 for 100/10Mbps cable or 100/100Mbps FTTH(whatever is available) or ADSL (24/3Mbps) if you live in a house. I get 100/10Mbps for free and 100/100Mbps for €20 extra per month. Phone: €10 if you make a few calls and send a few SMS per day, I pay €6 for flatrate 1Mbps data per month. €15 for 6Mbps flatrate and €20 for 10Mbps. (I'm writing this message riding a train with my laptop and cell phone in tethering harmony) Food: €150 I make my own food to 99% and don't buy much meat. Double it if you eat like a regular person. :) A lunch is €6 for kebab/McD and stuff like that, €10+ on restaurant. Expect €30 per person to eat dinner and drink wine/beer on a nice restaurant. Beer/Alcohol: Expensive! €1.5 for 50cl beer of the cheapest kind in the state owned alcohol monopoly store. In clubs/bars it's around €5 for ~40cl beer. €10 for 4cl shots. Ramen: 20 euro cents for a package of noodle (80gr). You can buy 500gr of pasta for €0.5-1. Transport: €2 per ride on the tram with SMS ticket (How many rides you want within 90min). I take 5-10 rides per month and walk every where I need to go otherwise. Shopping: iPad €550. Xbox 360 slim 250GB €230. Clothes are europy-pricey I guess... Insurances: The only one you need to have is home insurance. Mine is €10 per month. Wages: Around €2500-3000/month for entry level programmers with a uni./college degree. I don't know if I've forgot something important but my living expenses are around €500 per month total.
  • ohashi 16y ago
    Don't know about you... but rent control is great... IF you can find a place. I am paying way more than that because I found mine second hand off blocket. Probably varies by region a lot though.
• vimalg2 16y ago
  Trivandrum, Kerala, India : Rent+Utilities for a 750.sq.ft 2BHK (it was a steal): $90 512k unmetered Internet : $24 Occasional eating-out and groceries :$140-$150 and thats for 2 people (I asked my mum to move in with me after dad passed away) *Cooking your own food for 2, costs the same as when I lived alone and ate out everyday. Anything else is listed as a a 'luxury' in my Expense tracker. (and i'm the least frugal person in my immediate circle)
• adarshbl 16y ago
  This is adarsh from bangalore Bangalore(India) i have finished engg currently looking for a job. Monthly expenses : petrol Rs.500/month snacks : Rs.500/month i live with parents. house rent Rs.6,000/month in a decent area for a family of 4 people, 2BHK. typical montly wage for programmer : Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 for most freshers.
• camilless 16y ago
  Calgary, Canada $11,000 CAD (close to the USD) mortgage $2600 childcare $1600 Utilities $800 Food $1200 Car stuff $1000 Budget for extras (things that break in a house, and oddly enough, we almost always use this up) $2000 Presents (family and others) $300 Medication $200 (canada covers most medical expenses, but not medication or physio or chiro or eyeglass or dental). Fun (movies, exercise fun) $300 Private school (we have a child with ADHD and this school really helps him) $800 Clothing $200 --We're self employed, and both work - programmer $100/hr, designer $75/hr. If you're employed though, the rates are about half that.