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N.B. I have heard the cost of living in other European cities is a lot lower which is why I thought they would be in a similar shape to London before reading th

N.B. I have heard the cost of living in other European cities is a lot lower which is why I thought they would be in a similar shape to London before reading that article.

Kurtz79 13y ago
I have been living for a substantial amount of time (years) in London and Madrid, a short while in Berlin, and the latter two are definitely cheaper, offering a similar quality of life (personally I would say better, but it's a matter of taste, it has also to do with the sheer size of London). In London I was living in a shared flat in Zone 3, and I was paying more of what I pay now for a decent studio in the middle of Madrid's city center. Public transport is cheaper and more efficient both in Berlin and Madrid, just as well, and eating/going out too. Then again London has a better start-up scene, more availability of jobs and better paid ones, so as with everything, it's a matter of trade-offs. BTW, the EU it's not really popular these days, but I always found the fact that you can decide where to work and live with no legal barriers among dozens of different countries absolutely amazing, also considering that those countries were waging war between themselves for centuries up to about 70 years ago...
troels 13y ago
Yes, but for legal/tax reasons, UK is much more attractive than most other EU countries.
- corford 13y ago
  Good point. I've come across quite a few Berlin based startups that are actually incorporated in the UK e.g. Soundcloud. Someone said to me that one of the reasons for this is share capital requirements. You only need £100 to incorporate an ltd in the UK whereas in Germany it's apparently in the thousands.
  - ValentineC 13y ago
    There's actually no minimum capital requirement for the UK. You can incorporate a company with £1 in capital, if you wanted to.
    - corford 13y ago
      Ah yep you're right. Don't know why I had £100 in my head.
  - troels 13y ago
    Yes, that's one way of doing it. I guess it's not different from the US, where most companies are incorporated in Delaware.

N.B. I have heard the cost of living in other European cities is a lot lower which is why I thought they would be in a similar shape to London before reading that article.

Kurtz79 13y ago

I have been living for a substantial amount of time (years) in London and Madrid, a short while in Berlin, and the latter two are definitely cheaper, offering a similar quality of life (personally I would say better, but it's a matter of taste, it has also to do with the sheer size of London). In London I was living in a shared flat in Zone 3, and I was paying more of what I pay now for a decent studio in the middle of Madrid's city center. Public transport is cheaper and more efficient both in Berlin and Madrid, just as well, and eating/going out too. Then again London has a better start-up scene, more availability of jobs and better paid ones, so as with everything, it's a matter of trade-offs. BTW, the EU it's not really popular these days, but I always found the fact that you can decide where to work and live with no legal barriers among dozens of different countries absolutely amazing, also considering that those countries were waging war between themselves for centuries up to about 70 years ago...

troels 13y ago

Yes, but for legal/tax reasons, UK is much more attractive than most other EU countries.

corford 13y ago
Good point. I've come across quite a few Berlin based startups that are actually incorporated in the UK e.g. Soundcloud. Someone said to me that one of the reasons for this is share capital requirements. You only need £100 to incorporate an ltd in the UK whereas in Germany it's apparently in the thousands.
- ValentineC 13y ago
  There's actually no minimum capital requirement for the UK. You can incorporate a company with £1 in capital, if you wanted to.
  - corford 13y ago
    Ah yep you're right. Don't know why I had £100 in my head.
- troels 13y ago
  Yes, that's one way of doing it. I guess it's not different from the US, where most companies are incorporated in Delaware.