How much does it cost to live where you live?

[Kari]

Hi geeks.

I have a lot of friends and family living abroad, and a constant subject when we communicate is the cost of living. Let's learn something new from our different countries, comparing prices of some common commodities all around the world.

Of course this kind of comparison is not very reliable, but at least it gives some information.

I'll start, trying to choose something available in most countries.

Bic Mac|€3.99|$4.86
Coffee (500 gram, about 1.1 pound)|€5.00|$6.08
Cup of coffee in café|€2.50|$3.04
Beer in the pub|€2.00|$2.43
Pack of cigarettes|€4.00|$6.08
Lunch, including drinks|€10.00|$12.16
Dinner for two, w/wine|€40.00|$48.64
HP Pavilion dv6-1410 Entertainment Notebook|€599.00|$728.08
Dell Inspiron 580 Desktop|€479.00|$582.22
VW Golf|€16,825.00|$20,450.00
Rent (1 bedroom, about 50sqm, 538sqfeet)|€450.00|$547.00
Software developer, salary per year|€44,850.00|$54,515.00

Notice:

• Bic Mac = only the burger. Meals start at €6.49
• Computers and the car mentioned = the price of the cheapest basic model, no extras
• Rent mentioned is inclusive electricity, gas, water and waste collecting, in a normal neighborhood
• Software developer's salary is inclusive the paid yearly holiday, information from the trade union
• Euros to dollars = exchange rate at the moment of posting

Please tell what these things cost in your corner of the world.

Kari

 

[Joan Archer]

At present I can't really help with any of these prices, apart from coffee and I buy a really cheap instant coffee which is 100 grams for 47 pence, or my filter coffee which I can get for £2.49 for 500 grams.

I'd have to check other prices as I don't go out so have no idea what the price of beer or meals are and I don't smoke, the last I heard beer was about £2.20 a pint but it's probably gone up since then, I don't drink.

Hopefully you'll get others who can give you more details on costs than I can in this country all I know is it's expensive to live here and that's without the luxury's you mention.

 

[mitchell65]

I'm with Joan a bit on this one. There is so much disparity in prices in the UK that to get a fair international idea you would have to take n average. These figure, issued by the government, are available from the National statistics office but being statistics there are two types. Lies and damn Lies. Seriously though i really does make a difference where you live, rents for example are expensive where I live as there are so many second home people it keeps the property prices up above the national average but the average wage here is one of the lowest in the country due to our high dependency on the tourist trade. So figures where I live would give a false picture of the nation as a whole.

 

[osholt]

Can someone please explain to me how to do a table, I can't find the page which tells you how to do it.

But anyway these are the approximate costs here in Surrey, England.

Bic Mac £1.99/$2.90
Coffee (500 gram, about 1.1 pound) £5/$7.28
Cup of coffee in café £5/$7.28
Beer in the pub £3.01/$4.39 (The most expensive in the UK)
Pack of cigarettes £5.60/$8.16
Lunch, including drinks £11pp/$16.03
Dinner for two, w/wine £35-50/$50.99-$72.85
HP Pavilion dv6-1410 Entertainment Notebook I can't find it but I'd imagine about £429/$655.61
Dell Inspiron 580 Desktop £429/$625.01
VW Golf £15,150/$22,072
Rent (1 bedroom, about 50sqm, 538sqfeet) Where I live A LOT, £620/$903.27+£150/$225
Software developer, salary per year £40,000/$58,276

The cost of living here is substantially higher than that of most of the UK (you just have to look at how much it costs to park your car compared to other places in England, it's something like 80p/30mins ($.10/30mins).

Another good indicator which is very important to the cost of living which you forgot to mention is the cost of Petrol, here it's about £1.20/Litre at the moment ($1.75/Litre).

Oli

 

[Kari]

Table:

[*TABLE]Item1|Item2|Item3[*/TABLE]

(Remove the asterisk's)

Yes, I forgot petrol, fuel. One liter costs about €1.40 here.

The cup of coffee in your list seems very expensive. You're sure that's not a typo?

 

[fseal]

You need to factor in the exchange rate too. 1 Euro != 1 Dollar so the numbers are meaningless by themselves.

Then there is the local salary rates. You did include an example and those can also be used to equalize the numbers so that they are comparable but unfortuantely in the US the salary for a software developer can vary HUGELY with regeon even at the same experience level. (Course the US is almost like 50 seperate countries in itself...)

Then there is taxes, income and sales, that can make "living" a lot more or less expensive in one area over another even with all the other numbers being the same...

And health costs wich run from free to astronomical and are tied in with taxes in some places...

True "cost of living" calculations require quite a bit of care to get much meaningful out of them

 

[Kari]

Fseal, of course I know that. This was meant to be more a direction giving, simple comparison. For instance those €-amounts in my post are statistical averages, exchange rate exactly what it today was. Software developer's salary is before taxes, a national average according to the union. From that amount you'd have to pay about 38% federal and local taxes.

This can never give any important information, that's why I posted this here, in the Chillout Room. But for instance I'm interested to learn what a cup of coffee or a basic desktop computer costs. It tells something.

 

[manhunter2826]

What I do know is this: despite the biggest recession ever since the Great Depression, parts of the USA and UK (esp. London which I know very well) are extremely expensive places to live. People talk about deflation and yet the costs of day-to-day living are rising where I am. Having said that, I still think deflation (as opposed to inflation) might be the ultimate outcome from this financial tsunami . IMHO.

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea perhaps...

 

[fishnbanjo]

I added amount after your dollar amount Kari

Bic Mac|€3.99|$4.86:$5.35
Coffee (500 gram, about 1.1 pound)|€5.00|$6.08:$12.99
Cup of coffee in café|€2.50|$3.04:$1.61
Beer in the pub|€2.00|$2.43:$2.50
Pack of cigarettes|€4.00|$6.08 :$3.99
Lunch, including drinks|€10.00|$12.16:$12.00
Dinner for two, w/wine|€40.00|$48.64:$28-35.00
HP Pavilion dv6-1410 Entertainment Notebook|€599.00|$728.08:$599 for 1458 1410 not avail
Dell Inspiron 580 Desktop|€479.00|$582.22:$499.00
VW Golf|€16,825.00|$20,450.00:$20,850.00
Rent (1 bedroom, about 50sqm, 538sqfeet)|€450.00|$547.00:$1100-1500
Software developer, salary per year|€44,850.00|$54,515.00:$70,000

 

[Kari]

Fishnbanjo, no surprises there apart of that VW Golf. Almost exactly the same price.

Thanks.

 

[wallyinnc]

Here you go for Southwest North Carolina. Many are a WAG, but it can give you an idea.

I was surprised to see that with the present exchange rate Germany is not terribly expensive anymore for us that receive in US$. That is, if you don't like Big Mac's or computers...

|US (8% tax) |
Bic Mac|$3.23
Coffee (500 gram, about 1.1 pound)|$8.64 |12 oz = 340g
Cup of coffee in café |$2.00 |
Beer in the pub |$3.00 |
Pack of cigarettes | $6.00 |
Lunch, including drinks |$10.00 |
Dinner for two, w/wine |$60.00 |
HP Pavilion dv6-1410 Entertainment Notebook |$594.00 |plus shipping
Dell Inspiron 580 Desktop |$486.00 |plus shipping
VW Golf |$17,620.00
Rent (1 bedroom, about 50sqm, 538sqfeet) |$650.00 |It can be 5 times that depending on location
Software developer, salary per year |$78,000.00 |10 years experience. source Payscale.com

 

[Kari]

Thanks Wally.

I forgot to mention in my original post, taxes (VAT 19%) is inclusive in every price mentioned.

 

[wallyinnc]

I know, I included them in the American prices to make them comparable. The sign price for a Big mac for example is $2.99

 

[blackroseMD1]

Well, I live in San Diego, so you pretty much pay a premium for living here.

1 bedroom apt with utilities: $975-$1500/month (for uptown/Ocean Beach areas, other places are higher)

 

[Zepher]

Venti Triple Mocha @ Starbucks, $5.36
Pack of Marlboro Red 72's Cigarettes, $3.34
1 Gallon of 93 Octane, $2.79
Rent from $600 to $1200+ for 1-2 bedrooms, utilities included in some of the $1000 apartments, but price varies by proximity to the water.

this is in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia.

 

[Joan Archer]

I'm with Joan a bit on this one. There is so much disparity in prices in the UK that to get a fair international idea you would have to take n average. These figure, issued by the government, are available from the National statistics office but being statistics there are two types. Lies and damn Lies. Seriously though i really does make a difference where you live, rents for example are expensive where I live as there are so many second home people it keeps the property prices up above the national average but the average wage here is one of the lowest in the country due to our high dependency on the tourist trade. So figures where I live would give a false picture of the nation as a whole.

You're in the same sort of position we are in, we live in tourist country, and we have the same thing with second homes around here.

When you take into account the tourist season doesn't last that long either and if the weather isn't good, well earning enough money to keep you over 12 months from about 4 or 5 months, if your lucky, wages can be a little hard.

 

[mpcrsc562]

Interesting thread, but the "true" cost of living is based on the stuff you "need" for living, right? I don't smoke. Very, very rarely do I eat fast food. I don't drink beer, etc., etc.

But, what I need is a place to live: How much is rent or mortgage? How much are property taxes? How much is insurance?

I need to eat: How much is bread, milk, cheese, etc.?

Living in Southern California means, more than likely, I'll have to commute to work: How much is auto insurance? How much is gas?

You get what I'm saying?

Average home in my surrounding area: $475,000
Average price for gallon of milk: $4.89; bread: $3.89
Gas (regular): $2.98 (Yeah, yeah, I know most Europeans pay by the litre and it comes out more that what we pay, but $2.98 is high for us)
Unemployment rate for state of California: 12%

Some of the other stuff I can't really speak on... I'm an anomoly as we live comfortably on one income... and it ain't no 6 figure one either!

 

[wallyinnc]

I forgot to mention we are at around $2.79 for a gallon of gas as well.

And I might have inflated the price of the cigarettes. I quit buying 6 years ago...

 

[osholt]

Table:

[*TABLE]Item1|Item2|Item3[*/TABLE]

(Remove the asterisk's)

Yes, I forgot petrol, fuel. One liter costs about €1.40 here.

The cup of coffee in your list seems very expensive. You're sure that's not a typo?

Thanks Kari and yeah that is a typo I must have copied it over wrong, a cup of coffee is about £1.70/$2.48 but it varies depending on where you go.

And just to throw in a comparison for those who don't know a Gallon in the US is about 4.1 Litres but a UK Gallon is 4.5L.

52p/L (75c/L); if anyone in England saw petrol at that price the petrol station would sell out in minutes!

Oli

 

[mpcrsc562]

I forgot to mention a biggie: How much does it cost to [try to] stay healthy? About $1500 a month, of which I pay about $275 of that, with my employer paying the rest.