Living and working in Dublin from "Robert Walters"

I serfed the web and came across useful document about Living and working in Dublin.

Accommodation:
PHIBSBORO, DUBLIN 7
This northside district has a buzzy mix of students and professionals who appreciate the edgy, underground vibe, as well as the close proximity to the city. Rent averages around €350 per month for this microcosm which boasts a large, late-night supermarket, soccer stadium and charity shops. Hop on the number 10, 19 and 22 buses
into town and make sure you have a pint in The Hut as well as the Grave Diggers, which is adjacent to Glasnevin Cemetery. This is not an area noted for its trendy drinking establishments.
...

'Rough' Price Guide
Local Pub
Stout - € 3.30 +
Lager - € 3.70 +
Cider - € 3.80 +
Spirits - € 2.20 +
Mixer - € 2.20 +
...

Check out full report here.

COST OF LIVING IN DUBLIN. Info from web.

The cost of living in Dublin can be high, although it very much depends on each student's individual needs.

Estimate of a Monthly Student Budget, in euro

Accommodation* off-campus 430
Food 400
Electricity (estimate based on house share with 3 people) 15
Heat (estimate based on house share with 3 people) 15
Textbooks and Study Materials 75
Clothes, entertainment, other living expenses 250
TOTAL per month 1,185

*Accommodation On-Campus must be paid in 2 instalments, in September and in February, but works out at approximately €338 per month for undergraduate students and approximately €473 euro per month for postgraduate students. Please note that prices are subject to change.

Guide to Food Prices in Dublin, in euro

Milk (1 litre) 0.90
Loaf of Bread 1.20
Butter (500g) 1.92
Sugar (1kg) 1.09
Coffee (200g) 5.14
Tea (80 bags) 2.50
Coca Cola (2 litres) 1.63
Big Mac Meal (medium) 4.90

Guide to Miscellaneous Prices, in euro

Dublin Train / Bus - Monthly ticket 74.00
Second-hand bike 60.00 / 100.00
Cinema ticket 6.00 / 7.00
Sports event ticket 6.00 / 25.00
Hair cut 15.00 / 35.00"

[http://www.ucd.ie/international/helpadvice6.htm]

Netherland (Holland), Amsterdam. Cost of living. Prices.

Tax:
In 2008 the Netherlands corporate tax rates are 20%-25.5%, depending on the annual income. The tax rate for income up to EUR 40,000 is 20% ,a 23.5% rate, compared to the previous 23% rate, for income of EUR 40,001-EUR 200,000, and 25.5% for income exceeding EUR 200,000. Personal income tax rates are progressive for salary income. The 2008 rates are 2.5%-52%. Thr standard VAT rate is 19%. The VAT rate is expected to rise to 20% in 2009.

[http://www.worldwide-tax.com/]

Transport:
Taxi. - Rides cost €1.80 per km regardless of the time of day and a 5%-10% tip is expected
Tickets for Buses, trams, metros and night buses
24 hours - € 7,00
48 hours - € 11,50
72 hours - € 14,50
96 hours - € 17,50
If you're interested in these prices go here http://www.gvb.nl.


Salary:
Average salary is 43000 EUR

[http://www.payscale.com/]

 

Food and Clothes: 
"Regarding food and clothing, you will probably spend about the same or a little more, just say if you spend 300 dollars or 500 dollars a month in food/clothing, then say 300~ euro."

[http://www.expatforum.com/]

"Restaurant - probably around 20 euros a person depending on what you eat...with wine or beer more like 30 to 40 and above"

[http://www.expatfocus.com/]

"Levi jeans - around 80 to 90 euros and up a pair"

[http://www.expatfocus.com/]

Rent a flat:
"Living - It depends. When I looked for apartments in Maastricht, they were DIRT CHEAP. Like 300euro for 80sqm apartment, 500+ for nicer apartments fully furnished and in the center of the city.
However, Amsterdam is way more expensive. If you look for apartments within the center of the city, it may cost you 600 (cheaper I've seen for like 40sqm furnished), to 1000+ for a decent place."

[http://www.expatforum.com/]

Czech Republic, Prague. Cost of living. Prices. (updated for August, 2008)

RESTAURANTS	CZK	EUR	GBP	USD
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant	130	5.65	4.48	8.97
Meal for 2, Mid-range Restaurant	600	26.09	20.69	41.38
Combo Meal at KFC/McDonald's	100	4.35	3.45	6.90
Sausage at Wenceslas Sq.	30	1.30	1.03	2.07
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught)	25	1.09	0.86	1.72
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	55	2.39	1.90	3.79
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)	28	1.22	0.97	1.93
Water (0.33 liter bottle)	28	1.22	0.97	1.93
MARKETS	CZK	EUR	GBP	USD
Milk (1 liter)	16	0.70	0.55	1.10
Loaf of Fresh Bread	24	1.04	0.83	1.66
French Baguette	19	0.83	0.66	1.31
Eggs (10)	24	1.04	0.83	1.66
Cheese (100g)	20	0.87	0.69	1.38
Water (1.5 liter bottle)	12	0.52	0.41	0.83
Bottle of Czech Wine	80	3.48	2.76	5.52
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)	12	0.52	0.41	0.83
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	30	1.30	1.03	2.07
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro)	60	2.61	2.07	4.14
Pack of Cigarettes - Czech Brand	40	1.74	1.38	2.76
TRANSPORTATION	CZK	EUR	GBP	USD
One-way Ticket	18	0.78	0.62	1.24
Transfer Ticket	26	1.13	0.90	1.79
24-hour Pass	100	4.35	3.45	6.90
Monthly Pass	550	23.91	18.97	37.93
Annual Pass	4,750	206.52	163.79	327.59
Taxi (airport to center)	500	21.74	17.24	34.48
Taxi (within center)	150	6.52	5.17	10.34
ACCOMODATION (Monthly)	CZK	EUR	GBP	USD
Single Room in Prague 1/2	9,000	391.30	310.34	620.69
Single Room Outside of Centre	6,000	260.87	206.90	413.79
Apartment (1+1) in Prague 1/2	16,000	783.61	620.69	1241.38
Apartment (1+1) Outside of Centre	12,000	521.74	413.79	827.59
Apartment (2+1) in Prague 1/2	22,000	1043.48	827.59	1655.17
Apartment (2+1) Outside of Centre	15,000	652.17	517.24	1034.48
UTILITIES, ETC. (Monthly)	CZK	EUR	GBP	USD
Basic (Gas, Electricity, etc.)	2,500	108.70	86.21	172.41
Phone (Land Line)	500	21.74	17.24	34.48
Mobile Phone	700	30.43	24.14	48.28
Internet (512 kbps ADSL)	600	26.09	20.69	41.38

Exchange rates:
1 USD = 14.50 CZK
1 GBP = 29.00 CZK
1 EUR = 23.00 CZK

[http://www.expats.cz ]

Mercer reported about cost of living in the world

Cost of living top 5 ranking cities by region

Top 5 cities - Asia Pacific	Top 5 cities - Americas	Top 5 cities - Europe, Middle East & Africa
Tokyo, Japan (2nd) Seoul, South Korea (5th) Hong Kong, China (6th) Osaka, Japan (11th) Singapore, Singapore (13th) The lowest ranking city in Asia was was Karachi, Pakistan (141st)	New York City, US (22nd) São Paulo, Brazil (25th) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (31st) Toronto, Canada (54th) Los Angeles, US (55th) The lowest ranking city in the Americas was Asunción, Paraguay (143rd)	Moscow, Russia (1st) London, UK (3rd) Oslo, Norway (4th) Copenhagen, Denmark (7th) Geneva, Switzerland (8th) The lowest ranking city from Europe, Middle East & Africa was Johannesburg, South Africa (140th)

Rank March 2008	Rank March 2007	City	Country	Cost of living Index March 2008	Cost of living Index March 2007
1	1	Moscow	Russia	142.4	134.4
2	4	Tokyo	Japan	127.0	122.1
3	2	London	UK	125.0	126.3
4	10	Oslo	Norway	118.3	105.8
5	3	Seoul	South Korea	117.7	122.4
6	5	Hong Kong	China	117.6	119.4
7	6	Copenhagen	Denmark	117.2	110.2
8	7	Geneva	Switzerland	115.8	109.8
9	9	Zurich	Switzerland	112.7	107.6
10	11	Milan	Italy	111.3	104.4
11	8	Osaka	Japan	110.0	108.4
12	13	Paris	France	109.4	101.4
13	14	Singapore	Singapore	109.1	100.4
14	17	Tel Aviv	Israel	105.0	97.7
15	21	Sydney	Australia	104.1	94.9
16	16	Dublin	Ireland	103.9	99.6
16	18	Rome	Italy	103.9	97.6
18	12	St. Petersburg	Russia	103.1	103.0
19	19	Vienna	Austria	102.3	96.9
20	20	Beijing	China	101.9	95.9
21	22	Helsinki	Finland	101.1	93.3
22	15	New York City	US	100.0	100.0
23	38	Istanbul	Turkey	99.4	87.7
24	26	Shanghai	China	98.3	92.1
25	25	Amsterdam	Netherlands	97.0	92.2
25	29	Athens	Greece	97.0	90.6
25	62	São Paulo	Brazil	97.0	82.8
28	26	Madrid	Spain	96.7	92.1
29	49	Prague	Czech Rep.	96.0	85.6
30	37	Lagos	Nigeria	95.9	88.0
31	31	Barcelona	Spain	95.2	89.2
31	64	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	95.2	82.5
31	23	Stockholm	Sweden	95.2	93.1
34	24	Douala	Cameroon	95.1	92.9
35	67	Warsaw	Poland	95.0	82.4
36	64	Melbourne	Australia	94.2	82.5
37	39	Munich	Germany	93.1	87.6
38	45	Berlin	Germany	93.0	85.9
39	44	Brussels	Belgium	92.9	86.5
40	40	Frankfurt	Germany	92.5	87.4
41	33	Dakar	Senegal	92.2	89.0
42	28	Kiev	Ukraine	91.7	91.4
43	43	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	91.3	87.0
44	30	Almaty	Kazakhstan	90.7	89.6
45	31	Bratislava	Slovakia	90.6	89.2
46	45	Düsseldorf	Germany	90.4	85.9
46	72	Riga	Latvia	90.4	81.5
48	52	Mumbai	India	90.3	84.9
49	59	Zagreb	Croatia	90.0	83.5
50	57	Hamburg	Germany	89.9	84.2

Czech Republic, Prague. Cost of living.

Today I'll outline amazing country Czech Republic. Namely, I'll writing about Prague.

Quote: “Prague is like a vertical Venice steps everywhere.”
Author: Anonymous

So lets start.

Currency:
At first i'd like to reminder current index for eur/czk and usd/czk
1 USD = 15.5159038 CZK
1 EUR = 24.7307991 CZK

[http://google.com]

Tax:
Individuals who are permanently resident in the Czech Republic (as determined by their circumstances) or are usually domiciled here (i.e. spend more than 183 days per annum in the Czech Republic) are considered to be tax resident in the Czech Republic and are liable to Czech tax on their world-wide income. If the individuals are present for less than 183 days, then they are liable to tax only on their Czech-source income. These rules apply to Czech as well as foreigners.

Everybody working in the Czech Republic is liable to Czech social and health insurance payments. It is only in the case of short-term secondments that non-Czech nationals may be exempt from contributions to the Czech system. The employer is obliged to deduct tax advances under a payroll deduction scheme and at the end of the fiscal year, any differences between the amount due and amount advanced would be settled the following tax year. It is possible following the end of the tax year to claim tax relief for certain payments such as mortgage interest and life insurance (if the individual’s Czech income exceeds 90% of his/her world-wide income). If the employee received any additional income exceeding CZK 6,000 (except exempt income or, for example, dividends), then he would be obliged to file an income tax return.

The czech income tax rate for individual's income in 2008 is flat, a 15% rate. In 2007 tax on the income of individuals was payable at rates of 12% - 32%.
Mandatory social and health insurance payments are: Employee- 12.5%.

[http://www.worldwide-tax.com/czech/czech_tax.asp]

Well, common tax will be 27,5%

Useful links:

• CzechInvest, the inward investment agency: www.czechinvest.cz
• Ministry of Finance: www.mfcr.cz
• Ministry of Interior Affairs:www.mvcr.cz
• Czech National Bank:www.cnb.cz
• Czech Trade:www.czechtrade.cz
• Ministry of Industry and Trade:www.mpo.cz
• Ministry of Labour and Social Affairswww.mpsv.cz

Average salary:
Sr. Software Engineer - 40000 USD
Software Engineer - 25000 USD

[http://www.payscale.com/research/CZ/Country=Czech_Republic/Salary]

Property to rent:

Area: 62m
Size:2+kk
Furnished: yes
Transport: metro, tram, bus
Price: 14000 CZK (892 USD)

[http://www.expats.cz]

Transport:
One-way Ticket - 14.00 CZK
Transfer Ticket - 20.00 CZK
24-hour Pass - 80.00 CZK
Monthly Pass - 460.00 CZK (30 USD)
Annual Pass - 4,150.00 CZK
Taxi (airport to center) - 400.00 CZK
Taxi (within center) - 150.00 CZK

[http://www.dpp.cz]

Food cost:
Milk (1 liter) - 16.00 CZK
Loaf of Fresh Bread - 24.00 CZK
French Baguette 19.00 CZK
Eggs (10) - 24.00 CZK
Cheese (100g) - 20.00 CZK
Water (1.5 liter bottle) - 12.00 CZK
Bottle of Czech Wine - 80.00 CZK
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) - 12.00 CZK
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) - 30.00 CZK
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) - 60.00 CZK
Pack of Cigarettes - Czech Brand - 40.00 CZK

[http://www.expats.cz]

Other:
UTILITIES, ETC. (Monthly)
Basic (Gas, Electricity, etc.) - 2,500.00 CZK
Phone (Land Line) - 500.00 CZK
Mobile Phone - 700.00 CZK
Internet (512 kbps ADSL) - 600.00 CZK

[http://www.expats.cz]

So to sum it up:
I've calculated that live in Prague will monthly cost you 25000-30000CZK (1600-1900 USD). Let do a small calculation here. If average salary is 40000-45000 CZK (2500-2900 USD) then your income after paying tax will be 30000-33000 CZK (1900-2200 USD) and finally, after all expenditures you will have 5000 CZK (300 USD).
Well, to be honest, it's not good situation but if you receive 60000-70000 CZK then you will be live without complain.

What I'm trying to say, your life is in your hands.
Good luck and hope for the best.

Ireland, Dublin. Cost of living.

Tax:
Ireland taxation of an individual's income is progressive. In other words, the higher the income, the higher the rate of tax payable. In Ireland the tax rates for an individual in 2007 are 20% and 41%.
1. Tax base (EUR) = 0 - 34,000; Tax (%) = 20%
2. Tax base (EUR) = 34,001 and over; Tax (%) = 41% on base exceeding 34,000
For more detailed information please see www.revenue.ie or www.worldwide-tax.com or www.irelandtax.com.

Average salary:
Software engineer - 36.000 EUR
Sr. Software engineer - 50.000 EUR
Project manager - 57.000 EUR
For more detailed information please see www.payscale.com

Property to rent:
I just have a quick look for properties rent and have to say you can rent 1bedroom flat for 1.000 EUR. It might be cheapest but convenience would be considerably worse.
For more detailed information please see www.draft.ie or www.myhome2let.ie.




Transport:
Dublin has a wide range on transport systems. Each system have different fares and prices. You can see it all if you follow by links defined below. However I just want to show approximate values. So please see:
Bus adult - 85 EUR
Bus+Rail - 119 EUR
For more detailed information please see www.dublinbus.ie or www.transport21.ie or www.transport.ie or www.softguides.com.

Slovakia, Bratisliva. Cost of living.

I've already written about Belgium, Brussels a few days ago and I'm going to continue write the next country's survey. I had conversation with my friend which currently works in Slovakia, Bratislava.

Tax
38%

Transport

Taxi
A 10-minute ticket costs SKK 14, and a 30-minute ticket SKK 18, which is under 50 Euro cents.

Food

Clothe

Average salary

Flat rent

Cost of living is xxx.





you know, as i saw average salary ~50k. don't forget that they pay tax :), as i saw it was ~50%.
so perhaps salary grow down to 25k ^). because in my case as i told you they proposed me near 1.7 euro per/month so ~20k per year (but -25% because of tax). but the appartment in the center of the city in bratislava ~350euro+70-100 euro(charges). ~450euro. and food costs not so expensive like in Beussels, i'm sure. but the idea is great. maybe you should create something like table where you show everything.

sorry fro misstakes, i took one bottle of wine in fridge... he he.. it is one of our benefits on a job.

i'm still waiting you here, in Bratislava... here a good point to move to the Austria or any other country.

Belgium, Brussels. Cost of living.

As I mentioned before I have plans of moving to another country.
From time to time I'll write countries' survey.
I'm going to disclose following points: tax, transport, food, average salary, flat rent

Today It'll be Belgium, Brussels.

So lets go and have a look on cost of living.

• Tax:

From first sight Belgium is associated with highest tax. Lets check it.
I looked through "Centre for Tax Policy and Administration".
The table is below. Tax is 55.4%.

• Transport:

Here are some sample prices:
Single ticket – 1.50 EUR
5-ride ticket – 6.70 EUR
10-ride ticket – 10.50 EUR
Day pass – 4.00 EUR

• Average salary:

• Rent a flat of apartment:

All is simple here. We're google Brussels rent flat and take investigation on this point.
Instantly, I've found http://www.brusselshome.be and take a look on flat with 1 bedroom and 1 toilet. It costs 700 EUR + 125 EUR (charges) but I guess you may find flat cheaper. After rental survey it can tell the range is 500 EUR to 1500 EUR.