Job Discussion Forums

yaramaz · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 6:27 am Post subject:

I must also question the 152 million TL figure given for Turkey (barely over 100 usd). I pay no rent, no utilities except gas cannisters and monthly cleaning lady, I don't have any necessary transportation costs (only voluntary ones, to escape on weekends), food is very cheap here (both in supermarkets and restaurants), no bars or fun places to waste money on... but even I can't live easily on 152 million per month!

Well, no- I could, but it would be a supremely dull and barebones existence.

I spend approximately 300 pounds (500 usd approx) per month and live very well, travel a lot, eat out a lot, buy nice wines, funky boots, lots of CDs and English books and as many English papers as I stumble upon...

I think rent here is 150-300 million tl/month alone---- and I'm not in a major city. In Istanbul you are looking at a minimum of 350 mill. for a single unfurnished flat. Bus/dolmuş/metro/tram fares vary, but the minimum here is 600 000 (about 50 cents).

I think we need to recalculate slightly.

Joachim · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 311 Location: Brighton, UK

Country: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China(!)

Currency: Hong Kong dollar ($1US=$7.8HK)

Rent: 7000 HKD per month (although cheaper is available, just far away and in older buildings)

Food: $1000pcm at supermarket, plus 2-3000 at restaurants

Utilities: 300pcm

Phone: ABout 500-800pcm, depending on international calls and SMS

Internet: Free at work, or $20 per hour

TV: Free cable in my building

Transport: 400 HKD per month on octopus card

Entertainment: As much or as little as you want, depending on taste. A drink in central is usually $50-100

Shopping: ditto

Postage - $3 per postcard, a 2kg parcel to Europe is maybe $150 and will arrive in a week

Tricky Woo · Joined: 09 Apr 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Canada

I also thought "WTF?!" when I saw that cost of living figure for Montreal.

Then I remembered my year off school, when some months were so lean I got by on $550-600/mo. (I'm down the road in Ottawa, and hours are real hard to come by after Xmas.)

Rent: $225 (It was a room in a very old dirty house and had been on lease several years)
Utilities (oil, hydro, water): $70
Transportation: $60
Food: $130
Phone: $15
Internet: $30
T.V.: $12
Beer: whatever was left

I suppose 'net, t.v, and some food could even be "luxuries", plus I know some nuts who bike in the winter, even when its not a money issue, so...

It can be done, but it's no fun.

Shaman · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown

The Montreal costs that were originally posted were indeed mine. The problem was that these costs:

- were originally quoted in US $
- included daily, weekly, and monthly expenditures
- did not include incidental costs

After the exchange, the monthly was between $700-$800 CAD. Still, as Imentioned previously, it is bare bones and should not be taken as a rule of thumb model.

Shaman

ebritton · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 3:25 pm Post subject: A Second One for Montreal

Here's a bare-bones monthly budget from a student living in Montreal, Canada. Rent and utilities are 1/2 for a shared apartment. Has a car.

Rent - 385
Food - 220
Utilities - 40
Phone & Internet - 63
TV - 20
Health Insurance - 0
Transportation - 145
Entertainment - 0
Other - 20 (laundry)
Total - 893

Shaman · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown

Moral of the story: as an ESL teacher in Montreal, you may very well have to live like a starving student at the outset. Shocked

Shaman

travelgoddess · Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 1:34 pm Post subject: Taiwan Costs

I just spent a long time creating a detailed post here on Taiwan costs, and my computer crashed!!!!!!!!!!! ahhh.

Anyway, you can check out the below site for the details here.

Isnt there a ratio you can use for income compared to cost of living to make this an even playing field. I would be interested to know this.

Debra

http://meintaiwancosts.blogspot.com

Eijse · Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 119 Location: Yemen (Aden)

schminken · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 8:44 am Post subject:

I'll post in Euros so I can compare to been_there.

Austria

Rent: 380 Euros. View of river and alps + balcony, unfurnished 48 square meters
Food: I eat out at least once every day 300 Euros. Too lazy to cook.
Utilities: Water is included in rent. 37 Euros a month for the rest.
Mobile Phone: 50 Euros per month
Transportation: This is where I lose the most money. I keep missing the bus and take a taxi to work: 100 Euros a month
Stupid Radio and TV Tax: 20 Euros per month
Entertainment: I don't do much 200Euros per month. beer is about 2.00�
Internet: I have it in my office.

Looks like I need to scale back on those taxi rides!

lostinparis · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:52 am Post subject:

Who lives in Paris on 741 Canadian dollars a month?????

If I convert that into euros, that's 457 euros. I'm sorry, but there is no way you can live on that in Paris. That will barely get you a closet-sized room with sink in an attic!!! Here are my monthly expenses in euros (and i am somewhat of a cheapie...)

530 - rent (including heat and water) for a one room, furnished, centrally-located studio in Paris (tiny separate kitchen and bathroom). total living space: 16 meters sq
20 - electricity
40 - phone (it's expensive here, doesn't include intl calls)
8 - phone card for intl calls
16 - internet access
300 - food (includes eating out which is quite expensive)
50 - metro pass for the month
20 - laundry
0 - health insurance
50 - misc stuff I'm forgetting (movies, occasional purchase)

that's a total of 1034 euros for the month. You could probably live on a tiny bit less than 1000 euros per month... maybe 900 minimum if you were willing to give up even basic things like internet or occasional dinners out with friends. but nothing below that. 1000 euros also doesn't take into account emergency expenditures or one-time expenditures either... a visit to the dentist, medicine, or the yearly apartment insurance fee you must pay if you rent in Paris.

Shaman · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown

C'etait moi, lostinparis. But it's in $US, not in $CAD - here's the original post:

Asynca · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 8:31 am Post subject: Melbourne, Australia

Here's my expenses for living in Melbourne:

AUD$347 PCM rent (sharehouse).
AUD$400 PCM for food.
AUD$125 PCM Utilities, phone, internet etc.
AUD$70 PCM entertainment, gifts, random expenses etc...
AUD$88 PCM travel (which is disgustingly expensive here)

That's $1012. I think I could probably spend a lot less on food - but I just really hate cooking and buy lots of pre-packaged stuff Razz

ANY fulltime job in Melbourne will cover those expenses. In my case, I save at least 50% of my pay cheque every week.