Job Discussion Forums

ebritton · Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:53 pm Post subject: Results

Here's the results of the living costs survey. The estimates are for a single person, some assume shared accommodation. There is a lot of variation based on personal circumstances and the completeness of reporting. So, take it with a grain of salt.

Australia (Melbourne) - 1062 AUD
Australia (Melbourne) - 1012 AUD
Austria - 1057 Euro dollars
Britain - 1040 UK pounds
Cambodia - 682 US dollars
Canada (Montreal) - 800 Canadian dollars
Canada (Montreal) - 893 Canadian dollars
Canada (Montreal) - 1000-1500 Canadian dollars
China - 2042 RMB
China (outer Shanghai) - 943 Us dollars
China - 0 (all expenses paid)
China (rural) - 110 US dollars
France (Paris) - 820 Euro dollars
France (Paris) - 1034 Euro dollars
Hong Kong - 24500 HKD
Hong Kong - 14287 HKD
Hong Kong - 9510 HKD
Indonesia (Jakarta) - 340 US dollars
Italy (Rome) - 785 Euros
Japan (Osaka) - 1615 US dollars
Japan - 206600 yen
Japan (Shikoku) - 1785 US dollars
Kosovo - 678 Euros
Mexico - 838 US dollars
Qatar - 300 US dollars
Russia - 485 US dollars
Syria - 50 US dollars
Turkey - 152 million tl
Turkey - 450 million tl
Yemen - 40,000 YR

biffinbridge · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 701 Location: Frank's Wild Years

Buy 'the Economist' and look at the 'Bigmac Index',it's fairly accurate.

cha muir · Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 64 Location: Plateau, Montreal

Tonight we had dinner in a little restaurant near our house for less than a dollar. Two adults, one child. Fruit is about seventy cents a kilo. Veggies about 30 cents a kilo. Sugar cane juice about ten cents. various snacks about ten cents. i can't say exactly how much things cost us here on a monthly basis; we've never really felt the need to keep track. The cost of living here is pretty low though. I think its a good country to come to in order to save money.

cha

JosephP · Joined: 13 May 2003 Posts: 445

I've taught in both Auckland and Christchurch NZ and whilst rent is the killer in Auckland, food costs and selections in Christchurch are not as good as Auckland.
Auckland rents; expect somewhere around NZD300/week for a place. Sure you can find cheaper or you could pay a lot more as well.
Christchurch you can easily enough find a decent two bedroom unit for around NZD200/week.
Food? For my 3 person household (wife, 7 year old daughter, and myself) we hardly ever ate out but we like to buy top drawer foodstuffs so figure at least NZD175-NZD225 a week. 12 pack of local beer figure NZD14 or so. Pub beers average between NZD3 and NZD7 depending on amenities of the bar. For tobacco addicts (thank goodness I kicked that filthy habit years ago) you are looking at around NZD8.50-NZD12 a packet. That's probably why you see most dedicated puffers rolling their own which I suppose works out cheaper.
Transport: 2nd-hand cars are really cheap. NZD1500 will get you a reliable if cosmetically-challenged Japanese import. Public trans in Auckland is expensive, balkanized, and truly dire. Traffic is a bearcat as well. Christchurch has a cheap and fairly reliable bus system at NZD2 per ride or NZD1.50 with a metro card.
Cinema is a bit steep at around NZD12-NZD14. Library cards are free. Bookstores are really steep so if you like to read, do become a friend of the library.