I've been so fortunate to live in different cities. One thing people kept and still keep asking me is the cost of living and how it compares in different countries/cities.
Every time I try to formulate my naive "qualitative" response to such comparison questions, most people come up immediately with their own unfounded "uber-quantitative" analysis. 90% of the time bottled water price becomes the ultimate benchmark, which I find quite annoying.
With this post, once and for all I am trying to show how one can easily compare cost of living in different cities.
1) Expenses are taken from numbeo.com. I did not use the complete list they provided; personalized it a little bit. I also estimated my monthly usage and with that calculated my monthly cost of living. My estimated expense list might or might not reflect the real-life scenario. It can be much lower/higher than the actual case. However, since this fictive list is kept consistent for all cities, it matters not much.
2) We also need to look at the income. I used KPMG (for income tax), Glassdoor and OECD. Istanbul salaries are estimate.
3) Finally what's left from salary:
| Zurich (CHF) | Boston (USD) | Munich (EUR) | London (GBP) | Istanbul (TL) | Singapore (SGD) | Luxembourg (EUR) | Stockholm (Kr) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cost | 4,853.82 | 4,688.03 | 2,672.48 | 3,647.64 | 3,966.48 | 6,193.04 | 3,472.55 | 23,994.26 | |
| Left from Average Monthly Disposable Salary | 1,557.55 | -1,078.48 | -150.01 | -1,740.56 | -1,914.15 | -2,012.17 | -147.55 | -761.13 | |
| Entry-Level | Left from BCG Associate Salary | 878.69 | -619.99 | 287.02 | -1,720.34 | -716.48 | -1,526.37 | N/A | N/A |
| Mid-Level | Left from McKinsey Associate Salary | 1,377.04 | 2,349.43 | 994.19 | -29.87 | 96.02 | 3,973.63 | N/A | 3,921.77 |
Take-home message
- It's hard to save if you are in London. If you need to do so, find an apartment in the suburbs.
- Do not dine out in Zurich and Stockholm. Drive to Munich if you are in Zurich.
- If you want to get social, live in Singapore. Meal for 2 and cinema tickets are cheap.
- In Zurich, stay away from Chicken Breast (meat). Go vegan.
- Cappucino is relatively expensive in Istanbul (ca. 20% of meal for 2). Tip: Drink tea.
- Don't drink wine in Istanbul. It seems like coke is the best option as for the beverage.
- Utility is so expensive in Munich and Istanbul: 17.2% and 14.4% of total monthly cost respectively. Turn down the heating and throw on an extra layer.
- Don't feel proud if you managed to find a position at BCG Switzerland; average Swiss is still better off than you are.
- Keep in mind: Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Maybe the chicken quality (ultra organic, bio, fairtrade and free-range poultry) or the restaurants are better in Zurich than anywhere else?!
- Start your career in Zurich, then go either to Boston or Singapore for your mid-career. However employers are also aware of the last statement; you might need to put in long work hours.
- Taxes eat up large chunk of your salary. Try to avoid them if possible.
- Tighten your belt.
