??cost of living/ international salary comparisons

hunnymonster

Hi, I was just wondering if there are any resources out there that compare the cost of living in different countries? I realise it's not an exact science as everyone has different spending habits. I'm starting to consider jobs abroad but want to know what kind of salaries I should be considering.

Imposter

Just comparing salaries is not a good idea. Take comparisons with Ireland, UK, US, Germany and France.

Ireland and the UK I guess have kinda similar systems so there a direct comparison is possible. In the US you more or less need private health insurance and a private pension. Also if unemployed you get almost nothing.

In Germany and France you pay huge Social insurance (PRSI in Ireland) but have good health systems, umemployment fallbacks and pension entitlements, meaning you don't really need a private health insurance or pension.Earning 40k in Germany though you might take home 25ish of that compared to 30ish in Ireland.

hunnymonster

That's kinda the point of my question???? I know you can't directly compare salaries but if I know all the costs in various locations I can figure out a kinda of "net" cost of living that will help decide if a particular job is worth while. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my OP.

The_Conductor

You also have to take into account that in many cases there is a 'weighting' attached to working in a particular area. For example significant numbers of employees working in London earn a London weighting- an additional allowance in recognition of the increased costs of living/working in the capital city. There are similar payments in most EU countries- but not in Ireland. So Debbie in Portlaoise earns the same as Martha in Dublin- however her purchasing power is 22% higher- because of lower rents etc.......

You need to look at a lot more than the base salary on offer......

hunnymonster

I'm obviously not explaining myself very well. Sorry about that. I realise all the differences. I was just wondering if there was a resource out there that had all the information in one place so as to allow a valid comparison.

john_d_baptist

hi.... I copied and pasted your question into Google and hey presto

http://www.salaryexpert.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=COLCalculator.intlcol&lang=en

hunnymonster

Thanks, I had looked at that programme. I installed the demo version but that only has cities starting with A and B in it and I can't find any reviews online to suggest that it is worth paying for the full version.

john_d_baptist

hunnymonster wrote: »

Thanks, I had looked at that programme. I installed the demo version but that only has cities starting with A and B in it and I can't find any reviews online to suggest that it is worth paying for the full version.

I see what you mean... its difficult to find an all-in-one global cost of living calculator, id say the criteria would be too vast maybe... it looks like the best bet is to Google 'what is the cost of living in .....' and just stick in the name of the country. If I find a better resource I'll post it on here

hunnymonster

Thanks JDB.

Tom Dunne

When I was moving to Bahrain earlier this year, I found some cost of living information on www.tefl.com .

You have to register, but it gave me a good idea. Also, it's not very scientific, it's just an ordinary person like you or me giving a list of the cost of items, including living costs, food, etc.

Not exactly what you want, but it's a start.

The_Conductor

From memory- I think 'The Economist' do an annual cost of living comparison (in addition to their 'Big Mac' index).

Link here: http://www.economist.com/markets/rankings/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13252399

And the 'Big Mac' index here: http://www.economist.com/markets/Bigmac/index.cfm

(I've a subscription to the Economist- if it doesn't show the stories, you can sign up for a free account that lasts a forthnight to read them)......

Paul_D

I found this guide to be very good:
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings.html