Ask HN: Cost of living across the world (Ramen PPP Index for hackers)

I live in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

I don't need to pay rent (lucky me :)), so I'll summarize my expenses when I did:

- monthly rent: $300 (small flat in the middle of the city)

- electricity, heating, Internet: $100

- food: about $200 (you could easily live on $100 to $150 dollars if you wanted to save)

- public transportation: about $110 (I don't have a car and I had to commute by train)

Typical wages for programmers in Hradec are $1000 to $1500 but can go higher if you are self employed. The nearer you are to Prague, the higher go the wages (and expenses, but I guess the wages climb faster)

Montevideo, Uruguay

  * Rent: $400 (studio 35sq meters) (I actually pay $1000 for a 3 bedroom house - 100 sq meters)
  * Internet: $59 (2M/258k adsl)
  * Food: $400 (Restaurant meals cost $5 to $25)
  * Beer 1 litre: $2
  * Corner Bar Food (cheap): $5 - $10
  * Books: (2 to 3x US costs)
  * Health Insurance: $75
  * Summer Vacation Rental (obligatory here): $75 to $150/night x 15 days
  * Utilities: $150
  * Office (CoworkingMVD): $150
  * iPhone Contract: $75
  * Fulltime Nanny (for the kids, she also cooks): $400
  * MacMini: $1700 (The $600 US one)
  * Petrol / Gas: $6 USD / Gallon - $1.5 / litre
  * Cars cost 3x US price Honda CRV is $46k new, plus $1k/year license fee (most people take slow buses)

Uruguay used to be quite affordable, but the collapse of the USD, lost %30 of it's value in the last year, and it's not stopped, plus local %6 inflation, has changed things. There's basically no taxes if you do software export, %100 exemption, minus some fees. But there is a %22 VAT and a high import duty. And the Peso is strong and getting stronger, so costs are rising fast. That said, it's basically like living in a smaller european city, both in terms of cost, and quality of life. Software development is exempt from income / corporate taxes, and hiring help (nanny/housekeeper) is quite affordable.

Programmer Salaries range from $750 to $4,000. With $1k to $2k being the norm.

It's hard to read, but here are the new car prices: http://www.gallito.com.uy/Destacados/D71014.jpg There's a %22 VAT on top of the list price.

These days Sao Paulo has gotten very expensive. I paid $25 USD for a personal pizza, and had friends talk about how cheap a lunch place was, only $7!

I can handle $1k / month, I just prefer not to. I go out for coffee periodically, which would bring that number up, but that's usually business-related. I can legally bill in RMB.

$2500 sounds really high for visa and entry /exit expenses, unless you're including plane tickets. My year-long visa was $100-200. Anyway, I see you're near Dongzhimen - I'm near Yonghegong, so not far. I'll drop you a line some time.

How would you recommend finding accommodation in Amsterdam? Also, any districts / neighborhoods one should stay away from?

I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom apartment in a decent location (not necessarily the centrum, but the closer the better) but I'm having a hard time finding a place without signing up with any of the agencies (I cannot afford to pay the agency fee)

I tried using Kamernet but I have found that being a foreigner + not speaking dutch really makes it difficult to get any replies