A discussion started on Reddit brings back to the fore a question that concerns more and more Romanians: do the higher salaries outside the country weigh more than the high costs of living or, on the contrary, do cities like Bucharest, Cluj or Timișoara offer a better financial balance? The answers show that reality is more nuanced than it seems.
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“In the West you earn more, but you also spend more”
“Do you do better financially in the big cities in Romania versus those in the West? If you do the math on living costs relative to wages, do you come out better with us?” – so sounds the question on Reddit that launched a wide debate.
A consistent group of users claims that although wages are higher in the West, the cost of living is directly proportional. High rents, utilities, transport and services end up eating up much of the income earned in cities like London or Amsterdam.
“It depends, the rent can really break you abroad. I don't notice any difference in the food.”someone wrote.
“The rent breaks you in the Netherlands, but the advantage is that salaries are roughly the same wherever you go, so it's not like in Romania, where you have to live in the center of the capital, near the corporation, to have a high salary. You can have roughly the same salary in small towns, and on the outskirts, and in the North or South, and in the province, it doesn't matter.”
“What I noticed is that, in the UK, the salaries are higher, but you have to pray to get something remote so you don't stay in London.”
For some, although the salary is higher compared to Romania, the savings at the end of the month are similar.
“In Munich I live in a three-room apartment with two more people, and I pay only for my room and utilities €840. Plus €50 internet and phone, plus €58 transport. When I was living in Bucharest around 2022, I was paying around €350 for a studio apartment where I was staying alone. If I want to stay here alone, it costs €1,300–€1,600 with utilities. I used to make about €2,500–2,800 in Bucharest, now I make about €4,000. After deducting the extra cost, it's not much better.” someone wrote.
Another Romanian from the Diaspora, who stated that he plans to return to the country, came to a bitter conclusion:
“Before I left, I had the impression that there was something wow in the West (don't get me wrong, the hospitals, schools, administration, etc. are clearly over), but people are still people everywhere. They lease expensive cars, commute for 1-2 hours and eat sandwiches/homemade food to have some left over from a vacation. Long story short, I was also talking to a Romanian colleague before the Holidays: for nothing you have, for example, 5k/month and water is 5 euros.”
Happy with the life outside
A user of the platform contradicted:
“In the West, no matter where you live, with 4,000-5,000 euros you live like a king, you can go on vacation whenever you want. I have 4,200 and, honestly, I put aside 1,000, the house installment 1,200, and from 2,000 I kind of break the stores. When I'm more frugal, I put away what's left (500 euros like that). I bought the car from savings, which I put aside for 2 years, and the insurance is about 200-300 including CASCO.
Complaining at 5,000 I only understand if you have children. If you're single and can't handle money, you're a crazy spender.”
Immediately the question came: Cool! In which country/city is this all happening? Thank you!”.
The woman specified that she does not live in the city and admitted that in a big city she would not have been able to afford:
“Luxembourg, but I got the apartment in the village, with a courtyard and garden shared with two other apartments. In the capital you have no chance of getting something on your own.”
Areas in which you do very well abroad
Those who work in the medical field say they can afford more things abroad:
,, In Hull, UK we earn approx £5000 as nurses. After the mortgage, car, bills, salary, we have considerably more left over than we would have in Bucharest if we worked in the same field.”
“Like all these general questions: it depends on many factors. Personally, in my field (biotech), there's no question. I have a salary in the top 2% in Germany. In Romania, I would have lived with my parents, because I wouldn't have had money for rent.”
“In Germany I get a salary of 3600 euros per month as a 3rd year resident doctor at a hospital in a big city. I work 50-60 hours a week. I pay 1400 euros in rent, two-room apartment in the center. Food: about 400 euros per month, but I honestly don't look at money when it comes to food. I eat a lot in the city, I don't cook, I order at work, etc. 300 euros per month they go on insurance, subscriptions, etc. The rest goes on transport, my obsession with antiques, I go to the spa, things like that. I don't save much (I don't know why), I could live much more modestly.”
PHOTO by Pixabay
The areas in which you can benefit in Romania
If we refer to the answers on Reddit, in Romania the IT field seems to be the winning lot in terms of jobs.
“In my field (IT), yes (no, you live better in Romania). Purchasing power is significantly higher in Romania (with some exceptions: Zurich, some jobs in London or Amsterdam)”, someone wrote.
Another user, who also works in IT, elaborated:
“Our salaries are above those in France and close (or even above, in certain niches) compared to Germany, Austria and even some Scandinavian countries. The biggest difference is in the housing: here, most of them are already owners or pay installments, while in the West most of them live in rent. There, even a tiny studio apartment saves you 1,000-1,200 euros in the big metropolises. At 2 or We don't even discuss 50% of the salary. Food, unfortunately, seems to be cheaper here. As far as I know, it's more expensive in the West. Again, something that many people don't take into account: whether we're talking about plumbers, electricians, mechanics – God forbid you need them. of a work, that the savings of that year go to you. So even though it is indeed a tougher time, as an IT guy I could not afford the vacations, activities, purchases I do here anywhere. And this in the conditions in which I manage, anyway, to put a lot of money aside month after month.”
Another IT employee wrote: “The cost of living in Bucharest is negligible. In other capitals I could feel how and how quickly the money goes for the same lifestyle.”
“If you work in Marketing/Finance/HR/Sales/etc. and earn, e.g., 8,000 lei in Ro, you will do better in the West. If you are a developer and earn 18,000 lei in Ro, you will do better than in the West.” someone else wrote.
The answer, in turn, gathered several comments:
“I have colleagues in Finance in the UK and they earn 2,500-3,000 pounds. I earn 8,000 lei in RO. How can it be better there when the rent is much more expensive? Here I pay 160 euros for a decent studio in Timișoara, in a good area.
Finance/Marketing/HR in other countries are concentrated in big cities like London or Amsterdam, where the rent is very high. Besides, there aren't that many jobs in small towns or you have to commute by subway/bus to big cities.
It's good in other countries if you were born there.”
Someone else contradicted the answer and said that abroad he and his wife manage to put aside 1000 euros every month, with jobs in the field of Finance, which he would not have been able to do in Romania.
“You can live like a king in Romania, with a Western salary”
If salaries in Romania were like those in the West, our country would easily win the competition, believes another user:
“You can live like a king in Romania, with a Western salary of at least 3,000-4,000 euros.”
Even with salaries below those in developed countries, you can live well in Romania, was the opinion of someone else:
“I earn an average of 13,000, of which, after taxes, I have at least 8-9,000 left over. My partner also earns about 10,000 as an employee (economist) and we are lucky that we don't pay rent or interest, so we are only left with leases and bills worth 6,500/month and the rest candy.
If I worked in the West, the salary would be about 2,000-2,500 euros, from which I subtract the rent and all that, and I'm left with very little. At the moment I don't see an opportunity to work in the West, maybe only if you are qualified for jobs in IT, hospitals, construction etc.”
Priorities can make a difference
Many users have come up with another approach, which is not only about money. According to them, beyond the cost of living, everyone's priorities are what can significantly tip the balance when it comes to a possible move abroad.
“Quality of life is also about what benefits you get after paying taxes. And that tilts the balance a lot towards other countries.”
“It's not all about money, but in general, a high salary (compared to the average) in a less developed country gives you more comfort at first glance. On this principle, with a good salary in Jakarta you live like a king, but you run into bad services, corruption, etc.”
“Salary 4,000 euros, house rent in one of the most expensive communes in the country 600 euros. Monthly transport 1,200 lei, car rental 1,300 lei. In France I would have earned the same, in Germany and England more, with probably higher rents or installments. Financially I am satisfied. I am not satisfied with others.”
“Where I work, annual incomes are indexed to inflation. In Romania you lose about 10% to inflation (on average) + 1-2% to the course (started this year), without adding taxes that will be added, much lower standard of living, extra insurance that you have to buy, health, education at the level of African countries, poor justice, third world railway infrastructure, huge risks in the face of natural disasters, war in border, consumer economy etc
No matter how well you think you're doing financially in Romania, you're going to do significantly worse in the long run because of inflation and the exchange rate.”
