While the chance to work abroad is a dream come true for many, choosing a place that fits your budget is an important consideration to take into account and according to neobank bunq, living in Luxembourg City is not exactly budget-friendly.
In their latest Working Abroad Index, the neobank bunq analysed the cost of living and working in 28 European capitals by breaking down essential expenses such as rent, public transport costs, electricity, grocery shopping, mobile phone plan, and comparing data from 2023 and 2024. With their findings, bunq hopes to make it easier for the more than 35 million digital nomads who might have their eye on moving to a picturesque European capital.
But for those looking to keep their expenses on the lower side, Luxembourg City seems like an unlikely option, coming in as the fourth most expensive city to live in. On average, taking rent, additional costs, public transportation, and groceries into account, Luxembourg costs €2,298 per month. According to bunq's Working Abroad Index, 'the average cost of living in a European capital in 2024 is now €1,586 per month, an increase of 5% compared to 2023’. London takes the top spot as according to the bank's calculations, living in London in 2024 will cost €3,227 per month. This makes it the most expensive city to live in for expats.
The top 5 European capitals with the highest cost of living. / © Source: Working Abroad Index 2024 / Bunq
A large part of this average monthly expenditure in the British capital comes from housing as "rent alone accounts for around €2,255’. As the main ‘driver of overall expenses," rent also weighs heavily on the budgets of expats who choose Dublin, Amsterdam or, yours truly, Luxembourg City.
The Luxembourgish capital ranks 4th in bunq's list of most expensive cities to live in for expats. "In Luxembourg, public transport is free—a big perk for expats there. However, when it comes to co-working spaces, Luxembourg is the most expensive city where the average monthly price is €378.50," bunq reveals on their website.
The average rent in Luxembourg is €1.640. while the average monthly cost for groceries is €361. Eastern European capitals offer the best value for money with Bucharest being named the most affordable capital European capital. The average expenditure in the Romanian capital is €829 per month. Sofia and Budapest are equally affordable excellent options as average monthly living costs are around €870 and €942€. Rents in the Bulgarian and Hungarian capitals are three times less expensive than Luxembourg City.
© Source: Index du travail à l'étranger 2024 / Bunq
