• by XpatAthens
  • Thursday, 05 February 2015
Expatistan

The cost of living is a common topic in this era of crisis - especially perhaps for those of us who fall into the expat category and have at least one other real point of comparison... Is Athens expensive? Is it affordable? Relative to what? How does one measure or justify one's own opinion and personal experience...? Importantly, how much should a glass of wine really cost?

I may just have an answer!

I recently read a post on Facebook about the cost of living in various cities. Turns out there is a cool website that actually compares cost of living across a range of cities, big and small. And they really do compare everything, in a detailed and realistic way.

How much is an apartment 'in a nice area'? How much is laundry detergent? Movie tickets? A beer in an upscale bar? I suppose it depends where one buys one's laundry detergent, but you get the picture...

In my humble view, Athens is not an 'expensive' city - in comparative terms with other capital cities of similar size and population. In terms of local average earning, especially in recent years, the picture of course may be slightly different...

In any case, there is lots of interesting info on the site that can certainly add some colour to the usual coffee-talk on the woes and wonders of this great city...

What do you think? Check it out: www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/athens

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…