Bucharest, the 3rd best city for relocation based on living costs

Furnished apartment search engine, Nestpick, has released a study revealing the first month living costs involved with relocating to 80 cities around the globe.

Dubai, UAE is the most expensive city to relocate to, based on a first month living cost of €3,632.65, with high rent prices and visa fees, while Cairo, Egypt is the least expensive city to relocate to, based on a first month living cost of €560.41, with cheap rent prices and affordable food and drink.

Bangalore, India comes second as the cheapest city to relocate to, while Bucharest ranks third.

Practically, Bucharest  ranks #78 out of 80 cities, with the first month living cost amounting to €644.26. One have to pay EUR 120 for visa fees in Bucharest and the visa processing time takes 14 days.

On living expenses in the first month, the rent would be around EUR 239while Internet and phone  costs would mount to EUR 8.9 and EUR 12 respectively. For food one would need EUR 251.7 in Bucharest and the transport costs are  EUR 13.37, with total costs mounting to a total of EUR 644 per month.

Nestpick first looked at the most popular destinations for work opportunities, top universities and thriving start-up cultures, before finalising a list of 80 cities from all around the globe. To calculate the cost of moving to each place, the search engine first researched the potential immigration factors such as a possible visa fee, and the visa processing time. Next, the living costs for the first month were calculated, covering rent prices, internet cost, phone service,food and drink expenses and any public transport costs. The final index is then ranked from most to least expensive, based on the total cost involved for the first month of relocation.

“The world has never been more accessible than it is right now to those seeking out employment opportunities, cultural exchanges or remote working hubs. In the last few years especially, we’ve seen trends that more people than ever are relocating to far-flung destinations which have rapidly digitalized. It’s now equally as possible to find 4G on a beach as it is in a built-up city” commented Ömer Kücükdere,Managing Director of Nestpick. “The cost of living is often a huge factor for those looking to move, with the initial month almost always incurring extra costs due to potential visa applications. We hope that this index serves as a good indicator of how affordable or expensive many of the most popular remote working destinations are around the world, and will help those seeking opportunities abroad to make a smart decision.”

New Zealand has the most expensive visa fees, at €1,847.65, while Hong Kong has the least expensive, at €20.70. New Zealand also has the longest visa processing time, at 381 days, while Thailand has the shortest, at 2 days.

San Francisco, USA has the most expensive rent prices, at €2,031.00, while Bangalore, India has the least expensive, at €137.18.

Dubai, UAE has the most expensive internet costs, at €94.66, while Moscow, Russia has the least expensive, at €4.77.

Zurich, Switzerland has the most expensive phone service prices, at €91.00, while Warsaw, Poland has the least expensive, at €4.67.

Zurich, Switzerland has the most expensive food and drink prices, at €1,018.02,while Bangalore, India has the least, at €218.25.

London, UK has the most expensive transport prices, at €143.85, while Cairo, Egypt has the least expensive, at €6.09.

To view the full results for all cities in the index, please see here.