Working abroad... Amsterdam Vs Dublin

by Maria Recknagel

May 18th 2016

Last time we compared working abroad in Barcelona vs working abroad in Berlin. This time we want to take a look at working abroad in Amsterdam vs Dublin. So if you are looking for Jobs in Amsterdam or Jobs in Dublin you should keep reading because we are going to shed some light on the cost of living in Amsterdam vs Dublin.

Prices

When you are planning to work abroad you are going to want to look at cost of living and you want to look at the general consumer prices in both cities. You will find that buying goods in Amsterdam is around 4.8% cheaper than in Dublin. However when it comes to Rent you will see no big difference between both cities, as Rent in Amsterdam is only about 0.2% higher than in Dublin. Restaurant prices in Amsterdam will also be slightly higher than in Dublin. However you can save money in Amsterdam compared to Dublin when you want to buy Groceries, because it will be around 9.7% cheaper.

In general you would need around 4,266.63€ when you want to go broad and live in Amsterdam to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 4,400.00€ in Dublin (assuming you rent in both cities).

So far so good. But let’s break it down a little.

Grocery Prices

Everyone that wants to work abroad has to go grocery shopping - so let’s compare some products that most of us buy on a regular basis. For example Milk will almost be the same price with 1€ in Dublin and 0.98€ in Amsterdam. A fresh loaf of white bread however will be more expensive in Dublin with 1.48€ compared to 1.25€ in Amsterdam. The same with bottled water - in Dublin a 1.5 litre bottle will cost you 1.17€ when in Amsterdam you would only pay 0.98€. But when you buy apples in Dublin you will save around 20 cents compared to Amsterdam where you pay 2.20€ for 1kg of apples.

Public Transportation

When you are moving abroad for your new job in Dublin or Amsterdam you might have to commute to work. The easiest way to get around the city is usually public transportation. For a One-Way ticket in Dublin you will have to pay 2.70€ compared to 2.80€ in Amsterdam. However a Monthly pass in Dublin will be much more expensive than in Amsterdam with 120€ vs 80€.

Going out

Moving abroad is not all about working, you will also have some free time so you have the chance to go out. Going out for a meal in an inexpensive restaurant in either city will cost you around 15€. And going out for a beer in a bar will cost you around 5€ in both cities. If you want to go for a coffee on a Sunday afternoon you will have to pay 2.83€ for a cappuccino in Dublin and 2.75€ in Amsterdam.

Rent

If you want to move abroad you will have to find a place to live. And Rent prices in both Amsterdam and Dublin are usually higher than in other European cities. But compared with each other there isn’t a big difference.

In addition to the Rent you will also have to pay for basic utilities like Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage. If you have a 85m² apartment you will pay around 159.72€ in Dublin and 148.49€ in Amsterdam.

Salary

Now you have an idea of what you will probably have to spend there. But if you are going there to work abroad you also want to know what you can expect to earn in those cities? And how much in total will your monthly expenses be compared to what you earn?

On average you will have a monthly disposable Salary of 2,432.65€ in Amsterdam and monthly expenses for a single person at 785.10€ and at 2,813.61€ for a four person family without rent. In Dublin you will have an average net income of 2,422.01€ with monthly expenses for a single person at 841.44€ and for a four person family at 3,009.03€ without rent.

Distribution of expenses

Even though everyone is different we want to show you what you can expect for your distribution of expenses.

So in general we can’t really say that one city is better than the other because both have their pros and cons. The cost of living is relatively similar in both cities however they are both a little more expensive than other European cities. But both are beautiful cities to live in and you can find jobs in either city here at Job Coconut.

For Jobs in Dublin click here

and Jobs in Amsterdam click here.

All stats sourced from numbeo.com