Moving to Salzburg

Hi all,

I am planning to move to Salzburg to work in a company. They are offering me 3000brute per month. Just wondering if that is enough for a reasonable life there.
Also, how is it in Salzburg as a city. Would be a great help if somebody can reply with details.

Regards,
JC

Not sure how much 3000brute per month is? Do you mean euros and is that before or after tax? Don't forget tax is high here, plus there's social security taken out of your pay. On the flipside pay is split into 14 payments which works out to the usual monthly pay but you get double wages in June and November typically.

In terms of living, rent is going to be your biggest expensse. Rental costs are high (compared to living in the UK, outside of London of course). It will also take a while to find somewhere and avoid agencies at all costs as they usually charge 2k plus in fees. There are plenty of websites where people advertise like Oeh-Salzburg.at.

It also depends what you are used to. If you're willing to share, you can rent a room in a shared house or apartment for about 300-500 euros per month (often with bills included). If you want your own place, you're looking at 600-1200 or more for something decent though again it depends how far from the center you are. Salzburg has excellent, affordable public transport 7 days a week, so you can easily live outside of the city center and be able to travel in whenever you need to in minutes. If you plan to get a car, then make sure you find a place with a provided parking spot (parkplatz) otherwise it's a real bitch to find a parking spots and it'll cost you.

Also note that deposits for rooms/houses are very high, typically 3x the monthly rent for a house and at least 1 months rent for a room. There are other payments too and solo-rantals require you have insurance by law (it's not too expensive though). Another option is a Garconneirre which is basically a self-contained apartment within a house which is a good and affordable compromise between a room and your own house/apartment.

Also another note, most places are not furnished so you'll need to buy your own. Furniture is not cheap even at IKEA, you'll be looking at several hundred for a bed alone. So make sure you put some savings aside to set yourself up once you get here.

Food and other retail costs are also high (due to import taxes in Austria being high) but they're still affordable. In terms of social stuff, beer is cheap, there's a few cinema, a big shopping mall etc. It's a big tourist area so again that raises costs but once you get to know the place you will be fine.

If you need any other info or have specific questions, feel free to message me. :)

Hi TJ,

Thank you very much for the detailed email and it will really help to anticipate the relocation costs.

The salary I said is gross salary per month in Euros. So, it will come down to around 2000Euro per month.

I am thinking whether it is a good money. :):(

BTW, it seems like there is not much difference with SGB and where I live now in France.

Also, how are the locals, opt to speak in English or it is hard to live without German?

Thank you again.

JC