Living alone costs more than $4,000 a month in some of the world's most expensive cities, but the size of the bill tells only half the story.
Image: ChatGPT
South Africans battling the cost of living may take some comfort from knowing that living alone can require more than $4,000 (approximately R64,000) a month in some of the world's most expensive capitals.
A study by Atmos ranked London as the most financially challenging of the cities it examined for a young adult living independently, estimating that a salary of $4,674 a month is needed to cover expenses and leave a 10% buffer. Washington DC followed at $4,514, Reykjavik at $4,363, Dublin at $4,042 and Amsterdam at $4,016.
For comparison, an illustrative Johannesburg budget compiled by IOL comes to R35,025 a month before the buffer, or R38,528 including it – about $2,386 at R16.15/$.
But simply converting spending into a common currency can be misleading. People in London earn and spend pounds, those in Amsterdam earn and spend euros, and South Africans earn and spend rand.
Where you live also determines what you have to spend money on. A Londoner can commute without a car. In Amsterdam, cycling is a genuine transport option. In Johannesburg, a car can be a practical necessity. Healthcare, housing and other expenses differ considerably between countries.
So how far does an average local salary actually go?
A one-bedroom apartment averages about £2,261 in central London and £1,702 outside the centre.
Image: Nicola Mawson | IOL
London tops Atmos's ranking, with total monthly expenses of $4,249 before the buffer, largely because of housing. At the September 1 exchange rate, Atmos's $4,674 required salary is about £3,452 a month.
Numbeo puts the average London take-home salary at around £3,525, leaving little room between average earnings and what it costs to live independently.
Rent is the killer. A one-bedroom apartment averages about £2,261 in central London and £1,702 outside the centre.
But Londoners don't necessarily need to add a car instalment and running costs to that bill – a monthly public transport pass covering buses, the Tube and rail services costs around £200.
Basic utilities average about £290 a month, internet £31 and a mobile phone plan £14.
The result is a city where housing is brutally expensive, but transport infrastructure means car ownership does not have to be part of the price of living independently.
A one-bedroom apartment averages about $2,607 in the Washington DC city centre and $2,120 outside it, but a monthly public transport pass costs around $120.
Image: pic.uhomes.com
Washington comes second at $4,514 a month but looks very different once earnings enter the equation. Average monthly take-home pay is about $7,120, according to Numbeo, leaving roughly $2,600 between average earnings and Atmos's required salary.
Housing is still expensive, a one-bedroom apartment averages about $2,607 in the city centre and $2,120 outside it, but a monthly public transport pass costs around $120.
Atmos puts Washington's monthly cost of living before rent at $1,601, with lifestyle costs particularly high, including about $115 for a gym membership and $18 for a cinema ticket.
Washington demonstrates why the headline cost alone can deceive: it is enormously expensive, but average earnings are also substantially higher.
English: Rainbow Street section of Skólavörðustígur in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Reykjavik requires $4,363 a month, equivalent to about 530,000 Icelandic króna at the September 1 exchange rate. Average monthly take-home pay is around 554,000 króna, leaving only a small gap between the two.
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city of Iceland, serving as the world's northernmost sovereign state capital and is home to around 140,000 people.
Housing takes a large bite – a one-bedroom apartment averages around 298,000 króna in the city centre and 243,400 outside it – and everyday expenses are not particularly forgiving either, with utilities at about 10,695 króna, internet 10,175 and a monthly public transport pass 11,200 króna.
Atmos gives Reykjavik a quality-of-life score of 195.1, illustrating another trade-off: expensive does not necessarily mean a poor standard of living.
Aston Quay & River Liffey, Dublin.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Dublin is fourth, requiring $4,042 a month, about €3,486 at the September 1 exchange rate. Numbeo puts average monthly take-home pay at around €3,478, meaning Atmos's estimate of what it costs to live independently is essentially the entire average net salary.
Rent is again central to the problem, averaging around €2,162 in the city centre and €1,881 outside it.
Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is located on the east coast in the province of Leinster, with temperatures ranging from 6 degrees C to 20 degrees C, depending on the time of the year.
Its urbanisation began when Vikings from Norway set up what was to become a permanent settlement in 841 AD. They settled in an area near what was called the 'Black Pool', which in Irish is 'Dubh Linn', which gave it the name 'Dublin'.
Atmos puts Dublin's underlying monthly cost of living at $1,234, the lowest of its five most expensive cities, but rent pushes the overall requirement above $4,000.
A view of the Reguliersgracht on the corner with the Keizersgracht, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at dusk.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Amsterdam rounds out the top five at $4,016, equivalent to about €3,464. Average take-home pay is considerably higher at about €4,136, leaving some breathing room.
Housing remains expensive – a one-bedroom apartment averages about €2,317 in the city centre or €1,724 further out – but Amsterdam has something Johannesburg doesn't: the ability to make a bicycle a serious part of everyday transport.
Around 32% of city traffic is by bicycle, 63% of residents cycle daily and the city has about 400km of dedicated bike paths, according to I amsterdam.
That means living independently doesn't automatically come with the costs of financing, insuring, fuelling and maintaining a car. Amsterdam also recorded the highest quality-of-life score among Atmos's top five, at 205.6.
Melrose Arch, Johannesburg: Against an average South African take-home salary of R21,642, a Johannesburg budget requires income about 78% higher than average net pay.
Image: Nicola Mawson | IOL
Johannesburg is where the comparison becomes particularly interesting.
IOL constructed an illustrative monthly budget for one working adult living alone in Johannesburg. Rent of R7,000, R2,500 in levies and R560 in rates puts housing at R10,060 before electricity.
Electricity adds R1,000, groceries R2,000, internet R500 and cellphone costs R200.
Unlike the overseas cities, the budget includes R2,500 for a car instalment and R1,000 for petrol, reflecting Johannesburg's very different transport environment.
Healthcare adds R5,500 for medical aid and R3,000 for costs not covered by it. Insurance adds R3,085, Netflix R180, while R6,000 covers the ordinary expenses that don't arrive as one monthly debit order: clothing, toiletries, household goods, vehicle maintenance and other day-to-day spending. There is no gym membership.
That brings the illustrative Johannesburg living-alone bill to R35,025, rising to R38,528 with the 10% buffer; about $2,386 converted at R16.15/$ to sit alongside Atmos's ranking.
Against an average South African take-home salary of R21,642, the budget requires income about 78% higher than average net pay.
What it costs to live alone around the world.
Image: ChatGPT
On a straight dollar comparison, there is no contest. London at $4,674 is almost twice the illustrative $2,386 Johannesburg figure, with Washington, Reykjavik, Dublin and Amsterdam all above $4,000.
But cost and affordability are not the same thing. An average Washington salary comfortably exceeds Atmos's living-alone requirement. Amsterdam also leaves breathing room.
In London and Reykjavik, the cost comes close to swallowing average take-home pay. In Dublin it is effectively equal to it. In Johannesburg, the nominal cost is much lower, but so are earnings.
The comparison also shows why the cost of living is about more than supermarket prices and rent. Where good public transport or safe cycling means living without a car, thousands disappear from the monthly budget.
Where healthcare is funded differently, another major expense changes shape entirely.
The real measure of how expensive a city feels is not simply the number on the bill. It is how much of your pay cheque is left after you have paid it.
IOL BUSINESS
Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android and IOS now.
Related Topics:
