1

I live in London and found Slovakia substantially cheaper, even with the euro. Count on most things, food, clothes, transport etc being about half what they are in London.

2

I've lived in Bratislava for a number of years, I can confirm that the change to the Euro has had a minimal impact on prices, the country is still cheaper than the Czech Republic which has yet to adopt it.

The cost of renting a flat in Bratislava will depend on location (distance from the old town), size of the flat, and state of renovation (there are places available that haven't been modernised since socialist times that are quite cheap, but not vey comfortable to live in). Prices for a two-room flat range from 350 Euros a month for a partly renovated place that is far from the centre to about 700 a month for a flat in a modern building not far from the centre. I'd expect you'd want something reasonably comfortable and in a suburb area that isn't too far out from the centre, so you should be able to find a place like that for 500-550 Euros a month. Have a look at the website www.reality.sk (available in English) which has a wide selection of listings.

Count on spending 200-250 Euros a month on food, depending on how much you plan to eat out, and perhaps another 100-130 for other entertainment/living/travel expenses.
A public transit pass is about 28 Euros a month, although it's cheaper to get one for a longer time period, a three-month pass is about 65 Euros.

To give you a rough idea of how much things cost, a cinema ticket is about 6 Euros, a meal in a pub or average restaurant is 8-10 Euros, and a beer is 1.00 - 1.50.

Hope this will be helpful for you,

Geoff
www.thegoulashtrain.blogspot.com

3

I am Slovak living in the UK and I don't think that Slovakia is cheaper than Czech Republic but I agree that euro did not have such impact on prices there because of recession. I think Slovakia picked the right time for this change, although it was only coincidence. And comparing to London, prices of accomodation are much cheaper that is true, also prices of transport are cheaper and similarly pubs. However, clothes are much cheaper in London than in Bratislava therefore is better to buy everithing here, cars are much more expensive in Slovakia too, food in supermarkets and shops is about the same price as London.

4

Very Helpful and thank you...
I have a few more questions...
Will you be willing to share the salary that your girlfriend was offered? What is the job?
I am actually researching as I am being offered a position as well.
I want to check more cost of living against the salary to see if I can save.

Can anyone answer prices for the following? Or something similar?

1 liter of milk -
loaf of bread -
can of soup -
bag of broccoli (or veggies in general) -
6 pack of beer -
bottle of wine -
bottle of shampoo -
1 CD -
t-shirt -
pair of women's shoes -
a tea kettle -
a routine visit to the dentist (cleaning) -
a doctor's checkup -

These are random items, but if anyone has any idea, it will help us get an idea of the general price of things.

Thanks for the help!

5

I don't know how accurate this is, because I haven't moved to Bratislava yet (I get there in July), but this website was pretty accurate when I moved to the city I am in currently.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Slovakia&city=Bratislava

6

1 liter of Rajo long-life milk = 1.01
1 loaf of Veka sliced bread = 0.90
1 can of Heinz soup = 1.32 (400gr)
1 bottle of Corona beer = 1.99 (330ml)
1 bottle of Zlaty Bazant beer = 0.67 (500ml)
1 bottle of Gallo Cabernet Suvignon = 8.80 (750ml)
1 bottle of Garnier Fructis shampoo = 2.19 (250ml)
1 cleaning at Dental Studio in Bratislava = 70.00
1 check up at profanus med center = 45.00