Making the big leap and moving abroad is both exciting and mind-expanding.
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26 European cities where you can live on less than £600 a month
Seeing the world isn't always kind to your bank balance. In these 26 cities, you can live comfortably on less than £600 to make your money go further.
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There are plenty of factors you must take into consideration, though, including job opportunities, the country's culture, and its economy. The cost of basic expenses also varies massively from one region to another.
Depending on where you're moving, small differences, such as the cost of rent or even a coffee, can be a huge culture shock compared to what you're used to paying — and not always in a good way.
Business Insider has compiled a list of every European city where you can live on less than £600 a month — that's less than a third of the monthly cost of living in London (£1,838), and significantly less than living in Manchester (£1,128), Glasgow (£1,024), and Liverpool (£1,010).
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The data was compiled from Numbeo's Cost of Living Index, which looks at the everyday costs in major cities around the globe and is updated every month. Numbeo includes Russia in its definition of Europe.
The index takes into account a multitude of factors including the cost of groceries, eating and drinking out, travel, rent, utilities, and even spread-out and occasional splurges such as clothing and cinema trips — and one country emerged at the clear winner.
While the data represents a well-rounded approximation of how much one person spends in each city over the space of a month, we've highlighted some specific examples — including the cost of a cup of coffee, a beer, rent, and travel — to give a better idea of how costs fluctuate between each location.
Scroll on to discover every European city where you can live comfortably on less than £600 a month, ranked by the average cost of living from most expensive to cheapest.
26. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina — £591.06
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Cappuccino: 2.32 Convertible mark (£1.06)
Three-course meal for two: 40 (£18)
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 1.23 (£0.56)
Monthly travel pass: 53 (£25)
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 317.39 (£145)
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25. Kazan, Russia — £586.04
Cappuccino: 139 Russian ruble
Three-course meal for two: 1,500
Domestic beer (0.5 litre draught): 60
Monthly travel pass: 900
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One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 14,750
24. Novosibirsk, Russia — £583.31
Cappuccino: 116
Three-course meal for two: 1,500
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 55.83
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Monthly travel pass: 800
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 14,358
23. Varna, Bulgaria — £578.75
Cappuccino: 2.42 Bulgarian lev (£1.11)
Three-course meal for two: 42.50 Bulgarian lev (£19.40)
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Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 1.50 Bulgarian lev (£0.70)
Monthly travel pass: 45 Bulgarian lev (£20.60)
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 312 Bulgarian lev (£143)
22. Timisoara, Romania — £576.24
Cappuccino: 6.15 lei (£1.18)
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Three-course meal for two: 100 lei (£19.30)
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 2.94 lei (£0.57)
Monthly travel pass: 80 lei (£15.41)
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 900 lei (£173)
21. Nizhny Novgorod, Russia — £575.79
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Cappuccino: 131 Russian rubles (£1.68)
Three-course meal for two: 1,610
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 53
Monthly travel pass: 1,000
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 13,548
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20. Iasi, Romania — £568.04
Cappuccino: 5.91 lei (£1.14)
Three-course meal for two: 100 lei (£19.26)
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 3.27 lei (£0.63)
Monthly travel pass: 75 lei (£14.45)
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One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 884 lei (£170)
19. Tirana, Albania — £554.59
Cappuccino: 140 lek (£0.94)
Three-course meal for two: 2,418.50 lek (£16.50)
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 82.72 lek (£0.55)
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Monthly travel pass: 1,600 lek (£10.70)
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 19,330 lek (£129)
18. Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina — £546.38
Cappuccino: 1.64 Convertible mark (£0.75)
Three-course meal for two: 35mark
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Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 0.86mark
Monthly travel pass: 36.46mark
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 252mark
17. Minsk, Belarus — £542.51
Cappuccino: 3.26 Belarusian rubles (£1.23)
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Three-course meal for two: 67
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 1.60
Monthly travel pass: 34
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 460
16. Plovdiv, Bulgaria — £540.23
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Cappuccino: 2.12 Bulgarian lev (£0.97)
Three-course meal for two: 38
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 1.22
Monthly travel pass: 30
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 275
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15. Sibiu, Romania — £537.95
Cappuccino: 6.20 lei (£1.20)
Three-course meal for two: 100 lei (£19.25)
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 2.84 lei (£0.55)
Monthly travel pass: 50 lei (£9.62)
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One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 673.14 lei (£129.30)
14. Skopje, Macedonia — £535.44
Cappuccino: 74.74 denars (£1.08)
Three-course meal for two: 1,000
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 45.22
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Monthly travel pass: 1,488.84
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 9,950
13. Brasov, Romania — £531.34
Cappuccino: 6.88 lei (£1.32)
Three-course meal for two: 90
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Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 2.82
Monthly travel pass: 70
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 839
12. Novi Sad, Serbia — £522.68
Cappuccino: 120 Serbian dinars (£0.90)
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Three-course meal for two: 1,850
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 62.41
Monthly travel pass: 2,000
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 16,975
11. Oradea, Romania — £517.66
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Cappuccino: 5.75 lei (£1.11)
Three-course meal for two: 70
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 3.12
Monthly travel pass: 70
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 544
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10. Arad, Romania — £508.09
Cappuccino: 5.06 lei (£0.97)
Three-course meal for two: 80
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 3
Monthly travel pass: 62.50
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One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 632
9. Kiev, Ukraine — £492.59
Cappuccino: 23.20
Three-course meal for two: 500
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 15.17
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Monthly travel pass: 200
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 6,307
8. Chisinau, Moldova — £487.80
Cappuccino: 23.35 Moldovan lei (£1.02)
Three-course meal for two: 230
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Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 13.47
Monthly travel pass: 130
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 3,336
7. Odesa, Ukraine — £485.75
Cappuccino: 27.87
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Three-course meal for two: 500
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 14.20
Monthly travel pass: 250
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 5,306
6. Nis, Serbia — £472.30
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Cappuccino: 119 Serbian dinars (£0.89)
Three-course meal for two: 1,800
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 56
Monthly travel pass: 1,980
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 11,811
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5. Craiova, Romania — £462.04
Cappuccino: 6.36 lei (£1.23)
Three-course meal for two: 60
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 3.45
Monthly travel pass: 60
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One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 572
4. Pristina, Kosovo — £437.88
Cappuccino:
Three-course meal for two:
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle):
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Monthly travel pass:
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent:
3. Kharkiv, Ukraine — £408.70
Cappuccino: 22.22
Three-course meal for two: 400
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Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 14.12
Monthly travel pass: 120
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 4,152
2. Lviv, Ukraine — £405.51
Cappuccino: 25.44
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Three-course meal for two: 350
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 14.42
Monthly travel pass: 100
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 4,650
1. Dnipro, Ukraine — £392.29
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Cappuccino: 22.47
Three-course meal for two: 450
Domestic beer (0.5 litre bottle): 14.70
Monthly travel pass: 150
One bedroom apartment outside of city-centre, monthly rent: 3,140
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