Relocation Cost of Living Comparison

Who this is for

Compare what a month costs here and in two places you might move to. Each cost line has a column for now and for each place, with the difference worked out, and a second table sets take-home pay in each place against the costs.

Households weighing a job offer in another city or country, people moving nearer family or away from an expensive area, and anyone checking whether a pay rise elsewhere is really a rise.

What this helps you track

• Housing, bills, food, travel, childcare and leisure line by line
• The monthly difference for each place against where you live now
• Take-home pay in each place against the month's costs
• The surplus or shortfall each place would leave you with
• Where each figure came from and when you checked it

How to use it

1. Write where you live now, the two places you are comparing, the household, and the currency and any exchange rate you are using.
2. Fill in the now column from your own bank statements and bills, as monthly figures.
3. For each place, enter figures from listings, providers' price pages, quotes and people who live there, and list each source in the sources table.
4. Enter take-home pay for each earner in each place, from a payslip, the job offer or an official pay calculator for that country, and any other income.
5. The differences, totals and surplus or shortfall are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, total each column and take the costs from the income.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do I find costs for a place I have never lived?

Property listings for rents and prices, providers' own price pages for energy, broadband and transport, supermarket websites for a typical shop, and the local council for property charges. Note each source so you can check it again later.

Should I compare monthly or yearly figures?

Monthly, because pay and most bills arrive monthly. Divide yearly costs such as insurance or property charges by twelve so every line is on the same footing.

How do I handle a move to another country?

Choose one currency for the whole sheet and convert the other place's figures at an exchange rate you choose, writing the rate and its date at the top. The sheet supplies no rates, so the result is only as current as yours.

Why take-home pay rather than salary?

Tax, social charges and deductions differ from place to place, so the same salary can leave different amounts in your account. Take-home pay is what the month's costs actually come out of.

Does the sheet include the cost of moving?

No. It compares the ongoing monthly cost of living in each place. The one-off cost of the move itself belongs on the moving budget spreadsheet.