Is a salary of 3000 euro (gross) per month good enough in Leiden, Netherlands?

Question

I will be living alone in Netherlands. The insurance and pension is paid by the employer.

Answer 1

I would say that €3000 per month gross for a single person living in a cheap apartment or shared accomodation (not being an expert on the actual housing situation in Leiden though) is indeed good enough

One thing you should check with your employer is that in NL there is a 8% holiday pay accrued and paid out in one month (normally May-July).  Is this included in the 3000 or additional?  If your employer is paying your medical costs (insurance) then this is a substanial amount of monthly outgoings so this is definately a plus

Here are links to two answers before concerning living costs in the Netherlands to give you an idea of your outgoings

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Another substantial outgoing is travel normally.  I assume that you plan to live close to your work.  If it is close enough then by bike would of course be the cheapest option (there is even a government supported bike plan which most (all?) employers subscribe to as it also costs them nothing and you can buy a bike to the value of approx €750 provided you use it for the majority of journeys to/from work

I would really advise not to buy a car.  Fuel is expensive anyway in the Netherlands and going up weekly.  Tax and insurance are also not cheap, plus parking in a city is generally expensive and difficult.  So stick to the bike and the public transport network (which is really good) here if you have the possibility

Anyway, I trust this helps to give a little insight to the costs. '

Best of luck

Answer 2

You do not give enough info for us to give a good answer.

How many people, what kind of tax advantages and what is included in your pay and what do you need to pay for yourself.

If you come with a family, (wife and several kids,) have to pay for your apartment and health insurance and so on and need a car it will not be nearly enough.

But if you live alone, get living space and health insurance as part of the packet and do not need a car (or one is included) it will be more than twice what you need.

Added:

Bla bla has given you the long answer.

I think that living alone you should easily make it with 3000 gross.

Just be careful when selecting a place to live.

Do not just look in central Leiden, but also in the sub-urbs and in the smaller towns around town.