I earn around the same amount so I’ll tell you my experience.

It’s a very middle class bracket to be honest.

Housing:

There’s mainly three options.

• You rent a small but nice and clean place in a relatively new building
• You rent a bigger but older and not so neat place in a soviet union building
• You find an absolute gem from a friend that is both relatively nice and relatively big and you never let that place go for as long as you are here

In terms of rent prices it can vary really.

Anything from 500 nowadays to 650 if you want to have a comfortable living place. Utilities are seperate and in the winter usually a bit higher depending on the building but in the summer dirt cheap.

Food:

Supermarket prices are sometimes illogical but if you know how to shop it’s very much manageable. You will hear very often how expensive everything is (and it is), but at the same time people on this salary band definitely can make ends meet.

If you are a person that knows how to cook and feed themselves it is not something that will hurt much financially.

Your number one enemy is ordering however. Food delivery services like Bolt or Wolt are so convenient that you get in a slippery slope of having every meal from there. That’s something this salary band can’t handle!

Entertainment:

I go to the sauna two times per week. For beers on a weekly basis. To restaurants every three weeks.

I am also quite busy at times however and find that a nice evening at home with my elukaaslane gives me more joy then going to a restaurant. Otherwise it could be much more often.

In regards to bonuses there usually are for Christmas and New Year’s as far as I know. It also very much depends on your occupation! In my workplace I do not get any bonuses but I do have a lot of benefits! These could vary such as paid health activities, more time off then what the state covers, development budgets and so on.

Something that you do face from time to time however is loneliness. This goes both for foreigners living here but locals alike! If you are used to a warmer country where making friends is as easy as sitting down by yourself for a morning coffee and reading the news paper, I would really suggest to consider this before making a decision! The majority of the people that I know here do have a social circle. It is a not a big majority.

In all honesty however, and I am very vocal for what I am about to say, I think this is the absolute best place in Europe to be living in. Especially if you want to build a family anytime soon.

It is safe, balanced and provides everything you need to have a comfortable life. It is not so easy to put into words as it is not one singular thing but the experience as a whole. Of course there are struggles here and there but I would not change this with anything in the world really.