Cost of living comparison
Italy is 13.4% cheaper than Belgium.
If you lived in Italy instead of Belgium, you would:
pay 17.8% less for restaurants
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.24
€15.70
|
$15.81
€14.39
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.42
€9.49
|
$10.17
€9.26
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
€2.54
|
$2.51
€2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
€2.20
|
$1.21
€1.10
|
|
pay 1.2% more for groceries
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.22
€2.02
|
$2.05
€1.87
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.64
€6.05
|
$6.81
€6.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
€3.96
|
$5.59
€5.09
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.16
€2.88
|
$3.41
€3.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.78
€4.35
|
$5.01
€4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.10
€1.00
|
$0.96
€0.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
€0.79
|
$0.86
€0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.14
€1.04
|
$1.00
€0.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
€1.09
|
$1.28
€1.16
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.81
€0.74
|
$0.76
€0.69
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.62
|
$0.70
€0.63
|
|
pay 10.2% less for transportation
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.06
€6.43
|
$7.33
€6.67
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.71
€46.17
|
$38.24
€34.82
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,786.12
€24,390.93
|
$26,985.59
€24,572.57
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.68
€22.47
|
$19.55
€17.81
|
|
pay 22.9% less for housing
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.54
€46.02
|
$29.86
€27.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$808.25
€735.97
|
$660.64
€601.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$687.98
€626.47
|
$504.89
€459.74
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.59
€153.52
|
$158.99
€144.77
|
|
pay 25.8% less for childcare
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$588.37
€535.76
|
$519.28
€472.85
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,983.72
€14,554.47
|
$9,615.09
€8,755.32
|
|
pay 5.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.27
€3.89
|
$4.97
€4.52
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.44
€3.13
|
$1.67
€1.52
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.49
€7.74
|
$6.16
€5.61
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.63
€30.62
|
$52.41
€47.73
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.97
€10.90
|
$9.51
€8.66
|
|
pay 12.5% less for clothing
|
Belgium
|
Italy
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$92.98
€84.66
|
$76.74
€69.88
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.35
€37.65
|
$34.05
€31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.07
€79.28
|
$84.06
€76.54
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.15
€118.52
|
$115.51
€105.18
|
|
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