Cost of living comparison
Brussels is 42.0% more expensive than Italy.
If you lived in Brussels instead of Italy, you would:
pay 34.6% more for restaurants
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.74
€14.77
|
$16.49
€15.47
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.09
€8.52
|
$9.90
€9.28
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.45
€2.29
|
$2.58
€2.42
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.16
€1.09
|
$2.54
€2.38
|
|
pay 7.9% more for groceries
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.86
€1.74
|
$2.31
€2.17
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.20
€6.75
|
$7.55
€7.08
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.88
€4.58
|
$4.69
€4.40
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.14
€2.95
|
$3.50
€3.28
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.47
€4.19
|
$4.96
€4.65
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.90
|
$1.14
€1.07
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.79
|
$0.78
€0.74
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.88
|
$1.17
€1.09
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
€1.12
|
$1.36
€1.27
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
€0.61
|
$0.69
€0.64
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.67
|
$0.60
€0.56
|
|
pay 16.2% more for transportation
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.02
€7.52
|
$7.71
€7.23
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$38.40
€36.01
|
$53.87
€50.53
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,887.08
€24,278.61
|
$27,486.24
€25,778.41
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.65
€17.49
|
$22.76
€21.34
|
|
pay 60.0% more for housing
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.75
€28.84
|
$55.77
€52.30
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$608.10
€570.32
|
$1,043.18
€978.36
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$488.80
€458.43
|
$873.71
€819.42
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.72
€142.29
|
$164.26
€154.05
|
|
pay 2.3 times more for childcare
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$459.30
€430.76
|
$944.84
€886.13
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,604.44
€9,007.68
|
$24,473.75
€22,953.10
|
|
pay 38.8% more for entertainment and sports
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.83
€4.53
|
$5.50
€5.16
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.60
€1.50
|
$3.72
€3.49
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.30
€5.91
|
$8.80
€8.25
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.79
€48.57
|
$34.17
€32.04
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.32
€8.74
|
$13.19
€12.37
|
|
pay 6.2% more for clothing
Italy
|
Brussels
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$80.37
€75.37
|
$89.22
€83.68
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.54
€34.27
|
$32.58
€30.56
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.56
€83.99
|
$97.94
€91.86
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.84
€107.71
|
$132.04
€123.84
|
|
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