Greece, Thessaloniki

Country Full Name: The Hellenic Republic.

Country Location: Greece is in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey.

Country Climate: Temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers.

Country Terrain: Mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands.

Country Major Languages: Greek.

Country Major Religions: Christianity.

Location Population: 1.006 Mil (2012 est.).

Country Economy: The Greek economy is a developed economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP. The service sector contributes 75.7% of the total GDP, industry 20.6% and agriculture 3.7%. Greece is the twenty-fourth most globalized country in the world and is classified as a high income economy.

Country Currency: Euro (EUR).

Country Inflation: 0.9% (2012 est.).

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the periphery of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace.

Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of south-eastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the south-eastern European hinterland. The city's industries centre around oil, steel, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, flour, cement, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital.

The cost of living in Thessaloniki is average compared to other places. This is based on a comparison of locally collected prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services, converted to USD. Sources include local service providers in each location, international service providers, official governmental statistics and global agency data. The data is quality assured and manually checked by Xpatulator Analysts. The prices of similar related items have been grouped together into 13 basket groups and the cost of living index calculated for each basket in each location. The 13 basket groups are the result of extensive research of actual spending habits ensuring the cost of living indexes reflect a reality-based international expenditure pattern. The cost of living index for each basket for Thessaloniki is only available using our online calculators.

The current overall cost of living rank (using all 13 baskets) for Thessaloniki is 382 out of 780 international locations covering every country in the world (rank 1 is most expensive: rank 780 is least expensive). The current cost of living rank for each basket is as follows:

Alcohol & Tobacco costs are low compared to other places for items such as beer, spirits, wine and cigarettes. There are 605 places that are more expensive, and 174 places that are less expensive for alcohol and or tobacco.

Clothing costs are very high compared to other places for items such as business, casual and children's clothing and footwear. There are 103 places that are more expensive, and 676 places that are less expensive for clothing.

Communication costs are high compared to other places for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile tariff and data costs. There are 199 places that are more expensive, and 580 places that are less expensive for communication.

Education costs are very low compared to other places for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees and tertiary study fees. There are 678 places that are more expensive, and 101 places that are less expensive for education.

Furniture & Appliance costs are average compared to other places for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofa. There are 466 places that are more expensive, and 313 places that are less expensive for furniture and appliances.

Grocery costs are average compared to other places for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. There are 434 places that are more expensive, and 345 places that are less expensive for groceries.

Healthcare costs are very low compared to other places for doctor visit, hospital stay, non-prescription medicine, and medical insurance. There are 679 places that are more expensive, and 100 places that are less expensive for healthcare.

Household Accommodation costs are low compared to other places for items such as apartment purchase, mortgage rate, rental, and utilities. There are 491 places that are more expensive, and 288 places that are less expensive for household accommodation.

Miscellaneous costs are very high compared to other places for items such as dry cleaning, linen, magazines, newspapers, office supplies, and postage stamps. There are 150 places that are more expensive, and 629 places that are less expensive for miscellaneous items.

Personal Care costs are very low compared to other places for items such as cosmetics, hair care, and toiletries. There are 709 places that are more expensive, and 70 places that are less expensive for personal care.

Recreation and Culture costs are very high compared to other places for items such as books, cinema, sport and theatre tickets. There are 56 places that are more expensive, and 723 places that are less expensive for recreation and culture.

Restaurants, Meals Out and Hotel costs are very high compared to other places for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals and beverages in restaurants, and take away food and beverages. There are 62 places that are more expensive, and 717 places that are less expensive for restaurants, meals out and hotels.

Transport costs are average compared to other places for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), public transport, vehicle purchase and maintenance. There are 390 places that are more expensive, and 389 places that are less expensive for transport.

Hardship
Hardship in the context of an expatriate and their family refers to the degree of hardship they are likely to experience and the relative impact on their lifestyle in a host location. The degree of hardship correlates to the degree of difference between the home and host location. Hardship pay is compensation for the hardship likely to be endured during an international assignment in order to encourage people to move, in particular to less desirable locations.

Hardship factors include-:
Economic Factors: Such as poverty levels and level of service provision
Political Factors: Such as freedom/tolerance towards different points of view / lifestyle
Religious Factors: Such as freedom/tolerance towards different religions
Public Service Factors: Such as provision of water, electricity, sanitation, work permits etc
Environment/Climate Factors: Such as extreme weather
Personal Safety Factors: Such as personal safety / level of crime
Health Factors: Such as prevalence of disease and health standards
Education Factors: Such as education standards, prevalence of international schools
Transportation Factors: Such as prevalence of public transport, fuel and road safety.

The ratings for hardship are classified into four main groups and can be described as follows:
1) Minimal Hardship (10% Hardship Premium)
2) Some Hardship (20% Hardship Premium)
3) High degree of Hardship (30% Hardship Premium)
4) Extreme Hardship (40% Hardship Premium).

Thessaloniki is ranked as minimal hardship with a typical hardship premium of 10%.

Reference
The above information is updated quarterly using data collected over the previous 12 months. The international cost of living & hardship indexes are only available using our online expatriate calculators to enable users to create personalized cost of living comparison reports:

Salary Purchasing Power Parity Calculator
Cost of Living Index Calculator
Cost of Living Allowance Calculator

Published by Xpatulator.com on 1 April 2013.

To link to this article: http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-review/Greece-Thessaloniki_402.cfm