Ulala,

I am in a similar situation, and would like to add a couple of questions to yours if I may.

With respect to your question, what sort of industry are you in? What sort of experience do you have?

try this link

http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?&loctype=1&loc=125

All the best

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00abuse

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Hi ulala,

I am similarly quite likely to move to LUX, I hope you don't mind my posting a couple of questions here (this way your question won't get pushed down the thread list)

To anyone kind enough to answer, I will try to make my questions as direct as possible:

APARTMENT
1)Will EUR2000 get a good apartment in Luxembourg city for a couple (with room for a child in time)?

2) When renting an apartment, there appear to be 'charges' attached. Do these charges refer to maintenance/ground rent?

3) Are there any additional charges, such as council tax or local equivalent, that should be borne in mind when budgeting for rent?

LIVING
1) How much would shopping (food, cleaning products etc) cost for a couple who live reasonably well, but not excessively?

Many thanks in advance for any responses

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00abuse

Hi
I have just moved to Lux with my partner through work from the UK so will try to give you some advice. When my partner first moved here in May, he rented an apartment near the train station which was 1400 eur/month - all he got for that was a studio flat with limited kitchen facilities. The centre is expensive and when I moved out here, we chose to live out nearer to the Belgian border on the East where we get more for our money, we have 2 dogs so needed an outside space. Neither of us work in the city so actually for us, it is better however, I did look at a couple of jobs in the city and find it very easy to travel on the trains and buses and as long as you are living close to public transport networks, I find them quite cheap - 4 euros per day will get you a day's travel in Lux, easy and safe to use, clean and efficient. Having said that, we have now bought 2 cars as it is easier for us living in a village with no shops. The charges attached to the rent can vary and would need to be discussed with the landlord - generally, they can include commune charges (water, refuse collections) and electricity if you are looking at a managed apartment. There may also be a charge for any maintenance/ground works if you are living in a complex. We are paying 1500 per month currently for a large 2 bedroom bungalow and garden but it also has a basement the same footprint as the house including a large garage. This is rent only and the only charge that is included for us is garden maintenance. Our first electricity bill for 2 months was 70 euros, monthly phone/line rental approx 50 euros and there will also be the commune bill (equivalent of council tax) which we haven't had yet...so not sure how much that is going to be! Shopping - we spend around 130 euro per week on the main shop - although that does tend to include wine!! We live well but are not particularly extravagant until it comes to food and drink; we do prefer to buy the local or artisan food & drink products so will venture out to the weekend markets once a month when we can and end up spending an extra 30-40 euros! One other thing worth mentioning - our landlord has just bought an apartment in Lux Ville that he is doing up for rent, he told me that he will probably be looking at charging 2500 per month as I think he said that 30% is taken by the government. I don't have any more concrete evidence than that. I hope this has helped, I am still pretty new here myself and everything is a work in progress however, I have no regrets whatsoever and our way of life has changed. I was not intending to work when I joined my partneer but soon got bored with being at home on my own, and found work pretty quickly. All the best

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00abuse

Julie,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply in detail with such good information.

I think we will want to start in town, as my wife won't be working (initially, although I am sure that she will get itchy feet like you before too long) and I don't want her to be too isolated.

If you come across any further hidden charges over the coming weeks feel free to let me/us know on here!

I hope it all goes well for you

All the best

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00abuse

No problem, happy to help, I think we all go through these things it is such a huge step to move to another country. One other thing, when my partner moved here initially, he found that you can just rent apartments in the short-term - for a couple of months at a time rather than a long-term of 1 year plus. At least if you can get somewhere like that to start, it gives you a bit more breathing space to look around for something larger. Quite often, a lot of the apartments are furnished too so that takes away the worry of having to get a removals company in. I wish you all the best with your move and will keep you updated as and when! All the best Julie

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00abuse

The short term option sounds like the ideal solution on arrival Julie, thanks for that.

One other thing, I have been looking at health insurance and the public system in Lux, and it appears sensible to have a private plan. Have you found this, or is the local system sufficient? Due to the nature of my relocation I am budgeting for all of this in order to have a salary related discussion...

Yes moving is daunting, but I am coming to the end of a stint in Brazil, so am hoping that the culture shock will be far easier to come to terms with this time!

Best

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00abuse

The short term option sounds like the ideal solution on arrival Julie, thanks for that.

One other thing, I have been looking at health insurance and the public system in Lux, and it appears sensible to have a private plan. Have you found this, or is the local system sufficient? Due to the nature of my relocation I am budgeting for all of this in order to have a salary related discussion...

Yes moving is daunting, but I am coming to the end of a stint in Brazil, so am hoping that the culture shock will be far easier to come to terms with this time!

Best

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00abuse

Health insurance is the one thing I haven't found out about yet. My partner gets his through work but because we are not married, I cannot join his. From what I understand, the healthcare system here is excellent and you can pay for treatment as and when you need it. If you have an EHIIC card that will suffice to start with but when you arrive in Lux, you will need to take your employment contract to the local commune where you live so they can see that you are employed, they should then issue you with a residence permit from which I think you can then get a social security ID number - your employer may well help you with this. From reading other people's blogs and advice, you will be asked for your ID number if you go to a doctors or need emergency hospital treatment. I think that private healthcare is the way to go as you will have to pay for your treatment anyway but then can claim it back (BUPA and Cigna seem to be quire common). You may already be aware of this but you can visit any doctor in the country, you don't have to register with your local one as you would say in the UK. Given that you are moving from Brazil however, I would say that moving to Europe is not going to present you with any problems...
I will update you if and when I find any more information on healthcare. For us, this is the first time we have relocated abroad and it is quite fun finding things out but also, it can be quite hard especially if you don't know anyone and it is not always easy to find the information you need.
best wishes

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00abuse

Hi, we went from expats to a local package this year and moved into an apartment from a large home. We have a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath apartment which is about 110sm. It is a brand new building in the Belaire section of the city and rents for 2500 euro a month plus 300 euros for charges. The 300 covers heat, cleaning of the communal areas of the building weekly, trash/recycling and water charges. We pay for electric and phone/internet/tv separately.
You might be able to find something for 2000 which was our initial budget, but they are older, less energy efficient, may not include a parking spot, or be on a busy street. Our brand new apartment building comes with constant construction all around, so no place is perfect. If you choose a place outside the city, you may also incur communal charges, recycling fees if you have curbside pick up etc. we lived in Bertrange for several years and also had other perks like discounted bus fees and payment for good grades for the students. Also note that as a new user, the utility companies charge the minimal amount monthly for the first year. Then on your one year anniversary, will make a one time adjustment. If you are paying automatically from your bank account, they will debit or credit the difference. This can be quite a shock if you are doing lots of laundry, or have someone home during the day using heat, lights etc. So while they might be charging you 50 euros a month, you could be using 100 euros worth and not know it for a whole year. (Same for all utilities).

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00abuse