TheKingOfScandinavia

Hi all!

Great forum you have here!
I am hoping that you will help me, even though I am not British, but in fact Danish.

The company I work for is going to move from not-so-sunny-but-quite-rainy Cork in Ireland to Poland and to Tenerife.
We have been offered to go with the company to Tenerife, but it would mean one *bleep* of a cut in my disposable pay.

I would be going from €1600-1900 per month after tax here in Cork, to a pay of about €875 after tax in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
My question is: Is that a livable salary? It doesn't look it :-\

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

mikelincs

Will you have to pay for accomodation out of that, if so it doesn't sound that much, but it does depend on your lifestyle, and whether you are a single person or a family. Without that info it's really impossible to give a good answer.

Rosemary

I am sure that in the past people have said that things are quite expensive in Tenerife comparing like with like in Spain so that amount each month does sound low.

Rosemary

TheKingOfScandinavia

Yes, I will have to pay for rent (and all that entices), mobile phone, and transportation to and from work, but I am single


According to what we have been told, it should be possible to have rent, food on your plate, to be going out - essentially have a life - for €600 per month - is that true?

jjh

Not in my neck of the woods it´s not. I should think that rent for a decent place will cost around that much, if not more. You may have utilities to pay for as well.

mikelincs

I think you will be very lucky with that, The Canaries are more expensive than mainland Spain, and what you have quoted certainly doesn't seem anywhere near enough, particularly with phone and utilities

Dick Dasterdly

Just out of curiosity, what sort of salary is available for those who have been offered places in Poland ?

TheKingOfScandinavia

We don't know.

When I enquired about it to the "Recruitment Specialist" here's what I received:
She then proceeded to ask me for a number I would be willing to go to Poland for, I gave a number, but they could not meet that number.

johnnyone

may be useful:-

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...uz+De+Tenerife

IamStu

Sounds like your next stop should be the job centre!
I don´t know prices in Tenerife but in the areas near me in the Costa del Sol, you could pay as little as €450 for a small 1 bed rental. Any less and you´re not going to like what you get! Something that will hit you are utility bills. Spain is one of the most expensive countries for electricity so consider at least another €50-€80 per month electric, plus water, plus gas (possibly).
Television, internet, mobile, add another €50. Food for 1 person per week, add another €50.
You´re now at about €750 per month and you haven´t been out or taken a bus ride, and you´re living in a small 1 bed flat.
€125 left so I hope your cloths are in very good condition and you won´t be needing new ones anytime soon!
And as others have already said, Tenerife will cost you more! Sorry to be a doomster with my fag packet maths but you´re going to be very tight for funds!

andyrich666

Indeed electric is expensive here, esp considering they have the ultimate free answer with the Sun just sitting up there burning away, but looking at the comparison in the link above, it seems electric in Tenerife is not expensive at all. Maybe Tommy will come on and give a view.

Domino

I appreciate that this is around 50% drop in pay involving a move from a relatively high cost country but you would be going to a place that is just as expensive.
If there is no true removal package this only adds to the pain.

TBH it is my feeling that they want you to leave the company without any redundancy package as you won't be able to afford to live in the alternative locations. Offshoring of staff is usually a euphemism for downgrading jobs and the pay drops enormously

difficult choice, especially if they are prepared to let you make the move and then find yourself stuck without being able to live.

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TheKingOfScandinavia

Thank you all very much for your insights!

Evidently the overall interest in moving for such a low, low salary was non-existent, so now they have asked us what kind of salary it would take for us to come there.

Do you have any advice regarding what would be an appropriate salary?

IamStu

As much as you can get
On a serious note, I lived in Cork for a year so I´m aware of what it costs living there! Rent at 1k per month and a pint of beer at €4 - €5 per pint! If I remember correctly, a decent coffee was costing €3!
With those prices, I´m sure your 1.6k gets swallowed up easily.
What you need to appreciate is that there is a quality of life to be had here that you can´t have in Ireland. A cold beer less than €2 and a coffee (nice coffee) for €1 to €1.50.
My guess is that you should be asking for €1k basic. I´m sure that will more than equate to you 1.6k in Ireland.