I got a job opportunity in Limassol for Lead Web Developer – Hybrid which means I will have to move there. I live in Athens, working remote. Current rent is 430 and I make 50k a year + side projects. I have no clue what is the price I should ask for to not low ball me. Any insights would be helpful.
https://i.redd.it/bgq1ys5sg60d1.png
Posted by stathis21098
19 Comments
Definitely ask for at least 70k yearly, and even with this your rent/salary ratio will likely increase compared to Athens(
Stay in Athens!
Η Αθήνα είναι *πολύ* πιο ενδιαφέρουσα πόλη από την Λεμεσό. Κάνε πρώτα μια προσεκτική μελέτη για το τι υπάρχει στην Λεμεσό και αν θα σου αρέσει να ζήσεις εκεί γιατί για πολλούς από Ελλάδα η ζωή στην Κύπρο έρχεται κάπως σαν σοκ.
Μετά έλεγξε και τα νοίκια τα οποία στην Λεμεσό είναι πανάκριβα.
Και η πληροφορία που ζητάς: Με τα προσόντα σου μπορείς να βρεις γύρω στις 65-75 χιλιάδες ευρώ τον χρόνο, μεικτά.
Btw τα μεικτά ελλαδας (υποθέτω τα 50κ που εγραψες στονποστ σου, ειναι μεικτα) με μεικτά Κυπρου έχουν επίσης πολλή διάφορα..
That’s a tough one. Your experience seems to reasonably match your current level of compensation. In Limassol, I’d expect at least a 1000 EUR rent (check out Bazaraki) and higher cost of living than in Greece (see Numbeo), so I’d absolutely factor these in. Then I’d add 20-100% as an incentive to change the job. As a FE developer with 11 years of experience, I did not receive offers from the local companies exceeding 6000-7000 gross, and most of these were lower than that. For reference, right now, my gross is in the 80-90k range. I suspect you’d be better off in Athens and finding a better EU remote job.
My G is a hopping bunny.
On a serious note expect a triple rent, car service, road tax, MOT, Car insurance and a hella expensive electricity bill.
So if you do not want to lower your standard of living you should at least ask for 80K
Don’t accept less than €55k which is the threshold for paying tax only on half your income as a foreigner. That tax benefit will probably most of your additional expenses.
As others have mentioned the cost of living in Limassol is much higher, so you if you get a 20k raise then it might not necessarily increase your quality of life. Good luck!
Βλέποντας το πόσα πιάνουν τούτοι τον κομπιούτερς νομίζω εθκιάλεξα λάθος σπουδή.
Relocation and higher cost of living means 65k to be in the same spot as in Athens. So ask for 80k if you are looking for a raise
You rent will be minimum 1500 per month(Limassol). You can live in Paphos&Larcana(where you can pay 700-1000 euro), but it depends how often they want you to go in the office.
P.S
It is better to stay in Greece.
You said your rent is 430/month but we have no idea what you’re getting for that to compare it to an equivalent flat in Limassol. You could quite easily spend 2k a month on rent for a small flat in Limassol, never mind eating out and social life.
By my maths, your rent currently eats into no more than 10% of your annual income, probably less given these side projects we don’t know about.
To match that in Cyprus, you need to be making a minimum of 100k upwards – probably much more – to have the same disposable income and quality of life you’re enjoying in Athens, and those salaries are very rare.
A lot of people mention the cost of living difference which yes it is substantial, but you also have to consider the taxes that you pay. With a quick Google search in Greece 50k mean ~18k deductions, in Cyprus if you get at least 55k then deductions are ~10k, so there is your cost of living difference right there. If you can get 65k+ you will end up with considerably more money saved. If I were you I would look for 70k+ just for the trouble of moving.
Rent is 1.3k min per month for something that you would want to live in (if it just you then maybe a little less). Maybe commute from Nicosia where you can get 800 per month. I work in Limassol, it’s expensive and not that nice (imho). I live in Paphos which is cheaper (not that much) but nicer (imho). I work in dev for gaming company so wondering why you’re not being paid more for a lead position.
Factor in the 50% tax cut for 17 years also
As others have mentioned, your cost of living (especially rent, electricity, water and services) would increase significantly in Limassol. Unless you can “cover” them from an increase of at about 15K Euros net (after taxes), it may be not worth moving as you would lose money. The only things you may expect to be cheaper compared to Greece is car fuel and some specific groceries.
Also consider travel costs in case you like and/or need to travel often, traveling from Cyprus even to Greece isn’t that cheap, sometimes ticket prices to other destinations in the mainland Europe get ridiculous. For example, several years ago I could get to Stockholm with a direct 5-hour flight for under 150 Euros, in June I’ll be spending almost 12 hours flying via Athens for over 500 Euros, because there aren’t better flights for less money.
Considering that taxation works differently in Cyprus, you might want to take your net income and add a reasonable net increase to it, make sure that it isn’t less than 15K Euros, as the increase of rent and the cost of utilities will easily eat that. Then negotiate the net amount with the potential employer and let them figure out the gross amount.
I would say with 65k a year in limassol you will have the same standard of living as tou do now in athens (without knowing tax differences, i think in cyprus you might be paying less). But life in limassol is much different to athens, not better or worse, much different, depending on what you like to do
Expect rent from 2,000-2,500 monthly (IT guys in Limassol don’t live in cheap apartments), add another 1,000 for your car rental, another 500-1,000 for your bills (because good apartments come with a lot of expences). Another 2,000 eating out and socializing with your new colleagues. Add any comfortable amount for clothes and savings per month and that will be your asking NET monthly number.
Seriously, life in Limassol and work for IT company – if you can’t cope with the posh life level your colleagues will be having, it will be psychologically devastating.
Hmm, seems like I never posted the comment I was writing yesterday. I think you should delete this post now that you got the info you wanted, because it is extremely easy to find who you are.
Highly recommended to try to stay anonymous on platforms like reddit.
I’d change my username too if I were you