Cost of living

Luxembourg-flag-140The cost of living in Luxembourg is slightly higher than the average in the European Union. This is mainly due to the excellent public infrastructure, the safe environment and the generally high standards of living. However, even as property prices remain high, Luxembourg is far from the most expensive place to live in Europe or the world. Indeed, in the 2012 Mercer Cost of Living Information Services Report, Luxembourg City is only rated as the 84th most expensive city in the world for expatriates to live, making it cheaper to live in Luxembourg than in most European cities. Property prices are high, but the costs of public transport, food, drink or energy costs are relatively low compared to other European countries.

The 2011 Eurostat study on consumer price levels puts Luxembourg in 6th place for European countries and in 4th place for member states of the European Union. According to this study, the prices for personal transportation (95%), tobacco and alcoholic beverages (87%) are slightly below average, while the prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages (115%), clothing (102%) and hotels and restaurants (108%) are slightly above average. Examples of prices in Luxembourg: a meal, in an inexpensive restaurant costs normally around €15, a regular cappuccino €3 and a small bottle of water €2.5.

Some average price examples can be found here: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Luxembourg

Money and banking

The official currency of the country is Euro. There is no trouble finding a bank to change money in Luxembourg City. ATMs are common, especially in the capital.

Travelling costs

In general, residents of Luxembourg are well served by public transport. Within the main cities, public transport is a good means of getting around and there are domestic rail and coach services linking towns across the country. Luxembourg’s central location in Western Europe means that there are excellent rail and road connections to neighbouring capital cities and beyond. Depending on the service, buses run from 6am to midnight, approximately. At each bus stop, timetables and maps of the entire Luxembourg network can be found. Bus tickets can be purchased at vending machines at main stops or inside the bus from the driver.

Do you want to learn more about business culture in Luxembourg?