So, you made it. You got that offer to move to Sweden. With dreamy eyes, you wonder how life will be in the Scandinavian country. Then doubts creep in – will my salary be enough?
Be aware of the following conditions and apply them to your pay package.
The average salary in Sweden is 37,100 SEK per month (about 300,000 INR). That’s the gross amount and after taxes, it brings in about 29,000 SEK. Remember taxes vary based on where you live in Sweden. (READ: Taxes)
In comparison, the median salary of an Indian engineer working in Sweden is about 60,000 SEK per month, which generates roughly 42,000 SEK after tax.
Rent: The main cost of living in Sweden is accommodation cost. Most people would prefer to rent a house initially after coming here. While the rent can vary with the area and size of an apartment, on average, rent for a one-bedroom house will cost you about 12,000 SEK and about 16,000 SEK for two-bedroom ones. (READ: Renting. Buying a house. Housing contracts. Tax refunds. Bank Loans)
Grocery: For a family of two grocery budget will be less than 5,000 SEK per month. Goes up by another 2,000 SEK for two kids. The budget considers basic grains, vegetables, meat/fish, fruit, oil, bread, cakes, and other normal assortments. Your budget can vary significantly with your dietary preference. (READ: Grocery shopping, Indian groceries, Asian stores)
Eating out: If you prefer to eat out often, it will be one of your biggest expenses. A lunch for two in most restaurants on a weekday will be about 300 SEK. Indian restaurants cost more on average. Food usually costs more at night and on weekends. Dinner at a decent restaurant can easily set you back 600 SEK or more. Sweden has an eclectic mix of restaurants and offers a plethora of choices from budget to fine dining. Our example budget: 2,000 SEK. (READ: Indian restaurants, Indian home food)
Entertainment: You will be spoilt for entertainment choices. From museums and art houses to theme parks and movie theatres, Sweden has something for everyone. You may also indulge in a game of badminton or padel, or pickup golf or skiing. If you are health conscious, go for a run around lakes and forests or slog it out at the gym. And Swedish tax agency helps you get a maximum of 5,000 SEK every year as a wellness allowance from your company. Go splurge. Our example budget: 2,500 SEK. (READ: Games, Gym, Museum, Fun stuff, Wellness Allowance)
Travel: Sweden has a well-developed public transport system, so you could use a monthly pass for unlimited travel on bus, tram, train, subway, and boats. A monthly adult SL ticket costs 970 SEK. Taxis are quite expensive and frequent rides can easily add thousands to your monthly bill. Our example budget: 3,000 SEK for two people, including a few taxi rides. (READ: Taxis, Public transport)
Example Budget for two people:
- Rent – 16,000
- Groceries – 5,000
- Eating Out – 2,500
- Entertainment – 2,000
- Travel – 3,000
Total – 28,500
The 28,500 is an amount a couple can live a very comfortable life in Sweden. After deducting from the example salary of 42,000 SEK, you will have 13,500 SEK (a little over 100,000 INR) of savings every month. You can of course save more or splurge it all out. Different strokes for different folks. (READ: Savings, Investment, Sending money to India)
MSH Opinion: One thing to keep in mind is that you will incur a lot of expenses in the initial few months as you buy clothes, furniture, kitchen tools, and accessories to set up your living environment. And that might scare you as you record those high monthly expenses. Expenses moderate within the first six months.
- Our calculations. Some data extrapolated from various salary information available online. Some values were rounded off for easier reading.
- https://statsskuld.se/en/jobs/salary
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/sweden/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
- https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/public-finances/local-government-finances/local-taxes/pong/statistical-news/municipal-taxes-2022/
