Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southend-on-Sea and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Southend-on-Sea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

112

Cost of Living Index in Southend-on-Sea
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Southend-on-Sea Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Southend-on-Sea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,289

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Southend-on-Sea and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Southend-on-Sea and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea versus $1,775 in Athens.

Southend-on-Sea $2,289
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,534 in Southend-on-Sea versus $2,721 in Athens.

Southend-on-Sea $3,534
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,779 in Southend-on-Sea versus $3,666 in Athens.

Southend-on-Sea $4,779
Athens $3,666

Living in Southend-on-Sea is roughly 29% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southend-on-Sea 70% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 £14.92

$16.69 €14.84

19.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 £62.5

$67.8 €60.3

22.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 £6.88

$11.14 €9.91

-17.68%

Cappuccino

$4.37 £3.28

$4.03 €3.58

8.44%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.77 €2.46

-4.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.44

$0.55 €0.49

247.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.05 £5.29

$5.74 €5.10

22.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.64 £3.48

$5.45 €4.85

-14.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.82 €1.62

-19.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.38 €1.23

1.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.80 €2.49

-51.79%

Eggs

$4.13 £3.10

$4.83 €4.30

-14.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 £5.87

$15.05 €13.39

-48.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.51 £4.89

$10.63 €9.45

-38.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.04 £11.28

$18.43 €16.39

-18.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.20 €1.96

37.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.90 €1.69

-28.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.37 €1.22

46.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$2.10 €1.87

23.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.08 €0.96

64.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.12 €1.00

63.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 £0.67

$1.12 €1.00

-20.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.18

$0.88 €0.79

79.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.06 £16.55

$5.48 €4.88

302.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 £7.60

$10.13 €9.01

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.13 €1.89

55.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 £2.47

$2.25 €2.00

46.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.36 €1.21

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.26 £34.70

$29.89 €26.59

54.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 £4.33

$4.45 €3.96

29.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.02 €0.90

164.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.18 £36.15

$16.92 €15.05

184.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.25 €2.00

-8.44%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.1K £28.6K

$28.0K €24.9K

35.85%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.5K £30.4K

$28.2K €25.1K

43.64%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$177 £133

$205 €182

-13.58%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.31 £13.74

$26.65 €23.71

-31.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.18 £31.65

$30.38 €27.02

38.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 £2.94

$10.42 €9.27

-62.38%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,959 £1,470

$569 €506

244.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$12.6K €11.2K

55.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.8

$88.7 €78.9

-4.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £34.74

$40.46 €35.99

14.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 £69.6

$105 €93.3

-11.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.6

$121 €108

-13.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 £1,020

$741 €659

83.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 £935

$655 €582

90.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,334 £1,751

$1,300 €1,156

79.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,372 £1,780

$1,148 €1,021

106.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,640 £3,481

$4,014 €3,570

15.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,970 £2,978

$3,460 €3,078

14.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,700 £2,776

$1,242 €1,105

197.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

4.48

12.50%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Southend-on-Sea: October 11, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Southend-on-Sea

$1.2K 54.5%

Athens

$655 36.9% 47.5% $592

Eating Out

Southend-on-Sea

$302 13.2%

Athens

$268 15.1% 11.2% $34

Groceries & Markets

Southend-on-Sea

$271 11.8%

Athens

$310 17.5% 14.6% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southend-on-Sea

$237 10.4%

Athens

$262 14.7% 10.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Southend-on-Sea

$148 6.5%

Athens

$160 9% 8% $12

Getting Around

Southend-on-Sea

$76 3.3%

Athens

$45 2.5% 41.3% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Southend-on-Sea

$7.8 * 0.3%

Athens

$75 4.2% 861% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southend-on-Sea pays 198% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea vs $68.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $271 vs $310, with Southend-on-Sea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southend-on-Sea

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

05:24 5:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

2 h ahead of Southend-on-Sea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

181,808

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Southend-on-Sea Athens 2,340 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Southend-on-Sea
Athens

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Southend-on-Sea vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Southend-on-Sea. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 198% higher in Southend-on-Sea, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea versus $741 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,289 per month in Southend-on-Sea versus $1,775 in Athens – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Southend-on-Sea. The gap between the two cities makes Athens the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Athens delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,775 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Southend-on-Sea and Athens are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Athens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Southend-on-Sea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.