Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Thessaloniki: $1,649 a month against $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Southend-on-Sea outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Southend-on-Sea
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,289
/mo nomad
Thessaloniki
🇬🇷 Greece
$1,649
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Thessaloniki actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,289 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $1,649 in Thessaloniki, rent included.

  • Southend-on-Sea $2,289
  • Thessaloniki $1,649

A couple spends around $3,534 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $2,537 in Thessaloniki, rent included.

  • Southend-on-Sea $3,534
  • Thessaloniki $2,537

A family of three spends $4,779 per month in Southend-on-Sea vs $3,425 in Thessaloniki, rent included.

  • Southend-on-Sea $4,779
  • Thessaloniki $3,425

Southend-on-Sea costs about 39% more than Thessaloniki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Southend-on-Sea and Thessaloniki sit above the global median – Southend-on-Sea by 70%, Thessaloniki by 22%.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$19.89 £14.92
$17.01 €15.13
16.93%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$83.2 £62.5
$67.2 €59.8
23.80%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.17 £6.88
$11.20 €9.96
-18.12%
Cappuccino
$4.37 £3.28
$4.29 €3.82
1.86%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.65 £1.99
$2.90 €2.58
-8.62%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.91 £1.44
$0.76 €0.67
151.32%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.05 £5.29
$5.45 €4.85
29.36%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.64 £3.48
$6.53 €5.81
-28.94%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 £1.10
$1.70 €1.51
-14.12%
White Bread (500g)
$1.40 £1.05
$1.78 €1.58
-21.35%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.35 £1.01
$3.71 €3.30
-63.61%
Eggs
$4.13 £3.10
$5.50 €4.89
-24.91%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.82 £5.87
$14.29 €12.71
-45.28%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.51 £4.89
$11.48 €10.21
-43.29%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$15.04 £11.28
$18.35 €16.32
-18.04%
Apples (1kg)
$3.02 £2.26
$2.51 €2.23
20.32%
Banana (1kg)
$1.35 £1.01
$2.25 €2.00
-40.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.01 £1.51
$2.12 €1.89
-5.19%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.60 £1.95
$2.79 €2.48
-6.81%
Potato (1kg)
$1.78 £1.33
$1.30 €1.15
36.92%
Onion (1kg)
$1.83 £1.37
$1.22 €1.09
50.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.89 £0.67
$1.60 €1.42
-44.38%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 £1.18
$0.94 €0.84
68.09%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$22.06 £16.55
$5.74 €5.11
284.32%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.13 £7.60
$9.93 €8.83
2.01%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.32 £2.49
$2.06 €1.83
61.17%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.29 £2.47
$3.14 €2.79
4.78%
🚌 Getting Around
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.72 £2.04
$0.65 €0.57
318.46%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$46.26 £34.70
$18.07 €16.07
156.00%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.77 £4.33
$4.07 €3.62
41.77%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.70 £2.03
$1.13 €1.01
138.94%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$48.18 £36.15
$16.79 €14.93
186.96%
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
36.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.5K £30.4K
$31.0K €27.6K
30.73%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$177 £133
$215 €191
-17.63%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.31 £13.74
$23.24 €20.67
-21.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$42.18 £31.65
$30.60 €27.22
37.84%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$52.1 €46.32
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$16.27 €14.47
-
Cinema Ticket
$3.92 £2.94
$10.36 €9.22
-62.16%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,959 £1,470
$469 €417
317.90%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$19.6K £14.7K
$9,075 €8,073
116.27%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$85.1 £63.8
$94.7 €84.2
-10.11%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$46.31 £34.74
$44.40 €39.50
4.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$92.7 £69.6
$125 €111
-25.76%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$105 £78.6
$129 €115
-18.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,359 £1,020
$622 €554
118.39%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,247 £935
$489 €435
155.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,334 £1,751
$1,081 €962
115.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,372 £1,780
$838 €745
183.13%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,640 £3,481
$3,679 €3,273
26.13%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,970 £2,978
$2,799 €2,490
41.82%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Southend-on-Sea
Thessaloniki
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,700 £2,776
$1,177 €1,047
214.27%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.04
5.34
-5.62%

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 Thessaloniki: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Southend-on-Sea
$1.2K
Thessaloniki
$489 60.8% $758
Eating Out
Southend-on-Sea
$302
Thessaloniki
$276 8.5% $26
Groceries & Markets
Southend-on-Sea
$271
Thessaloniki
$336 24% $65
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Southend-on-Sea
$237
Thessaloniki
$268 13.1% $31
Clothing & Footwear
Southend-on-Sea
$148
Thessaloniki
$177 19.5% $29
Getting Around
Southend-on-Sea
$76
Thessaloniki
$30 60.2% $46
Sport & Entertainment
Southend-on-Sea
$7.8 *
Thessaloniki
$73 828% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea versus $622 in Thessaloniki. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 214% higher in Southend-on-Sea, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea versus $67.0 in Thessaloniki. Groceries tell a different story – $271 in Southend-on-Sea vs $336 in Thessaloniki – so Southend-on-Sea wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Southend-on-Sea
🇬🇷 Thessaloniki
🕒 Local time
03:51 3:51 AM
05:51 5:51 AM
2 h ahead of Southend-on-Sea
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
181,808
790,824
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Southend-on-Sea Thessaloniki 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Southend-on-Sea
  • Thessaloniki

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 Thessaloniki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Southend-on-Sea or Thessaloniki?
Southend-on-Sea costs about 39% more than Thessaloniki, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Southend-on-Sea and in Thessaloniki?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,434 per month in Southend-on-Sea and $2,474 in Thessaloniki. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Southend-on-Sea or Thessaloniki?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Thessaloniki, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How do childcare costs compare in Southend-on-Sea and in Thessaloniki?
Kindergarten costs $1,959 per month in Southend-on-Sea and $469 in Thessaloniki. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Are groceries more expensive in Southend-on-Sea or in Thessaloniki?
Interestingly, groceries are about 24% cheaper in Southend-on-Sea – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.
Can you live on $3,000/month in Southend-on-Sea or in Thessaloniki?
A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Thessaloniki, where all-in costs run around $1,649, than in Southend-on-Sea at $2,289. In Thessaloniki it covers expenses comfortably, while in Southend-on-Sea it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Southend-on-Sea or Thessaloniki?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Thessaloniki costs $1,649 versus $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
How safe is Southend-on-Sea compared to Thessaloniki?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
Should I move to Southend-on-Sea or to Thessaloniki?
If budget matters most, go with Thessaloniki. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Southend-on-Sea makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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