Surprising Eastern European city named best place for grads to live and work
If you’re a new graduate in Canada dreaming about living and working abroad, there are a few European cities worth putting on your radar.
A new ranking has revealed the top 10 cities where young graduates can kickstart their careers and settle down — and the number one spot might surprise you.
Online tutoring platform Edumentors, based in London, examined 60 cities across the EU and the UK to determine where young graduates have the best opportunities to live and work after finishing their degrees.
The ranking looked at several factors, including job opportunity satisfaction, average monthly net salaries, one-bedroom city-centre rent, overall cost of living, youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 29, and job vacancy rates.
Cluj-Napoca, Romania, was ranked as the best European city for graduates to live and work in.
The northwestern city scored 72.60 for job opportunity satisfaction and has become a major tech hub, earning itself the nickname “Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe.” It scored well when it comes to actually finding a job, with nearly three in four residents saying they are satisfied with local job opportunities.
It’s also relatively easy on the wallet compared with many of Europe’s bigger cities. The average monthly net salary in Cluj-Napoca is €1,156.55 (roughly C$1,850), while a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre costs around €589.27 (C$940).
That means the average young grad could expect to spend roughly half of their monthly take-home pay on rent, leaving the rest for groceries, nights out and, hopefully, a few weekend trips around Europe.
Cluj-Napoca also had the lowest cost-of-living index among the cities in the ranking with a score of 44.60. The index is a relative measure of everyday expenses, so the lower the number, the less expensive the city is compared to higher-cost locations.
In other words, everyday life in Cluj-Napoca can be considerably more affordable than in many of Europe’s major cities like Paris or Rome.
Coming in second was Vilnius, Lithuania.
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According to the report, 64 per cent of residents say there are plenty of good career opportunities, meaning the job hunt may not drag on for too long.
Salaries are considerably higher than in Cluj-Napoca, averaging €1,686.90 a month ($2,700), but a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre could cost around €765.79 ( C$1,225).
That means graduates in Vilnius can potentially hold on to more than half of their monthly take-home pay after covering downtown rent, which isn’t a bad setup for someone just starting out.
Germany also made a strong showing, with four cities landing in the top 10: Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig and Essen.
Here’s a look at the top ten ranking:
Edumentors
Edumentors points to Germany’s strong apprenticeship and vocational training culture as one reason young people tend to have a strong connection to the labour market, which can also translate into opportunities for university grads.
Canada’s blossoming relationship with the European Union could also make the idea of a European move a little more interesting. For a month now, Prime Minister Mark Carney has floated the idea of Canada becoming an associate member of the EU, which would mean closer ties with the bloc without becoming a full member.
While the details are still being ironed out, this could also mean more ways for Canadians to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic, and galavant around the continent visa-free.