[01acheru]

All fine and good, I hope he likes it but €10k is a lot of money to live more or less like a beggar.

With €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe and in many places it is way cheaper than that.

So... yeah, I find it incredibly stupid.

[avianlyric]

How is this any different to someone choosing to go backpacking for a year? Or do also consider that to be incredibly stupid?

It’s pretty clear from the article he’s not doing this to save money, he’s doing because he loves travelling on trains and sees it as an opportunity for exploration and adventure. There’s nothing stupid about being curious, and brave enough to indulge that curiosity.

[01acheru]

C'mon there is nothing brave or adventurous about it, it is just first world fancy. I'm happy he enjoys it but end of story let's not make this something special, it is not.

[alt227]

>let's not make this something special, it is not.

In your opinion. I think its pretty cool and would have loved to do this when I was 17.

[fragmede]

I think it's brave and fancy and adventurous. It's actually pretty special, because I don't know anyone who's done this. we're all entitled to our own opinion though :)

[Mashimo]

Mhh, I disagree https://leben-im-zug.de/mein-jahresrueckblick-2023/

He seems to live a relative "adventurous". Relative in relations to other German 17 year old.

> 2023 war einfach unglaublich! Ich habe so viele neue Erfahrungen gemacht, Freundschaften geschlossen, verschiedene Orte bereist und unterschiedliche Kulturen kennengelernt. Für mich persönlich war es das beste Jahr aller Zeiten.

Sounds rad.

[alt227]

10k Euro per year is what, 800 Euro per month?

Im in the UK so I work in pounds. 800 Euro = £684.29

I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month.

I actually think its a pretty smart and cheap way to live if you are young and can handle the requirements.

[dagw]

I guarantee you that you cannot get house, bills, and food for this amount per month.

That is basically the minimum state pension, which some people do live on, but it is a pretty miserable existence.

[beejiu]

That's because they get other benefits. The rent will be paid for with housing benefit. You can't typically get that if you are working age.

[riffraff]

also people who are retired _usually_ already own a place to live in so they don't spend money for rent/mortgage. OTOH, a 17yo will probably have less health-related expenses.

[Ekaros]

I would argue that you probably can, but not anywhere one would actually want to live in or where there is any sort of opportunities. For Finland that level means living in even poorer than average conditions in essentially dead areas.

[soco]

Also not saying it's a great idea, but a remote worker could live there just fine. Technically, I mean. But why staying in a dead area if you can travel for the same money? So the dead area will probably stay dead... (and let's not get into that)

[01acheru]

I said most of Europe, not all of Europe and the UK is known for being one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Same for Scandinavia, Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark.

But there are like 20 other countries in Europe where it is totally possible. Don't judge everything based only on you backyard.

[swarnie]

£680 is about what i paid for a room in a HMO 20 miles outside the M25 a decade ago.

Providing German healthcare can keep up with all the antibiotics he'll inevitably need it sounds like a good deal.

[redeeman]

do elaborate on the needs for antibiotics

[solumunus]

It's not that much cheaper and you also need to factor in the fact that realistically you can't even cook your own food. There are hidden costs.

[dagw]

With a first class ticket you can generally eat for free at the 1st class lounges at the larger train stations.

[jahnu]

His motivation isn't primarily about saving money but about experiencing lots of places and things.

[soco]

If you have to work too - which he does - not sure how much time is left to experience things, between catching trains and finding showers and switching lounges for food, and working. It is for sure a doable life but I wouldn't romanticize much its quality.

[coolThingsFirst]

No, you really really can't afford a house with 10K euros/year anywhere in europe even eastern europe. I live in EE, rent a 30m^2 studio, costs around 3K a year (just rent + utilities).

I live in one of the cheapest countries in EE.

[01acheru]

So... you afford a house for 3k/y and say that one cannot afford one for 10k/y? I'm missing something about your point. For 10k/y you can live in most of Europe, of course not the center of Paris or Munich or Amsterdam or whatever but there is a lot of Europe outside the center of large cities.

[kwhitefoot]

3k/y was for a 30 sq. m studio flat not a house.

[ffgjgf1]

> €10k/y you can afford a house+food+bills in most of Europe

I don’t see how that can be true if you want to live alone. Maybe in some of the poorer countries outside the EU.

[01acheru]

I'm from Italy and lived alone in Greece, Spain and Portugal so I know it is surely possible. And lived in cities not in the middle of nowhere.

[ben_w]

Bulgaria's GDP per capita is €13,305/year (€1108.75/month), and the average net salary is €10,440/year (€870/month), so it's definitely possible if you're the kind of person who is willing to be arbitrarily ridiculous[0] with this kind of thing.

[0] For one thing, сигурно ще трябва да научиш български, which doesn't sound like a great use of time.

[coolThingsFirst]

Even in Bulgaria 10K euros per year isn't going to get one a whole house + utilities + living expenses(food etc).

[ben_w]

You're saying nearly half the workforce of Bulgaria doesn't have those things?

[coolThingsFirst]

Entire house to themselves which they rent? They don’t.

[ben_w]

Monthly rent €200: https://www.alo.bg/9325840

Monthly rent €450: https://www.property.bg/property-67234-fully-furnished-house...

Both are enough for bills and food, or at least seem to be (I don't know how property taxes work in Bulgaria).

And given that figure I gave you was average salary and thus won't cover kids or pensioners, mostly of the people at or below that threshold will be supporting a family with that money, not just themselves, and that's the main reason they won't be living alone.

FWIW, I could manage on €10k/year even though I live in Berlin, but I'm (a) weird and (b) also living with someone in an apartment. Still more space each than if we were trying to live on a train, though.

Back in the UK, you can also find cheap actually-a-house houses despite the nonsense that is UK housing: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144969266#/?channel=R... (£380 ~= €444 / month) — I think £332/month should just about cover one person's food and bills, including council tax, in the UK, so I'd be surprised if one couldn't do at least that well in Bulgaria, where 5% of the population have an income of €208/month or less.

[jahnu]

You could do it here in Vienna. Would be basic but not terrible at all.

[redeeman]

could be done in denmark

[EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK]

But you can't tik tok about living in a regular house and paying regular bills. And tik tok is probably where 8500/year comes from ...

[Mashimo]

I would not do it.

But he is young and everyday another place. Try going skiing and visiting North See multiple times per year AND have a place to live.

[_joel]

£800 a month in the UK wouldn't clear the vast majority of peoples' rent, let alone bills and food on top of that.

[shinryuu]

10k euro / year will give a small apartment in a large city in Germany if that.

[SuperNinKenDo]

10k covers all that in "most of Europe"? I'm more than a little skeptical of that claim without some expansion, and also a little curious if what you're saying is true.

[01acheru]

It absolutely is in all of southern Europe except the center of some large cities, same for eastern Europe, rural France and Germany, etc.

[Shrezzing]

The net after-tax salary in France is €2,450, and in Germany it's €2,750, compared to the €850/mo this kid spends.

I can't see how you could survive long-term on around 1/3 of a nation's average salary, even in the most rural of villages with hardly any amenities, rent alone is going to take up the majority of your budget.

You could probably get by reasonably well in Greece, and could live very well in the Balkans.

[Ekaros]

Certainly survive, but not exactly thrive.

10k/12 is 833. Now let's say half or less of that to rent+etc. possible in certain not so desirable areas. Leaves you around 10€ a day for food and then 100€ for other stuff like used clothing and so on.

[01acheru]

With 850€/month you can pay rent (a small apartment for one person) and bills in more or less half of Germany, same for France. The average net after tax have no meaning in this context.

[moooo99]

True, it doesn’t. But the average rent in Germany is 780€/mo without heating, electricity or internet. So realistically people spend on average a 1000€/mo on living.

Realistically this living on a train thing isn’t a sustainable lifestyle, but it certainly is a fun adventure

[01acheru]

If people spend 1k/mo on average it means it is totally possible to spend 850. As I said it is possible to spend 850 or even less in a half of the country. Average, average, average... what an average world.

[Moldoteck]

imo it depends. It is possible to live with this money in most eastern&southern europe. In western/north it's harder, idk about prices but I suppose in smaller cities/bigger villages where demand is lower it should be doable too