Wow, Laz knows stuff! :-)
What DOES Monaco cost, anyway? :-)
Let's see... You can't open a bank account for anything under EUR 100,000 if you are not a resident. And you can't apply for residency unless you have a bank account in Monaco. Great catch-22, isn't it? Anyway, the net effect is that you can't even ask to live here if you don't have 100,000 in cash.
Then let's say you are renting - rents are comparable to Manhattan, but slightly higher, because there is so much demand for residency (and hence rental space) and there is only so much land and apartments available. A 25 m2 studio (basically, a small hotel room) puts you back EUR 1,000 + charges (of the building) per month minimum. Anything half-way decent, with a single bedroom costs about EUR 3,000 + charges per month.
Living expenses are much higher than anywhere else I have seen (or heard of), especially if you intend to live "well"... but that is kind of a long topic of discussion.
In reality, most people who come here to live have already "made it", with a couple of million in the bank. They come here to live it up, and be free of any tax on the capital gains from that money. European dot.commers, for example. Or old money from around the world. Very very few Americans though, because you guys can't escape taxation whatever you do. I know, I know, it's not fair :-)
There are very few Monaco residents who actually work. I mean, REALLY work (not just business cards for consulting etc). Yours truly is in that minority. And THAT is really not fair :-) |
