Please excuse any duplication from any prior topics already posted in this forum but I would really like to receive the most up to date information at the end of 2007.

I would like any information anyone could provide please on what would be considered a decent salary (annual, gross in Euros) for a single professional in the financial services industry. As has been mentioned many times before in this forum, I am acutely aware that salaries in Spain (compared to the UK) are very low. I am therefore trying to get an idea of what a really decent salary would be - i.e. enough for a nice 1 bedroom central apartment (no sharing), a decent social life (a shopping addiction!), possibility for international travel a couple of times a year, etc.

I know that quality of life is a huge factor in Spain and that salary should not be the defining factor for a move to Madrid but I am currently on a high salary even for UK standards and would like to know what I would need to earn in Madrid to have a reasonable equivalent standard of living as my current day to day life.

Would EUR 40,000 be considered a good salary?

Many thanks.

A sister of my friend got hired in UK to be transfered to Madrid (she wanted to return to Madrid no matter what). She works in financial industry and earns EUR 65,000 a year but she works a lot, late hours, weekends... quality of life out the window, imho. She pays 1,000 for a tiny one bedroom apartment in fairly prestigious location and once in a while travels to exotic locations.

Personally, I don't work in finances and I make a decent salary for Madrid (over 40,000) but I have a flex schedule and don't need to worry about working extra hours or weekends. Not sure if that's typical but I work for a very big, international corporation.

Good luck in making the right decision.