70k is anything but low in Berlin. It is actually really, really high. For reference see here (monthly before tax) https://www.morgenpost.de/bin/bmo-213539703.jpg

With that amount of money one could afford a very sweet place to live easily, and still have plenty of spending money for intellectual pursuits or whatever.

Speaking English is no issue here, at least in the "hip" parts of town.

Would I say it's the best place to live? Probably not (Switzerland would probably rank higher), but one could do a lot worse. And with a decent IT job it's easy living. Dirt cheap compared to Silicon Valley prices.

You have to compare it with where you are coming from though.

I might move from Tokyo to Berlin and due to a combination of cost of living and taxes have the same after tax income, even though absolutely €70000 is a fuckton more. That goes for anywhere in Europe though.

I would recommend Tokyo as a great place to live overall, but intellectual and english, not so much :P

Salaries all over Europe are like that. Except for London (maybe) or Switzerland. Don't compare them to Silicon Valley or the US in general, you'll be disappointed.

> it means that after taxes it's around 3.8k/month; a bit low if you ask me

3.8K after taxes anywhere in W-Europe (outside of London) is pretty good salary

London is pricy yes but 3.8k is not a bad salary for London. In fact it is about double the average London salary.

Are you comparing that salary to US salaries? Because the still relatively low cost of living in Berlin makes that anything but low

And the social benefits should not be ignored either (health care, child support, ..)

That actually seems like a rather good salary indeed, surely from a Belgian point of view.

Besides, the salary already includes social security and health insurance.