"Zagreb is only hours away from Vienna, Budapest and Ljubljana, its closest EU neighbors, but looking at the standard of living, it is years away from some of them," state news platform Hina cited an article published by Vecernji List daily on Thursday, without citing its byline, which compared the cost of living in the capitals of Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Out of these four, “only Budapest has a lower average salary than Zagreb,” Hina said, without saying what an average salary in Budapest is. “However, with an average salary slightly higher than €1,000 residents of Zagreb can afford the least, compared to the other cities,” Hina added.

The average Zagreb local spends more than 60 percent of their net salary on paying for rent, utilities, and food. Real estate prices and rents continue increasing, so the average selling price of apartments is now around €4,000 per square meter, while renting a two-room apartment costs about €650 per month. Hina did not say what the prices are in Vienna, Budapest, or Ljubljana.

“Getting around the city is not cheap either, since the monthly pass for public transport is the most expensive out of the four cities, and the second most expensive among 65 cities in this part of Europe,” Hina cited Vecernji List as saying, without mentioning which city took the number one spot.

“As an alternative, you will pay approximately €0.81 per kilometer for a taxi ride, which is cheaper in Zagreb than in other capitals. If you want to go to the center by car, a parking spot there costs €1.60 per hour, as of 1 January – which is more expensive than in Ljubljana and Budapest,” Hina said.

“A lunch at a restaurant costs €9.39, which is slightly more expensive than in Budapest, but cheaper than in Ljubljana. Only Vienna has more expensive coffee than Zagreb.”

Parents with children who use city-managed kindergartens must pay a monthly fee which varies according to their income levels, and ranges from €20 to €80 per month. Hina did not say how much kindergartens cost in other cities.

A cinema ticket in Zagreb costs €6.71, which is cheaper than in Ljubljana or Vienna, according to Vecernji List.