I've been through this thought process myself & my conclusion was that a lot of the eastern side of the EU (including eastern Germany) is not a bad compromise between fairly low cost of living & decent infrastructure/public services.
I currently live in Berlin which is getting borderline expensive (still much cheaper than almost any major western city - more so now with the weak euro). I've heard good things about the Czech republic and Bulgaria. Seems like Croatia isn't bad either.
Don't forget Romania :-)
Yes but a beer and a sausage for lunch will really cut into the afternoon productivity. :)