How much money does it cost for one person to live well during one year in Colombia ? Rent,food,etc?

Question

For example, if I want to spend one year in a nice city, Bogota,Medellin,Cali or a city on the coast , in a good neighbourhood ( safe place, not a ghetto) , in a 2 rooms apartement

How much is the rent of the apartement?

How much is the gas for a car ?

How much is bus and metro tickets ?

How much is a menu in a normal restaurant ?

How much is the phone,internet,energy bills ?

How much is health bills ( doctor,etc) ?

How much money do I need for one month, for one year?

I am French, and I would like to spend several months in another country, to relax in a nice foreign city, and then come back to France...

Thank you in advance

Answer 1

I think that *onetwothree* (I like that name...a lot!) gave you an excellent answer and I believed addressed all your questions.

I dont have the patience to go into that much detail but I will share my experience doing what you plan to do. I lived in Colombia for nearly three months not long ago.I have also done the same thing in several Latin American countries.I don't have any trouble finding a decent hotel room or a guest house or cabina for about $300US a month $10 a day (sometimes less) as opposed to renting an apartment and having to worry about power, phone (I rent a cell phone) water and internet connections (I use an internet cafe).

By doing it this way I was able to spend a month in each of three cities, Barranquilla,Medellin and my favorite,the beautiful walled city of Cartagena.From these cities I travelled to many other places for a day or a weekend. Bogota is certainly worth a visit but much too big with a population of 7 million to make it somewhere I would want to stay for more than a few days.

I bought a small used motorcycle ($120US) the second week I was there and sold it ($105) just before I left.I also used the local transportation systems which are very inexpensive and efficient. Eating out at the small local restuarants is inexpensive,gives you a chance to meet  and socialize with local people... and there are no dishes to wash. I was able to work temporarily as a divemaster on a boat based out of Barranquilla for room and board plus a little money (I have done the same thing in several other countries). Hope this helps you. Feel free to email me if you have other questions.

La buena suerte y tiene un buen viaje!

Answer 2

It depends a lot on the city and the part of the city where you want to live. Bogota is more expensive than the rest of the country.

I'll give you an idea, not the most expensive nor the cheapest:

The rent of a good apartment, not extremely big but nice, in a good part of a city, will cost you around $500-$600/month. Besides you need to pay what's called the "administration" of the building. The amount depends on the number of apartments. The bigger the building (more apartments) the cheaper.

Gas is pretty expensive. Around $2.30-$2.50 per gallon. In some places it's more expensive than in some parts of the U.S.

Public transportation is not expensive. It varies.

You'll find many types of restaurants, some are pretty expensive, some very cheap. It depends where they are situated in the city and the type of food and service they offer. I'd say a 'normal' restaurant will charge you about $15 for a very good meal. Some good restaurants charge less than that.

Electricity and water bills vary, again, depending upon the part of the city where you live. And of course also on how much of it you use. Let's say $100 or less at the most. Telephone bills are not cheap, as opposite as the US, local calls are always charged. Long distance is pretty expensive in comparison.

Internet and cable TV would be about another $100 more or less.

Health is very cheap compared to other countries. Much, much cheaper than in the US.

If you're careful with your money, you could live VERY well with $1,000. Of course if you have more money you'll do much better.

Many people live with much less than that, but not in very good conditions.

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Answer 3

I think Onetwothree gave you a good estimate of general expenses to live "well" in Bogota. As he says, all depends on how much you have and what you want. I grew up in Cali and lived 10 years in Bogota as a student and worker with a similar budget. If you need further info let me know. I don't know how this works but I guess you can contact me through email. I'll be glad to help you on your trip.

Answer 4

I agree. Onetwothree gave a very good answer.

Actually, the apartment he/she's talking about, $500 or $600 a month would be a VERY good apartment. If you want something smaller and well situated you can get it for much less. My friend lives in a very lovely apartment in a city called Pereira and he pays like $350 plus the 'admnistration', which is, I believe, around $100 a month.

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