Compared: Cost of Living Around the World

[accadacca]

matadornetwork.com - We asked Matador members and staff to break down some monthly living expenses in their current home city.

San Francisco – USA

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-sanfransico.jpg
Photo by Billy Gast (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bg3photo/)

According to Rudyard Kipling, “San Francisco has only one drawback. ‘Tis hard to leave.” On the verge of buying her own condo, writer and photographer Cheri Lucas (http://writingthroughthefog.com/) might agree.

Two bedroom apartment: $2000-3000 per month depending on area
Local dinner: $15 for a single dish
Public transport: $2 for a bus with unlimited transfers for 2 hours
One liter of gas: $1
Doctor’s visit: $25 for a routine visit (via insurance)
Electricity: $20 per month
Internet: $40 per month


Salta – Argentina

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-salta.jpg
Photo by Paul Campbell (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljamescampbell/)

Salta, in northwestern Argentina at the foothills of the Andes, is currently home for Matador Life Editor Leigh Shulman (http://thefutureisred.typepad.com/) and her family.

Two bedroom apartment: $200-500 per month
Local dinner: $15 for a steak dinner
Public transport: 50 cents
One liter of gas: $1
Doctor’s visit: $15
Electricity: $10 per month but can go up to $100+ in non-gas heated buildings during winter
Internet: $40-50 per month


Vancouver – Canada

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Photo by Jenn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/benandjenn/)

Home of Matador’s Network Architect Ian MacKenzie (http://www.ianmack.com/), Vancouver is still ranked as one of the most highly livable cities worldwide, despite some of the most expensive real estate in North America.

Two bedroom apartment: $1800+ per month
Local dinner: $6 for sushi
Public transport: $5, or $10 for a whole day pass
One liter of gas: $1.30
Doctor’s visit: Free, however healthcare costs $60 per month
Electricity: $50 per month
Internet: $60 per month


Cairo – Egypt

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-cairo.jpg
Photo by Mike Slagter (http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaeljphotography/)

Matador Life Editor Nick Rowlands (http://deliciouschaos.com/) has lived in Cairo for more than four years, and although he keeps trying to leave, he keeps getting drawn back to the delicious chaos of life in the crazy Egyptian capital.

Two bedroom apartment: Expats will normally pay around $250-700 depending on the area
Local dinner: $5 though can go much more expensive, and street food less than $1
Public transport: 16 cents for the Metro
One liter of gas: 30 cents
Doctor’s visit: Starting around $8
Electricity: around $16 per month
Internet: $25 per month


La Linea de la Concepcion – Spain

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Photo by Gerry Balding (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8929612@N04/)

Located at the southern tip of Spain, neighbouring the Rock of Gibraltar, La Linea is where Matador intern Jason Wire (http://twitter.com/wirejr) enjoys around 3000 hours of sunlight per year, on some of the cleanest beaches in the country.

Two bedroom apartment: $700
Local dinner: $20
Public transport: $1.50-3
One liter of gas: $1.50
Doctor’s visit: Free healthcare if you are contributing to the Spanish Social Security system
Electricity: $80 per month
Internet: $40 per month


Chiang Mai – Thailand

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-chiangmai.jpg
Photo by Daniel Nahabedian (http://www.canvas-of-light.com/)

The laid back vibes and ridiculously cheap lifestyle are what attracted me to Chiang Mai. A very popular city for expats in Thailand, and just an hour away by plane to the islands.

Two bedroom apartment: $300
Local dinner: $1-2
Public transport: 65 cents for a songthaew (pick up truck-bus)
One liter of gas: $1.15
Doctor’s visit: $8
Electricity: $20-30 per month
Internet: $12 per month


Ulsan – South Korea

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-seoul.jpg
Photo of Seoul by Ian Muttoo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/)

With insane Internet speeds and amazing food, South Korea is a favorite destination for English teaching expats like Matador Life intern Anne Merritt (http://annemerritt.blogspot.com/).

Two bedroom apartment: $600-1000
Local dinner: $7 for Korean barbecued beef
Public transport: 80 cents
One liter of gas: $1.40
Doctor’s visit: $7
Electricity: $45 per month
Internet: $26 per month


Melbourne – Australia

http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/matadorlife.com/docs/wp-content/images/posts/20110404-melbourne.jpg
Photo by Robert Michalski (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmichalski/)

Travel Blogger Dave Dean (http://whatsdavedoing.com/) explains it himself: “Melbourne is simply one of the most ‘livable’ cities I’ve ever been to – incredible places to eat and drink, a wonderful quirky culture and a population as diverse as its weather!”

Two bedroom apartment: $1800 and above depending on the area
Local dinner: $10 in pubs
Public transport: $3.90 for a 2 hour train/tram pass
One liter of gas: $1.20
Doctor’s visit: $30 for permanent residents
Electricity: $60per month
Internet: $40 per month http://cdn.matadornetwork.com.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/icons/mfinish.png


http://matadornetwork.com/life/eight-world-cities-and-how-much-they-cost-to-live-in/

[Deathcricket]

The only thing that looks fishy to me is the electricity bill. Or maybe I have not been living in an apartment so long I forgot how cheap it must have been? Perhaps most people don't have the same amount of electronics I do, hehe.

Cool article though! I might just have to check moving to Thailand after the house is paid off. :lol8:

[Scott P]

Place I stayed in Arequipa Peru:

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/708771.jpg (http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/708771.jpg)

PS; the price included dinner and breakfast.

Peru is somewhat expensive when compared to places like Nepal (especially in the off-season).

At five months pregnant, my wife just finished a 216 mile hike across the Himalaya in mid-winter. After a jarring 14 hour rattle trap bus ride, someone came up to us in a Tuk Tuk (three wheeled motorcycle-car). He told us that if we stayed in his hotel that he would give us a free ride into town. I asked him how much the hotel was and he said that it was $3. My wife wispered to me that it was worth the ride into town since whe was very tired and suggested to me that if it was a dump we could just give the guy his $3 and find somewhere nicer. The guy brought us to his hotel. It had marble floors, was sparkling clean, had a huge bed and a buzzer on the wall. The buzzer was supposed to be rung in the morning when we were ready for our breakfast in bed.

Off the beaten track or in the off season, things get cheaper in the boonies. Some of the villages post the prices of their lodging at the entrance to town. Once we stopped in a village we planned to stay in, but we decided to push on since we still had three hours of daylight left. So we walked to the next village and noticed that the price of lodging was double the price it was in the last village. The first thought to someone who doesn't know the conversion rate might be that we were getting ripped off until someone notices that the double price we would be paying was $0.80 a night instead of $0.40 a night.

[DiscGo]

When I was in Turkey I remember reading all of the books say you have to haggle for everything or they won't respect you in Turkey. Then when we went to find a hotel (for the 3 of us) we asked the guy how much for a room and he told us it would be $5 for the 3 of us. We didn't have it in us to negotiate lower than that and just paid the guy for a week. But unlike Scott's hotel ours actually was a bit of a dive, but it was hard to care too much.

[dlofting]

Nice pictures.

I live in Vancouver and $6 usually buys a couple of small sushi rolls at a takeout place.....more like $15-$20 for dinner. $50 a month for electricity definitely doesn't include heat. We live in a 4 bedroom house and pay closer to $300 per month.

Interesting stats though.