: January 9, 2018
Before people uproot their life and move abroad, there are many things that they think about and cost of living is definitely at the top of the list. On so many of the expat pages and facebook groups, the question always arises “what is a typical budget in Ecuador.” This is not an easy question to answer because it truly depends on the type of lifestyle you are looking to create. Do you dream of living like royalty in an estate with a maid and gardener, consuming your mus- have imported foods and goods, or are you looking for an average 2-4 bedroom house/apartment and plan on using the buses and taxis as your main mode of transportation? There is nothing wrong with either type but it is something that needs to be considered when thinking about the cost of living. It is all subjective.
Some people can live on $500 a month in Ecuador just as some people can live on $1500 in the states. Not saying that $500 is the easiest budget to work with but it can be done. In general, things are relatively less expensive so a comfortable lifestyle isn’t going to break the bank. However, there are always some basic costs that you will encounter and thinking about those and how much you are going to need for yourself will help you figure out what your cost of living will be.
Initially you are going to have startup costs. This includes your flight, maybe a stay in a hotel, and those initial one times buys such as furniture, electronics, dishes, bedding, etc. While this is not a part of your daily/monthly budget, it is important to think about and plan for. In my case, I found a cheap flight that was about $700, I stayed in a hotel for the first month until I found an apartment which was about $750 for the month, and when I found my apartment, I bought some home items which totaled to about $250. My first month’s rent was $250. Other expenses such as food and transportation to interviews probably totaled to about $300 for the first month. Everything was new so I was trying everything and enjoying exploring my new home.
Your regular budget will probably include many of the same things that your regular budget in your current home includes. Some of the basic costs will be
- Debts (mortgages, loans, interest) back home
- Business and legal responsibilities
- Travel (weekend vacations, site-seeing etc.)
- Medicare (the in-case-of-emergency kind)
- Emergency / spur of the moment purchase
- Housing
- Utilities
- Daily costs such as
- Food
- Transportation
- Recreational activities
When we think about these numbers, this is where every budget varies. There is no one answer to give about how much it will cost you to live here but we can say how much things cost so that you can get an idea of how much you will be spending in your case depending on your desired lifestyle.
My lifestyle is basic but comfortable. I live in a studio apartment directly on the beach in Puerto Lopez on the coast of Ecuador. My rent is $325 a month. In Quito I shared apartments with roommates and paid between $200 and $300 for some other references. My monthly utilities are never more than $10. I have a washing machine so I don’t have to have my cloths washed but when I lived in Quito I did and spent about $5 a week on laundry. In Quito I loved walking but also used the public transportation and spent maybe $0.50 to $1 a day and if I took a taxi at night, another $2. I love eating out so I allow for a larger part of my budget to be spent on dinning in restaurants but I eat the typical $3 lunch and $3 dinner. Fancier dinners can go up to about $10-$20 a meal but I RARELY eat those. When I buy my groceries, I spend about $15-$20 a week in the market which covers my bread, meat, vegetables, eggs, rice, sauces and spices, tuna, fruits, coka cola and personal items such as deodorant. A 5 gallon jug of water is about $2 and that lasts awhile for me. I rely on the public health insurance and don’t need the private health insurance as many expats do because of my legal status here but if I did have to go to the doctor and something needed to be paid out of pocket, it is always payable with the cash I have in my purse (maybe $50-$100 at most). I used to travel more before I had two full time jobs and usually went on a weekend trip about once a month which maybe totaled to $100-$200 per trip. I love the nightlife and make sure that my budget allows for me to go out dancing and seeing concerts with friends. I probably spend about $20 a week on recreation activities. My responsibilities back home are my student loans and I pay $385 a month. I probably spend about $100 a month personally on my business (it’s my baby so I must). And maybe $30 for those miscellaneous buys. Let’s do the math (I will use my expenses in Puerto Lopez and the highest cost possible)
| Expense | $US |
| Rent | $325 |
| Utilities per month | $10 |
| Transportation in Puerto Lopez per month | $10 |
| Dining out per month | $60 |
| Groceries per month | $80 |
| Water per month | $4 |
| Recreational Activities per month | $80 |
| Student Loan Payments per month | $385 |
| Business Expenses | $100 |
| Biscellaneous | $30 |
| Total | $1,084 |
Take out the school loans and the business expenses and you’re looking at $599 per month for just a normal, day – to-day life. Not bad in my opinion. When you’re comparing this budget to, let’s say a budge in United States, things are looking pretty livable
- Examples:
- Water here: $0.50
- Water there: $1.50
- Lunch at restaurant here: $3
- Lunch at restaurant there: $8
- Tank of gas here: $20
- Tank of gas there: $50
Depending on how you want to live will determine your cost of living. Nobody can answer that question simply. Maybe you are looking to build a house rather than rent, there is another expense for you. You just really have to sit down and think about the life you want to live. Whatever you spend, just make sure you are living the life you’ve always wanted to live!
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