Cost of living in Colombia – 2015

Prices reflective for Medellin (Envigado) February 2015

1.) Accomodation for short stays for ex. hotels...price dependent on location Poblado being the most expensive and other suburbs less expensive. Never pay the hotel price there are groupon
coupons for most hotels  with great discounts.Good for a short stay from one to three days. It also doesn´t hurt to barter with the hotel if you are staying for a longer time. Nightly rate  approx.
$35 to $50 dollars per night. For longer stays you could rent an apartment or even a room in a private house and save more money.

2.) Medellin has great public transportation taxis being the most expensive way to travel. The metro is good for traveling around Medellin . You can save money by buying a ticket called intergrado which lets you ride the metro and bus system at lower cost. Intergrado ticket $2.00

3.) Food prices are the same as in the U.S. but if you shop around  and use supermarkets such as Exito you can save alot of money.We don´t have coupons to cut out but there are always specials. I like Olympica supermarkets since they have great specials. It pays to keep you eyes open because Colombia is adapting to the discounts that Americans are accustomed to. Weekly cost  $100 to $150  depending on number of persons.in household

4.) Health insurance  U.S health insurance will not be accepted in Colombia so you can get health insurance if you have a celula or identification number depending if you are a resident or citizen , cost depedent  on estrato (Estrato is usually based on where you live ...there are six estratos  six being the highest so for example if you live in Poblado you will pay more for your insurance.

5.) Education prices are real cheap compared to the states  $600 to $700  good public University per semester depending on your estrato. Private universities are alot more expensive but compared to the U.S. still a bargain.

6.) Energy prices such as gas for your car  is costly which I really don´t understand since oil are traded on the world market $4.00 a liter. Colombia does have natural gas for cars which is more economical but the cars have to be altered for it.Since Medellin  is the ¨City of Eternal Spring¨we doen´t need air conditioning or heating so you save a great amount of money

7.)Common bills such as cable  $60.00 Claro has a combo which you can utilize to save mor e money. Electricity and public services are cheap dependent on your estrato.Monthly utility bill for gas and electric $100.

8.) A good restaurant will cost you around $10 to $25  depeding on the type of restaurant. Again groupon is a great way to save at least half the cost. Seafood restaurants being the most expensive to eat at. I never pay full price and go to the best restaurants in Medellin.

9.) Price of a cup of coffee 50 cents up to  a $1.50 at a Juan Valdez.

10.) Cinema tickets are real cheap usually around $4.00 to $6.00 especially on Wednesday. Thursday is when the new films come out so it is more expensive....Each cinema has a club where if you see alot of movies ,it is well worth to sign up since you earn points for movie tickets and the concession counter.

Note: The exchange rate for the dollar is more than double to the Colombian Peso.So if you get paid in dollars great.