Cost of living in Mauritania

Its very expensive in Nouakchott, electricity and water are outrageous, gas is reasonable when compared to electricity so a gas cooker is a must.  Rentals are also very high, although there is one price for locals and another for expats, but most Mauritanians are willing to bargain on the rental if they know you are going to maintain the house and they generally expect long term leases.  If you break the lease, expect to pay out the balance of the contract.  Maintenance on the houses is ongoing and very expensive, bulbs blow regularly due to the electricity output, most of the houses have no earth leakage and wiring is almost always done in an unsafe manner. 

Artisans are interchangeable, you have one chappy who does the plumbing and the wiring, and will also work on your car if needs be!  Be sure of the quality of goods purchased for the house, pipes and pumps are regularly fitted which burst or blow up because of incorrect capacity and weak workmanship

Taxi rides are reasonable if you communicate and negotiate the price upfront about 100UM if you are charging around the city, more if you expect the cab to wait for you.  Its also difficult to tell intially which cars are cabs, but walk on the road and hold your hand up as you are walking will generally pull one.

Good coffee for some reason is hard to find, you can expect to pay in the region of 1000UM depending on where you go, 700UM for a bottle of coke, hotels are very pricey, its always better to find a restaurant.

Purchase fresh foods from the market place which is cheapest and lovely quality, or from vendors on the side of the road a little more expensive and not as fresh usually, dont use the supermarkets unless you have to.  Ensure your know your butcher or have a referral, meat is expensive and mostly imported.

The French cultural cnt regularly hold movies, concerts, etc, and are fabulous, their prices are reasonable and they seems to find the local and African talent.

I found that internet acces, in the greater scheme of things was reasonable about 15,000UM a month for unlimited access.

Primary and High School education is expensive if you expect to go to the International School, although I am told its in line with other International Schools, but a great bunch of people.  I am not sure what the costs are for the French School.