Cost of living in Colombia

Any retired military living in Cartagena/San Marta area?

I live in Bogota.

> accommodation prices

I pay a total of $590,000 COP / month in rent and 'administracion' - which basically pays the 24-hour security guard and the people who sweep the stairs.  I live in a 1-bedroom apartment in Chapinero.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc ...)

TransMilenio, Bogota's bus rapid transit system, costs $1500 COP / trip.  I haven't started taking the other buses yet.

> food prices(per month, how much does it cost you?)

Depends how you eat.  I eat cheap.  There's a place across the street that sells a plate of steak, rice, and a fried egg for $4000.  Another that sells a proper Arroz con Pollo for $5900.  My favorite plate, Bandeja Paisa, can range from $8000 - $16,000.  Street food: empanadas, fried yuca, etc. run the $1000 - $2000 range.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)

?

> eduction prices (if you need to pay)

?

> energy prices (oil, electricity)

My electric bill is about $30,000 COP / month.  I have an electric stove.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)

Internet plus landline phone line (required for my Internet) costs $80,000 / month.

All my other utilities (water, trash, etc.) are grouped together into one bill called 'Codensa' = $20,000 / month.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant

Good is subjective.  But the finer dining establishments offer plates from $15,000 - $30,000.  And of course there are more expensive than that if you're into the finest places.

> prices of a beer and or a coffee in a regular pub

Beer in Chapinero = $2000.
Coffee in a cafe = $2000.
Coffee in a cigarreria = $500 - $1000

> price of the cinema

?

Shoot me an email to "webmaster -at- expat-chronicles [dot] com" if you would like to know more Bogota prices.

I live in Santa Marta.

> accommodation prices

I pay a total of 300.000 cop per month in rent
> public transportation fares 1200.00 for the bus and steady taxi fare are 3500 per ride within the city, if you take the cab to out of town suburbs, rodadero or Taganga it goes from 8000 to 10000 cop.

> food prices? I own a restaurant

But normally it depends how you eat if you eat local soup and rice every freaking day you can count 4500 pesos per meal. 
> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)

?

> education prices (if you need to pay)

?

> energy prices (oil, electricity)

My electric bill is about $10,000 COP / month.  I have an electric stove.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)

Internet plus landline phone line (required for my Internet) costs $80,000 / month.

All my other utilities (water, trash, etc.) are grouped together into one bill called 'Codensa' = $20,000 / month.

> prices of a good menu in a traditional restaurant

Good is subjective.  But the finer dining establishments offer plates from $15,000 - $30,000.  And of course there are more expensive than that if you're into the finest places.

> prices of a beer and or a coffee in a regular pub

Beer in my place between 1500 to 2000
Coffee in a cafe = $2000.
Coffee in a cigarreria = $500 - $1000
Coffe in the street: $200
> price of the cinema: Never went since I am here

Contact me at santamartachilloutbargrill.com

Hi, I live in Popayan
I pay $ 600.000 cop in rent,for a room in a 4 bedroom house,
includes 3 meals/day, all utlities, cable tv. internet.
taxis; $ 3500cop....$ 4000cop On Sundays

Meds; Seroquel $ 270,000...expensive BUT it's $ 200usd in states
      Atenolol $  88,000 30 pills
      Effexor  $  55,000 10 pills

hola hola! los saludos y mis mejores deseos para todos

The thing about this City (Bogota) and the country for that matter, is where you live can influence tremendously the cost of living.
As ColinT pointed out that he can eat well and cheaply in Chapinero, or you can easily drop 200 U$ for a dinner for 2 dinning in La Parque de 93.
Bogota, and the other major cities have this stark contrast in prices. The same bag (yes a bag) of milk (or other food product), same brand in the same supermarket chain, has different costs depending on Location. That bag of milk in Rosales (Area of the city) Carulla (Supermarket) will be more expensive than that same bag in Cuidad Bolivar – a type of social capitalism.     

I have known people who 40,000 U$ (with living provided) live paycheck to paycheck.
And I have met others who can save 30,000 of those 40,000 living here.

So much depends on lifestyle, and where you live.

You can get a general idea of food costs from this website http://www.carulla.com/inicio.jsp

That said, basic food items are cheaper than the U.S. Colombia produces all of its own food.
Anything that is imported though, is about 40%-90% more expensive that the U.S. Such as cars, TVs, perfumes, etc.

Hola, voy al Colombia!

Hi sbarua > This topic is on cost of living in Colombia and you should write in English here.

If you have any questions, please post in the hispanophone forum

Thank you.

Thank you, this information is helpful and it's that way a lot in the US too. It's all about where you choose to live and spend your time doing.

Good Lord, I can't way to pay something reasonable for living accommodations. Is public transport a reasonable way to get around or is it better to have a car/moped etc?

I live in Cali and at the moment I live with my boyfriend and his parents but three years ago I lived in a flatshare in San Antonio so I have an idea of rental costs. I also did a blog post about prices in Cali so check it out (it is the only blog about Cali listed on this site, click at the top on 'Blogs').

Rent in basic strata 3 houseshare: $250,000 per month
Budget food shop per week: $40,000
Eating out: $15,000 per meal (pizza/pasta with cheap drink)
Transport in buses per week: $10,000
Private health insurance (see my blog for health insurance for expats here): $80,000 per month
Beer: $3,000 - $6,000 depending on informal - restaurant
Phone: $5,000 per week
Cinema: $3,000 on Wednesdays with the cinecolombia card!