Cost of Living in Lima

If you are going as a tourist, Peru it's perfect. But if you are planning to stay there as an immigrant you won't be able to do anything as the average salary is around 350$ or less. Which is quite bad and they will make you work more than 12h without extra payment. (i lived there)

It's one thing to comment on prices and what things cost, simple undeniable fact - if you're a foreinger or even speak Spanish with a non-local accent, you're going to get gouged with 'Gringo Tax'.

Lima is the one place where it is less likely to happen because there, the shops have visible price lists, out in the rest of the country, there will be places where there are no visible price tages, menus etc and they will decide what they can get away with charging - it is on the Vietnam scale of gouging people who don't know the score - it is one of the most irritating things about the place and you will never pay what a local pays until you have been there a very long time.

Peru in General is beautiful and mystical. I especially love the different tour sites, such as Paracas, Nazca, Arequippa, and Hauchachina. However, 90 percent of the people are always in a hurry and can be rude, and bias. Especially, if you have a darker complection, they can treat you more ruder than if you had a whiter complexion, which I easily wittnessed and experienced first hand all throughout Lima Peru. Even, after they heard me speaking fluent English, they would try to ask me if I was born their despite I told them I was an American several times. Also, when they saw me talking in English to all the Foreigners in the Hotel they would look at me with despise that even the people I was with would notice. What an embarrassment.

#David Schneider most peruvians prefer living in Lima because it is a centralized city, everything you need is located in Lima. There are more opportunities uf you wanna start a business or study a major. There are no those opportunities in other peruvian cities. I am a peruvian obviously, sorry for my grammar

I almost got suckered into the RENTISTA thing no tax on my foreign retirement pension.My lawyer looked into it for me.Best $100 USD I ever spent.No tax on pensions abroad for one year.But after the one year is up get ready to pay dearly in taxes on your pension at the rate of 33%.Peru doesn't have a double taxation treaty with the U S remember that.

Okay Scott,glad you agree about Lima not being a representative of how Peru really is.Its true that Miraflores,San Ysidro,Barranco,Larcomar are very safe,agreed.However those areas are designed for American expats and other foreigners who indulge in extraciruiclar activities in general whether drug related or prostitutes different strokes obviously but not my thing.The last thing I really want to see when visiting Peru are foreigners grouped together.Visit Tingo Maria,Cumbes,and Chincha if you want to expand your horizons and see real Peruvian culture, just a thought,been there done that.

Lima never has been a true representative of Peru or the culture of true Peruvians.Lima caters to expats from around the world truth be known.Whomever has the most money to contribute to Lima are the Victors.Lima isn't any different than Sydney Australia nor any other large city around the world regardless of where it's located.The cost of living in Lima should be doubled according to whats been contributed here.Its not numbeos fault for false figures being contributed.Bottom line give correct figures as to cost of living.

I was born in Chiclayo (a city in the north coast of Perú) and then moved to Lima and i have visited many cities in my beautiful country, in all regions. So let me tell you a few things about Peru... if you want to visit us and you want to know how expensive it is, well it's not that easy.
First off, prices vary from city to city, as well as food or hotels,etc. Things in Lima are hella expensive compared to other cities in Peru.
Lima is very chaotic and there's a lot of pollution, public transport is A MESS!, finding a place to eat (lunch) it's very easy since there are menus that can go from 7 soles (a bit more than 2$) to 16 soles (almost 5$) depending on the place, but they usually serve you an entrée,a meal, a beverage (And sometimes even dessert!).
Overall i'd say that Lima can be very confused and troubling, but if you know someone from here, you can save a lot of money and time!. Now about other cities, everything is very cheap, a meal can go from 5 soles to 10 soles( more than 3$), public transport is probably still a mess but not so much since there's not much people in other cities (Lima is the one that has the biggest population : 11 MILLION!).
People in Perú are kind and very helpful, but take precautions anyway cause just like in any other part of the world, some of them can be dangerous.
if you need a guide (kinda) i'd be happy to help :) write a comment mentioning me and add your email i guess(? haha bye! have a nice staying

First off : Lima isnt Peru.
Yes the pollution is sometimes unbarable and on contrary what most people wrote before, the city is not only defined by Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco...these are the tourist areas and have barely anything to do with Limeño life.
Around this 11million habitant city there are all kind of areas to find of course.The north has pretty coastline but is scetchy for Tourists and the south is a bit expensive . The prices so far are pretty accurate.
I live in the town now for 5 years and I never got to the point to like it. The country, on the other hand , is beautiful and worthwhile to visit.

Hi everybody!
I´m from Spain and have been living in Lima (San Isidro) for the past 20 years.
It is true, Lima is a dirty city
- "smells"... yes (especially if you take public transportation, but in summer Warsow, Bogota and Berlin are worse.
Water is expensive in Lima, and it is because it doesn´t rain at all and people (foreigners/tourists) just don´t realize that... (few drops now and then) and the city just do what it can to fight it (dust everywhere)... (I spend more in water than in electricity and I am a huge fan of electricity, US$ 485 in water and US$390 in electricity

Lima today have more than ELEVEN MILLION people...!!!!
Traffic...horrific (As well in Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, New York, Bogota, Milan, Caracas, etc. in rush hours)

-"vagabond dogs"?... have not seen any in San Isidro, Monterrico, Miraflores and San Borja districts in the last 10 years! (of course there must be vagabond dogs I just haven´t seen them).

-"dog shit everywhere" no, maybe elsewhere (Magdalena, Lince, Jesus María, Pueblo Libre, San Juan de Miraflores, etc.)...

-vagabond cats?... a lot in Miraflores in "Parque Kennedy" (a good place to visit... thursday, friday, saturday, sunday) and the cats are are fantastic, clean without any disease.
(I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, the good thing is that they are friends and get along, I love animals).

The thing is:
Is Lima a beautifull city?
No it is not.
Does Lima have beautifull districts?
Yes!!!
In general, how are the peruvian peolple with tourists?
They are warmful caring people (some will take advantage and do some profits like everybody else in other countries, ("if it is too good to be true, maybe it is because it is not true"!)

Is Lima expensive for a tourist?
Maybe not, but it is expensive for a native.

1 US dollar is 3.39 soles (dicember 2016)

Minimun cost for a cab: 7 soles (3 to 5 blocks) average cost 15/18 soles ( from one district to another), add 5/7 soles if you phone for one (taxi satelital, uber, etc.)

Food, Exquisite
-meals: from US 2.50 to 90 (no alcohol) it depends on where you eat (1 person).

Hostel/Hotel per day: from 25 to 600 per day 2 people (average tourist, it can be more). Do your homework look in booking.com, trivago.com, etc.

What youy must realize is that Peru is not only Lima...
These are some cities i´ve been to; all of them are beautifull

In US dollars: Arequipa - average, Trujillo - cheap, Mancora, beach in Piura - expensive, Cuzco - very expensive, Tarapoto - cheap (jungle), Iquitos - cheap (jungle), Madre de Dios - cheap (jungle), Puno - average.
The most expensive city in Peru is Cuzco.

About the tap water, I've never drunk it (to my knowledge) always boiled, filtered or bottled water. I do that in every country I go to (I travel a lot!)

Do I like Lima?
Yes!
Hope it helped