| Restaurants | [ Edit ] Avg. |
Range |
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 9,000.00 Col$ |
7,000.00-12,000.00 |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 50,000.00 Col$ |
35,900.00-60,000.00 |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 12,000.00 Col$ |
10,000.00-15,000.00 |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 2,500.00 Col$ |
2,000.00-3,000.00 |
| Imported Beer (11.2 oz small bottle) | 5,000.00 Col$ |
4,000.00-7,000.00 |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 3,303.54 Col$ |
2,500.00-4,000.00 |
| Coke/Pepsi (11.2 oz small bottle) | 1,872.72 Col$ |
1,500.00-2,400.00 |
| Water (11.2 oz small bottle) | 1,762.50 Col$ |
1,500.00-2,000.00 |
| Markets | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 7,877.26 Col$ |
7,570.83-8,327.91 |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 2,465.71 Col$ |
1,814.37-3,175.15 |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 1,327.20 Col$ |
680.39-2,041.17 |
| Eggs (12) | 3,986.67 Col$ |
3,000.00-5,000.00 |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 3,744.24 Col$ |
2,267.96-5,000.01 |
| Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1 lb) | 4,829.85 Col$ |
3,628.74-6,000.01 |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 7,023.51 Col$ |
5,443.11-9,071.86 |
| Apples (1 lb) | 2,573.57 Col$ |
2,041.17-3,175.15 |
| Banana (1 lb) | 1,060.27 Col$ |
907.19-1,587.58 |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 1,400.86 Col$ |
861.83-2,267.96 |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 1,294.13 Col$ |
907.19-1,950.45 |
| Potato (1 lb) | 1,325.73 Col$ |
907.19-2,041.17 |
| Onion (1 lb) | 1,396.29 Col$ |
907.19-2,449.40 |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 2,544.44 Col$ |
1,000.00-3,800.00 |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2,899.92 Col$ |
2,000.00-5,000.00 |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 26,000.00 Col$ |
25,000.00-30,000.00 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 2,283.33 Col$ |
2,000.00-2,700.00 |
| Imported Beer (11.2 oz small bottle) | 4,850.90 Col$ |
3,500.00-7,000.00 |
| Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) | 4,000.00 Col$ |
4,000.00-4,999.00 |
| Transportation | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 1,975.00 Col$ |
1,800.00-2,000.00 |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 60,000.00 Col$ |
45,000.00-70,000.00 |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 3,100.00 Col$ |
2,700.00-4,700.00 |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 1,862.82 Col$ |
1,712.34-3,218.69 |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 24,250.00 Col$ |
17,000.00-50,000.00 |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 8,019.14 Col$ |
7,644.00-8,600.00 |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 45,000,000.00 Col$ |
40,000,000.00-55,000,000.00 |
| Toyota Corolla 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 74,000,000.00 Col$ |
60,000,000.00-90,000,000.00 |
| Utilities (Monthly) | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 167,718.46 Col$ |
130,769.23-200,000.00 |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 208.12 Col$ |
150.00-300.00 |
| Internet (10 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 76,571.43 Col$ |
50,000.00-109,000.00 |
| Sports And Leisure | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 101,818.18 Col$ |
80,000.00-150,000.00 |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 38,000.00 Col$ |
30,000.00-50,000.00 |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 10,000.00 Col$ |
8,000.00-12,000.00 |
| Clothing And Shoes | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 150,789.47 Col$ |
100,000.00-200,000.00 |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 102,272.73 Col$ |
75,000.00-150,000.00 |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 201,000.00 Col$ |
150,000.00-250,000.00 |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 220,714.29 Col$ |
180,000.00-250,000.00 |
| Rent Per Month | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 603,846.15 Col$ |
350,000.00-850,000.00 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 615,000.00 Col$ |
450,000.00-750,000.00 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 992,857.14 Col$ |
650,000.00-1,400,000.00 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 993,333.33 Col$ |
700,000.00-2,000,000.00 |
| Buy Apartment Price | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 262,354.58 Col$ |
167,224.08-371,609.07 |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 277,674.55 Col$ |
260,126.35-325,157.93 |
| Salaries And Financing | [ Edit ] Avg. |
|
| Average Monthly Disposable Salary (Net After Tax) | 989,041.36 Col$ |
|
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly | 11.59 |
8.00-15.00 |
These data are based on 1404 entries in the past 18 months from 118 different contributors.
Last update: September, 2016
22 Comments so far
if you want to live the high life best part of town and dinning out regularly i would say you need free and clear 1500 usd to 2000usd a month. if you don't mind not living in an exclusive area you can do it for much less. i have seen nice 2 and 3 bedroom places available for 200-300 usd a month but in areas i personally wouldn't enjoy living. however if the very simple things in life make you happy and you don't mid really noisy neighbors you can live well on like 600- 1000 usd in medellin but keep in mind its difficult to get a rental contract in medellin without having a cedula or nacional id of medellin also next to impossible to turn on utilities with out that. so with out a local friend or connection getting into a really low rent situation will be difficult but not impossible. the average colombian makes like 350 -450$usd working full time. so most are forced to live with family some of my friends live in small 3 bedroom apartments with 4 adults and 3 or 4 children.
i have been to many places in europe and all over north america also spent time in japan. there is no place that can match the quality of city living for the cost as medellin. most people are extremely polite and friendly. if ou like sports there is like 4 top league pro football/soccer teams in the area. they have many casinos if thats your thing endless amounts of restaurants , museums tons of events shows and concerts. plus year round perfect weather there is a huge park called parque arvi that you take the metro cable too and you are in wilderness heaven cost like 5 bucks to get there and in the park on the metro and includes an amazing ride up the mountain in the metro cable. there is not much golf most of the clubs are private you you have to pay annual fees to enjoy the greens. but it is available a few touristy places not from from the city. the main thing i would recommend if your planing on staying there more then just a sightseeing trip is that you know how to communicate in Spanish.
the most cheap part is the north
the most spensive part is the south east and a bite in the occident (laureles)
the centre is poorness and ugly an isnt spencive buy here
Hey #bab, 550USD or well over a million pesos is totally a Pablado price. Outside of Pablado less than half that is the norm even if you are in an upper class neighborhood like Laureles where many Gringos choose to live (especially around the stadium and university). I agree with you re the $700 a month to live OK but you can certainly survive on less in Colombia and several other south american countries for that matter.
To live in Medellin vs anywhere in the US totally depends on your needs and habits.
Rental for a VERY nice 1 bedroom apartment with all the amenities ( pool , parking, doorman, gym) in the best area is going to cost you $1000 - $1500 a month. MINIMUM.
If you chose to buy instead of rent you will be surprised at the taxes and mantainence fees you will pay.
You will eat in the trendy restauraunts and you will see a little difference but not one that will make you stop and stare at the check.
You will likely hire a driver instead of a taxi. That will cost more.
Clothes will be just as expensive as in the US because you will likely shop in the upscale malls.
You will also spend a lot more money to have English TV or US satelite TV.
IF and that is a big IF ... you go to Medellin and live like a Colombian, you will definately save money. But if you go and maintain the same lifestyle you have in the US you will be surprised. YES, it will be cheaper but I doubt you will see a huge difference.
If you find the savings noteworthy or significant, then you were probably living above your means in the USA.
The last and final thing I have to say is this. If you don't bother to learn at least some basic Spanish, you will quickly find that a lot of unscupulous people will view you as nothing more than an open safe full of money.
I am thinking about moving to Medellin Colombia, but I'm somewhat worried about how much my lifestyle will change. I currently make 55K / year in USD with the ability to work remotely. Meaning, I'll be making the same USD living in Colombia. I have a wife who will be going back to school and 3 kids, but I am not counting the fact of college tuition at the moment. Most of it will be taken care of in the beginning. My question is with the yearly income of USD I'm making while living in Colombia, am I living at least as a medium income or am I living as lower income. If lower, I will reconsider moving to Colombia. Any response from anyone who has experience living in both USA and Colombia would be preferred. Thanks..
If you want to live really cheaply in Medellin you can without too much effort. You can get a room from about $80 a month and eat a more then decent meal for $2.