We have tracked our cost of living in Medellin, Colombia. It was not easy getting to this point of training ourselves to be able to track all expenses but we did!
We are very happy with the results of our cost of living in Medellin. The last three (3) months we have been in Medellin seemed to have flown by. The people of Medellin have been warm, welcoming & patient. Although, we are gradually learning & trying to speak Spanish, we still struggle with rolling our “R’s” & the pronunciation of certain words (poco a poco). The weather in Medellin is basically Spring like all year long – all around us are beautiful green plants, flowers & colorful birds. What I’m leading up to is “What is there not to like about Medellin?” Nothing that we have found. To top the cake about Medellin is the cost of affordable living! In this post we’ll give you some tidbits about the type of budget needed to live comfortably in Medellin.
From day one of setting out on our grand adventure to find our piece of paradise we leaned toward Central or South America. After a lot of due diligence, we knew the cost of living would definitely fit into our fixed monthly income.
At the beginning of our adventures we did rely on various expat F/B pages as a guide as to where we might want to live internationally. As we traveled & got more comfortable we started checking out countries that were interesting to US & were in line with our monetary boundaries & wants/needs. We decided to stay in countries where the the U.S. $$ was stronger, no VISA required & allows 90-180 days on a U.S. passport. As we would find a country of interest to us, we dug a little deeper for cost of living in that town/country to see if it was a ‘fit’ for us. That is where the “Numbeo” website came into play. We presently have a list of countries we want to check out & with possible residency in that country the cost of living plays a valuable role in our decision. After all, why visit a country for long term if it is going to cost us the same as living in the U.S.? THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!
Numbeo
If you haven’t used Numbeo yet or don’t know what it is check it out! You can enter the names of two cities in the world & compare cost of living! The site lists around 11,000 cities so I’m thinking chances are you will be able to see what you are looking for? Now it isn’t perfect as it depends on data input which supposedly happens twice a year but it will get you started! Once the data is pulled up, you can compare overall cost of living, housing, groceries, etc.
The Big Guy found Numbeo when we seriously started planning our international travels a few years back. What we knew was that – 1) our expenses living in the U.S. were only getting higher; 2) at some point we wanted to retire & 3) we would be living on a fixed monthly income.
Numbeo allowed us to enter a town/country & compare numbers to U.S. That was an eye opener! We use Austin as our comparison as we were well aware of costs there. As of writing this post, it would cost $1683 USD in Medellin compared to the $5800 USD it would cost you in Austin, TX for same standard of living costs! That is an eye opener! Disclaimer: We are simply suggesting Numbeo as one of many ways you can compare costs when thinking of a landing spot.
There are other apps I found discussed online including Nerdwallet, CNN Money, etc but I know nothing of those so will not attempt to compare them to Numbeo. When we find something that has proven to work for us we stay with it. You get the drift, check out Numbeo!
Some Examples of Our Cost of Living in Medellin
Here are a few examples of our cost of living in Medellin!
Renting– AirBnBs works for us until we settle to one spot. Although the price we pay is high compared to local rentals, we know we can find more affordable housing once we decide which country to settle. For example, a local showed us a nice 3 bed/2bath unfurnished apartment with shared pool for under $330 a month so I know if we chose to live here we could reduce our monthly rent cost by at least one-third.
Groceries – I’ve found to be affordable. We walk to one of the two larger stores close to our neighborhood maybe twice a week – partly for exercise – or to pick up anything we might need (paper goods, coffee, tea, etc). We spent a little over $300 on groceries [inc. soaps/cleaners, coffee, produce, snacks, wine, etc] per month.
Local markets, fruit/vegetable stands are very cost effective as you can buy as little or as much as you desire. We’ve learned in traveling that if we like a particular market & become ‘regulars’ the prices drop to “local” prices vs “tourist” price. How do we know? I try to remember to always ask “how much?” I think that phrase helped separate us from other U.S. tourist. In our last AirBnB in Medellin, after we went to the “local” store a couple times, they started ringing us on the register the same as the locals instead of just quoting a price to us. What I’m saying is we built a relationship with the locals & they started treating us the same.
You really can’t beat fresh fruit & vegetables at your door step & I love the vendors who walk the streets every day selling their produce.
Dining out – As affordable as groceries are we still choose to eat our daily main meal out at least 5 out of 7 days. Why cook if you don’t have to? One big meal for the two of us at our local favorite restaurants cost less than a McDonald’s meal for one back in the States. We do occasionally splurge on a different type of restaurant but that is really a rarity. In the States eating out a meal compared to what we get here would probably run us quadruple at least if not more.
Coffee/Bakery/Helado Shops – For three of us on a coffee chat kind of afternoon, a Cappuccino, Hot Chocolate & Espresso Doble along with two delicious croissants cost under $10 which includes the tip. In the states you would be lucky to get a cappuccino alone for half the price.
Two cones with one huge dip of helado each are super refreshing after a long walk & costs less than a cup of Starbucks coffee in U.S.
Travel Medical Insurance for Seniors – Travel medical insurance for seniors is absolutely necessary. Medical insurance is our largest expense under rent but with our senior age the increased cost is to be expected. You do you but be sure to be covered in case of accident or illness. Presently we keep our U.S. insurance even though it is basically worthless to us outside of the U.S. but once we decide a country for residency we will address that. Our travel medical insurance was a godsend when I fell & broke my arm in Mexico & needed surgery. Yes, we paid up front & was reimbursed eventually but we were reimbursed. Our travel insurance policy is renewable by the year & has worked out well – so far – for us.
Medical/doctor visits – we choose to pay cash so we do not have to pay any fees using a credit card. We’ve found medical/doctors like to be paid in COP vs credit card so we try to abide by that. Example: consult with a foot doctor was half the price of our office visit in the states but if we had used credit card or PayPal it would have added an additional few dollars to cover the fee. Hey its those little savings that can help a budget extend.
Entertainment is free so easy on the budget. Entertainment for these two seniors traveling is pretty easy. Street musicians, viewing the street art, checking out the beautiful architecture of historical buildings & murals on basically every block it seems. And it doesn’t cost a thing. The parks are free to explore. This one in particular caught our eye! a with numerous bronze ‘fat’ sculptures by Colombian Artist Fernando Botero! Here is a sampling of what you can see FREE.
InDrive/Taxi – We’ve used both types of transportation in Medellin & spend approximately 1/10th of U.S. prices. In August we took a nice two hour bus ride outside of Medellin that was unbelievable. InDrive is our fav!
Pedi/Mani’s – Both The Big Guy & I are spoiled. You may have to go to one or two or three different salons to find one that gives you what you need as far as the perfect manicure/pedicure for you. Again, without quoting exactly what each of us paid, let me tell you it is probably 1/8th of what was charged in my locality in states. We always tip service related visits but I was told I tip to much so max tip is 10%.
Barber/Salon Services are quite affordable. The Big Guy gets his head shaved & facial by Kevin. I get my roots colored once a month & I do treat myself to salon for hair wash & blow dry two or three times per month. We count ourselves lucky on finding the perfect fit for both of us at “Peluqueria Arte Y Diseno” on Calle 12 in Medellin! The owner, Jhon along with Roselyn & Kevin always have a smile on our arrival & excellent service!
Laundry – In Medellin we’ve had washers in AirBnB’s so no laundry cost.
In closing – our cost of living in Medellin was awesome!
For us, Medellin is pretty close to being the perfect retirement landing for us. We have stayed in Cartanega – which was to touristy for us & Bogota – which we did enjoy BUT Medellin made us feel like we could be home. We know the country still has problems that they are dealing with everyday but then so does the U.S. I think we may take our chances here!
Who wouldn’t be happy to have his view every night. Peaceful, friendly to a fault & beautiful – Medellin, Colombia rocks!
