Cost of living in Quito Fall 2012




cooked pork for sale at a local market

I wanted to write this post to share my experience of how much things cost here in Quito. Before I moved to Quito (in June 12')  I looked at other blogs to get an idea of what the costs would be and to see if my new salary at the school would be sufficient (it is). These costs are based on my 3 months of living/traveling in Ecuador (mostly Quito). I think I'm living a comfortably life here, not like I did back in the U.S. but not that far off (but probably better then the average Quito resident). If I wanted to, I could spend more $ and live like I did back home but I choose not to. I'm living here with my girlfriend so some of my costs are split.

Total $943/month

These are monthly costs, a basic estimate.

Housing: ($579/split in half = $290)

Rent: $365

great view from my apartment

I live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in a 3 story house in decent neighborhood of Quito (Batan Alto, right next to Metropolitan Park). A lot of other foreign teachers live in this neighborhood. My apartment is probably about 900 square feet. It is an older building and its not fancy like many of the high rises in Quito but its not run down. I have an electric water heater and no heating/AC (I'm not sure if that many people do, we don't need it). There is one shared garage space but none of us own a car. There is a small backyard where we can grill and hang up our clothes. I've been to a few other people's apartments and it seems like we got a pretty good deal. I know friends that are paying $600-$800/month for apartments a little bit nicer or a bit bigger. This includes the $15/month that we pay for our street guard.

We live on the main floor

quiet, residential street, the guard's shack is on the left,
there are multiple every block

Electricity: $30

Just normal everyday electric use. We do try to unplug appliances when not in use.

Water: $10

Drinking water: $10

I don't drink the tapwater here (but Liz started to with no ill effects) and I buy a 5 gallon jug of water (bidon) from a market a block away for $2.50. We probably go through 4/month.

Internet: $55

We have internet with TvCable. I've tested the speed with one of those free on-line speed tests, its about 4-5 mbps. I can watch netflix no problem and other stuff I stream works pretty well, most of the time. Its a bit pricey and I think they have cheaper plans but we wanted a good plan.

Television: $29

We originaly siged up for Direct TV since we could switch the audio from Spanish into English for many of the channels (but not all) and the package sounded affordable at $30/month. When we got the dish installed the picture quality was great, but not all the channels could be switched to English for audio and there were a lot of junk channels that I had no interest in. And when the bill came it turned out to be $52/month after taxes (15% and 12%) and fees (equipment rental fee of $9, administrative costs $0.50, extended warranty $2.60). When we signed up we weren't told of all the hidden fees. After just 1 month we cancelled it since we found another option.

We have now switched to ustvnow.com. You get the major U.S. channels and some cable channels (28 channels total) for $29/month, no hidden fees. You stream it and the picture quality isn't as good as Direct TV and it freezes once in a while but all the channels are in English since they are streaming U.S. channels (from Pennsylvania).

Maid: $80

We have a maid that comes once a week for $20. We are just starting this so not sure if we will keep the service or not.

Food and household supplies: $480/split in half = $240




checkout line at megamaxi, sometimes its crazy
long, like 30 minutes

We mostly shop at Megamaxi. which is a pretty modern grocery store similar to a Super Target back in the states. You can buy electronics, clothes, car tires... pretty much anything here. They carry generic and U.S. brands (at a higher cost obviously).  We buy almost everything here. Its not necessarily the cheapest but its convenient and they give you a receipt (unlike the small stores that are on nearly every block) that I can use to tax deductions at the end of the year. This is everything from food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, batteries, beer, wine, pretty much everything.

Once in a while we shop at Mi Comisarito which is slightly cheaper for groceries. We eat a lot and we like to buy beer/wine so we know our cost is high here. Megamaxi has 2 specials during the week, 20% off produce on Wednesday and 20% meat on Fridays. Definitiely sign up for their free club card, which gives you the cheaper price (there are 2 prices listed on every item, club price and non-member price. This used to be $50/year until the goverment made it illegal)

Here are some samples prices of items:

Chicken Breast = $6/kilo
ground beef =
bread = about the same as the U.S. $1-3 depending on quality
Banannas = $0.82/kilo
Tomato = $0.73/kilo
dozen eggs = $1.89
1.5L of Coca Cola = $0.83
Milk  = $1.05/liter
Beer Pilsner (regular 330ml or 12oz bottle) = $0.82 (sometimes on sale for $0.68)
Brocoli = $0.92/kilo
Doritos = $2.21
Bailey's Cream Liqueur = $44 (all imported alcohol is about double the price here, especially whiskey)

I would say things are about the same price as the U.S. except imported brands are more expensive and produce is cheaper here. Local beers are cheap here but imported (Budweiser, Corona, Heineken and Negro Modelo) are about $3/bottle/can. Those are the only brands I've been in Mega and usually any other place as well. So overall, I would say I spend about the same or a bit less then I did on groceries back in the U.S.

Misc. that I pay for myself only $403



one of the best sushi I've had in my life at Zao's
for $8/roll with 12% tax included

Eating out: $75

This is just a guesstimate since I'm not really keeping receipts. Just to give you an idea of how much eating out costs, U.S. franchises are about the same here (KFC, McDonalds's, etc). Local restaurants serving set meals (almuerzos = soup, a main dish with some kind of meat, rice, beans, and a drink) are about $3. Eating out for dinner really varies but I generally spend about $8-10 with a beer or two. There are plenty of expensive restaurants ($15/plates are expensive in my opinion for here) but I don't visit them too often. I would guess I eat out 2x/week for dinner. I just recently had Domino's pizza, it was $18.50 for 2 medium pizzas and a 2 liter of coke. Dinner for two at a Korean BBQ restaurant was $38 (which is on the higher side).



a typical set lunch (Almuerzo) menu

Cell phone: $10

I use pay as you go service with Claro. I put $10 on my phone and it seems to last me at least a month. The rates here are pretty complicated depending on if you call a cell phone (and which company Claro or Movistar) or landline. I have Claro and if I call another Claro cell phone/landline its $0.18/minute but its $0.25/minute for Movistar. Claro has promotions so that 1 favorite number I call (my girlfriend) is only 1 cent/minute (but only for the first 5 minutes then its 8 cents). Anyways I've been here for a few months and have recharged my phone only twice (each time for $10).

Spanish Class: $68

I started taking private 1 hour spanish class at Dos Mundos Spanish school (in Mariscal) 2x/week at $7/class.

Health insurance: $0

This is covered by my work 100% for me. My girlfriend purchased a yearly insurance from IMG Global for $800/year.




Waiting at the Ecovia bus stations, $0.25/ride

Transporation: $30

My school provides a bus daily so I only take transportation (bus/taxi) when I need to go somewhere else. The bus is the cheapest at $0.25/ride (I can get to anywhere in the city for this price) and taxis are pretty cheap (usually, unless I get ripped off). Not sure what the official meter rates are for taxis but a 35 minute cab ride to my school in the northen part of Quito costs me $5. This estimate is probably on the high side.



enjoying a dark stout at a scottish pub

Entertainment/misc. food/beer: $100

This is a tough one to estimate since I pay for almost everything here in cash. I spend a few bucks here buying some snacks at a small tienda all the time. I don't go out to the bars much but I will usually grab a beer or two while I am out sightseeing. Local beers (Pilsner and Club) are usually about $1.25-$2 at a bar/restaurant. At the popular Finn McCool's irish pub in Mariscal, they charge $2.75 for a Pilsner which is on the high side. For microbrews, I've paid as much as $6/pint but its definitely expensive compared to local beers. This is probably on the high side as well.



enoying a microbrew ($4/pint) at Santa Espuma
with some co-workers

School lunch: $50

My school has a pretty nice selection of food in the cafeteria. I can get sandwich's, salads, junk food and even sushi. I usually just go with the set lunch for $2.58.

Storage Unit (back in the states): $80

I have a 10 x 10 storage unit for my stuff back home.

didn't eat here but I guess I need to

a set lunch (almuerzo), soup, main dish, and
a drink (juice) for about $3

dinner out with friends

eating an Humita, a corn tamale like thing filled with cheese

 

shoe (males) selection at mega

 

 

 

 

liz trying on snorkel fins at mega