Cost of living in Colombia in 2024

Posts such as this would be infinitely more functional and useful if the forum had a sticky thread function.

lpd

It's a hard subject to outline here, because every area of the same town can have different prices, which are likewise effected by the Estrato (1-7) you live in.

Hello everyone,

Indeed cost of living will differ depending on where you live. It might be a good idea to include the region/town in your post.

@lpd, I'll share the idea with other members of the team

Thank you everyone

Bhavna

Basically gone up 30 to 35% in the last 18 months, if you are on Canadian or $USD

As someone who keeps most receipts and has a budget on a spreadsheet, I have quite a bit of data but I haven't organized them yet! However, I can share some data that are handy right nw:

First some context: I live alone, in the north side of Barranquilla, living a humble non-flashy, no-dar-papaya lifestyle. I rarely go to restaurants... I mostly cook and eat at home using my gas stove. I don't have an oven, nor A/C (I like warm/hot weather). I don't drive - I walk, take the bus or ride shares. I order food (and other things) from Rappi a few times a month.

Apartment: Estrato 4

I forgot the square footage but it's considered "big" by Colombian standards, located near major grocery stores and other little shops. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, completely unfurnished.

COP 1,780,000 per month (Remember: rents go up every time leases renew)

Health insurance: SURA - PLAN SALUD EVOLUCIONA FAMILIAR

COP 5,294,211 for 12 months. Copay is usually about COP 24,000, or slightly more for seeing a specialist or going to special labs.

Transportation: Bus

Less than COP 3,000 per ride

Transportation: Uber

Usually under COP 8,000 for short distances within a region of the city. For longer rides, it's obviously more. Example: from the south side (Soledad) to the North side, during off-peak hours can be about COP 16,000 pesos.  Peak/commute hours jack the price up by like, 20%

Transportation: InDriver

For shorter distances, usually COP 1,000 or 2,000 less than Uber, so basically the same. For longer distances, however, the lower rates make a significant difference.

Services: Gas

Less than COP 8,000/month.

Services: Electricity

Usually around COP 280,000/month. I have 2 fans, and often keep one blowing on me for hours at a time. The country's politics and corruption has all but ensured that the coast will keep paying high prices for electricity.

Overall, I'm making it work and living quite comfortably with less than USD 2,000/month.

@ChineduOpara

Thank you so much for this detailed post !

It is much appreciated ^^

Bhavna

My experience/costs - briefly about me: retired male, solo, lived almost 10 years in Medellin (visiting Colombia since 1990 so 34 years of exploring just about every city/pueblo/town/coastal spots both the Pacific and Caribbean islands), purchased my new apartment in Medellin in a pueblo on the north end of the Aburra valley 8 years ago (a 3bd/2bath Esto 3-4 barrio), I have my own car a KIA (purchased cash 5 years ago) and drive everywhere in the all of Colombia and down into Ecuador always starting/ending my road trips at my home in Medellin, I have had motos and other vehicles in the past, also have owned fincas and an operating dairy farm, purchased and sold real estate.......best of all I am completely debt free, so here I go:

When it comes to housing, what is the cost of renting or buying an apartment or house in Colombia?

I purchased my apartment new 30 minute outside Medellin for cash 8 years ago, over the course of a few years completely furnished the apartment (made it into my "man cave") so not renting but have ordinary maintenance up keep cost and a small building admin fee of 50,000 pesos a month.

The current value of my apartment (with subterranean parking spot for one car and one moto) is close to 400,000,000, my annual tax bill is roughly 550,000. Should you rent my apartment they go for about 1.600.000 a month.

How much do you pay for public transports such as buses, subways, trains, trams, or taxis?

I own my car which I purchased cash almost 6 years ago in centro Medellin but still use public transport from time to time (again I drive extensively through the whole of Colombia, non-stop/average 20,000 + km on my car yearly - Colombia is "small" to me), the Medellin metro is in my experience one of the best in the WORLD. A single metro ride is about 3 mil, taxis are reasonable. The annual tax on my car is about 500 mil, mandatory SOAT insurance is 600 mil/year, yearly car inspection cost about 350 mil, gas cost has doubled over the past year to 16,000 pesos per gallon but my KIA gets 55 km/gallon. New car brakes, alignment/new tires about every 3 years run about 1,650,000 pesos. Parking costs when I am in cities (Bogota, Cartagena, Cali, Santa Marta, Buca, Cucuta, Armenia, La Guajira, etc.) I budget about 30 to 50 mil/24 hours.

Could you share the average monthly cost of your grocery shopping?

I eat very healthy, Salmon fish, meat, fresh vegetables, seldom never any processed food, things in a can or packaged, seldom eat in a restaurant (once a week when not traveling Colombia/home cooked meals) and I budget on average probably 2,000,000 monthly for all food cost, again this is me solo so you get it that I eat very healthy.

What is the cost of health insurance? How much does a medical consultation cost in Colombia?

My EPS SURA monthly cost is 365,000 pesos, my copay is negligible like 5 mil, prescription costs are so little can't even come up on my radar screen. I am not on any drugs of any kind, very healthy though because of never smoking, very little beer (once a week maybe) and am very active daily.

What are the tuition fees for children?

No idea/I am solo.

What are the average monthly costs for electricity, gas, water, internet, and phone plans?

My EPM utility cost (Medellin) have gone up over the past 5 years or so, now pay about 260,000 pesos a month when I am home, when I am out traveling and not at home I pay probably 130 mil/month.

My home TIGO Wifi cost is 86 mil. My 2 cell phones (both Tigo and Claro run about 35 mil each monthly. My Directv is 142,000 pesos monthly. NetFlix when I use is about 40 mil a month (prepid card).

For leisure activities, how much does it cost monthly?

On my road trips in my car (not renting), which I do often/ extensive travel throughout the whole of Colombia, in my car, just me at times I budget about 200 mil a day, this is all in including gas, parking fees, tolls, hotel cost, food, a few activities. So as an example when I leave on a road trip for a month, lets say I head to Cartagena, then Barranquilla then over to Santa Marta and Minca then into Tayrona for a few days in the park, then head into La Guajira/Buritaca/Palomino for a week............I budget something like 6 million pesos.

Should I take a 4 day sailing trip with my buddy out of Cartagena to the Rosario or San Bernardo islands, which I do about 3 times each year, I spend 1,250,000. should I do the Lost City 4 day hike in the Santa Marta Sierra Nevada mountains this cost is about 2 million. What a life I have!

If there are other expenses you find relevant, please feel free to share them!

Bottom line is if you chase skirt, bar hoping and drinking, night time activities/trying to impress the ladies, this is where a person can spend money, just not my thing, I am no prude as "I have partied like a rock star" but when I wore a much younger mans shoes, hehehe

I have crafted a life of travel, sailing, hiking, exercise, exploring, life long friendships her in Colombia that is incredible, fits my active lifestyle perfectly.

I also budget a yearly visit back to Los Angeles, CA to visit family and life long friends, usually fly on COPA and budget about $800. USD for a R/T, stay for a month or so.

Bottom line in terms of the monthly costs, I usually spend 6 to 7 million when I am on the road traveling anywhere/everywhere in Colombia and I budget about 8 million when I stick around my home in Medellin.................yes I can spend even more when I am home than when traveling.

Hope this helps to others considering making Colombia their home.

@South American Voyager

Thank you so much for your valuable contribution !

It will definitely help those planning to move to Colombia !

all the best

Bhavna

@ChineduOpara Medicina Prepgda or other private Medicine goes up dramatically with age

I am 67 and pay 1.1 million a month for me

NOTE TO ASPIRING PENSIONADO VISA APPLICANTS- IT is prohibted to be on EPS for new Pensionada Visa holders, after the new resolution of October 2022

I have an apartment same specs  as Chin  (Strato 4, 3 bedroom, 2 bath) and paying1.3 mililon a month, and rent hasnt ben paid in a year and a half. I am getting a good deal, partly because I pay the rent ahead of time, and amd a good tenant.

@ChineduOpara

Thank you for this

@nico peligro i meant rent hasnt gone up in 18 months

I'm a 74 year old American male, living solo in Boca Grande, in Cartagena.  Like most other contributors here, I can't speak to anyone else's COL, nor can I tell you any costs in any other parts of Cartagena other than the area I live in.  But I CAN share about that.

I've been here almost a year.  I'm still in an AirBnB, because, well, because I can!!  I'm on the 17th floor of a 19 floor building.  I have three bedrooms, two full baths, fully-equipped kitchen, small dining area and good sized-living room.  I have a slightly restricted but still nice view of the Caribbean off to the left of my 25 foot balcony, and a sweeping, kick-ass panoramic view across the bay to the main parts of Cartagena off to the right.  I pay $1300 USD per month.

My four utilities (water, electricity, internet and gas) are usually around $175 USD.

A cab ride to any destination up and down Boca Grande costs about $2.50 US, and if I go across the bay into the main city, it's a $5 ride.

I bought basic international health insurance (very easily) for myself for about $600 USD (paid annually,) with $35,000 USD total annual coverage (that coverage goes a very long way here in Colombia, but for another $300 US I can..and might...bump it up to $100k.)

I eat out always, never at home, and if I pay just a little bit of attention to my monthly budgeting, I can eat two restaurant meals a day, 7 days a week, and buy a few groceries now and then (bottled water, fruits and snacks, etc...) and pay the rent, and keep it all under about $2500 USD, per month.  My SS check covers that nicely, and leaves a healthy reserve each month for oddball spending.  I almost never go into my savings.

Hope this helps!! 

Remo Z in Boca Grande

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@Remo Zimbaldi I assume the cost of the health insurance you mentioned is an annual cost?

lpd

Not to be snarky (okay, maybe a LITTLE bit snarky ...) go back and reread the section where I mention my personal health insurance costs.  I use the phrase "paid annually."

RZ

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Dear Remo Z,

Thank you for the informative post.  I particularly

noticed that at age 74 you are able to maintain health

insurance as an Expat in Colombia.  It had been my

impression from reading Expat posts on the Internet

that it had become difficult for seniors to obtain/maintain

health insurance in Colombia.

These are my questions...

(1) Did you first obtain your current

health insurance when you moved to

your location in Colombia a year ago? 

Could one of our members likely obtain

such insurance if he or she is a senior and is a

recent arrival to Colombia?

(2) What is the name of the insurer?

(3) What is the company's policy on

pre-existing condtions?

----

That is quite impressive that you can live

in a large AirBnB apartment with a panoramic

view enjoying a restaurant-meals-only lifestyle on

Social Security alone .. and still have plenty left over

at the end of most months.  Well done.

cccmedia in Bucaramanga, Santander

  (longtime subscriber to IESS insurance of Ecuador)

Talking about health cost, I am much younger than perhaps most here yet no spring chicken, hehehe but living in Medellin almost 10 years and I have EPS SURA with a monthly cost of 380,000 pesos, use it almost never but needed to maintain required medical coverage with my Colombian vias/cedula/etc.

This past Saturday I was walking, actually riding a bike in centro Medellin and stopped and spoke with a few tourists in Botero Plaza, got to talking with these 2 gringos as they are from San Francisco visiting Medellin, scouting it out for a possible future retirement expat place to be..............any how the 50 something guy from San Francisco California pays the equivalent of 4.800.000 pesos A MONTH (well over one thousand dollars) for his health/medical premium, ouch how I remember those days as I am originally from Los Angeles.

Heck the fun and travel and peace that I enjoy living in Colombia with just that $1,300. USD this bloke spends each month on his California medical premium, wow!

@cccmedia

My very first reaction to your questions was this:

BEWARE trying to do research on the internet.....especially if you're still outside of Colombia.

The amount of misinformation and plain old WRONG information found using the net is STAGGERING!! I recommend you don't rely on ANY information you might find in your online research project.  My research project lasted over a year, and when I got here, I thought I knew everything.  Turns out I actually knew almost nothing!!  I had spent all that time only to arrive here with a pile of misinformation and missing information.

You will have a full 180 days to sort it all out once you arrive.  (90 plus 90.) You get that many days on your passport alone. With a little advice and guidance from an expat who is already here and has been through the maze, you should be able to stumble your way through the incredible, insane nightmare that is the Colombian Visa process. 

But chin up.  I have good news!!  There are 27 different kinds of visas here, each with different qualification rules and different sets of document requirements.  But if your intention is to apply for a simple retirement (pensioner's visa), the rules and documents are pretty straight-forward and easy to fulfill.

One important thing to know BEFORE you arrive!!  if you ARE applying for a "Pensioner's Visa" you will need an FBI Background Check.  And to get that, the FBI requires your fingerprints.  THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT THE OLD "INK UP THE FINGERTIPS AND ROLL 'EM" METHOD!!  And as far as I can tell, that is the only method available here in Cartagena!!  This one single visa requirement alone confused me so badly that it took me over 3 months to get it right, which put me in the situation of being in a "visa overstay" (more than the allowed 180 days.)  That cost me a HUGE fine.

So, regarding the FBI Background Check....get it done BEFORE you leave the US, and have it apostilled there as well. It will simplify things IMMENSELY if you take this advice!!

You will also need to bring a verification of income document, which can be a simple Social Security form you can get pretty easily online.  All you need to qualify for a "Pensioner's Visa" here in Colombia is proof of a minimum monthly income of just $800 USD. 

THAT document will need to be apostilled before you arrive in Colombia, too.

One interesting (and important) thing to know that isn't connected to the visa process....just a fun and useful fact.  Colombia does not have ANY kind of reliable postal service.  Amazon delivers, but there are a lot of surprising limits on what sort of products they can and cannot ship to Colombia.  So if you want to send or receive things from people 'back home'....expect to pay roughly $45 or more using DHL.  FedEx works, but there are way more DHL offices here.

Just be aware of this little inconvenience.  It might not be something you think about before you leave wherever you are!!

Remo Z

I have long since decided never to stay in

Colombia for more than 183 days of 365.

My tax factors appear to make me a candidate

to be overly taxed if I became a Colombia tax resident,

Remo, what is the name of your health insurance

company?

cccmedia in Santander

Most of the work done for me to obtain qualifying health insurance here in Colombia was done FOR me by a professional, and I am not entirely sure of the name of the insurance company.

But my insurance card says "TU Assist Card" at the top, and they do have a website if you google it.

Remo Z

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@cccmedia

Hi....

I have not tackled the tax issue yet.  I'll do that in another month or so.  But right now I cannot comment on it, because I have no experience in that area just yet.

What I've been TOLD, however, is that I'm not rich enough to really worry much about it. I have some money in my retirement account, of course, but my understanding is that it cannot be taxed here OR back in the states, until I make withdrawals.

So what I "sort of" know right now is that my Social Security check is the only tax liability I will have here in Colombia, and I'm told that will probably not be taxed above the minimum tax bracket.

We'll see.  More on that in a month or so!!

RZ

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I've been paying out of pocket, what is called

particular  (pahr-tee-koo-LAHR) here, having

various medical checkups done.

I have had consultas  with a cardiologist,

a GP, an oncologist and some doctors at

the Clínica de Urgencias.

I do not have any insurance coverage that

would cover me in Colombia.

Each of the consultas and exam days were from

$40 to $75 US except some follow-up appointments

that were gratis.

Based on my reading tonight of a page of Better

Business Bureau reviews, I plan to continue to pay

out of pocket for medical services in Colombia.

Most of the online TU assist card reviews were negative

to say the least.

FYI, I have wide-ranging coverage through IESS in

Ecuador (although that program is widely

considered to be subpar) and for hospital services

when I am occasionally in the U.S. through

Medicare Part A (co-pays may apply).

cccmedia in Colombia

Hi again....

For the record, and te be clear, I also "pay out of pocket."  I've been here in Cartagena for about a year now, and have required medical assistance or medical consults several times over the year.  I had a CT scan ($120 USD), several X-Rays ($35 each, more or less...) and one MRI ($600 USD)

Plus a couple of full physical exams (please don't ask why I needed more than one...) at around $80 USD each.

Really....As an American with a lifetime of outrageous health costs, I've been MORE than pleased with the level of care and the costs here in Cartagena.

My #1 reason for getting health insurance was to qualify for a pensioner's visa. 

My (distant) #2 reason was for the coverage itself.

I do take four prescription meds, but I made arrangements back in the states BEFORE I came here, to acquire a full year's supply of those meds.  I'm about a month away from needing a couple of them refilled, and I will report back to you guys about those refills after I get them done.

RZ

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@Remo Zimbaldi The MRI seems kind of high as compared to the US. I have had several MRIs recently in Houston to the tune of about $400, unless your MRI is like a full body scan? Just curious.

lpd

@Lpdiver There's no way an MRI in the USA cost $400 unless you have insurance, and fantastic (high-premium) insurance at that. Just to be clear, We ARE talking about the United States of America, right?

@ChineduOpara Houston Texas, I have had four spinal MRIs last year. My deductible is four grand so I had to pay all of the cost out of pocket. They were around 300 to 500 depending. Now that said, the rates are negotiated by the insurance, But, I do know someone that has no insurance and I want to say they paid the same. It just seems to me that $600 for an MRI in Colombia is kind of possibly the gringo rate.

That said, I also had an MRI at the hospital and a steroid injection at the same time. The previous injections were about $250; but, the injection/MRI combination at the hospital clinic was about $2,500.00 all out of pocket because of the $4,000 deductible. So there are extremes in the USA as well.

regards,

elp

@Lpdiver Yeah, good ol' USA! 😅 I won't bore you with my USA health insurance horror stories, but I can tell you this much: I've had MRIs here in Barranquilla (Colombia)... guess how much I had to pay? 40,000 pesos copay (twice as much as the "normal" 20,000 pesos, cuz it was a specialist).

So, about $10 at today's exchange rate.

That's the cost of a Regular Coffee in the USA these days. And I'm not sure you can even get a beer for $10 in the USA these days.

I hope President Petro doesn't change anything about SURA. Between the access to healthcare, low cost of living, much easier dating, access to fresh/unprocessed foods... If only I could make genuine friends (who won't beg me for money or try to defraud me), develop a real community (where I can volunteer and "give back"), and find a genuine, non-psycho, non-cheating wife in Colombia (so I can have my own family unit), I'd literally not think about moving anywhere else.

Anyway... Yay, SURA! 😁

@ChineduOpara So that cost is with insurance; but, how much for cash customers?

lpd

@Lpdiver Oh yeah I remember when I didn't have insurance... they quoted me like, $300 or so.

@ChineduOpara

It has been my experience (in practice and in research) that MRI costs in the US vary dramatically from region to region, from city to city, and even from hospital to hospital.

I spent the last 45 years of my life in Boston, one of the world's leading medical meccas, and I found MRI costs to be anywhere from about $1500 all the way up to about $4000.  NONE of the facilities I looked at over the years came in below a grand.  At least not in the northeast quadrant. 

Which is why I found $600 here in Cartagena to be so reasonable and affordable.

Just sayin'.....

RZ

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@Remo Zimbaldi Exactly! That tracks. $300 in Barranquilla where there aren't too many tourists and expats, and double that in Cartagena where basically everything costs significantly more. And yet... still better than the horrible prices in the dUSA. So yeah... for most expats and tourists, Colombia is a great place for medical tourism!

A member mentioned about the Colombian President Petro and what he is/wants to do with the health system (SURA) and coincidentally yesterday I am riding my bike in centro Medellin and passing through barrio San Diego, on the large road San Juan/near the government buildings a large crowd of protestors gathered with signs and blocked off this main road, I stopped and watched the protestors, all very well mannered group as they were all aged grandparents, read the signs and watched as the news agency's showed up.........

...............so yes Petro is up to his socialistic aspirations and Colombians are taking notice, finally.

@Remo Zimbaldi

ASSIST card is a piece of crap.

Good luck collecting with them

Also, from what I saw on the website, the cheapest package they have thst is acceptable  for a VISA is $900 USd a year  and only good for people up to age 69.

Who the " professionals" you used,the Expat Group"?

Maybe they have a special deal.

Can you give us moreinformation on the healthcare policy you use, we are all interested.

It is supposed to include repatriation to your home country , dead or alive. This is soecifically written in the new Octoober 2022 Resolution rules.

Also according to the new resolution, new pensionada visa holders CANNOT be affiliated wth an EPS. EPS providers have not caught on to this yet.

I covered this and other issues in previous posts.

I have Medicina prepagada..Coomeva..pay 1.1 million a month or $260 USa month at age 67

SURA has a better polcy, but even more expensive.

I can get halter tests, MRIs, CT scans  etc for allmost any reason within a week, though I pay a copago and theoretically could be kicked off at any moment because I dont have a vailid cedula at present and EPS.

But I doubt that will happen, as long as I  keep paying, as I originally got on it 12 years ago on just a psssport and have been on this situation any times before.

There is an apparent flaw in the reasoning

behind the concept that an Expat can continue

coverage under a health policy even though

lacking a valid cédula.

The policy issuer could deny coverage when a

supposedly covered health event occurs .. or

demand re-payment by the Expat if the

issuer pays or authorizes a procedure and

discovers the lack of a cédula .. ex post facto.

cccmedia in Santander

for most expats and tourists, Colombia is a great place for medical tourism!        -@ChineduOpara

.

.

.

I have been in Departamento de Santander since December ..

and wholeheartedly agree with the assessment that Colombia

is a great place for medical tourism.

Bucaramanga seems especially apt for heart issues.

Doctors here did tests and found an arythmic heart beat

I did not know about (no evident symptoms), then prescribed

medicines that am taking daily.

´´´´

As I mentioned earlier... both for the cardio issues and others,

the prices I paid for testing and consultas  ranged from $40 to 75 US --

which I considered económico  for an uninsured patient --

except for some follow-up sessions which were provided gratis.

cccmedia in Bucaramanga