Cost of Living in Bahrain in 2021

Hi,

1. Property rental - Depends upon the area. I live in a 1bhk for 150BD in Gudaibiya.

2. As I do not have a car, I use public transport like bus & taxi and my approx monthly transport expense doesn't go above 30BD.

3. Average groceries for a month is around 60 BD. Yes of course there is price hike on almost all products.

4. Insurance is provided by my company but random visit to private hospital would cost 20BD minimum.

5. My son is 10 months old and childcare is not a worry.

6. Bills (EWA, phone, internet) approx 50-70 BD

7. No leisure activities these days due to COVID but a year back, weekly dinner or lunch or a movie or shopping is affordable. Gym subscription starts from 20 BD/ month to 100 + BD

Note: All above said is my personal expense. Me being a below average salaried person with no savings. May vary for others.

Thank you & Have a nice day.

Depend on each individual financial plan. As many of us have family back home, thus, the distribution is between 50/50 or 60/40 depend on the needs.

Always ask your family back home their needs and then develop an expense plan for the month.

1. Accomodation = 350BD (Seef) - fully furnish inclusive

2. Car = Leasing (no need to worry about maintenance, insurance, etc.) = undisclosed BD.

3. Telco (Broadband, line) = 100BD

4. Groceries = 100BD

5. Emergency = 50BD

6. Credit Cards = undisclosed BD

7. Loans = don't have any.

Compared to other GCC neighboring countries, cost of living is more in Bahrain. I would say a considerable difference is there. I was in Oman last year, living cost there is much less than that in Bahrain. It reflects everywhere, not only in real estate(probably due to limited land availability in Bahrain), but grocery prices, vehicle prices, Medicines and you say it. It is not just the 5% difference due to VAT here, considerable difference is there. Covid made things more miserable, a simple example is Barber shops(Saloons), cost varies from place to place but there is 1-2BD hike everywhere in post covid situation.
Apartments in Juffair, Hoora, and many areas close to cosway are too costly or not good for family accommodation. Rate for most of these apartments were reduced by waiving 01Month rent due to Covid. Probably, once cosway is opened and more people from Saudi and Qatar starts travelling to Bahrain, rent will further increase in these areas.

> [b]What is the price of a property rental in Bahrain? What about buying a property? Freehold properties are more in Bahrain compared to other GCC countries, terms and conditions are liberal for an expat to own freehold properties but cost effective.
2BHK FF @ Juffair is 450BD with 40BD EWA cap and WiFi for a well maintained apartment.
> How much does petrol cost or how much does it cost to use the various public transport services?
Petrol cost is more or less same all over Middle East, public transport is cheap as well.
1BD minimum to travel by Taxi booked through app(Bahrain Taxi), good service, easily accessible but bit costly.
> How much do you spend on average on your weekly groceries in Bahrain? Have you noticed a change in the price of staple foodstuff?
What I observed is that whether it is staple or fruits, the price depends on the place you live in, for example Juffair is an expensive place to live. Everything is costly here, living cost can be reduced considerably if you buy things from central market or small groceries where operation overhead is less

> What is the price of your health insurance? How much does seeing a general practitioner or specialist cost?
Private Hospitals are costly option, 15-20BD/visit.
> How much are your children's school fees? What about the cost of childcare?
Private Schools are the only option for expats, education is costly in Bahrain especially for preschool& KG level. 130BD is average monthly fee for a preschool/KG kid(4.5Hr daily X 5days)-Juffair area.
> How much do you spend on your regular bills (water, electricity, mobile phone package, internet subscription etc.) on a monthly basis?
Usually fully furnished apartments in Juffair area are offered with 30-40BD monthly EWA cap and settled annually. Average consumption can be optimized to keep the bill within limit. 70-100BD is usual EWA for 2BHK apartment.

> What budget do you set aside for your leisure activities in Bahrain? What is the price of a cinema or concert ticket? How much does a subscription to a gym cos
Since Bahrain is a small island, nothing much to  travel here. Gyms are attached with most of the apartment buildings here, didn't yet get a chance to go for a movie due to Covid restrictions.

To keep it simple; from my experience in living in most GCC countries, the cheapest to the most expensive are - assuming similar lifestyle:

Oman (No VAT yet - Keep that in mind)
Bahrain
Kuwait
Saudi  (15% VAT and especially if you live in a compound, it becomes very expensive)
UAE
Qatar