There are many things that you should consider before planning to live in Peru. In this article, we will discuss the important things related to the costs in Peru so that you can reconsider the decision to live in Peru if you have to. We hope that after reading this article, you’ll find answers to all the questions you had about the cost of living in Peru.
Peru is a country in South America which mainly consists of highlands and coasts. There are many archaeological places to visit in Peru.
America might be expensive, but Peru isn’t. In fact, Peru is the cheapest, that is, the least costly country situated in South America. If you manage to earn $2000 a month, then your month will go rocking. The cherry on top will be if you own your property. Then you can survive from the rent expense and can live in Peru with only $1500 a month.
Lima is the capital of Peru. This is regarded as the most expensive state in Peru. As it’s the capital, if you really want to settle in the heart of Peru, then you need to save more money compared to other outlying states in Peru. If you want to own a decent property in the capital, then it would definitely cost you more. All the official works of Peru are connected to the capital, which is why Lima is a bit expensive compared to other states.
Now, let’s get into the details:
Cost of Apartments:
The cost of all amenities is nearly the same throughout the entire country. But if you really want to buy a property, then the real-estate cost might vary from one state to another. There are states where you can see different pricing from different agents. Suppose, you have a dream to buy a sea-view flat in Lima, the cost will definitely be higher.
On the contrary, if you want to live in a flat in other states such as Arequipa, then you don’t need to count that much money. You just need to do a little research about the available properties near you because if you only take one as an option, then it might cost you more, and later, you might regret the purchase.
While renting an apartment, people look for their convenience. The convenience also includes a furnished flat. If your flat is not furnished, then you need to spend money on buying furniture, which can be very costly. But remember, you would be getting an unfurnished flat for a lower rent. This is the catch where every single person gets confused.
People think that they are getting a good flat for a lesser amount of rent. The problem is, the money they save from rent is invested in furniture. In fact, it’s double in some cases. So, do rent or buy a fully furnished flat if you really want to lessen the cost of living in Peru.
Apartments or houses, whichever you choose to buy or rent, come with spacious storage. For example, no house in Peru consists of less than 2 or 3 bedrooms. It gets very difficult for a bachelor to live in Peru as studio apartments are very rare to find. The fully furnished flat can cost double compared to the studio apartments.
From a survey, we came to know that the capital of Peru, Lima, is the place where the major citizens of America, who have a handsome annual salary, live. We also found out that the properties in Lima, which are spacious and consisting of 3 bedrooms, can cost $500,000, whereas the same property in Trujillo can cost around $200,000 or less than that. So, if you’re going to spend a lot of time in the capital, then our suggestion would be to take a house in any other state of Peru.
The apartment or the housing section expense also includes the bill of different utilities. The standard size of the house in Peru is about 900 square feet. If we think about the utility expense, then comes the gas bills, electricity bills, etc.
- The approximate cost for utilities for two persons living in 900 square feet flat is nearly 188 sol.
- The Internet service is one of the amenities which is included in the expense of housing. It can cost 73 sol for a month, which is very good for getting a connection of 8 MBPS.
- The next thing that should come to your mind is a television. Television is not included in the furnished flats. The cost of television of 40 inches can be around 1209 sol, which is a one-time cost.
- A microwave is also an extremely important element for a house. A microwave should be from one of the more well known brands; for example, Sharp. The cost of buying a microwave of 800-900 watts can be 347 sol.
- For cleaning clothes, you’ll certainly require laundry detergent, which will only cost you about 29 sol.
- Lastly, if the members in your house are working members, then you’ll also require cleaning help. The hourly rate for help can be around 15 sol, which is very reasonable.
Cost of Food:
The next expense after housing can be of food. Food is obviously one of the things without which we simply cannot survive. Every city of Peru interestingly consists of modern supermarkets where you can find every necessity. But the only problem with these supermarkets is that local food is not available on a broad basis. On the contrary, the local markets around you consist of many foods that can satisfy both your hunger and your bank account.
The food at the restaurants in Peru is amazingly delicious. For example, the taste of the food you get at a local restaurant for only $4 will never amount to that of the food you get at a hotel where you’re going to be spending over $40. This is interesting because the people of Peru believe that eating outside of the home is often cheaper compared to cooking at home. They tend to dine out most of the time.
Now, let’s look at the basic costs of food that people living in Peru generally incur every month:
- Whole fat milk of 1 liter is priced at only 4.25 sol.
- Local cheese weighing 500 gm is worth only 11 sol.
- Tomatoes weighing 1 kg only cost 3.23 sol.
- Boneless chicken breast weighing 500 gm costs only 6 sol.
- Twelve pieces of large eggs only cost 6 sol.
- Apples of 1 kg cost only 4.59 sol.
- 1 kg of potatoes cost only 2.50 sol.
- If you calculate the cost of bread for two people, then the cost would be 1.71 sol per day.
- Domestic beer found in supermarkets locally costs only 5.28 sol for half liters.
- Red table wine is an option for the higher middle class. Each bottle costs 34 sol if you want good quality.
- Coca-Cola is very famous among the people of Peru. In fact, research has shown that the people of Peru drinks 2 liters of Coca-Cola on a daily basis as it costs only 7 sol.
- If you plan to have a basic menu for lunchtime in a hotel, then it will cost you 21 sol along with a complimentary drink.
- Most of the working people love to have fast-food meals in their lunchtime as it energizes them more. So, a meal at a fast-food restaurant can cost the people of Peru about 16 sol.
Cost of Transportation:
People living in Peru feel that buying cars can be unnecessary. As the taxis are available for only $2 to $3, people find it convenient to move through taxis rather than their own car. There are also small buses which are called combis. They stop at separate destinations to make people reach. Besides this, you need to keep in mind that Peru is a pedestrian-friendly country, and people love to help each other a lot.
Below are the details of the cost to be covered in transportation for Peruvian countries:
- If you plan to have your own car, then the wisest option would be to buy a Volkswagen car. This is the most reliable car in Peru. The approximate cost of buying a Volkswagen car will be 53,206 sol. Note that this is a one-time investment, but there will be included maintenance fee, which can be higher if it faces any accident, unfortunately.
- If you own a car, then you need to invest in around 1 liter of gas every day to move from here and there. The gas of 1 liter will cost you 3.87 sol, which can be expensive for the middle-income families.
- There is a process of taking a ticket for a whole month. Showing this ticket, you can travel in public transports for free. The monthly ticket costs you only 100 sol, which is a fair price.
Cost of Medical Facilities:
There are available hospitals and private clinics in every state of Peru. You don’t need to spend money on hospital bills every month either. But there is a certain premium that you need to pay every month for validating any insurance. There are available insurance policies for people who want to secure their health policies.
Most of the states of Peru do not consider the insurance policy to be valid after 60 years of age. They don’t consider this because it’s the standard age of people living in Peru.
The insurance policies may vary from $20 to $30. As this is very cheap, people might buy two to three plans for themselves. God Forbid, if they fall in danger, the insurance policy is meant to cover all the costs. There are people who can suggest insurance policies according to your convenience. They do it for free so that you buy an insurance policy from them only.
Cost of Clothing:
People living in Peru lead a very basic life. They don’t spend too much on clothes because they opt for very basic clothing. The clothing cost is described below in brief:
- Jeans can cost 143 sol, if you buy one pair of jeans from Levis 500.
- Summer dresses from high maintenance stores like Zara, H&M can cost you 96 sol.
- Sports shoes from the brand Adidas or Nike can cost you 254 sol, which can be very expensive for middle-income families.
- Leather business shoes for men can cost you 247 sol, if you buy one pair of shoes.
Cost for Entertainment:
Though entertainment is not a basic need, without this, our life would be a total bore. Entertainment is very important for people living in Peru. Below are the details about the amount of money spent by the people in Peru for entertainment:
- If you want to go for dinner in the pub situated in your neighborhood, then it will cost you 41 sol for two people.
- If you like theatre, then you need to pay 107 sol for two tickets for the best seats available in the theatre.
- If you want to go to the movies, then you need to pay 32 sol for two people.
- If you visit the downtown club, then a cocktail drink will cost you 23 sol.
- Dinner for two can cost you about 105 sol if you visit Italian restaurants in the hope of a cozy dinner.
Cost of Personal Care:
Below are the details on personal care items that you may spend money on:
- Four rolls of toilet paper can cost you 4.09 sol.
- Toothpaste tubes can cost you 4.51 sol for a single piece.
Ending Note: According to our estimation, the cost of living in Peru for a single person can be around 3240 sol if he/she lives a lavish life, which is quite reasonable. After all, Peru is a country in South America where you need to pay the least amount for living. Don’t think anymore. Just go and live there without any worries! Best of luck!
