Cost of living in Peru

[euroman]

Dil, you said that $400 is the average wage. Thats 1200 soles a month.

There are people who are making millions and there are the high paid people in the government. That pushes the average up. Maybe you are referring to the average wage in San Isidro and Miraflores. But $400 a month will be the average wage of the people who live in Miraflores or San Isidro.

My novia worked in a Tragamonedas (one of the beter paid places) in Miraflores. 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. Many night shifts. She made 700 soles ($230) a month (including tips)

[Dil]

I've alwaws heard it to be around $400, but I could be wrong of course. Your gf working so many hours for so little is, and unfortunately common here, exploitation.

[scott]

The minimum wage in Peru is 550 soles a month, unless it has changed recently. If you have a bachelor's degree you can expect about 800-1200 soles a month. Professional accreditation and English literacy will get you more. Master's degree even better. My uncle has a PhD in Economics, has written a few books, he does quite well. No degree expect less than the minimum wage.

Here is a bit more information for you. I posted the most current link to relevant info I could find. The report is based on 2009 data and was just published.

http://www.worldofgood.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Fair-Wage-Guide-Report-20101.pdf
Majority of workers in Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru are earning less than minimum wage.

[uwwgal]

my peruvian bf just told me that minimum wage here is 700 soles a month... this excludes "service" workers.

um i would think ppl that live in miraflores and san isidro earn a lot more than $400 a month! i live in san borja and my rent alone is more than that... and everyone i know that lives in miraflores pays at least $700 in rent... most of them pay around $1000. san isidro is even more "exclusive"

[Kelly]

Remember though, that the typical Peruvian family has more than one person with an income living in the home.

[scott]

Semantics time? Average individual wage, not family. There is a difference between what one person earns and household income in most cases.

We have a family of 5 that rents from us, if you combine what the 4 adults earn it is less than 1500 soles.

I've always heard it to be around $400, but I could be wrong of course. Your gf working so many hours for so little is, and unfortunately common here, exploitation.

Unfortunately it is not exploitation, it is the reality that most Peruvians face when it come to pay, it is called prevailing wage. Without a good education you are very likely to make minimum wage or less in Peru.

[Dil]

[quote="scott"]
Unfortunately it is not exploitation, it is the reality that most Peruvians face when it come to pay, it is called prevailing wage. Without a good education you are very likely to make minimum wage or less in Peru.[/quote]

Scott, there's a huge chance if you'd buy a soccer ball in a shop, that it was made by a kid down in Asia. Although that is the reality over there doesn't mean it's not exploitation. That you earn the minimum here in Peru is one thing, but having to work around the clock for that same wage is another.

[Kelly]

Semantics time? Average individual wage, not family. There is a difference between what one person earns and household income in most cases.

That was my point, sorry if I wasn't more clear. I was commenting on the statement that an income of $400/monthly isn't enough to pay rent in Miraflores, hence I mention that individual wage isn't the same as the household income - with several people earning $400 a month, they can afford it. One of my English students lives with his parents - and his brother and sister, all still unmarried. They're all professionals, my student is an accountant. Between the bunch of them, they live quite well, in a nice part of San Borja.

[Dil]

Kelly, not all of Miraflores is that expensive.

[Kelly]

*facepalm*

I understand that, and it's hardly the point. Again, i was responding to what had been said before.

[Dil]

[quote="Kelly"]*facepalm*

I understand that, and it's hardly the point. Again, i was responding to what had been said before.[/quote]

Cool. If it's hardly the point, then don't use it to make one. Besides, in my experience children hardly contribute to a household, especially mid-class to upper-class. They usually live the good life. Saving up, going out, etc. By the time they get married, they buy their apartment. Perhaps they contribute by paying the electricity bill, but that's it. If all the children you mention would combine forces, they'd be living in a mansion of 1000m2 in La Molina.

[NewGringo]

Unfortunately it is not exploitation, it is the reality that most Peruvians face when it come to pay, it is called prevailing wage. Without a good education you are very likely to make minimum wage or less in Peru.

Here is a list of 15 people who never graduated from high school:

1)      Andrew Carnegie, U.S. industrialist and philanthropist
2)      Charles Chaplin, British actor and film director
3)      William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American scout and showman
4)      Noel Coward, British actor, playwright, and composer
5)      Charles Dickens, British novelist
6)      Isadora Duncan, U.S. dancer
7)      Thomas Edison, U.S. inventor
      Samuel Gompers, U.S. labor leader
9)      Maxim Gorky, Russian writer
10)      Claude Monet, French painter
11)      Sean O'Casey, Irish playwright
12)      Alfred E. Smith, U.S. politician
13)      John Philip Sousa, U.S. bandleader and composer
14)      Henry M. Stanley, British explorer
15)      Mark Twain, U.S. humorist and writer

Seems to me that all comes to IQ or talent, not to education

[scott]

Nice list. How is it even remotely relevant to Peru, what an average Peruvian makes or the cost of living in Peru? Have you been to Peru yet?

Here are some more to add to your list:

Dave Thomas of Wendy's restaurant fame.
Sir Richard Branson founder of the Virgin label and current Billionaire.
Li Ka-Shing Asia's richest man and 16th richest man in the world.
Amancio Ortega Spain's richest man and founder of store chain Zara 10th richest man in the world.

They are the exception, not the rule.

[mammalu]

*facepalm*

I understand that, and it's hardly the point. Again, i was responding to what had been said before.

Cool. If it's hardly the point, then don't use it to make one. Besides, in my experience children hardly contribute to a household, especially mid-class to upper-class. They usually live the good life. Saving up, going out, etc. By the time they get married, they buy their apartment. Perhaps they contribute by paying the electricity bill, but that's it. If all the children you mention would combine forces, they'd be living in a mansion of 1000m2 in La Molina.

I know many, many middle class families where single adult children still living at home contribute to the expenses of the house. I know also upper middle class where the children are not expected to contribute but the adul children are encouraged to save for a car or for a place to live (apartment) and save enough money while living with their parents. This used to be unheard years ago when most adult children lived with their parents until they got married.

Now, let's go back to Cost of Living in Peru. If this is a sticky, meant to help visitors/members, it is getting a bit diluted.

[NewGringo]

Nice list. How is it even remotely relevant to Peru, what an average Peruvian makes or the cost of living in Peru? Have you been to Peru yet?

Here are some more to add to your list:

Dave Thomas of Wendy's restaurant fame.
Sir Richard Branson founder of the Virgin label and current Billionaire.
Li Ka-Shing Asia's richest man and 16th richest man in the world.
Amancio Ortega Spain's richest man and founder of store chain Zara 10th richest man in the world.

They are the exception, not the rule.

Looks that you missed my point
You said that without an education you would make minimum wage or less in Peru. My point is that if you have brains or talent you don't have to depend on higher education, you may choose to have it or not.
The 15 and the ones you added are just the top of the list of the millions of bussiness owners and artists all over the world, including Peru

[scott]

If you want to continue this, we can make a new thread. I was trying to point out that there is more to Peru than Lima, and that the average Peruvian indeed earns a lot less than $400 a month.

Back to the cost of living...

In Pucallpa you can rent a Cuarto starting at about 150 soles. A house for 400 soles-and up. Our house would rent for around 2500 soles a month. Thankfully we own it, no payments. The main house is about 175m2, we also have 3 smaller houses and a pool in back. The upstairs we plan to finish in 2011. Our business takes up part of the house as well. You can see parts of the house on my blog.

Food: 200-350 soles a month, depending on if you eat out and where.
Power: 90 soles a month. No air conditioning, a fridge, lights, a fan and computer.
Water: 22 soles a month. It is a fixed rate, there are no meters here, yet.
Garabage: 0, it is included in our property tax.
Cable: We don't watch TV. It is free install and 40 soles a month for 70 channels.
Internet: 149 soles. Internet is way more expensive in the provinces. Hopefully that will change when they install the FOIS next year.
Natural Gas: 30-40 soles a month.
Gas: 32 soles. Fuel for our motorcycle, it gets about 150kn to a gallon. Gas is WAY cheaper here than Lima. Special law for the jungle. 90 octane is 7.90-8.50 a gallon.

You can easily live on 600-1200 soles a month here. You give up some creature comforts, no fast food, no supermarkets. There are a few places left in the world without a Starbucks. Air conditioning is rare in houses here, it would add about 200-250 soles a month to our power bill so we do without.

We do our own cooking and laundry. One of our renters helps with cleaning the house.

[Kelly]

Food: 200-350 soles a month, depending on if you eat out and where.

That's for how many people?

[scott]

There are 3 of us. Me, my wife, and mother in law. My mother in law does not eat out at all. She is very diet conscious and prefers to prepare all her own meals.

I go to the market almost everyday to buy fruit vegetables and 90% of the time, chicken. We occasionally eat beef, but not very often. Ceviche like 3 or 4 times a month, but prepared at home.

[Kelly]

Wow, that's really good, then.

Between my boys hitting their teenage years and inflation, I'm spending about 200-300 soles a WEEK, for 4 of us.

[scott]

I think that is one of the advantages of living here, the lack of super markets, the average consumer here buys very little prepackaged or processed foods. Almost everything is grown locally on still affordable land, keeping costs down.

Staple foods of the jungle like platano: a bunch of about 50-60 for 3 soles. Papaya: 3 for 1.50. Potatoes: .80 a kilo. Chicken: 6-7 soles a kilo.

Packaged food is trucked from Lima, or sent via river from Iquitos depending on where it is made. Soda in glass bottles is produced locally(KR, Peru Cola, Inca/Coca Cola). The pre-filled plastic bottles are trucked here.

[Kelly]

So the chicken is about the same price as here in Lima, but the fruits and veggies are definitely much cheaper. I pay 1-2 soles for a 'mano' of platanos, depending on the type, so that's a huge difference in price right there. Man, at that price, we'd be having arroz a la cubana every day.

[scott]

We eat a lot of Tacacho con cecina, Chifles, Platano frito. We have a huge agricultural area at km 34, Campo Verde. That is where most of the local produce comes from. The platano in Lima seems like it is always a few days old by the time it gets there too, that 20 hour trip Here it is delivered to the market every morning, only a few hours old when you buy it.

I didn't buy eggs at all last time I was in Lima, here they are about 3 soles a dozen for large. Smaller eggs. medium size, go for about 2.50 a dz.

[NewGringo]

Very helpful info, thank you all

[euroman]

Gas in Pucallpa cost 7.8 to 9 for 90 octanes.

I pay around 11.80 here in Tarapoto.

[travel dude]

There are 3 of us. Me, my wife, and mother in law. My mother in law does not eat out at all. She is very diet conscious and prefers to prepare all her own meals.

I go to the market almost everyday to buy fruit vegetables and 90% of the time, chicken. We occasionally eat beef, but not very often. Ceviche like 3 or 4 times a month, but prepared at home.

How do you compare your city, Pucallpa with Lima? I only find a few people in expatperu that are not from Lima Example: euroman (Tarapoto) mahou (Chiclayo) etc..too bad there are not more expats that can give us more information about their city.

[cuymagico]

We really need separate threads, "Cost of Living in Lima," "Cost of Living in Provincial Cities" and "Cost of Living in el Campo" or something like that.

Imagine if you tried to have a "Cost of Living in the US (or UK or Canada)" thread. Actually, you do hear people from other countries talking like that, they envision living in midtown Manhattan on a rural Mississippi budget. They get off the plane and they're pissed off at the reality. That's what I'm worried a lot of people contemplating a move to Lima are doing.

Also keep in mind that the shorter your stay, *anywhere in the world* the more you'll pay per day. Rent will be higher and you won't have found the cheapest food, transportation, etc. Also, food and housing costs are lower if you're sharing them with other people--that's how Peruvians live on salaries of $200 month.

Quick data point: the average wage for a public school teacher in Peru (anywhere in the country) is around $400/month.

As for obesity...damn this thread got off track!

[JimOnTheBeach]

I really like to read this thread as it is. Most of my trips I only go to Lima, but I enjoy seeing the different cost of living as long as it is stated what area they refer to. As far as different threads, you could break Lima down into several areas, and I would lose interest in all of them.

[travel dude]

I really like to read this thread as it is. Most of my trips I only go to Lima, but I enjoy seeing the different cost of living as long as it is stated what area they refer to. As far as different threads, you could break Lima down into several areas, and I would lose interest in all of them.

I guess you are correct. It would not make any sense to seperate the subjects like "Cost of Living in Tarapoto", "Cost of Living in Chiclayo", etc etc but I find the threads from different cities in Peru very intresting and full of information.

I haved lived in both in Piura and Lima and there is a BIG DIFFERENCE in the cost of living. I prefer the living of a smaller city to be much better than living in Lima. Yes, Lima has better restaurents and better shopping than Piura but in my opinion, the people are warmer and I feel more at home than in captial.

[cuymagico]

I prefer the living of a smaller city to be much better than living in Lima. Yes, Lima has better restaurents and better shopping than Piura but in my opinion, the people are warmer and I feel more at home than in captial.

I think it's safe to say that most of us foreigners living in Lima are here for one or another reason other than that it would be our first choice for living in Peru--either our job is here or our significant other's job is here, or some business opportunity, or university, or our significant other lives here and won't move.

As I type this a car alarm is going off and I'd rather sleep. The restaurants and shopping and infrastructure in general in Lima can't compare with those in even a small size city in North America. I would definitely trade this for someplace cute and quaint but I can't.

[naturegirl]

I think it's safe to say that most of us foreigners living in Lima are here for one or another reason other than that it would be our first choice for living in Peru--either our job is here or our significant other's job is here, or some business opportunity, or university, or our significant other lives here and won't move.

As I type this a car alarm is going off and I'd rather sleep. The restaurants and shopping and infrastructure in general in Lima can't compare with those in even a small size city in North America. I would definitely trade this for someplace cute and quaint but I can't.

I don't know. I did. This will be the second time I left Peru for Korea. I've been here for a bit now, in Korea and I can already feel myself being less stresed and happier. I have a good job only work 12.5 hours a week, have 20 weeks paid vacation, will be making over double I did in Peru and have a pension, medical, and end of contract bonus, none of which I had in Peru, and my husband and I will be starting a family soon.

When there's a will there's a way.

I was in Peru for work and the language, then marriage. Peru just got too hard to me. I told my husband , this time, I was leaving, he could come with me or stay in Peru. Sounds selfish, but my mentally stability is worth more than our relationship. For me, Peru was just too stressful a place to live in. Luckily, after two years of trying to convince him, he finally agreed to leave Peru and should be with me in Korea soon.

However, had he not agreed to go with me, I still would have left. My mom asks me what will happen if he comes and goes back to Peru, my answer? I'm staying in Asia where I belong.

I was in Peru nearly 6 years, he owes me that amount of time where I want to be. After thatn, we'll probably head off to China or Romania