# cost of living in baja sur



## 5 year plan

Hi There, new to the site. We are starting a five year plan to move to Baja Sur. Can anyone provide cost of living expenses in Baja Sur? Somewhere between La Paz and San Jose Del Cabo. Looking for averages per month for electric/gas, food, TV, phone, internet, etc...We will probably look to buy a 2-3 bedroom house 1800 - 2200 sq ft. It will be 2 people (wife and I). Also average cost to eat out at an average resteraunt dinner mostly.

My apologies if this has been covered a thousand times over, but I find it difficult to search through 100's of pages of threads for a topic that is similar. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

5 year plan


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## TundraGreen

5 year plan said:


> Hi There, new to the site. We are starting a five year plan to move to Baja Sur. Can anyone provide cost of living expenses in Baja Sur? Somewhere between La Paz and San Jose Del Cabo. Looking for averages per month for electric/gas, food, TV, phone, internet, etc...We will probably look to buy a 2-3 bedroom house 1800 - 2200 sq ft. It will be 2 people (wife and I). Also average cost to eat out at an average resteraunt dinner mostly.
> 
> My apologies if this has been covered a thousand times over, but I find it difficult to search through 100's of pages of threads for a topic that is similar. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
> 
> 5 year plan


How exciting. I think planning ahead is a great idea and 5 years will give you lots of time to work out the details. People often ask about living expenses. It is a reasonable question. Unfortunately, there is no answer. It depends entirely on how you like to live. I can give you a sense of the range of prices. You can get a restaurant meal for two for less than $100 pesos ($8 usd) or spend over $1000 mxn ($80 usd). You can buy a house in one of the new fraccionamientos for $200,000 mxn ($16,000 usd) or you can buy one in a upscale development/area for $10 million mxn ($800,000). Electricity can run from $75 mxn/month ($6 usd/month) to thousands of pesos (hundreds of dollars) depending on how much you use. The rate goes up for higher consumption so it can get expensive. Gas and water are pretty cheap by US standards, maybe $50 or $100 mxn/month ($4-$8 usd/month) each. Internet is about $300-$600 mxn/month ($25-$50 usd/month).

Finally, unless you have a lot of experience and have spent a lot of time in Mexico, I suggest renting for a year or so, before buying. Many people find they don't like where they initially land in Mexico. They either want to go back to where they came from, or they find other locations more attractive. It is a big country and there are lots of options for climate, topography and amenities.


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## makaloco

I live in La Paz and can give you my ballpark figures for some of this, which are probably on the low side. As Tundra Green says, costs totally depend on how you live. I'm a single person on a small budget, but I'll economize on some things to spend more liberally on others. If the $USD/peso exchange rate is bad, I have to tighten the belt some.

* Electricity: average 350-400 pesos every two months (without AC)
* Propane: 500 pesos every 3-4 months (stove and water heater)
* Phone/internet: about 570 pesos /month (Telmex package)
* TV: don't have
* Food: no idea because I don't separate it out (I buy what I want)

An average restaurant meal for me is under 100 pesos with no alcohol or 150-200 with alcohol. Anything over 250 gets into what I consider expensive.

How well do you know the East Cape? It's a gorgeous area but seems pretty upscale, at least judging by the homes, with a high ratio of expats. Local prices may reflect that. Also keep in mind that you'll probably be making regular trips to La Paz or San José for supplies.

Best of luck!


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## chicois8

Just remember every thing except some veggies and fruit has to be imported from the states or mainland Mexico driving the cost of most items higher than other parts of Mexico, and it lives on tourists which drives prices higher.

I suggest you join (free ) this message board for Baja and you might receive more answers
BajaNomad Forums - "Peace, Love & Fish Tacos"


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## RVGRINGO

If you are interested in 'cost of living', it would be wise to stay far away from 'tourist destinations' and remote areas on a desert seacoast, where almost everything must be transported long, expensive distances. Besides, you'll probably find much of the area 'closed' in the 'off season'. Pretty boring!


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## 5 year plan

Great, thanks for all the help...how about things such as trash collection, and sewer?


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## 5 year plan

makaloco said:


> I live in La Paz and can give you my ballpark figures for some of this, which are probably on the low side. As Tundra Green says, costs totally depend on how you live. I'm a single person on a small budget, but I'll economize on some things to spend more liberally on others. If the $USD/peso exchange rate is bad, I have to tighten the belt some.
> 
> * Electricity: average 350-400 pesos every two months (without AC)
> * Propane: 500 pesos every 3-4 months (stove and water heater)
> * Phone/internet: about 570 pesos /month (Telmex package)
> * TV: don't have
> * Food: no idea because I don't separate it out (I buy what I want)
> 
> An average restaurant meal for me is under 100 pesos with no alcohol or 150-200 with alcohol. Anything over 250 gets into what I consider expensive.
> 
> How well do you know the East Cape? It's a gorgeous area but seems pretty upscale, at least judging by the homes, with a high ratio of expats. Local prices may reflect that. Also keep in mind that you'll probably be making regular trips to La Paz or San José for supplies.
> 
> Best of luck!


Great how about for things like trash collection, sewer and water


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## TundraGreen

5 year plan said:


> Great how about for things like trash collection, sewer and water


In Guadalajara:
Trash collection is free, maybe tip the collector once in awhile, or weekly some places.
Sewer is free.
Tap water is about $7 mxn/m***3 (=$0.50 usd/250 gal).
Drinking water about $10-$20 mxn/20 liters (=$0.80-$1.60 usd/5 gals).


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## makaloco

5 year plan said:


> Great how about for things like trash collection, sewer and water


I pay 108 pesos a month for water and sewer, and trash collection is free apart from an annual holiday tip for the guys. But that's in central La Paz with city services, unlikely to be the case in the area you have in mind. A close friend lives just 15 km from town, and even there, the only sewer is septic and she has to have water trucked in. She pays 700 pesos for each 10,000 liters and says the delivery cost is higher the farther you are from the source. (The same may apply for propane.) She just got Telmex (land phone) service about a week ago and was on cell-only during previous years.

You really need input from folks closer to your future home. If none turn up here, you might try these links as well as the one Chicois8 suggested:
TalkBaja.com - Baja Mexico Travel, Living and Retirement - Powered by vBulletin
lapazgringos : La Paz Gringos

At least you have five years to plan, and there could be many changes by then!


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## TundraGreen

makaloco said:


> She pays 700 pesos for each 10,000 liters and says the delivery cost is higher the farther you are from the source.


Just to put things in common units, $700 mxn/10,000 l is about $5 usd/250 gal, so about 10 times the cost in urban areas.


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## LearnSci

Do the more tourist prone areas have better water quality? In San Jose Del Cabo is the tap water any better quality or is only resort water treated? 

How long does it take to get utilities set up when you rent a place?

Are there apartment complexes or is the best thing to just surf baja sur craigslist?

Magic Jack vs Vonage vs Skype vs Cell Phone plans to keep in contact back in the USA


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## TundraGreen

LearnSci said:


> Do the more tourist prone areas have better water quality? In San Jose Del Cabo is the tap water any better quality or is only resort water treated?
> 
> How long does it take to get utilities set up when you rent a place?
> 
> Are there apartment complexes or is the best thing to just surf baja sur craigslist?
> 
> Magic Jack vs Vonage vs Skype vs Cell Phone plans to keep in contact back in the USA


Very few people drink tap water anywhere in Mexico. Maybe some high end hotels have private water systems, I wouldn't know since I never stay in high end hotels. You can brush your teeth or wash dishes in tap water, but don't drink it.

It can take a few days to get utilities. Sometimes they are left in the name of the landlord and are already turned on.

The cheaper rentals are not advertised on the web. You have to wander around and look for se renta signs or talk to neighbors. Rentals on the web are more expensive since they are aimed at foreigners.

Magic Jack/Vonage/Skype all work and have their proponents. Cell phones are for local calls.


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## LearnSci

Are there any areas that are more expatriate areas then others? 

Are there any areas I should for sure avoid? I am basically looking at the area by way of Google Earth.


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## sparks

Get off the plane and go find a hotel for a couple of weeks. Then find where the local gringos hang out and start asking questions. The first people you run into may be the most talkative but not the most reliable .... keep looking/talking


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