¿Cuanto Cuesta? The Cost of Living in Bogotá

Something you may or may not know about me: I really like to budget. I also try to negotiate everything from club covers to umbrellas off the street (even in the pouring rain) to cost per page for copies at papelerias. It's not that I'm cheap - I just really savor the peace of mind that comes with knowing I've gotten the best deal in town. And my town for this year is Bogotá, where overall, living is cheap...but I've learned there are some unexpected exceptions. Navigating the true cost of living here has been an interesting adventure and I'd like to share some of what I've learned from living here for the past 4 months.    

Things that cost un brazo y una pierna (an arm and a leg):

1. Wine (this one pains me since we are relatively close to Chile and Argentina). You know the really crappy bottle of wine called Beringer that costs $3 not-on-sale in the states? It costs $20 here (and still tastes like a trash can). I probably spend on average about $13/bottle here. The compromise? I drink less wine. Not the end of the world, but Yellowtail, Barefoot pinot grigio, and 2 Buck Chuck: we shall have a happy reunion come December. :)

2. My rent. I even negotiated this a bit and still pay about $200 more per month than my nicer, double-the-size apartment in Phoenix…it makes sense; I live by myself in a furnished, 1-BR apartment in estrato 6 (neighborhoods are divided up into “estratos” by income level from 1 – 6; 1 being the poorest). When I first moved to Colombia, I had no friends to live with, was a little bit scared by any neighborhood below estrato 5 and didn’t have the slightest clue where/how to buy and move furniture here…all of these things have since changed and it’s true: I pay too much for rent.

3. Utilities/internet. Again, higher estrato = higher cost of services. Non-negotiable.

4. Cetaphil products. Isn’t Cetaphil like the budget, down-to-earth way to keep your face clean and healthy in the US? Well, here it’s a luxury and I shelled out $30 for a bottle of face wash a few weeks ago.

5. Makeup. They keep maybelline and maxfactor behind counters and in locked cases in the grocery store and charge about 3x for the same products. My L’Oreal mascara that costs $6 in the states costs $18 here.

6. Yoga. Even with a “bulk” purchase of like 30 classes, each class runs about $18…upon learning this reality, I've opted for running, cycling and one yoga class a week. Aspiring yoga studio owners; there is an untapped market here!

7. Certain foods, specifically:

• Aforementioned wine.
• Peanut butter – about $7 for a jar of jiffy...
• Feta Cheese – almost $20 for a really weird kind of feta cheese kept in a jar full of liquid…a happy reunion of feta, peanut butter and wine is in store in December.

8. Not registering your visa in time with the DAS. Ya, my bad. I literally didn’t know that I had 15 days upon arriving to register my visa with the dreaded Administrative Department of Security (in Spanish, “Departamento” comes first, hence D-A-S) and apply for my cedula extranjera (ID). This logistical faux pas set me back over $200 in penalties and fines and many hours of my life. Better yet, I learned that the DAS was recently dissolved by the government on account of corruption…so I do wonder how my $200 has been put to use…

9. Andres Carnes de Res.  Don’t get me wrong – I love this place. And so does everyone else and their mother, which is why for every birthday, out of town visiting guest, or 3-day weekend, Andres becomes a staple party place. But those $20 cocktails, $7 bottles of beer, $30 steaks, and $70 bottles of aguardiente start to add up, right? Not to mention entrance fees + transport (if we opt for the real deal in Chia). But it’s hard to say no, especially when friends are here for a few days only and want to experience Andres; after all, there really is no night like an Andres night.  My strategy is to go on a full stomach, pre-game if possible, and be happy with one delicious cocktail for the night (plus, you know that aguardiente bottle will be floating around at some point :)).

Our most recent Andres night - Halloween!!

Bumble Bee + White Swan made a great team

That’s about all I can think of on the particularly “costoso” side of things. Let’s tip the scales and celebrate all the wonderful cheap thrills that life in Bogotá has to offer:    

 1. Manicures/pedicures. I had had a grand total of 1 manicure before coming to Colombia, but at $3 per service (you read that right), I can’t really justify having shabby fingernails!  

2. Hair drying services. I haven’t actually received this service yet, but apparently for about $2.50, somebody will wash, dry and style your hair; it’s like going to the hair salon minus the haircut. I’ll check it out next time I’m invited to a prom.      

 

3. Arepas. most days that I go to the university, I pick up the most delicious arepa of my life, smothered in butter and honey and oozing with melted cheese for $700 COPs, which translates to about 35 cents. Seriously, I could live off of these, and let’s keep in mind that’s a daily budget of $1.05, a weekly budget of $7.35 and a monthly budget of $22.05. Works for me, as long as I can also have my daily allocation of…      

4. Juice/snacks/fruit etc. You can find a cup of freshly squeezed juice or fruit on almost any corner for mil pesos (50 cents). And you know what goes well with fruit (and everything)?...   

 

5. Arequipe. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to eat more and more and more. Like this guy. That video doesn’t actually explain what arequipe is so I’ll leave it to this picture:   

Ok, that doesn’t totally do it either: arequipe is basically dulce de leche that tastes like pure heaven and is found everywhere in Colombia; inside and outside of cheese, pastries, bread, obleas, on top of lattes, apparently on the crusts of pizzas (arequipizzas) or just in a spoon...in my mouth. I kid you not, a little cup of arequipe is considered a “healthy snack” for school children, kind of like Gogurt, Poptarts or Yohoos in the US, perhaps. And it’s all dirt cheap, considering the sugar high and perfect, creamy, caramelly satisfaction with every hit.

6. Transportation. I don't drive here which has been liberating and a great way to explore the city. Bus rides costs about 70 cents each way, cab rides start at $1.50 and climb very slowly from there (I’ve ridden in a cab for 45 minutes and paid $10), and the Transmilenio (Bogota’s bus transit system) costs 80 cents each way.

7. Plastic surgery. Or so I’ve heard – cheap and good. Medical tourism, anyone?

8. Newspapers. I just learned that 2 kinds of newspapers here are totally free!

9. Vinassa EcoVillage/monastery/Ashram. I came across this fascinating opportunity while reading a travel blog; $10 a day affords you accommodation, 3 vegetarian meals grown and sustained by the Ecovillage/monastery, daily yoga, and philosophy lectures all in the backdrop of a serene monastery. A week of volunteering is absolutely on my list while I’m here.

10. Roses! There are seriously beautiful roses grown in Colombia and I have bought 24 lavender roses (for myself) on my street corner for $4. Yes, $4.   

          

11. Tejo (Colombia's national sport)!! Wow, didn't know what I was missing in my life until this past weekend. You stand about 30 feet away from a slanted mud target that conceals gunpowder below the surface and throw a big heavy metal thing at it. Yup. When the gunpowder explodes, it's pretty much the most exciting thing EVER. And you don't even pay to play or enter - you pay for a case of beer, split amongst your group and call it a day. Awesome.      

Until you let me know what I’ve inevitably left off of either list, “cheap things” is in the lead, 11-9. And for those 9 expensive things, never forget that everything is negotiable (well, except the cover at Andres and I'm pretty sure, fines at the DAS...nonetheless...¡Viva Bogotá!).