Cost of living for a single man in Guatemala. 2021
What's the cost of living in Guatemala 2021? Well it hasn't gone up much in all the years I have been living here.
I usually don't like doing cost of living articles because peoples expectations can be so different and people are diverse in there lifestyle and expectations of what is a good quality of life and what it should cost.
This is written from a perspective of living a low cost of living and saving some money to have for emergencies and travel at a latter date.
One of the big issues talking about cost of living is some expats want to copy there US or European lifestyle they have and that can be cheaper or more depending on the luxuries and other variables.
It can depend on eating out if you need cable or even the kind of booze you drink.
It can depend on if you have hired help or you do your own cooking and cleaning. So in the end its a tricky question to answer. In my case I live on 500USD to 600USD a month and sometimes cheaper, but keep in mind that's not counting if I travel on the weekends or fly somewhere for a week or two, in that case I can easily spend 800 to 1200USD a month.
These are generalizations but you can rent almost anywhere in Guatemala for 300 to 500USD a month and much cheaper in places like Lago Atitlan and other small towns or cities. In some cases a 500USD house a month will include 5 or 6 bedrooms and 2 or three bathrooms like in Xela Guatemala.
In the Capital of Guatemala 500 or 600USD will get you a small place in the nice zones but it will usually be small ad noisy at night or can be it depends on the building. If you get out on the highway or the Pan American highway going towards El Salvador you can live in middle class neighborhoods for 500 to 600 a month rents and get fairly big places to live with plenty spaces to park and of course its all guarded and gated and many times have woodlands spaces and trails to jog or bike in if you like that and all the cool shopping malls will be minutes away depending on traffic.
Of course if you venture into zone one which most of the time I wouldn't recommend you can sometimes rent a studio for 200 to 250USD a month, but it will be small, and it will be noisy during the day and evenings. and not really safe to walk in the neighborhood past 8pm or 9pm.
Where I live in Xela, Guatemala i have never spent more than 350USD and that was a full house, and I normally don't do that but it was in a nice neighborhood and great place to experience.
I have rented for 150USD to 225 and everything in between, those were either studios or one bedrooms or two bedrooms including a place to park a car. The secret to getting cheaper rents is to pay six months in advance and asking for a discount and receipt.
As for food, in my case I don't like eating out as much so I cook at home and my food budget including beer ect is 300USD or much less. I don't use taxis much because Xela is a smaller city and easy to walk around in.
Bottles of cooking gas can for 20USD or less and last me two to three months. My internet is usually included in my rent but if its not is 30USD or less. For my phone is 25 bucks a month and I get 15GIGS data I think, if you want to pay more you can get up to 20GIGS.
My electric bill seems to average around 7 or 8 dollars for the bill, but I don't use a lot of energy sucking devises so your mileage will vary. I don't need an air conditioner or heating devises because its not to hot or cold here year round although its colder than Antigua or even the Capital.
I have met people living on three hundred USD to four hundred USD per month but that wouldn't be comfortable for me but I could do it if I had to or was building up a business and need the extra money for that.
In general I will say you can live comfortably in the Capital or anywhere else in Guatemala for the equivalent of a average social security check which is 1,400 to1,500USD per month. Me I can live on much less and save money and build up savings and money for travel on the weekends and whatever else.
The big budget buster will be if you hang out in bars every night and or eat out every night but in gringo type places then you pay the same as in the USA or close to it but many gringos do and enjoy it but can end up spending more here than if they were in the States.
Things like deluxe cable can cost 100 or 120 a month to but those aren't my cup of tea, for like 40 bucks you can get an internet package and cable that includes a lot of channels but not sports channels or things like that, usually that's pay per view or extra.
So to conclude, you can live on 500 to 600USD if you live a simple life and if you enjoy that kind of lifestyle you can live cheap here but you will have to be flexible.
If you want a more exciting lifestyle then it will cost you more but not much more than say 1500USD but you will live well and in the more upper end of neighborhoods. It all depends on your specific needs and desires and wants.
