Quito, Ecuador, is an incredibly affordable city. A couple could live here with as little as US$1,300. Let’s take a deeper look into this…
Grocery shopping will increase or decrease depending on your preference of items. Most importantly, if you’d rather eat almost identical to how you would eat in the United States, most of your grocery items would be imported goods.
Considering import taxes and more, the price of these items is considerably higher than if you were to purchase local produce. Try switching your breakfast or snack fruits from blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and kiwi to locally grown bananas, oranges, mangos, and watermelons.
Switch your imported brussel sprouts for local lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, and asparagus.
Lastly, instead of buying the highly priced imported beef, head over to your local butcher and buy local meat. And, if you make these changes, you and your spouse’s monthly grocery shopping will come out to about US$350.
As for rentals, it’ll depend on the area (neighborhood) in which you decide to settle.
Renting a one-bedroom apartment in the city center in a higher-end neighborhood can come to about US$600 per month.
That same two-bedroom apartment outside of the city center rents out for about US$400. You might even find more affordable options not too far from the city center if you take the time to look.
If you opt for not owning a car in Quito, Ecuador, which is completely doable, you transportation expenses can be brought down considerably as public transportation here is very affordable.
A one-way bus or metro ticket costs about 35 cents. Taxis here charge between US$2 to US$5 when moving in the city center.
Here’s a table to give you a better idea of the cost of living for a couple in Quito, Ecuador…