costs of living in tunisia?

[juice99]

What are the costs of living in tunisia? i mean, for somebody who wants to live middle-class life... somewhere near the sea to escape cold european weather? i live with my girlfriend and we work online, so we dont have to be in any specific place as long as there is DSL connection...

i was thinking about moving to tunis, first just to try it out, not permamently, and then think about it..

is it possible as to visa? and how much it can cost to rent like 1 bedroom apartment, around 50m2 in nice neighbourhood (but not the best or very very nice, as this will be expensive, but also not the worst...)

can be tunis, as tourist places seems to be expensive.

what about eating out?

how much it costs to live in tunisia compared to egypt for example?

[Essem]

Hi Juice99, Before I bought a property, I rented first of all to see if I really liked living here - holidays are always different to living permanently in a place. I rented in Hamman Sousse, in a residential area 130 metres from the beach. I paid 400 dinars a month - usually the nearer the sea the more expensive the rent will be. At first is was quiet and calm then after about 3 months construction work started on practically all sides of the building and the noise was horrendous. I was so glad I hadn't bought there. Cost of living is low, although in the past 7 years I've seen prices slowly rise but they are still lower than back home. My water bill is usually around 15 dinars per quarter (unbelieveable beause I use loads of water!). Steg - which is electricity, gas and TV varies depending on time of year - last one was around 211 dinars per quarter, next one will probably be higher as my heating is on lots. ADSL connection is 120 dinars (Topnet) per quarter and Telecom for fixed line is 120 dinars per quarter + any call charges. I suppose it depends where you are from whether or not you require a visa. Eating out is inexpensive (depending on where you eat) and sometimes works out a lot cheaper (you couldn't make it for what they charge!) - the food is served to you in massive quanitities and someone else does the washing up!! Tourist areas are a bit more expensive (and they are not always what the real Tunisia is all about) and there are always 2 rates for most things - tourist and residents - especially taxis!! Petrol is roughly half the price of the UK.

[Essem]

Hi, Sorry forgot to mention that when I first rented it was 2001/2002 and 400 dinars a month was considered really expensive then. My contract went up by 5% annually. Hope this helps.

[juice99]

thanks for the reply

what would be a normal price for a 3-course meal in some medium restaurant? it says here http://www.tefl.com/home/col_survey.html?ci_id=70 that it costs $40 per person, which seams a lot when comparing to other costs... is it really so expensive to eat out?

also, when you add up, how much you think 2 person leaving together would need per month?

[Kris]

I would say if you have the major items such as a car etc and want to have a ice life I would say.

Outside Tunis 1000-1500 dinars per month
In Tunis 1500-2500

400-600 dinars per month should rent you a very nice place outside of Tunis and they say you should only spen 30% of your income on accommodation.

1500 dinars = £600

Many people have a nice time on less than this but in my mind if your going to go out and have fun moving to another coutry without the support net work of family etc.

Also why have a small one bed apartment?

One thing that does hit home and as my wife always tells me is that to us it seems so cheap but when you consider that the average wage in Tunisia is $300-$500 per month 600-800 Dinars you see that things ae not so cheap.

For example you go to enasser and flats for sale in the region of 175,000 - 250,000 dinars are now common in this middle-upper class area (mainly foryoung professionals as all flats (like the UK LOL)

175,000 / 800 = 18 times average wage so even on 3 times the average 2400 which is manager 5 years experience + your still going to need 6 times our salary to get a nice (not the best location but nice) apartment even though at this stage your pobably going to need a house as you wil be over 30 married with kids.

This is why a lot of Tunisians go abroad I get he feeling thatyou need the extra boost in te wages before you can come home and settle if you want a nice life unless your a really big earner.

I am a bull (oviously as I am biased) on Tunisian property long term but even there it feels like we have a bit of bubble like here in the UK as houses are not cheap cheap in comparison to the local wages.

[juice99]

by outside of tunis you also mean tourist places like sousse or such? or is it even more expensive to live in sousse for example?

i don't mind living outside tunis. as to my income, it's around 1000-1500 tunisian dinars, so you think it should be enough for 2 of us? should be ok then.

also, what about eating out - what do you think is normal dinner for 2 person in normal restaurant (not luxury one, but also not the worst one).

as to my income, it will come from abroud, so no worries there.

[tater03]

Wow, housing does seem to me quite steep when compared to the average salary. Thanks for this information I find it very interesting on what it would cost to live in other countries.

[ammulu]

Originally Posted by Kris

I would say if you have the major items such as a car etc and want to have a ice life I would say.

Outside Tunis 1000-1500 dinars per month
In Tunis 1500-2500

400-600 dinars per month should rent you a very nice place outside of Tunis and they say you should only spen 30% of your income on accommodation.

1500 dinars = £600

Many people have a nice time on less than this but in my mind if your going to go out and have fun moving to another coutry without the support net work of family etc.

Also why have a small one bed apartment?

One thing that does hit home and as my wife always tells me is that to us it seems so cheap but when you consider that the average wage in Tunisia is $300-$500 per month 600-800 Dinars you see that things ae not so cheap.

For example you go to enasser and flats for sale in the region of 175,000 - 250,000 dinars are now common in this middle-upper class area (mainly foryoung professionals as all flats (like the UK LOL)

175,000 / 800 = 18 times average wage so even on 3 times the average 2400 which is manager 5 years experience + your still going to need 6 times our salary to get a nice (not the best location but nice) apartment even though at this stage your pobably going to need a house as you wil be over 30 married with kids.

This is why a lot of Tunisians go abroad I get he feeling thatyou need the extra boost in te wages before you can come home and settle if you want a nice life unless your a really big earner.

I am a bull (oviously as I am biased) on Tunisian property long term but even there it feels like we have a bit of bubble like here in the UK as houses are not cheap cheap in comparison to the local wages.

It seems not very costly as much as I really expected it to be. The flat cost or the overall living cost is really affordable for one who makes around $2000 per month. They can happily spend a great holiday at Tunisia I guess.

[juice99]

any idea how much it can costs 1bedroom apartment, around 50m2 in sousse ? medium standard. and where to look for ads ? any internet portal with normal prices?

i know tunis is the most expensive, but does sousse is really cheaper? since it's so touristic... and if it's not, then what other city could you suggest, which is also nice, and even cheaper?

[jools]

Hi,

What an interesting thread!
Although I was aware that the cost of many things in Tunisia is very cheap in comparison to the UK. However when you actually weigh up their average wage & then what the price of standard property actually costs, it does put a slightly different perspective on things & basically it is very similar to many countries, just in a different scale, we just assume its very reasonable because our wages are higher!

When I was in Tunisia last year there was a huge development of houses (looked like town houses, something that you would expect to see in uk) being build just outside of Tunis (can't remember the name), the completed houses were beautiful, big & very different to the types of buildings you are used to seeing in Tunisia, but what surprised me the most was that they were very expensive, a similar price, that you would expect to pay in the UK, & I did wonder whether this was solely build for the well off Tunisians and other nationalities who wish to base here, because the prices were so high that I am sure most Tunisians would not be able to afford.

Is their health care expensive, eg dentists, doctors, opticians, & do some get any contributions towards the payment of their health care?

Thanks,
jools.