Cheapest Places to Live: Guatemala
September 20th, 2009 Posted in Cheap Latin America Travel, Destination reports, International living/working
You read a lot about people retiring to various countries in Central America or setting up shop there as an expatriate, but you don’t hear much about Guatemala in the mix. It’s worth taking a look at this country though, especially if you’re just going to rent an apartment and not try to buy property. It’s close to the U.S., it’s cheap, and it’s got a lot going for it, with a unique culture and plenty of activities.
What it doesn’t have going for it is retirement incentives, which is the main reason it seldom gets mentioned in International Living or in magazine stories about moving abroad in your golden years. Destinations such as Panama, Honduras, and Belize have rolled out the welcome mat to foreigners with money in the bank, but Guatemala has sat on the sidelines. There was a civil war going on there for 36 years, so they had bigger issues to ponder until the peace accords in 1996. Some of the problems that led to all that violence are still being sorted out and crime is still higher than it should be, so property buyers have been understandably skittish. Outside of Antigua real estate, most of the money has gone into tourism projects rather than residential development. Plus the waterfront restrictions are even more onerous than they are in Mexico: here you cannot buy property on any waterfront: you only have the right to lease it and the period is 20 or 30 years. So all the desirable land around Lake Atitlan, on the Pacific coast, and along any river is off the table for purchase.
But if you’re renting, none of this matters. You’ll have a pretty tough time finding a cheap apartment on the fly in super-popular Antigua, but in most other areas of the country it’s far easier to pay half or less what you would at home. For guidance on navigating the market and preparing to move there, pick up this great new book pictured here: Living Abroad in Guatemala. It’s written by Al Argueta, who also did Moon’s guidebook to the country and he knows Guatemala inside out. This was not written by some desk editor or a beginning guidebook writer who only had a few weeks to research everything. It’ll tell you most everything you need to know and plenty of things you didn’t realize you needed to know—like what the abbreviations mean in Guatemalan newspaper classifieds.
So besides the easy to get to location, why move here? Well, the price is right, first of all. Again, Antigua is kind of pricey because its jammed with tourists and students, but even there you can find great deals on food once you get outside the central core. Here’s my “what you get for a buck or less” part of The World’s Cheapest Destinations book for Guatemala: 15-20 bananas, a local breakfast, a rum & Coke in a bar, two great cups of coffee, 15 rolls, two pounds of potatoes or tomatoes, at least a half hour of Internet access, four local bus rides, a short tuk-tuk ride, 10 miniature Maya dolls.
It won’t cost you much to learn some Spanish either. My wife, daughter, and I had 20 hours of private lessons each over a week in Antigua and paid a shade over $400 total—including the homestay (with meals) with a local family. That’s private lessons. Group classes are even less.
Here’s an old post on travel prices in Guatemala, and from what I’m hearing these are still pretty close. The U.S. dollar is actually stronger now against their currency than it was when I was last there two years ago. Here’s a Guatemala family travel piece I wrote for GoNomad and a nice article with great photos of Guatemala in Perceptive Travel.
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11 Responses to “Cheapest Places to Live: Guatemala”
By Christine Gilbert on Sep 20, 2009
I rented a two bedroom apartment in Xela, with 180 degrees views of the city for $400. Quetzaltenango (Xela) is a great alternative to Antigua for Spanish lessons too.
I’d love to live in Panajachel or one of the other communities around Lake Atitlan, but I found internet rather difficult to come by– something that’s a requirement for me to keep working. (Internet cafes were okay, but slow).
Some folks say that learning Spanish in Guatemala is easier than other countries because there is less of an accent and they speak slowly and clearly (relative to other countries). It certainly was much easier for me to understand than the Madrileno accent I was used to.
Love hearing Guatemala mentioned! It’s true, most people skip it, but they don’t know what their missing. :)
By tim on Sep 21, 2009
Thanks Christine! I know from conversations I have with people that half don’t believe me when I give them sample living costs in other countries, so it’s always good to get a real example from someone. Good point that you need to keep internet access in mind when deciding on location. There are plenty of lovely places where you are too far off the grid. I remember our hotel we stayed in on Lake Atitlan didn’t take credit cards because their communication ability was lousy to verify or process the cards.
By Car Hire Nice on Sep 21, 2009
Guatemala is probably one of the South American countries that’s always overlooked by tourists and travelers. When people think of South America, it’s always Brazil, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and other major countries.
By Mario on Sep 21, 2009
Mr. Car Hire plugger – you might want to pull out an atlas before commenting next time.
By Lake Atitlan on Sep 21, 2009
I have lived in Guatemala, as an ex-pat for nearly 40 years. It is a wonderful, inexpensive place to live, with a perfect climate (at least in the highlands near Lake Atitlan). I’d encourage anyone to visit, and form their own opinion.
By Nomadic Matt on Sep 22, 2009
Guatemala is a dirt cheap place to live. Christine said it all!
By sonya on Sep 26, 2009
are there any buses that go from Guatemala City, or Antigua…to Nebaj? (other than chicken buses, shuttles) thanks for any help you can give.
By tim on Sep 27, 2009
Sonya, – go here: http://www.nebaj.com/gettingthere.htm
By Bill Leslie on Oct 24, 2009
I’ve visited the Lake Atitlan area twice in the last five years (San Lucas Toliman); in my opinion, Guatemalan culture is the most interesting in Central America, probably because the native culture is still so strong. I agree with the comment that Guatemalan Spanish is relatively easy to understand; Spanish is a second language to many Guatemalans – maybe that’s why they speak more slowly and clearly. I’m headed to Xela this summer for two weeks of language school at Casa Xelaju.
By rickie on Nov 6, 2009
Spanish is a second language to the natives (indians), but not to the Ladinos or Mestizos.
PS
Car, please Google Guatemala and Puerto Rico, or if you prefer, take a physical geography class! It will help! I guarantee you :)
By Matt on Dec 2, 2009
Hi guys, I rented a very cheap house in Xela for $500 a month completely furnished, two stories, garage, laundry, hot water, etc. This is the website if your interested: http://lunadexelaju.tripod.com/