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I lately visited the terrifi island of Sri Lanka, and found a country full of surprises. Sri Lanka is located just south of India, in the Indian Ocean. Once known as the Dominium of Ceylon and oftentimes referred to as the tea country, tea plantations abundantly thrive throughout the island, with spice gardens, banana and coconut palms growing randomly to formulate a jungle of natural resources. People, animals and transport seem to co-exist side by side with no animosity towards each other. Dogs wonder aimlessly all over or bask in the sun at the side of roads, cows and goats roam around everywhere, even on the beaches (which I found rather amusing) and persons are everywhere, whether walking, cycling, using a tuc-tuc, motorbike with 5 astride, in a taxi, bus, car or truck, each takes up a space of the not too wide road. But co-exist they do, there is no anger at being stuck behind a truck, merely a short hooting of the horn to say I am here and would like to pass, politeness abounds and the expression and sounds are all of friendliness, within a country that sorely needs aid at redeveloping itself since the tsunami. People are poor and yet pleasure is everywhere…. Not just for the child on the hip or the person at their side, but for expats and tourists as well. Tourists fluctuate towards the resorts and some chance the areas more or less outside of these areas, to experience a quieter less harassed holiday. Small pockets of expats may be found, dotted all over the country. When you bump into these persons and chat in regards to life on the island, there is not much to complain about. Yes, occasionally the water gets turned off or the electricity, yes the internet is not as fast as they would like it to be. Isn’t that how most humans feel in devised countries anyway: The quicker it gets the more immediate we want it. In this little piece of paradise, expats are not too concerned that it takes a little longer to do things here, the humans are prepared to wait, not too hasty to move forward too quickly. There was a lot of talk and concern when it comes to the elections and safety within the country and there are still road blockades and police / army personnel with guns wandering around keeping peace if necessary. However, with 70% of the population being Buddhists, the lifestyle is peaceful and life simplistic. From an expat perspective, I could not fault the lifestyle. As said above, yes there are definitive things missing, things are slower, it takes a good 4 – 6 hours to get from Colombo to Galle and also to anyplace when it comes to 200km’s apart. I can not say that the roads are exceptionally in good condition, but in the 10 days that I visited, I did not see one accident. Hardships could include the lack of being competent to get from one portion of the island to another quickly, the lack of fast internet connection, perchance the humane waste / refuse, which allows for the influx of flies, the dirt which is left to lie around and lastly the lack of funds to rebuild the country to what it was before the Tsunami. Having said that, I have to look at all the good things that you find there, the beauty of the natural resources, how the nationals and expats are attempting to rebuild the country, the beaches, game parks and mountains. This is genuinely a gorgeous percentage of the world. Expat Cost of living summary The currency in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan Rupee LKR The Exchange rate as at 15 January 2010 was $1 = 114.217 Rupees I am going to break the Cost of living down according to a heap of of the basket items: Alcohol and Tobacco: Alcohol at Bar, Beer, Cigarettes, Locally Produced Spirit, Whiskey, Wine Cigarettes (20s) – $3.14 to $9 Domestic Beer(500ml) – $2.50 Imported Beer (330ml) – $5.80 Wine at a bar – $6 a glass Wine at a shop – $15 (750ml bottle) Hotels tend to increase the prices of alcohol as it is the one way that they may make a profit. There are a heap of little hotels and restaurants which develop a competitory edge to where you may stay. Clothing: Business Suits, Casual Clothing, Children’s Clothing and footwear, Coats and hats, Evening Wear, Shoe Repairs, Underwear Casual Long Sleeved Shirt (Men) – $12 Casual Long Sleeved Trousers (Men) – $20 Shorts (Men) – $11 T-Shirt (Men) – $6 Casual Blouse (Women) – $7 Casual Skirt (Women) – $12 Children’s Jeans (Boys) – $5 Children’s Jeans (Girls) – $3.50 Children’s Shirt(Boys) – $5 Children’s Shirt(Girls) – $4 Clothes are exceedingly cheap, in Colombo a person may get most of the name branded costume at reasonably reasonable prices in Factory shops. Communication: Home Telephone Rental and Call Charges, Internet Connection and service provider fees, Mobile / Cellular Phone Contract and Calls Monthly phone rental – $4.36 Phone call rate – $0.05 for a local call Internet line connection fee – $104 (buy all instrumentation with installation) Internet service provider fee – $17 (1 geg free thereafter) Monthly mobile contract fee – $2.18 (for the year) Mobile / cellular call rate – 90% of phones are prepaid, Mobile Phone 100 Minutes Call – $38 - $0.012 – $0.05 sms peak times Due to so a lot of of the nationals working overseas to send cash home, the communicating costs are exceedingly low and there are oftentimes special deals or no cost is involved in the actual call. Education: Creche / Pre-School Fees, High School / College Fees, Primary School Fees, Tertiary Study Fees Annual Creche fee – $4.36 per month Annual Primary school fee – $260 – $436 per month Annual High School fee – $260 – $436 per month Annual 1st Year Tertiary / University fee – $260 to $436 per month (dependent on which private school they go to) Private schooling is the most highpriced on the island for expat children to attend, nonetheless the rates in comparison to other countries are reasonable. Expats that I came throughout spoke highly of the education scheme in the country and were happy with the private education that their children were receiving. Furniture and Appliances: DVD Player, Fridge Freezer, Iron, Kettle, Toaster, microwave, Light Bulbs, Television, Vacuum Cleaner, Washing Machine DVD Player – $87 Fridge / Freezer – $489 (LG / Whirlpool – 4 year guarantee) Iron – $12 cheap to $35 top of the range Kettle – $20 cheap to $37 top of the range Microwave – $191 TV 21 inch – $244 (2 year guarantee) Washing Machine LG – $570 Discounts may be negotiated with stores on all items Groceries purchased in a grocery store: Baby Consumables, Baked Goods, Baking, Canned Foods, Cheese, Cleaning Products, Dairy, Fresh Fruits, Fresh Vegetables, Fruit Juices, Frozen, Meat, Oil & Vinegars, Pet Food, Pre-Prepared Meals, Sauces, Seafood, Snacks, Soft Drinks, Spices & Herbs Powdered baby formula (400g) – $7 Plain biscuits (100g) – $0.20 Loaf white bread (200g) – $0.70 Cake Flour (1kg) – $2.80 Baked Beans (415g) – $1.92 Tuna (185g) – $2.75 Cheese: Cheddar (250g) – $6.63 Crisps: Pringles (139g) – $2.50 Autowash costume powder (750g) – $1.57 Dishwash liquid (500g) – $0.87 Clothing Softener (2l) – $5.40 Breakfast Cereal (250g) – $2.45 Butter (227g) – $2.18 Milk (1l) – $1.40 Eggs (12) – $1.80 Orange Juice (1l) – $2.80 Frozen Mixed Vegetables (1kg) – $6.20 Cooking oil (1l) – $3.22 Olive oil (500ml) – $8.28 Can of cola (355ml) – $1.00 Local Fizzy Soft Drink (1l) – $1.30 Local Natural Mineral Water (5l) – $1.08 Tea Bags (200g) – $1.85 Instant Coffee (100g) – $6.75 Local Ground Coffee (200g) – $3.66 Salt (400g) – $0.26 Pepper (400g) – $0.35 Prices were received from local grocery stores, there are no huge division stores to shop in. Healthcare: General Practitioner Consultation rates, Hospital Private Ward Daily, Rate, Non-Prescription Medicine, Private Medical Insurance / Medical Aid Contributions GP Private rate visit with meds – $3.50 Hospital Private ward rates – $28 per day Dentistry – Tooth extraction – $4.35 Most expats use Bupa or the Sri Lankan Equivalent Household: House / Flat Mortgage, House / Flat Rental, Household Electricity Consumption, Household Gas / Fuel Consumption, Household Water Consumption, Local Property Rates / Taxes / Levies Rent 2 bed Apartment City Centre – $700 Rent 2 bed Apartment outside of City Centre – $600 Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage per – $80 to $90 per month for an average household, this is costly when taking household air conditioning into account Gas / Fuel – 12 ½ kg bottle – $14 Local property Rates – 8 to 10% of value of property Expats can not buy a property directly, this has to be done by way of a Lawyer who owns the property. Mortgage for locals is 4/5%. This is where most expats find the costs creep in, running the air conditioners is exceedingly highpriced as well as the cost of water. Miscellaneous: Domestic Help, Dry Cleaning, Linen, Office Supplies, Newspapers and Magazines, Postage Stamps Domestic Rates – full time per person – $80 average 1 Black inkjet printer cartridge – $14 1 Color inkjet printer cartridge – $21 500 sheets printer paper – $5.23 Local Daily Newspaper – $0.17 International Daily Newspaper – $0.45 International Magazine – $20 International Airmail Stamps – $0.22 Domestic Stamps – $0.12 Domestic support is cheap and most workers either live on the property or close by. Office furnishes are reasonable, with CD’s and DVD’s freely available on the street where most locals buy them. Personal Care: Cosmetics, Haircare, Moisturiser / Sun Block, Nappies, Pain Relief Tablets, Toilet Paper, Toothpaste, Soap / Shampoo / Conditioner Body lotion (400ml) Vaseline Intensive car – $4.53 Toilet paper 1 ply per roll – $0.50 Toothpaste (200g) – $1.92 Shampoo (200ml) – $2.40 Some of the items that may be purchased may be expensive, like creams, sunblocks and cosmetic creams. Name brand merchandise are the most expensive. Recreation and Culture: Books, Camera Film, Cinema Ticket, DVD and CD’s, Sports goods, Theatre Ticket Books paper back – $10 Cinema ticket – $0.50 DVD / CD Imported – $2 Cricket ticket – $0.50 to $8 Theatre Ticket – only in Colombo – $30 Hard cover books are highpriced in the country, but paper back books are of a similar cost to the US and UK. Cinema tickets are cheap due to the availability of cheap DVD replicas which may be purchased on street corners. International cricket tickets are also kept cheap for the local population. Restaurants / Meals out / Hotels: Business Dinner, Dinner at Restaurant (non fast food), Hotel Rates, Take Away Drinks & Snacks (fast Food) Business Dinner excl Alcohol – $22 per person Dinner / lunch at local restaurant – $8 per person McDonalds Big Mac – $4.10 Hotel Rates 3* – $8 to $50 pppn Hotel Rates 4* – $80 to $120 pppn Hotel Rates 5* – $140 pppn upwards Take away – Can of cola x 1 – $0.70 Medium pizza – $3.50 Hamburger – $2.00 Coffee – pot x 3 cups – $1.40 As in most countries how much you pay for a meal is dependent on where you go, the local restaurants have outstanding local meals, as well as international flavours, we found a extremely pleasing vegetarian restaurant in Galle, well worth a visit and all prices were somewhat cheap. Some restaurants do take vantage of the tourist population and serve sub popular meals. However, most restaurants were good with their portions and meal plans. Transport: Hire Purchase / Lease of Vehicle, Petrol / Diesel, Public Transport, Service Maintenance, Tyres, Vehicle Insurance, Vehicle Purchase Hire / Lease car – Sedan Toyota Corolla – $37.14 per day for 1 week Hire / Lease car – Toyota RAV4 – $46.71 per day for 1 week Petrol unleaded per litre – $1.23 Diesel per litre – $0.64 Bus Ticket (one way) – $1.00 Taxi Ride – per km – $0.50 Tuc Tuc – 10 km ride – $6.00 Train Ticket 2nd class – $1.57 If you are visiting I would suggest you use the local taxis and tuc-tucs, driving may be a head-ache and unpleasing experience if you are not applied to the local norms. However, speeds do not go over 80km on the more prominent roads and overall a safe place to drive. The above detail are a good deal of of the items form the basis of the cost of living indexes for each basket group in the Xpatulator calculators, these costs are then used with their indexes and interchange rates to calculate the cost of living in dissimilar locations. For more info on Sri Lanka read more at www.xpatulator.com/outside.cfm. Most helpful customer reviews 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. |





