Costs of living in Jakarta, INDONESIA

Rent, apartment or house: from US$1500, average US$2200.-

healthcare, here one can not trust doctors, so I visit one which cost me around US$120, per visit.

recreation is maybe the less expensive, but the quality of the shows is not so good..... if they are local, it can cost US$5 to US$10. If is from abroad, let say Diana Kral concert... is much expensive, jumping to US$150.- for the restaurants.. there is a big variety, for one person, the range goes from US$10 to US$50, or even more if it includes wine...

for the daily expenses on food... one needs to visit three supermarkets to get everything, and all are imports goods.. which means that for a family of 4, two adults, two children, the average y US$600 to US$1000 monthly.

This is a very expensive city for expats, who have to pay much more than a indonesian citizen fro the same things. But what makes life so expensive is that the quality of goods and hygiene is so poor that we have to buy imports and use filters for the water, or lot of pest control toxins, etc... which means lots of products, more especify stuffs and more expensive because of the quality.

monthly costs

Rent: 1200 USD, one family house
Utilities: app 150 USD monthly
Transportation: 300 USD, gasoline
Food: 300 USD, no restaurant included

Rent: around 150 USD/month, for a rented single bedroom (moderate house, not apartment) near CBD area. Included air con and bathroom inside, not included electricity, gas and water expenses.

Utilities: roughly another 100 USD/month combined for electricity, gas and water.

Transportation: Gasoline cost around 100-150 USD/month (National Gas company, not Shell) for a city car.

Food: depends on what kind of place you are eating out. There are always sidewalk stalls offering local food with cheaper price but poorer sanitary and hygiene.
For these stalls, it cost around 1-2 USD/meal incl beverage.
Moderate Restaurants and fast food (like McD) cost around 5 USD/meal, incl beverage.

Recreation: movies cost around 3-5 USD during weekend.
There's not much recreation around Jakarta, except for numerous malls, movies and cafe/lounges/clubs, which price varies from place to place.

I just came back from US last Jun 2009:

Please note that the car price is 2-3 times more expensive than US. All electronics are also more than 20% higher. I'm comparing with exact same model and year.

It will be a lot cheaper if you cook for yourself. We do have cheap food, but you need to be selective. I'd suggest you to go with local friend to one of those. Buffet and Steakhouse are almost the same price. US$10-$15 mid-range buffets are pretty common, hotel's buffet can go from $25.

All clubs/pubs/karaokes mark up the drink price. Domestic bottled beer can cost you $5-$7 easily, bottled whiskey and wine are at least 2x the price in US, because of 100% import tax.

you have many options on living in jakarta.

choosing to stay in an expat area will cost you a lot, since the landflord will charge you with US$ more than 1000 per month. if you choose to rent an ordinary house (need more effort) it will cost you no more than US600 for a house in southern jakarta. (just avoid the expat area...)

i sugggest you to rent an apartment,. inKuningan the apartement cost US$400 - 800 for furnished. and its near from embassies and office area.

living cost is expensive if you consider a super hygieneic life,. eating in restaurants and having super quality food. i suggest to try local restaurant that will cost you no more than 20$ (IDR 200.000) for delivery for a full family meal.

regards,. should there be any questions, please email to emadeus_ree@yahoo.com.
im not an expat, but im an indonesian. i have many expat friends and therefore i know how they spend their living cost.

Rent $ 3000 for a 3500 sq ft villa in South Jakarta,

Car fuel $150 per month, driver $ 250,

Food and Groceries $600,

Utilities $350,

Recreation $300 for a family of 4,

Medical costs are paid for by employer but costs an average of $ 40 per visit to an expat oriented facility + medicines

Living cost for low middle class western standard in Jakarta, Indonesia

$600 rent (North Jakarta)

$120 electricity

$40 water

$200 - 250 primary education per child

$100 - 150 healthcare per pax

$100 - 125 recreation per pax

$200 - 250 food per pax

$350 car fuel, insurance, maintenance