What apartment can you get in cusco for $150 per month?! How cheaply can you live in Cusco, Peru!! Do expats lie through their teeth when they say their entire budget in Cusco is $500?! Let’s find out!... Safe Travels, Scott Anthony.
I'm currently in Northern Vietnam in Sa Pa, y'all!!!! I did spend another few months in Peru before I came here so please check out my other (nicer) digs I stayed in in those videos! I stayed in one place that was $1000.00/month in San Blast, Cusco that was TOTAL FULL ON BALLER compared to the place shown in this video, hahahaha. But I will always appreciate this place. I loved it so, so much and it kinda saved my life during the tough times of 2020 and 2021 that we all went thru together. That view and the fresh air sorta saved my life and held things together very nicely. I will always be super grateful for that and the very lovely woman who owns it who was so kind to me. May she be blessed forever. -Scott
@@ashmarbarbour I get paid to make travel videos (sometimes) and I write articles for USA based company. I also taught English in person, and online, while based in Cusco. Also, sometimes, companies pay me for footage and that's SUPER COOL when that happens as it takes me about an hour to organize the requested shots and it sometimes pays really well ($500 a clip) Thanks for the compliment and safe travels!!! xoxo
I stayed in much nicer apartments after this one. Way, way nicer. And I still sort of miss this one. I am very fond of it and happy to have had it and lived in it.
thank you Claude! Yes, this is indeed possible. Also, if you have it in your country I recommend T-mobile Simple for your cell phone card... it's $26/month and works in Peru quite well so far! 3 GB of data per month. Excellent deal and no changing of SIM card.
My rent in total in a very nice proper apartment in Bangkok outskirts Minburi is 200 bucks in total....it amazed me that proper apartment in Cusco is more expensive than Bangkok. To be honest some of Apartment like studio room in Bangkok with no furniture no Air-conditioned is only 50-80 bucks which doesn't look ugly like this one in Cusco....I thought I would have moved to live and study Spanish in Cusco.. I ll have to look more destinations!!!
Yes Cusco does surprise people with its budget for equivalent food quality and apartments to Bangkok. I am not surprised at all your budget is Lower because I’ve lived in Thailand extensively. Good for you that you have a great budget in such an amazing city!!
Also, you could get a nice place in cusco for $200 per month. Definitely. But your food budget will be much higher if you don’t cook all the time so make sure you have a good kitchen and a refrigerator (very important).
Update!! We will be in Quarantine (again) - all of Cusco - until the end of the month. We can still go outside but their are restrictions once again and Sunday NOBODY can go out.
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Shows will resume with more consistency in a couple months. Booking another plane ticket soon!! Happy travels and be well!
I would go to the restaurant Greenpoint in Cusco and ask the waiter where to find an apartment. Those guys usually know. If that doesn’t work go to a French restaurant called “La Boheme” and ask your waiter. Those are the two hubs where you can find information.
Scott, I just finished watching your interview on Dan's channel. When the link brought me here I realized that I'd seen this video before. I recalled the sketchy shower heater/head wiring. We just returned from a trip in Costa Rica a few days ago & one of the VRBOs had the same type of heaters on the showers. I got a laugh from them & remembered you'd just shown it in Peru. I just subscribed & am looking forward to watching your upcoming videos. It will be interesting to see whether you concentrate on "cheap accommodations" or on "holistic health" videos. Maybe you can do both? If you decide to offer an E-book I'd be happy to give you an email address for it. I'm 57 and seem to find myself interested in both travel and dealing with various health issues. (It seems that surfing RU-vid during C-19 isn't very healthy...) I'm going to look through your older video collection and will probably be asking a few questions.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony That's a coincidence, we've been discussing a graduation trip with our daughter in May, and Portugal was mentioned as a possible destination. But who knows what C-19 will allow by then. It's been a real crap-shoot to schedule around.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony I too just came over from Dan's channel and subscribed to yours. I think you'll like Portugal. The south (Algarve region) is beautiful with many English speakers due to the expats from England retiring there. I was only there for a week but we were able to rent a house on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic because it was a one week special thing but it was pretty cheap. The average salary there in Portugal is around $1500 so it's not nearly as expensive as the rest of Europe. I think you should be able to find a decent place to live for cheap although I don't know if you'll be able to find something for $150.
Really nice, interesting people who are usually interested in yoga, plant medicine and healing arts. Also, people who don’t need hot weather to be happy. 😎
That view is amazing! I’ve been to Cuzco a couple of times, and I love the place. How are you dealing with the visa situation? I don’t remember how long mine were for, but I seem to remember 90 days. It’s one thing to scoot out of the country overnight to refresh it if you’re in Lima, but obviously that is not practical being in Cuzco.
Sorry it took me so long to answer this! In the past, I would take the bus to Bolivia (Copacabana) and get 6 months at a time (not that easy to do -- I was very lucky). Then, I was in Cusco during the pandemic where the Peruvian government was gracious and generous enough to give a HUGE amount of unpenalized, extra visa time. I was in Cusco for a long time. Now things can be a bit trickier and time can be shorter. Things are a bit different now. Generally, you get 3 months at a time. It's possible there are exceptions to this with a little forethought and effort.
Good morning Scott ☀️ are you in Vietnam? missing your precious joyful essence .... all is very well in mountains of Peru ... how are you, what's your news 💖
just stumbled on your channel looking for ex-pat living and thanks for sharing. One big question is the weather way up in Cusco and the activities, culture, dining, local markets? Thanks
There’s lots of dining options, museums and amazing hiking!!! There’s a mall with a movie theater. There’s cultural stuff every day and festivities. It does get kinda COLD!! Also it’s very rainy from November to March so be aware!!!
That’s an interesting question. Because if pandemic times are over soon it would be about the same. Everything was significantly cheaper in pandemic times. Honestly I think most people are aren’t super well connected would have to pay $300 - $350 for a nice place that is a nice size and everything works properly.
The place shown in this video is a unique situation … I don’t think the price would change much Bc it’s supertrrr small. But a place twice as nice and twice the size I think would be $350 USD per month. But it probably wouldn’t have nearly as nice a view.
Nice video. Are you not able to put screens in the windows and seal up the wholes to keep the spiders out? I'm planning on moving to South America but id like to have a secure living space. No massive spiders! Lol
Kevin Vall in a lot of homes in San Blas, spiders are a problem. It really depends. Some more than others. But I agree it can be disconcerting 😂😂. It really depends.
@@paigeturner2055 Hi Paige! The thing about apartments like this -- they are RARELY EVER taken by "tourists." You have to be connected to get deals like this. People who stay in places like this are very likely seasoned travelers because this stuff is word of mouth and you have to be staying for minimum 2-3 months to get a place like this. Those kinds of people are sooooooo used to stuff like that happening, they don't even blink and so are the landlords (used to spiders)! They would never THINK of telling you about something like that because it's just part of life on a severe budget in places like this. In one place in Jogja, Java, Indonesia (visiting temples on the island) I got bit up pretty bad by mosquitos and it wasn't super fun! Hahahaha, but it was like $10 bucks a night -- so that kind of thing occasionally happens at low budget levels. Safe Travels to you!! xoxo Scott Anthony.
update: The owners DID update the PLACE!!! And it looks pretty fabulous now considering the price. And of course the view is just terrific. Having a shower sort of "outside" can be a bummer tho.
Thanks!! The best way to locate an apartment is to join BOTH Expat Cusco Facebook groups. You should also ask some of the tienda owners in an area you like. All the tour guides I know are gone right now. But if you need a jungle tour from April to September next year try www.ethnoco.com they are the very best and not expensive.
Cusco is still a pretty budget friendly place to live!! That place is more like $225/month now and there are massive problems with the shower. But you can’t beat that view!!! I mean wow 🤩
Hi Scott; I’m trying to decide if I want to travel to Cusco or Arequipa Peru. 🇵🇪 Have you been to both locations and which location is your favorite or differences!?
That’s a great question. I have limited experience in Arequipa. Even though it’s the second biggest city in Peru it feels smaller to me than Cusco. It feels, perhaps, more boring than Cusco - but in a good way. Cusco is more central in Peru, geographically, to a lot of things and is the capital of the Inca Empire and you certainly feel that. I would not want to live in Arequipa and it’s difficult to articulate why. I like it here.
Answer!: A proper budget for living in Cusco, Peru at a fairly modest level is $1,000 USD per month. This includes rent -- which will probably be $200 - $350/ month, a very small amount of mini-travel money to nearby places, having a cocktail occasionally (if you drink), some kind of exercise like a gym or some yoga classes (not an expensive gym... just a regular one), a verrrry infrequent semi-fancy meal or two and misc expenses like bringing food or booze or other things to a party. Maybe a teeth cleaning at the dentist (about $30 dollars). In short, a very simple, pretty basic, but nice life where you have to be quite careful with your money. Other places where I feel $1,000 USD per month can be pretty nice (but still you have to be careful with your money): Chiang Mai, Thailand, Kathmandu, Nepal, Ubud, Bali, Koh Phan Gnan, Thailand, Hanoi, Vietnam, Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia, Pokhara, Nepal! La Paz, bolivia is a very interesting place that I like a lot and you could prob lower the monthly budget to $700 or $800 USD per month if you got a really good rent deal! Buenos Aires is probably more like $1200 or $1300 USD in my opinion because rent will be higher and booze is more expensive.
She is not renting at the moment but you can ask the tienda owner named Alejandro near the intersection of Tanda Pata and Atoqsaycuchi about rentals in the area!!! Good luck and safe travels.
The people who live in Cusco, were all like: "Wow it's so smallllll...You are paying WAY too much!" While the American expats were all like: "I'd pay at least $150/month!" hahahaha. Things get "cooler" when you're not in your own country.
Laura for me to live very well by myself with gym, eating out, some wine every now and then, health insurance, just a bit of breathing room as well... it’s about $1,000 per month.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony Thank you! It's good to know. I would love to take the family to the Urubamba valley. It's so beautiful over there, though I love Cusco city too. They are both enchanting. My mother is from downtown Cusco and I wish she still had a house there.
I have been to Cusco a lot and never encountered those spiders. Thankfully! Are there neighborhoods where they are less of a problem, or ideally, not at all?
If you live in Cusco and are not just visiting, one had better get used to seeing large spiders (usually Huntsman) a LOT. Pretty much no matter where you live in Cusco, if you are very uncomfortable with spiders you should not live here. Now that being said living in a modern, expensive building in Cusco... that is a different story. If your place is expensive and new, you will likely escape any difficulties. Cusco is a much harder place to live than it appears... not talking about staying here a month or two, but REALLY living here. This is due to a number of factors that can strengthen over time: lack of oxygen, food hygiene at many restaurants, constant rain (from December to April), and other factors. That said, if you've spent enough time here all those factors go close to zero...but that takes a year or longer.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony Eeeeek! I do not know how I have managed to avoid those spiders. I have stayed with friends over the years and never seen those spiders. I might have to opt for one of those more modern, expensive places. Or, get a lot of cats! I'd imagine spiders don't love cats... although at that size, they may not care!
@@dianevalenti7753 Anyone who lives in the San Blas neighborhood of Cusco (even in a somewhat modern, lovely apartment) sees these spiders on a weekly basis (I asked around!!!) However, if you live in different fancy neighborhoods around Cusco, in a modern building that is somewhat fancy to fancy, you may avoid seeing them for the most part or completely! xoxo
3 года назад
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony But Google says they are not dangerous, I suppose is the appearance hehe :D
Thank you for your comment. I’ve been living in Peru off and on for 3 years and I’ve interviewed numerous expats who’ve lived here between 8 and 20 years. They love Peru and did not go back home for a reason. 🇵🇪
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony Please don't erase this message. As I said before I have lived here 10 years, married to a Peruana have a DNI Peruano and fluent in Spanish. It is no wonder the Spanish conquered the Indigenas. They play music until 5:00 in the morning. Where I live there is a park in front where they put a toilet. Threw a dead dog and left it. They constantly throw trash in front of our house. The taxistas have no respect for the law. I have had to fight the delinquents in our neighborhood. (Won both times). My wife has been robbed and her daughter son and mother as well. They tried to rob me but were unsuccessful. The dogs run in packs and tear the garbage apart which brings rats and flies. I could go on if I had the space.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony At nite turn all your lights out, and just watch the ufo over the mountains. Surprised you hadn't seen any yet, day Time THEIR there in & out..
Depends on the city. Lima is much more expensive (I think) than cusco. I’ve looked into it a little bit. I think you could get something really nice for $100 - $200k in Cusco. Maybe even close to $120k. Cusco is a wonderful city to live in (especially the Sacred Valley) as long as you don’t mind rain for 5 months straight.
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony damn 5 months lol i live in miami so i can do rain and ive been to cusco when i was younger like mid 90s i deff wana move back i was born in callao i miss the food thanx alot and becareful
Hello, can you post the address of your apartment or contact info of your landlord?seriously planning to go to Cusco and stay for at least 3 months after the pandemic. Thanks!
My apologies. This place is by strict personal reference only. But AirBnB has tons of inexpensive options in Cusco and post on the expats FB page too!!!
@@OneWayTicketwithScottAnthony I'm curious, does Peru have any laws that would prohibit people from doing remote work there, and not pay any local taxes? I believe places like Thailand and Philippines may have such laws on the books but maybe not strictly enforced.
manasyt it def gets cold. During the cold months it gets to 25-28 degrees Fahrenheit and in the warmer months it gets as low as 35-42 degrees faranheit.
Funny you should say that. I think it’s the best service of any hotel in cusco or maybe tied w Palacio del Inka - and I will probably stay there one day!!
Anupam Shah jobs that pay more than $300-$400 USD per month are very hard to find in Cusco. And even THOSE jobs are pretty hard to find. If you want to live in cusco you must have pre-existing income streams.
