Cost of Living Forum
Cost of Living in Alexandria for a Long-Time Resident
Hi everyone, I’ve been living in Alexandria for over 20 years now, but I’m curious to hear from others about the current cost of living situation. My income and expenses haven’t changed much recently, but I feel like prices keep going up in certain areas.
I’m a single homeowner with no kids, working a stable government job. My main expenses are my mortgage, utilities, car costs, and entertainment/dining out. How do your monthly budgets compare? What are you paying these days for things like housing, groceries, restaurants, transportation, etc.?
I’d also be interested to hear from people in different situations – families, renters, recent transplants, high and low income. What has your experience been with the affordability of living in Alexandria? Looking forward to getting a range of perspectives!
2 Replies
As a foodie living in Alexandria, I’ve definitely noticed restaurant prices creeping up over the years. A casual meal out for one now runs around $12-15 at an inexpensive restaurant. And if you want a nice three-course dinner for two at a mid-range place, you’re looking at $45-50 pretty easily, especially if you get drinks or apps.
Groceries for basic staples like bread, eggs, milk etc. still seem reasonable to me – maybe $30-40 per week for one person. But higher-end items like imported cheeses and quality meats can really add up. I probably spend $100+ per week on my fancier grocery hauls.
My rent for a decent 1-bedroom apartment close to the center is around $1100 after utilities. So the cost of housing is definitely the biggest drain on my budget as a single professional. But I personally think the accessibility and amenities of living in Alexandria are worth it for my lifestyle priorities right now. Though I may need to move further out if rent keeps rising!
I moved to Alexandria 5 years ago with my wife and two young kids, and I have to say, the cost of living here as a family has been no joke! We knew housing would be pricey, but some of the other costs caught us off guard.
Our 3-bedroom rental house outside the city center still runs us $2200 a month, which already eats up a huge portion of our combined incomes. Then you add in childcare costs – we pay almost $1600 per month for one kid in a private full-time preschool/daycare situation. The yearly tuition for our older child’s private primary school was over $10k as well.
Costs for kids’ activities, family entertainment, doctor visits, etc. also add up quickly. We easily spend $800-1000 per month on groceries and household essentials to feed our family of four. My wife had to go back to work after having kids because my income alone wouldn’t be enough to make ends meet comfortably here.
All that said, Alexandria has been a great place to raise a family so far in terms of amenities, schools, parks, and overall quality of life. But it’s definitely a costly city for families to reside in long-term. We’re already looking at our options for the future as the kids get older and costs keep rising.
Detailed Price Insights of Abilene, TX
- Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant – 12.00 $
- Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course – 47.50 $
- McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) – 4.86 $
- Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) – 5.00 $
- Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) – 7.00 $
- Cappuccino (regular) – 5.12 $
- Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) – 3.17 $
- Water (0.33 liter bottle) – 2.50 $
- Milk (regular), (1 liter) – 1.24 $
- Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) – 1.65 $
- Rice (white), (1kg) – 5.06 $
- Eggs (regular) (12) – 3.23 $
- Local Cheese (1kg) – 11.02 $
- Chicken Fillets (1kg) – 12.11 $
- Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) – 16.66 $
- Apples (1kg) – 5.40 $
- Banana (1kg) – 1.32 $
- Oranges (1kg) – 4.41 $
- Tomato (1kg) – 5.24 $
- Potato (1kg) – 3.28 $
- Onion (1kg) – 3.25 $
- Lettuce (1 head) – 2.10 $
- Water (1.5 liter bottle) – 2.25 $
- Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) – 15.25 $
- Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) – 1.73 $
- Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) – 3.75 $
- Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) – 8.00 $
- Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) – 3.50 $
- Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) – 1.49 $
- Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) – 35.00 $
- Gasoline (1 liter) – 0.70 $
- Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) – 36,884.90 $
- Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) – 27,497.72 $
- Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment – 170.08 $
- Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data – 45.56 $
- Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) – 60.00 $
- Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat – 12.00 $
- Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child – 1,576.67 $
- International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child – 10,230.00 $
- 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) – 50.00 $
- 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, …) – 32.00 $
- 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) – 75.00 $
- 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes – 110.00 $
- Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre – 850.00 $
- Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre – 1,000.00 $
- Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre – 1,350.00 $
- Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre – 1,238.00 $
- Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre – 1,238.00 $
- Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) – 3,000.00 $
- Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate – 6.66
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