Daily Living Expenses Nobody Tells You About Until You Arrive

Let me tell you about the worst financial surprise of my expat life. When I moved to Lisbon, I found a beautiful apartment listed at $1,200 per month. Perfect, I thought. I have been living on $2,500 a month in various cities and this is even cheaper. Then I moved in and started adding up the actual costs. First month total came to $1,890. What happened?

When you see an apartment listed, you are only seeing the tip of the cost iceberg. The deposit is almost always two to three months rent, sometimes even more in popular expat cities like Lisbon, Barcelona, and Amsterdam. Some countries require you to pay this deposit in cash upfront, no exceptions. Then there are agency fees. In many countries, the tenant pays the agent's commission, which can be one month's rent or a percentage of annual rent.

When I moved to Mexico, I assumed utilities would be cheap. And they are, per unit. But here is what I did not know. In many countries, you pay for water and trash separately from your rent, and bills come quarterly or semi-annually, not monthly. This makes budgeting a nightmare because some quarters you get hit with a $200 water bill out of nowhere.

Why does everyone warn about this? Because it varies so wildly and it shocks people every time. A decent phone plan with data in Thailand costs $15 per month. In Japan, the same plan might cost $60 because the market is less competitive and regulations are stricter. In the UAE, VoIP calls are restricted on most plans, so your cheap plan might be almost useless if you need to make regular video calls home.

Even with travel insurance or local health coverage, you will pay some things out of pocket. Dental cleanings are rarely covered by basic travel insurance. Eye exams and glasses might not be. Prescription medications vary wildly in price. In Germany, I paid $5 for medications that cost $150 in the US because German pricing regulations keep drug costs low.

If you have a pet, add 30 to 50 percent to your budget for pet-related expenses. Importing a pet to a new country can cost $500 to $3,000 depending on vaccination and quarantine requirements. Some countries have breed restrictions. Some apartments charge double deposit for pets. Monthly pet rent of $50 to $200 is common in the US and parts of Asia.

Do not trust the advertised rent. Call it the "rent illusion." Multiply it by 1.3 to 1.5 to get your actual monthly housing cost. Then add 20 percent on top of that for utilities and incidentals. If that total still fits your budget, you are probably okay. If it does not, keep looking. The hidden costs of expat life are predictable. They just catch everyone by surprise.