The Moldovan Connection


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Cost of Living in Chisinau

This page will show you my monthly living expenses starting with September 2005. The main purpose of this page is to give you a real life example of what it costs to live in Chisinau, so that you could compare it with the official living minimum and with the average salary in Moldova. There are a few caveats, please read them to avoid getting a wrong impression from my particular way of life.

Here's a chart of Food and Utilities expenses. These are the only two categories that are constant, while others depend on circumstances and vary wildly from month to month.
Chart of Monthly Expenses

I apologise if the table is not as readable as it could be, but I am not sure how to format it. Suggestions are welcome.

All amounts are in US dollars, converted from Moldovan Leu at the National Bank Of Moldova rate on the last day of the respective month.

Month Food and drink Baby Pet (cat) Transport (incl. taxi) Utilities Communi-
cations		 Health and Beauty Household Clothing Enter-
tainment		 Total Exchange rate (per 1 $)
September 2009 296 44 23 13 42 33 86 120 48 15 720 MDL 11.50
August 2009 357 87 3 2 30 95 46 88 239 12 959 MDL 11.21
July 2009 331 141 6 9 43 26 26 87 170 12 851 MDL 11.20
June 2009 276 64 41 3 45 25 29 27 75 36 621 MDL 11.24
May 2009 410 41 23 4 55 34 41 37 136 15 796 MDL 11.22
April 2009 256 163 6 11 82 33 45 73 39 17 725 MDL 11.30
March 2009 280 159 35 12 92 25 13 58 72 20 766 MDL 10.96
February 2009 316 57 3 24 117 26 21 33 87 12 696 MDL 10.66
January 2009 256 167 7 6 93 36 14 12 166 12 769 MDL 10.52
December 2008 318 98 47 8 66 36 255 54 0 17 899 MDL 10.40
November 2008 337 192 46 22 38 27 53 64 267 15 1061 MDL 10.38
October 2008 328 205 10 7 38 26 44 68 93 8 827 MDL 10.36
September 2008 264 164 41 3 37 37 35 12 35 8 636 MDL 10.36
August 2008 297 179 13 20 59 42 57 35 23 13 738 MDL 9.66
July 2008 313 420 45 1 42 49 48 97 77 22 1104 MDL 9.71
June 2008 353 184 41 1 65 40 48 45 5 8 790 MDL 9.92
May 2008 346 222 7 9 32 46 58 80 158 8 892 MDL 10.25
April 2008 351 501 45 1 60 45 60 39 0 12 1041 MDL 10.37
March 2008 230 203 3 1 62 27 46 94 8 14 616 MDL 10.61
February 2008 271 188 4 1 61 26 37 38 87 13 726 MDL 11.19
January 2008 192 59 42 1 64 25 84 24 75 15 581 MDL 11.28
December 2007 254 315 3 1 49 42 50 23 7 7 751 MDL 11.32
November 2007 181 103 35 3 47 24 63 15 88 7 566 MDL 11.26
October 2007 180 88 3 1 29 25 188 78 90 7 689 MDL 11.47
September 2007 214 212 37 6 30 51 334 119 26 7 1036 MDL 11.51
August 2007 202 --- 0 6 29 32 76 47 72 13 477 MDL 12.08
July 2007 218 --- 33 4 20 39 45 50 14 8 431 MDL 12.11
June 2007 284 --- 5 3 24 29 16 240 22 6 629 MDL 12.27
May 2007 235 --- 32 7 22 39 123 108 147 19 732 MDL 12.42
April 2007 234 --- 3 11 41 32 122 102 220 6 771 MDL 12.41
March 2007 278 --- 29 11 40 38 35 244 134 30 839 MDL 12.52
February 2007 176 --- 2 10 44 30 78 50 37 6 433 MDL 12.80
January 2007 146 --- 33 13 33 30 112 43 1 6 417 MDL 12.97

Please read the notes below regarding the data in the table:

  1. Prior to September 2007, all expenses related to a family of 2 - young husband and wife (in their twenties). Starting September 2007, the family expanded to include a little girl :) .
  2. These expenses do not include rent or mortgage because we don't pay any (my parents own the apartment);
  3. The "Baby" category includes items that relate exclusively to the baby, such as clothes, diapers etc. Some items that we buy for our daughter but which can be used by us (e.g. some medicines, food etc.) go into their respective categories. Thus, the real Baby-related expenses are likely to be higher than what goes into the respective column in the table.
  4. Exchange rates are taken from the National Bank of Moldova for the last day of each month. With the falling USD, the dollar amounts are inflated even if the MDL amounts stay the same or are slightly lower.
  5. When we buy food and drinks, we usually buy WHAT WE WANT, provided it is not abnormally expensive. We almost never eat out, but cook our food at home. I would say we buy a lot of stuff average Moldovans would not buy because of low disposable income. However, to have a decent quality of life (i.e. be able to consume coffee, chocolate, high quality meat etc.) one would have to spend at least as much as we do.
  6. Communications include home phone bill, mobile phone prepaid cards, internet and occasional international mail;
  7. I mostly work from home, so public transport expenses relate mainly to Sasha, my wife; Transport also includes an occational taxi when coming home late in the evening;
  8. Entertainment includes mainly going out to have dinner with friends, buying magazines and paying for cable TV.

For those looking for prices of individual items, here's another table. It shows average price of items in the last month when we bought it (in MDL). Thus, these prices may not be correct at all during periods of fast changes (early summer for vegetables and fruits, for example). These tables are shown on an "as is" basis and are for guidance purposes only. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want the table to contain other items. These prices are by no means the cheapest available - they are averages for us, depending on when and where we bought the respective products.

Category Average unit price in MDL Last measured month
Food
Fresh champignons, 1kg 30.50 Sep-09
Pasta, 0.4kg 14.44 Aug-09
Flour, 2kg 15.91 Sep-09
Rice, 0.5kg 6.65 Oct-09
Milk, 1 litre 6.67 Oct-09
Butter, 200g 13.00 Oct-09
Yoghurt 4x125g 12.72 Oct-09
Veal, 1kg 85.00 Aug-09
Pork, 1kg 98.26 Oct-09
Salami, 1kg 157.55 Sep-09
Carbonated drink, 2 litres 12.60 Jul-09
Mineral water, 6 litres 14.10 Aug-09
Tea, 100 teabags 28.04 Aug-09
Cabbage, 1kg 4.00 Aug-09
Zuccini, 1kg 7.30 Sep-09
Potatoes, 1kg 4.50 Oct-09
Onions, 1kg 5.00 Sep-09
Carrots, 1kg 4.60 Oct-09
Cucumbers, 1kg 10.00 Jun-09
Tomatoes, 1kg 8.30 Oct-09
Frozen chicken, 1kg 27.50 Sep-09
Eggs, 10pcs 13.80 Oct-09
Juice, 2 litres 18.42 Sep-09
Cheese, 1kg 80.40 Oct-09
Bananas, 1kg 17.50 Jun-09
Lemons, 1kg 20.63 Oct-09
Apples, 1kg 5.00 Sep-09
Household chemicals
Fairy, 2 litres 44.28 Aug-09
Persil detergent, 2kg 107.88 Sep-09
Liquid Soap, 1 litre 20.75 Aug-09
Calgon, 0.5kg 43.00 Oct-09
Hygiene
Toilet paper x10 pack 53.66 Sep-09
Aquafresh toothpaste 17.30 Oct-09
Toothbrush 20.70 Sep-09
Utilities
Electricity, 1 kilowatt-hour 1.10 Oct-09
Tap water, 1 cubic metre 5.07 Oct-09
Hot water (in addition to tap water charge), 1 cubic metre 19.47 Oct-09
Central heating, 1 gigacalory 540.82 Oct-09
Natural gas, 1 cubic metre 3.22 Oct-09
Public transport
Trolleybus 2.00 Oct-09
Bus 3.00 Oct-09
Maxi-Taxi (Minibus, "Marshrutka", "Rutiera") 3.00 Oct-09
Taxi, short distance within city 25-30 Oct-09