Cost of living in Mauritius

Hi there,
I'm from South Africa and it seems that we'll be moving to Mauritius next year. Can anyone help with regards to accommodation close to the new Mall of Mauritius, I thought of Moka because there is a pre-primary school for my 2-year old (will be 3 by then).
How far is Moka from this new Mall that opens on 29 September 2011?

Hi Mardu,

Moka is a very nice place, and is less than 5 kms for the Mall of Mauritius. I am sure they will be very Glad to know they have their First international customer waiting for them to open looks like it will take upwards of an year for it to come up!!

Cheers
Musheer

puneetkatyal wrote:

hi Julien,

I was talking about an accomodation, that is located near Cyber City, Ebene.
Julien, i went through the taxes things as well.......tell me is up to 300,000 exempted from tax?

Accomodation around cybercity would be around Rs. 10,000 to Rs.30,000 for a 2-3 bedroom house. Try looking for estate agents here or http://www.lexpressproperty.com/.

Hansa.

Hi All,

I am moving from Hungary to Mauritius in the middle of January with my girlfriend, the plan is that we will stay for 1 year.

We already accepted an offer, we will get a compensation about 80.000 MUR (before taxes) together.

Do you think from this amount of money, can we have a comfortable life in Mauritius? We are 25 / 28 years old.
I will rent out my flat here in Hungary, I hope this will cover the rent (or a part of it) in Mauritius.

We will be employed in the center of Port Louis, can you recommend affordable, but good places close to the capital? We would like to live close to the sea side, public transportation connection to Port Louis is important for us.

Thank you for the help, and sorry for the basic questions.

All the Best,
Gabor

The portal is really useful, the best what I found so far about the Island.

hello julien,

i am looking to transfer in mauritius and planning to live in quatre bornes .

firstly i am comming on a salary of 66000 MUR ( 2200 usd fixed per month ) before tax and will be sahring my house with a colleague. i would be earning somewhere around 57000 after tax in MUR

please could you advise me is quatre bornes a nice secured place and on an avaerage what can be a cost of living standard in totality for 2 people sharing all expenses.

yours help would be highly appreciable.

Regards
Yogesh Vyas

yogeshbvyas wrote:

hello julien,

i am looking to transfer in mauritius and planning to live in quatre bornes .

.....

please could you advise me is quatre bornes a nice secured place and on an avaerage what can be a cost of living standard in totality for 2 people sharing all expenses.

yours help would be highly appreciable.

Regards
Yogesh Vyas

Hi Yogesh

In Quatre Bornes, the best place to live is Sodnac, which is close to all amenities - shop, market,pharmacy etc...

As for costs, it depends on the type of accomodation you are looking for and the lifestyle you want to have here!

Thanks alisa-ram for the reply

I am talking of expenses like monthly costing for food telephone bills internet any local tax like council tax travelling

All in all the basic eminities

That will allow me to know how much more do I have to spend on other entertainment

Hi Gabor,
Moving to Mauritiius is a very good initiative for both of you with loads of different experiences and new challenges. However, you can also rent a house at Trou deau Douce near Touessrok Hotel in the eastal part of Mauritius. It has the most beautifull sands and beach in the island with loads of facilities. However do not hesitate to revert back for further query. regards nasreen

Hi Everyone

My advice to everyone who wants to move to Mauritius.  Location, location, location, is the most important thing specially when you can only get a work permit for 3 years then re-apply and you never know if the company still want's you... plus make you life enjoyable as Mauritius is beautiful..

I came to Mauritius not to sit in in the middle of the island miles away from the beach but  close to the sea or on the beach..  If you are an ex-pat here you probably will be able to afford live right on the beach or close to but remember to save money... try all the locations north, south east, west.. you will find out were the expensive places are the cheaper places look around.  example the South you can live on the beach for 15-20k, South East, Blue bay your looking at 60-80k... get your self a car and explore speak to the taxi drivers they know who is renting and the local area

good luck and enjoy

Well I decided to actually do the work and wrote a cost of living report I wrote recently (aimed at South Africans coming here) 

Basically a type of Mauritius for Newcomers guide....

If you want me to email it to you feel free to contact me on [email protected]

Ivan

Hi all,

just to give all those an idea who want to live in Mauritius:

The CPI (Consumer Price Index = Inflation) over the last 4 years was at around 8-9%. That means in 4 years around 34% inflation.

The CPI in those touristic and expat areas like Flic en Flac, Grand Baie, Ebene etc. is even worse (30-50% higher). Although I live in FeF, I meanwhile buy in Bambous, Port Louis, Quatre Bornes. But that means you need to have a car.

Another problem especially in summer is ... water. There is enough rain fall here, but the CWA's (Central Water Authority) pipes are full of holes and the last report suggested that 50% of the water disappears through these holes. Thus in FeF water delivery through the pipes is only from 5.00 am to 9.00 am and 16.00am to 20.00am (the peak hours) as otherwise even more  water would disappear in those holes. It has become even worse since I'm here (2003) and recently was already a water shortage announced for January in MBC (TV) ... In the north of FeF (Morcellement Anna) is the water pressure too low to fill the tanks ... Let's hope it rains soon...

Where there is light, there is also shadow ...

Hi everyone,

I'm writing you from the MidWest (central) region of the United States. I'm in the opening stages of considering a job in the north end of Mauritius and I'm hoping that I can get some feedback before I start talking salary and other compensation - no offer terms have been discussed yet.

To give you some background, I would be moving a household of seven (my wife and I, plus our 5 children). My wife is a stay at home mother and we home school our children, so paying for school is no a requirement. We currently live in a large home with enough room for a separate area where we conduct schoolwork and enough room and yard/garden for everyone to have enough space.

My income is just over $100K USD, plus about 15% annual bonus. I'm wondering what type of income after taxes would I need in order to afford a reasonable sized rental (5+ bedrooms), 2 vehicles (one for family big enough to transport 7 people and large dog, and one for me to get to work). Also consider sports and music training etc for 5 kids, some travel, and probably a return trip to US every year to visit family. My current location is inexpensive compared with most of USA and I want to be sure that our quality of life is at least equivalent, if not improved.

I appreciate any help. This will be a very difficult and important decision so any advice I can get from people who are living in mauritius would be highly appreciated.

Hello, I will try to give you some indication of cost living that could be appropriate for your project.

House rent : 70,000 rs per month
Electricity, water : 3,500
Telephone, television, internet : 3,500
Housemaid, gardener : 10,000
Car rentals : 35,000
gas : 20,000
Food : 40,000

I pay for tennis (one kid) 1,200 and 1,500 for piano lessons.
I would think that 250,000 rs per month may be OK, ie 100,000 USD per year, not including health plan (expensive) and tickets.

Of course you can make it less (the average revenue is very low here) but I am not sure this will be the life your are expecting.

Hope this will help.

Catherine,

Thank you for your detailed response. This may be very helpful. I'm actually looking for a simplified lifestyle so hopefully your figures will help me reach a decision if/when we start talking about compensation.

Thanks again.

To quote catherine there, i wouldnt say you need that much to live over here, like rent 70k, thats a bit expensive.
A 4 bedroom villa with swimming pool is rented arounf 40k per month in Blue bay.
And long term rental of car or 4x4 would be that much all depends on year model and who you rent it from.
I rent a 4x4 Yr 05 Rs15,000 per month thats about 350 euro, less than 15 eur per day.
Food, you can easily live on 20k, again depends on you lifestyle, thats how much i spend me and my wife.
Gas 20k, what type of gas is that? Usually i spend less than 1000 on gas, housemaid 7000, gardener 5000.
Hope this helps.

Rob
you kidding where on earth did you get such a great deal on a 4x$ rental....I am spending about 40 000....

would love to know your contact person

You need 4x4 or car. For how long. Send me your number by PM and i get the guy to call you later on today.
Depends on how long you be renting as well because this year be 3rd year im renting the 4x4. probably thats why such a deal. Also note you pay the insurance and road tax yourself. Its about Rs 25,000 yearly but still comes cheaper than 40k a year.
40k a year as per my previous post you can get a house at that price.

Hi All,
To those who asking me about house prices as per my previous post, the prices around the country varies, the 1 i mention is for Blue-Bay. Yesterday sm1 ask me to help to look for a place to rent, villa near beach with swimming pool, 4 bedroom, 30k budget, location Grand Bay. I wouldn't say its impossible its just i don't know any1. But i would say 30k per month 4 bedroom. GB. Would be very hard, as GB is more developed than many other places and have a lot of expat living around there. I know people paying around 30k per month for apartments in GB.
The person is arriving 21st of Jan
So if any can help this person please PM me with your number i get the person to call you.
Tx in advance

Expat Explorer,

Please note that it is *illegal* to home school your children in Mauritius. You may be able to slip "under the radar" as an ex-pat/foreigner (they tend to ignore us as they assume we're all just vacationing here), however, I would keep your arrangement quiet. Otherwise, you're looking at $8-9K per year, per student, for private secondary (i.e. middle/high) school.

Can I ask which home school program you're following? K12? Calvert?

RCK

Perhaps Somebody could help? I see some quite different estimates of what it is likely to cost to live in Mauritius. I am considering a job offer that is willing to pay approximately £ 60 000 sterling per annum. I would expect that one would be able to maintain a good living standard on this amount, however schooling seems very expensive and I am worried that after paying for schooling for two kids whats left could be quite tight to live. If anybody is in a similar situation I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer.

Thanks

Lutus

I need to answer to the last post. LOL
Lutus, with 60,000 pound sterling, you can easily have a very high, when i say high i mean HIGH standard of living, and probably school 10 kids easily. LoL.
60k is about Rs 3,000,000 a year. 250k month. I use like 100k a month so definatly you be living fine down here.
Cork is it the Cork from Ireland, if so on your way can you bring a keg of Guiness, the Guiness doesnt taste the same over here. LOL

Hi Rod

Thanks for the prompt reply. Thats good to know. Its just that English schooling seems to cost about RS 600 000 per annum  for 2 kids which is a fair chunk. Does your Rs 100 000 cover a family or are you single??

The Cork is Cork in Ireland and I will see what I can do about the Guinness! Thanks again

Lutus

rck01 wrote:

Expat Explorer,

Please note that it is *illegal* to home school your children in Mauritius. You may be able to slip "under the radar" as an ex-pat/foreigner (they tend to ignore us as they assume we're all just vacationing here), however, I would keep your arrangement quiet. Otherwise, you're looking at $8-9K per year, per student, for private secondary (i.e. middle/high) school.

Can I ask which home school program you're following? K12? Calvert?

RCK

RCK, could you point me in the direction of where you found that it is *illegal* to homeschool in Mauritius?

I am a homeschooler, and know many other families that homeschool here on the island, so would be interested in this information.

On my research I have found nothing for nor against homeschooling (except to say that school is mandatory till the age of 16), homeschooling tends to be a grey area even when calling the government departments, so perhaps I have missed something?

purplepixie,

I see that someone else already answered you on this forum over a year ago:

http://www.expat-blog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10000

Again, you may be able to get away with it here - as an ex-pat you blend in with the tourists - however, I would advise against openly discussing your situation, especially with the education authorities and/or police.

Note, also, that they recently began cracking down on truancy throughout the island. So if your kids are out-and-about during school hours, make sure they know the score should they get stopped and asked: "We're tourists here!"

RCK

Thanks, RCK, that thread you mentioned was started by me as I was inquiring about homeschooling before moving here.

I may be wrong, but I think that the government is more concerned about the kids who are citizens here and could perhaps become a burden on the system if not educated, rather than expat kids:/ ....well, this is what I keep telling myself, anyway!

purplepixie wrote:

Thanks, RCK, that thread you mentioned was started by me as I was inquiring about homeschooling before moving here.

I may be wrong, but I think that the government is more concerned about the kids who are citizens here and could perhaps become a burden on the system if not educated, rather than expat kids:/ ....well, this is what I keep telling myself, anyway!

However , in your original post , you were mainly concerned about the requirement of schooling wrt your upcoming or planned application for Mauritian citizenship, isn't it?
Then , won't  this be a requirement? Just curious

External, yes it was my original concern, however, since that original post, I learned that I can only apply for citizenship after living here for 4 years, therefore I continue to homeschool and in the meantime I am still on the lookout for more info with regards to the legal aspects of homeschooling here on the island, since I also have friends who homeschool, this info is important to them too

Just a thought: The laws are meant for anyone who lives on the island, irrespective of being a citizen or a foreigner?

You should ask a barrister or solicitor, they might be able to give you a clear answer to that.

Thanks, alisa_ram, we are looking into speaking to a lawyer who could perhaps advise us on this issue:)

An interesting topic@homeschooling. It's funny how some expat kids could be in a bus in the daytime and, when approached, they say they're 'tourists'. Haha.. that's so funny and I envy them. They'll probably become more 'street smart' on the bus journey anyway.
Re: cost of living - I noticed many expats spend all sorts of money for all sorts of things. This is true of locals, expats and everyone else I suppose. Though I cannot speak for others, I have recently (past few years) tried to live on as little as I could. My partner (Cecilia) read the average Mauritian family lived on Rs 4000 a month and we are trying to aim 'as close as' to this figure! Yes it is hard when you go to a restaurant and the bill is Rs 2000, but we generally do not count this in our 'Rs 4000 budget', rationalising that this was 'our choice'. However, in eating local vegetables bought from street vendors, trying to eat as much local produce instead of imported ones, riding bicycles for short trips, making our own tea and putting in a Thermos, owning a Britas Water Filter (instead of buying bottled water), stopped smoking (Rs 3000 a month saved!), drink local rum, driving a crappy banged-out Land Rover Defender (made of aluminium mostly.. parts available on ebay uk), I would say Cecilia and I do very nicely on the money front! (I will not mention 6 cats and 1 dog food bill comes to more than ours!.. again our choice!).

ps: One of my programmers I employ comes from India. He's on Rs 50,000 a month at the moment, has a brand new wife, shiny new boy and they are living most comfortably in Quatre bornes in two-bed appt (average standard). He sends money 'back home' and, on top of this, saving up for a car too!

In contrast, ten years ago when i was a programmer in London, I was earning ten times what my programmer earns with me now, changing cars every 6 months, partying every Friday and Saturday night.. never knew what sunday looked like....and was still wondering 'where's my money?'

The cost of living in Mauritius depends on how you want to live here.

Rent depends on where you live and how big a house/apt you want.

Food depends on what you eat, how many people you have to feed.

Transport depends on whether you travel by car/bike/bus. Petrol or bus/taxi fares.

It's not easy to give an estimate because the margin is big.

i wonder if mauritius is expensive, compared to living in the rest of the world?

sincerely,
islander.

islander77 wrote:

i wonder if mauritius is expensive, compared to living in the rest of the world?

sincerely,
islander.

You don't need to wonder! IT IS EXPENSIVE!!!!!
Twice of India for sure!!

We would gladly assist any expats that are looking for accommodation in the north.We have done our homework and know where to find value for money.

been to india musheer, i can say that food is great

friends also are saying this to me...

a burger is a few mouthfuls, and yet, the daily expense for a person is at least Rs100?

lets count an average living for Rs20,000(car,grocery,housing)? lol, better stay single, no pay for double:D

have a nice wkend everybody,
islander.

...Comparing the cost of living in Mauritius to  India  or to the Rest of the world  is not a very intelligent comparison in my view Mr Musheer or Mr Islander.

Sounds like a a football  match Mauritius V/s the Rest of the World.

India is not exactly the size of a handkerchief....

True.. India is a separate story.. Agreed it is cheap, but a lot of other hassles come with everyday life which people living outside of India can probably never even imagine about..

Going through the thread, another interesting topic caught my eye.. I see some expats are planning to apply for citizenship / permanent residence on the basis of duration of stay > 4 years. Is there any other clause attached to it?
I have read about the different ways to acquire permanent residence in Mauritius (IRS, professional income > 1.5 million MUR/annum, salary > 150000 MUR/month, etc).
But is there any other way apart from what I know?

Hi
I am from South Africa and Recently i was offered a job as a Magento eCommerce web developer. Before i even consider moving, i would like to know what the cost of living is like.

I have looked at houses and villas, and this will be part of my package RS 40000, including medical aid.

So we need to exclude these. So on average would 115 000 MUR be enough to live comfortably with a wife and 2 kids (4 and 1 years of age).

I also want to ship my own car up (if this is allowed), so car rentals could be excluded as well.

Regards
Shaughn

shaughn wrote:

I also want to ship my own car up (if this is allowed), so car rentals could be excluded as well.

Hi Shaughn

I would advise against you shipping your car here as this will cost you two arms and both legs!!!

Otherwise Rs 100k+ will be more than sufficient for you to live here with your wife and two kids!