Cost of living 2018 in Mongolia

I'll bite. As a foreigner coming to Mongolia in the summer. Here is what I want to know.

1) I'm big on buying locally produced foods. I need lots of protein and fiber. What are costs for mutton and apples?

2) I'm looking to rent from Airbnb and I see prices are around $500 a month for everything. Are there better deals?

3) gym membership on a monthly basis.

4) entertainment costs like going to clubs.

5) extracurricular activities like horseback riding or going into the countryside

Ill

Hey Metto,

1) 1kg of beef, horse or lamb is depending on the season between 6,000 - 8,000 MNT. Meat in general is crazy cheap. It's meat country. However, you'll find it hard to get a specific cut. Meat is meat to Mongolians, whether that's a tenderloin or flank.
1 kg of 'local' apples is 6,000 MNT. American gala apples double that.
If you have a diet plan for working out, you'll have to improvise a lot as many western ingredients aren't available.

2) You can get decent apartments for 500 USD. Go check the following websites:
www.unegui.com (sales site for everything)
www.mongolia-properties.comwww.marco.mn (don't use the English version as its database is separate and outdated)
www.aimm.mn
Below 500 USD or 1,250,000 Tugrik the apartments usually are older and don't have a good feel to them.

3) A standard downtown gym is around 100,000 MNT. There are super fancy ones like river side club and one in Shangri-La with prices up to 600k.

4) Club entry fees, tax, is the following:
Set 10k, before ten it's free.
Castle 10k
Mint 20k
Zuu 20k
Choco 10k, before ten it's free

Beers in bars and clubs are around 5k - 6k. Vodka is cheap. Mint is expensive though, given my experience of German clubs. Be sure not to have a challenging or provoking face when in clubs. A friendly smile always helps.

Cinema 8k or 20k for VIP seats at IMAX Shangri-La.

Taxi 1k MNT for 1 Kilometer

5) No idea. Guessing not much though

Cheers

Thank you so much, xpohoc!

Regarding clubs like the German one, who do I have to watch out for? Locals or foreigners?

When is a good time to visit Mongolia? I'm coming out for a month to test some software. I know it is brutally cold in the winter and moderately hot in the summer.

I'm from Los Angeles and I can handle weather anywhere from 50 F (10 C) to 100 F (38 C) as long as there isn't too much humidity in the heat nor the cold is brutal the type that gets into your bones.

TIA

Hey Metto,

It's the locals who might want to stare you down, especially after having a few vodkas. So it's like anywhere I guess. I also heard one shouldn't be too aggressive when approaching women, which I never did, since at some point the girls will aggressively try to get your attention on the dance floor usually Having said all that, I have been here over 1 year and in many different places throughout the entire year and never had any problem with anybody whatsoever.

Winter time, by which I mean cold or colder temperatures lasts until mid April or even May. However, there is a big difference in the city between -25 and 0 degrees centigrade which is how the Mongolians in the ger district heat. Until mid march you will feel smoke in the air from burning wood and everything else to light up coal by the people in the poorer districts, that are still quite near to downtown. Just google UB air pollution and you know what I mean. The cold as well as heat is super dry which is very comfortable in my opinion. I think a nice month with lots of sunshine and good temperatures is April and or May which is also when most business people come (back) to UB. The air is cold and crisp and the sky Colorado blue. It still can be cold down to 0 degrees C but it is like in Colorado, if the sun is out you wear shorts and it feels great (elev. is 1300 meters).  July and August can be rainy and disgusting (the only time it rains really) and or really hot. We had 42 C last year.

On July 11th and the following three days this year is the Naadam festival for which many people from all over the world fly here to see the opening ceremony. From that time onwards for two or three weeks the capital is deserted as all Mongolians go to the country side and enjoy nature. If you do not get tickets for that ceremony, do not bother to try and watch it live, as you will not see much really and that kind of ruins the experience. I saw it last year when we fortunately had tickets for the stands but all the tourists were all crammed into a tourist enclosure with just plastic chairs on level ground - they did not see much. Before and after Naadam the airline ticket prices increase of course.

Cheers

Thank you so much for the advice, xpohoc

What brings you out to Mongolia for such a long time?

I came as a consultant and fell in love with the country. Now I'm in renewables and will work for the German government in an advisory role for the city of UB.

I'm curious to know about the weather in late August through mid September.
I'll be riding my bicycle from UB to Urumqi (China) and would definitely  appreciate any tips you could provide.
Would it be easy to buy rubbing alcohol (90% or higher) in UB ?  (I use an alcohol fueled stove)

Thanks !

Hey Mallima,

The weather in UB, not sure about the destinations on your trip, can be rainy and also really hot in August. But as your trip progresses the weather changes and as a cyclist, your opponent is the wind

I'm not sure about this alcohol you want to use. I do know there's plenty of standard gas bottles for a gas grill available in UB.

Cheers