Are Numbeo prices close to what exist?

I also found this confusing..

Hi Anna
Many thanks for the reply.  Curious about whether you found  my message confusing or the prices listed on Numbeo confusing? I live in Ecuador and am considering visiting Paraguay. Numbeo does price studies on many places  and gather information from people that reside there.

From your experience are the prices on Numbeo in line with what exists?

One way better to do this might be to quote the prices I posted in pyg
1 br close to city center would be 1,336,374
1br away from city center 1,070,909
if this is any help.the website is
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Asuncion

Again many thanks for your reply and interest.

anyone?

Numbeo gets reports on living costs from people living in the area, so it should be fairly accurate.

Since you live in Ecuador, you could compare what Numbeo says about the area in Ecuador where you live and see if it accurately reflects your living costs.

But like anywhere, a given person's income and spending habits and rental costs compared to another's can vary wildly even in the same city block.  So I would take Numbeo only as a guide but certainly not as a guarantee.

Here are some listings for apartment rental costs in Asunción, on Locanto, a free listing service that often includes listings by owners and not just agencies.  There does not appear to be a robust market since there are only a few listings:

https://www.locanto.com.py/geo/1212563/ … /Asuncion/

But there are a lot more listings here:

https://www.infocasas.com.py/alquiler/d … s/asuncion

You can do a search for

asuncion departamentos alquiler

...and get many more links.

Hi Osage Archer
First -thanks very much  for the time and interest and the reply.....

Numbeo is pretty accurate for what I experience here in Ecuador.  It also holds true in Colombia and in Peru except for Lima where I found things a bit more expensive on the ground than indicated in Numbeo.

Your kindness in taking the time to provide  the links is deeply  appreciated and this is very helpful for me. Many of the ads  are for places that   are much more expensive than things here in say for example Quito. Using the comparison feature on Numbeo, it indicates  that rent prices in Asuncion are 25% lower than Quito.  This from  just a first glance looking at only a few of the ads on both Infocasas and Locanto.  I am going to spend more time with both these sites  this evening.

Again thanks very much  for your kindness and interest with a really helpful reply.

I suppose another question to be asked and asked right now from ignorance of the areas-- I dont have any desire to live in a major city, having lived in a number of them  in years past-- I would assume that rent prices in smaller towns  or in the country (providing one can find a place to rent)  are much less than what one sees advertised in Asuncion.

Regards

Although I don't have any first-hand knowledge of this in Paraguay, I would assume it's true based on prices in other Latin countries I've lived in and visited - prices for rentals can be half or less of what they are in the "big city".  But also, almost always a gringo will be charged more if they can get away with it, since we are always perceived as rich no matter what...

Here is a lengthy but informative study of Paraguay, which is an insular, small country (about 7 million people) and which has its own unique history with Spanish and Guaraní influences that shape them to this day.  Although it's now a bit outdated since it was first published in 1988, it still has many insights to offer and you can click on sections of interest:

http://countrystudies.us/paraguay/

Like any other country if you can visit and get "boots on the ground" you can get a better feel for the place.  That's hard to do in Paraguay for most of us since it's so far away and expensive to get there and back.

Hi Osage Archer

Thanks very much for the reply and the link to the study. I am going to get to that tonight.

I lived in Mexico for 10 years, first in Cuernavaca and lastly, and for the longest time, 9 years in Veracruz. I found that  after the first couple of weeks in the community, particularly Veracruz, the price raping was over with.  Here in Ecuador where I live its the worst I have ever experienced anywhere in Latin America, absolutely horrible. This is one of the reasons I am actively exploring other places. I would return to Mexico today were it not for the internecine  violence that exists there.

Agree completely about what you say about boots on the ground.  Currently the Peruvian highlands (east side of the mountains) and Paraguay are the two under consideration.

Again many thanks for your kindness and help.  I am curious about where you live and completely understand  if you choose not to share that on a public forum. Irrespective of that, your help has been and is invaluable and is deeply appreciated.

Regards.

I live in the United States but lived in Quito as a child, and as an adult have lived and worked in Puerto Rico, and have visited other Latin countries, mostly Colombia, for decades now starting in the 70s.

As far as being gouged in Ecuador, I think for the most part it's very much a closed society there unless you marry into a family - quite unlike, say, Colombia, where they consider themselves to be and act more cosmopolitan and open at least in the larger cities.  Although almost every Colombian is always on the make, and ever open to licit or illicit gain, thus their universal warning, "no dar papaya"...

Great observation on the Ecuadorian culture. Ditto Colombia.  I returned to the US in 2009, left again in 2012  and traveled by land through Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Stayed in and traveled Colombia and Peru for 6 months each more or less.  I have been  to a number of other Latin American countries in years past but ended up staying in Ecuador, been here 4 years. Time for something else and a different culture. I have considered Colombia as well but am not completely at ease with whats going on there given I am looking for a longer term place.

Final observation- Other than a few places in Central America, I think the average Colombian or Peruvian, for that matter, is better educated and more traveled than the average Ecuadorian. I still surf a bit at 67 and would like to get out on the Colombian west coast  but that seems a no no due to the security situation I have heard about there......

Regards and thanks for the info.

I find numbeo site confusing.