Back by popular demand and another year older … the 2013 Cost of Living Report on Sardinia, Italy. Covering everyday items from tampons to fresh pecorino cheese. This year’s report is jam-packed with daily goodies from my shopping cart. I hope you enjoy.
Cost of Living – Sardinia, Italy 2013
- 1 liter of gas - €1.65 in Sassari - €1.85 in My Town.
- Electricity – every other month this bill arrives. This year we spent €307.06 + the post office fee of €1.30 x 6 = 7.80 for a grand total of €314.86. Last year we spent the first five months working in Cayman Islands; if we would have been here during those first months of deep Mediterranean cold our electric bill would have been a few hundred euro more!
- Internet – there are many plans out there and settled on the simplest, paying €15 a month for 10 hours of internet a day.
- Cellphone – A basic cell phone which cost €18.99 on sale and spend about €10 a month for the credit.
- Water – in the six years I’ve lived here not one water bill has arrived. We’ve asked, searched and done everything in our power to find out, only to come up empty-handed. I’m sure the water bill will arrive one day, very soon and will guesstimate €3500. word!
- Eating Out – Two pizzas in the local pizza joint start at €5,00 - €12,00. Then you have your cover charge or coperto which is €2,50 per person (every restaurant has this cover charge, consider it your tip to the restaurant). One liter of wine €8,00. Dessert €4,00 - €10,00. Bottled water €2,00. Coffee €2,00. Mirto, Sambuca or Limoncello €4,00. A grand total for two people: €47,00!
- Rent – by the sea per month €700 - €2000+. Interior, in the mountains or several kilometers away from the water, per month €300 - €600.
The Daily Groceries
These prices will vary from town to town across Italy – here I’ve taken the median price from all three supermarkets here in town. And just to give you an example of how much the price differs from supermarket to supermarket, take a look at this:
4 Activia Yogurt in supermarket A sells for €3.39. In supermarket B (which is only a stones throw from supermarket A) the same yogurt sells for €2.89. That’s a whopping .50¢ difference for the same product!
I know that in Sassari 8 Activia yogurt, on sale for … €3.48! HOLLA!
At the Supermarket
- Local yogurt .99¢ for two
- 1 liter of milk .79¢ - €1.77
- 6 eggs €1.15
- 300 grams locally baked bread .95¢
- 500 grams major brand pasta .83¢ and on sale .64¢
- 500 grams local pasta .68¢ and on sale .43¢
- 1 kg potatoes €2.50
- 5 large bananas €2.39
- 6 two liter bottle of water €1.80
- 16 regular maxi pads €2.39
- 8 Tampons €3.29
- Major brand toothpaste €2.39 - €3.29
- Detergent for clothes €2.50 - €8.99
- Dish soap .99¢
- Diapers €4.99 to €7.29 (small pack)
- 1000 grams of Nutella €6.99. SCORE!
At the butcher – La Macelleria
- 5 thinly sliced chicken breast €5.41
- 400 grams minced beef €3.85
- 500 grams local salsicca €5.48
- 1/4 local pecorino cheese €4.23
That wraps up this year’s report, and I’d like to close it with a comment from a follower, which has left me, uh, beautifully speechless. I applaud his fabulous effort and courage on leaving a comment in English, and am humbled by his simple honesty.
“If you want to live in Sardinia: you want to live with nature, with only the money to stay alive and to stay happy. You will have to give up a lot, but you will be rewarded by the beauty of our land, and our people. “
You can read the post he was referring to here.
How does the cost of living in Sardinia compare to where you live?
*please feel free to add your cost of living links in the comment section below.
Related articles:
Cost of Living 2012 | Sardinia, Italy
