Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ajijic vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Ajijic is 17.1% cheaper than Istanbul.
Ajijic vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ajijic instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 11.3% less for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.19
TRY608.91
|
$9.74
MX$182.89
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.35
TRY466.83
|
$7.23
MX$135.86
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
TRY86.44
|
$1.67
MX$31.35
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
TRY28.89
|
$1.22
MX$22.99
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.8% more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
TRY45.97
|
$2.24
MX$42.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
TRY263.50
|
$4.06
MX$76.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.69
TRY233.94
|
$5.62
MX$105.50
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.41
TRY120.40
|
$2.29
MX$43.06
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.54
TRY126.78
|
$3.85
MX$72.29
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
TRY42.52
|
$1.03
MX$19.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
TRY51.29
|
$0.60
MX$11.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.57
TRY28.58
|
$0.70
MX$13.10
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
TRY41.72
|
$0.79
MX$14.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY15.49
|
$0.73
MX$13.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY14.29
|
$0.63
MX$11.85
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of groceries
pay 12.2% less for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.43
TRY271.32
|
$5.62
MX$105.62
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.03
TRY3,347.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
$21,528.95
MX$404K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.40
TRY419.62
|
$36.86
MX$692.38
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of transportation
pay 10.2% less for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$16.15
TRY806.20
|
$24.93
MX$468.38
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$996.85
TRY49,776.31
|
$861.90
MX$16,191.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$647.83
TRY32,348.56
|
$647.47
MX$12,163.46
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$68.87
TRY3,438.98
|
$42.83
MX$804.53
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of housing
pay 84.5% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,021.62
TRY51,013.47
|
$216.96
MX$4,075.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
$2,948.48
MX$55,390.68
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of childcare
pay 41.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.78
TRY238.49
|
$2.23
MX$41.80
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.31
TRY215.45
|
$3.60
MX$67.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
TRY116.71
|
$4.45
MX$83.61
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.22
TRY3,805.71
|
$25.03
MX$470.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.13
TRY405.94
|
$4.90
MX$91.97
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 34.6% less for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Ajijic
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.35
TRY2,663.74
|
$44.51
MX$836.09
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.62
TRY1,978.26
|
$16.69
MX$313.53
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.91
TRY4,989.00
|
$69.54
MX$1,306.38
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.52
TRY4,769.83
|
$71.63
MX$1,345.58
|
|
Istanbul vs. Ajijic - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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