5 LatAm Cities Where You Could Raise Your Kids For $4,000/Month or Less
"All-In" costs: rent, private school tuition, health insurance...everything
I've been beating the drum lately over the cost of raising kids abroad in Latin America vs. moving back to the States and doing the same.
My premise is simple:
The “geo-arbitrage” a young, single guy finds traveling around LatAm allows him to save a ton of cash, while not sacrificing much in terms of quality of life. In fact, the single broski often lives a far higher quality of life abroad for far less. Ya tu sabes.
That cost savings dwindles fast once you throw kids into the equation.
Why? Two words: private schools.
International private schools are not cheap. Often, not always, you’re looking at $1,000 USD per kid per month at minimum for a decent one down here. And no, public schools are not an option.
That said, there are places in Latin America where you can raise kids on a budget while still sending them to private school and living in a nice, safe area.
Generally, these will be more "Tier 2" locations. This isn't happening in Santiago, Chile or Mexico City. You're not raising a family on a budget while paying international school tuition in CDMX. That's just not realistic.
So here’s how we’ll break it down…
The five cities below are places where $4,000 USD per month would allow a family of four (two parents, two kids) to live a good life with the kids in private school.
The cost breakdown covers:
Rent (3-bedroom apartment or house in gated community)
International private school (2 kids)
International health insurance
Transportation
Food
Internet + phone
Domestic help
Personal and lifestyle
The main thing we’re looking for here are: keeping international schools costs under $1,000/month per kid + keeping rent well under $1,500/month for a 3-bedroom.
These numbers do not include trips home to see family or vacations, as those items would obviously bump your monthly spend.
So without further ado…
5 LatAm Cities Where You Could Raise Your Kids For $4,000/Month or Less
The cities below are presented in no particular order.
I have no preference here, as they’re all great budget options for families living in Latin America.
