Cost of living in Oman

Some people interested in a possible expatriation in Oman asked me what is the cost of living here in Oman. So it gives something like this, based on a month of living for a couple :

• Food shopping : between 100 and 250 Ryals per month (for my wife and me it is 200 Ryals).
• Petrol : around 20 Ryals if you use your car about 45min each day. you can see how petrol is cheap here
• Phone : 5 Ryals for a prepaid card (but I don't phone a lot).
• Car renting : 150 Ryals per month for a basic car, like a Mitsubishi lancer.
• Renting of accommodation : variable depending on the location, but expect at least 350 Ryals per month for a apartment.

So basic cost of living for a couple is between 525 and 775 Ryals per month. Of course you could buy your own car and it will be a lot cheaper. But you can't live in Oman without a car, or you'll have to take a lot of taxi and it could be even more expensive. You can also rent a room instead of renting a complete apartment.


And optionally you could add :

• Alcohol : 20 Ryals, for a pack 22 beers (~11Ryals) and 2 bottles of wines (~9Ryals).
• Cinema : 10 Ryals if you're going 2 times to the cinema during the month.
• Intercontinental club : 66 Ryals per month (6 months membership for a couple is 400 Ryals)
• Arab lesson : 30 Ryals, you can learn Arabic at the CFO (45 Ryals per person for a 3 months session)
• Restaurants & Pubs : 100 Ryals
• various shopping : 60 Ryals
• 4x4 renting : let's say you will rent a 4x4 at least once a month to make some tourism : 40 Ryals

Now the "advanced" cost of living for a couple is between 850 and 1100 Ryals per month.