Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Hua-lien

For one person, living is cheaper in Hua-lien: $1,054 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Hua-lien
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Hua-lien Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Hua-lien

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,054

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Hua-lien

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Medellin and in Hua-lien actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,054 in Hua-lien.

Medellin $1,639
Hua-lien $1,054

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,788 in Hua-lien.

Medellin $2,413
Hua-lien $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,522 in Hua-lien.

Medellin $3,186
Hua-lien $2,522

Living in Medellin is roughly 56% more expensive than in Hua-lien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Hua-lien is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.08 NT$133

98.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$27.90 NT$910

68.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$4.13 NT$135

130.02%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$2.62 NT$85.3

14.89%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 COP 5,801

$0.93 NT$30.42

93.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.53 NT$17.23

166.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.33 NT$43.26

139.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.04 NT$66.4

181.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$2.74 NT$89.2

-44.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.64 NT$53.5

45.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$4.53 NT$148

-60.93%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.93 NT$62.9

49.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$19.15 NT$624

-46.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$5.93 NT$193

66.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$25.47 NT$831

-45.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.67 NT$87.0

48.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$2.44 NT$79.5

-36.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$3.20 NT$104

-31.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$3.09 NT$101

-29.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$2.29 NT$74.7

-14.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$2.35 NT$76.5

-32.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$1.99 NT$64.9

-42.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.96 NT$31.42

29.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.76 NT$122

5.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$12.33 NT$402

10.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.85 NT$60.4

-10.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$2.30 NT$74.9

-1.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.60 NT$19.45

95.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$33.87 NT$1,104

128.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$3.07 NT$100

-58.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.30 NT$9.64

583.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$9.86 NT$321

-13.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$0.91 NT$29.62

48.35%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$35.5K NT$1.2M

-3.98%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$23.7K NT$772.4K

46.36%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$170 COP 547.0K

$99.3 NT$3,237

70.90%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$18.72 NT$610

-27.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$12.53 NT$409

124.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$35.49 NT$1,157

23.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.12 NT$330

-31.72%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$797 COP 2.6M

$729 NT$23.8K

9.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$16.2K NT$527.1K

-43.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$55.5 NT$1,811

52.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$34.63 NT$1,129

67.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$76.5 NT$2,495

76.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$103 NT$3,359

-5.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$417 NT$13.6K

189.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$254 NT$8,268

152.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,025 NT$33.4K

97.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$749 NT$24.4K

35.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$7,568 NT$246.7K

-44.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$4,914 NT$160.2K

-61.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,802 NT$91.4K

-76.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.13

413.62%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hua-lien: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Hua-lien

$254 24.1% 60.5% $388

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Hua-lien

$359 34.1% 20.9% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Hua-lien

$131 12.4% 38.2% $81

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Hua-lien

$93 8.8% 45.2% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Hua-lien

$121 11.5% 28.2% $48

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Hua-lien

$41 3.9% 56.4% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Hua-lien

$56 5.3% 3.1% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $417 in Hua-lien. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hua-lien pays about 4.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $28 in Hua-lien. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $359, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Hua-lien

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

03:19 3:19 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

105,034

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Hua-lien 16,170 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Hua-lien

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Medellin vs Hua-lien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hua-lien wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Hua-lien the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Medellin. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $417 in Hua-lien. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Hua-lien – a meal for two runs $28 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Hua-lien is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.