Planning to relocate to Fiji for project for an year

Hello,

I am planning to relocate to Fiji with family for an year.What is the cost of living in Suva?

Hi Mau1234, Welcome to Lonely Planet/Thorn Tree.

Travel sites don't always have information on what it's like to live someplace and travel costs aren't usually the
same as living costs. But Expat forums provide an excellent resource for such concerns.
I've used expat forums when visiting a country on vacation to find out local events, businesses and such that
a tour book wouldn't have.
Here's a forum for Fiji which looks like it's being used regularly (some you'd find online might have only very old posts, etc):
http://www.expatexchange.com/fiji/liveinfiji.html
There are also sites with information on cost of living for basics, here's two:
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Fiji
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/suva-fiji

Hope this assists and all goes well with your work and stay in Fiji.

Hi Mau 1234, we live in Suva, the first thing is what currency will you be paid in, or are you getting Fiji dollars for your living. renting is reasonable enough, you will need a TIN (Tax identification number), not hard to obtain if , bringing in things that require duty or opening a bank account. at present fruit and vegetable prices are high because of Cyclone Winston, and it will be some time before that eases, eg bananas that cost $3 a hand are now $10. Some foods are price fixed eg rice and milk. transport by bus is cheap as are local taxis,

JB - $10 a hand? YIKES!!!

Hi jbinternational,

Thanks for your response.

Would like to know average expenses for a family of 3 to stay there considering renting a house and other expenses including travel, fooding, transport within cities, outing over weekends , safety aspects etc.. Will be getting Fijian dollars so need to have better picture of what and how much are the expenses?

Really appreciate your help!!

Thanks,
Mau1234

Hi again, that is a difficult question to answer, the wages here are quite low, some would only get %150fj a week, and while rents are varied, (more expensive the closer to the inner city, in Suva a bus fare is 70cents fijian and up depending on the distance from the city, it costs $15 dollars to go by bus from Suva to Nadi, $7 to go to a movie, a meal at one of the food courts is about $8, Suva is safe but there can be problems late at night near the nightclubs, I suggest you look at the fiji times classified to get some idea of rents, the suva market is good for vegetables with lots available

Hi jbinternational,

Thanks for the response.

Is it safe travelling with family there for long term? Based on your response, it seems to be hard to find average expenses needed for comfortable stay in Suva with family.

I hope infrastructure wise and standard of living wise it is wise for someone like me to travel there for work.
What do you suggest?

Any other good things/concerns please share.

Awaiting your response.

Thanks,
Mau1234

It depends on what you expect and what accommodation is available when you want it.
We lived in Lautoka for 2 years 2010-2012 and found the costs low relative to Adelaide in Australia.
We found a 2 bedroom fully furnished flat that cost F$900 per month.
I would choose Lautoka in favour of Suva for lots of reasons if you have a choice.

Cheers,
Peter

Thanks peter_n_margaret.

Thanks for your reply but need to stay in Fiji only. Also, can opt to stay in Lautoka due to distance constraint with Suva.

Any idea about accommodation costs in Suva though for a family of 3 in good location?

Cheers,
Hemant

Can't help with Suva, but you might keep an eye open here...
http://classifieds.fijitimes.com/
Accommodation varies greatly in quality and as with most places, you get what you pay for....

Cheers,
Peter

Mau, I had sent you a PM which might help

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