South America Living

It is easy to rent (alquilar in Spanish) in Bolivia and depending on the location there are usually many options to choose from.

San Jorge Neighborhood in La Paz

In most cases you do not have to pay a hefty deposit or secure a guarantee like is required to rent in Argentina, Uruguay and other South American countries. You usually only have to pay the first and last months rent upfront.

As well, rent is cheap – with the city of Santa Cruz (high demand = overpriced rentals) and upscale areas of La Paz an exception. In the capital city Sucre you can find properties for under $150 USD per month. A two-bedroom apartment or house (decent location with private patio or yard) will run approximately $250 USD per month (year 2011).

For more information on living in Sucre read: Sucre, Bolivia – Cheap Place to Live in South America

Best Way to Find a Rental

When arriving in an area, get yourself situated for a few days or a week and then get busy; walk around the central area to get a feel for the place, ride a few busses to outlying areas (after asking a local where safe neighborhoods are), go to a newstand and find out what local paper has rental listings… then buy it!

Finding rentals isn’t much different from your home country. In larger areas real estate offices (Inmobiliarios in Spanish) can be invaluable as they usually have many listings available and can often get you situated in your new temporary home in a week or so. They are used to dealing with non-native Spanish speakers, much more so than someone receiving a phone call out of the blue from a tourist inquiring about their newspaper listing.

Note: When using the services of an Inmobiliario you will have to pay a fee, normally one months rent. If only needing short-term accomodation many hostals will give discounted long-term stays.

More Articles You May Like:
Travel Hot Spots in Bolivia
Canoa, Ecuador – Cheap Place to Live in South America
Travel Guide to Lima, Peru

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