Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain

Overview

Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain Port of Spain is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Port of Spain is Trinidad and Tobago's most developed city. The city serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre.

Trinidad and Tobago are islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. The climate is tropical.

The official language is English. It is widely spoken, while Creole, Spanish and some dialects are also spoken, but not in business circles. The main religions are Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.

The economy of Trinidad is based on natural gas and oil. Recent growth has been fuelled by investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrochemicals, and steel. Tourism and manufacturing are also important to the local economy. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. Agricultural products include citrus, cocoa, and other products.

Expatriate business dress is typically a light suit for formal meetings and short-sleeved shirts and cotton trousers for less formal meetings.

The security risk for expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago is medium overall, but high in some areas. Risks include a high crime rate on the island of Trinidad (lower on the island of Tobago), opportunistic street crime, violent crime, muggings and assaults.

The currency of Trinidad and Tobago is the Trinidad/Tobago Dollar (TTD).

Medical facilities are generally below international standards and can be limited and expensive for routine treatment. Serious or complex medical treatment may require evacuation which can be expensive. Cases of Zika virus and Chikungunya virus have been reported. Dengue fever is endemic.

The population of Port-of-Spain is 250,000 (2019 est.), while the inflation rate (CPI) is 1.1% for Trinidad and Tobago as at September 2019.

Xpatulator Hypothetical Tax for Trinidad and Tobago is based on the current personal income tax rates which are progressive up to 30%.

Cost Of Living

The cost of living for expatriates / professional migrants in Port-of-Spain as at 1 November 2019 is high in comparison to other places in the world.

We have collected prices for the same items, world wide, based on Expat spending norms, in or closest to the location, and converted them to $USD so that we can compare the cost of 13 different baskets in 780 global locations. For each basket, compared to New York, the equivalent cost in Port-of-Spain is as follows:
1) Alcohol and/or Tobacco: for items such as beer, spirits, wine and tobacco related products such as cigarettes. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$860. Average price in a store for a midrange bottle of wine is USD$14.83, domestic/local beer (500ml) USD$1.45, imported/international beer (330ml) USD$2.37 and a pack of 20 cigarettes is USD$4.67.
2) Clothing: for items such as business, casual and children's clothing and footwear. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$750. Average price for an international brand of mens jeans is USD$53, a quality international brand of running shoes USD$95, mens leather shoes suitable for office wear USD$82 while a medium size international summer dress from a global chain store is USD$36.
3) Communication: for various communication costs such as home telephone rental, internet subscription, mobile service provider tariff and data costs. A basket costing USD$200 in New York costs USD$240. Average price for a monthly standard plan internet subscription is USD$44, while the benchmark mobile tariff is USD$0.20 per minute.
4) Education: for items such as creche / pre-school fees, primary school fees, high school fees and tertiary study fees. A basket costing USD$30000 in New York costs USD$29700. Average annual private international school fee (excluding extras) USD$19,271 for Primary School, and USD$21,445 for High School.
5) Furniture & Appliances: for items such as dining table and chairs, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, and sofas. A basket costing USD$2500 in New York costs USD$2425. Average price for a 6kg front loader Washing Machine is USD$752, and USD$645 for a 46+'' LED UHD TV.
6) Groceries: for items such as consumables, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruit & vegetables, general food products, snacks, soft drinks. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$810. Average grocery prices in a major international retail store for 1 kg apples is USD$2.97, 1 kg oranges USD$1.85, 1 head lettuce USD$0.89, 1 kg potatos USD$1.12, 1 kg boneless, skinless, chicken breast USD$6.92, 1 kg cheddar cheese USD$5.68, 1 dozen large eggs USD$3.11, 500g loaf white bread USD$2.08, 1 L full cream milk USD$1.73, and 1.5 L water USD$1.04.
7) Healthcare: for general heath care, doctor visits, hospital stays, non-prescription medicine, and medical insurance. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$760. Average healthcare cost for a private practice Doctor visit for an uninsured patient is USD$62, and a private hospital stay per day including nursing care, medications, diagnostic tests, food, and related costs is USD$1,899.
8) Household Accommodation: for items such as apartment rent, house rent, property purchase, mortgage rate, and utilities. A basket costing USD$5000 in New York costs USD$3000. Average expatriate house / apartment rent for a secure upmarket unfurnished apartment (3 bedrooms) is USD$2,587 in a central location, and USD$1,551 in a suburban location, per month, excluding utilities.
9) Miscellaneous: for items such as dry cleaning, linen, magazines, newspapers, office supplies, and postage stamps. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$555. Average price for dry cleaning (1 mens 2 pc suit) is USD$10.84, while an international newspaper is USD$3.34.
10) Personal Care: for items such as cosmetics, hair care, and toiletries. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$440. Average cost for a mens haircut and blow dry is USD$35, while a womens hair colour, cut and blow dry - medium length is USD$176.
11) Recreation & Culture: for items such as books, cinema, sport and theatre tickets. A basket costing USD$500 in New York costs USD$445. Average price for a latest release international cinema ticket (average of on and off peak where applicable) for one adult is USD$7.41, and an international fitness, recreation or sports club membership cost for one adult is USD$48 per month.
12) Restaurants Meals Out and Hotels: for items such as hotel daily room rates, meals and beverages in a restaurant, and take away food and beverages. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$560. Average cappuccino price (regular, medium) is USD$2.87, coke/pepsi (330ml) USD$0.91, burger meal (international franchise or similar) USD$5.93, and a mid-range international restaurant meal for 2 USD$59.32.
13) Transport: for items such as fuel (petrol/gasoline), car hire, public transport, vehicle purchase and maintenance. A basket costing USD$1000 in New York costs USD$920. Average average price over the last year for highest available octane petrol / gasoline (1L) is USD$0.65, while the benchmark car sedan purchase price including taxes/duties for a compact / small / economy vehicle (1.4 L) is USD$37,075.

Port-of-Spain is 25.6% more expensive than Houston TX for groceries, 40.9% more expensive for household costs than Kuala Lumpur, and 55.5% more expensive for transport costs than Dubai.

Port-of-Spain is ranked as a some hardship location.

The hardship premium for Port-of-Spain for an expat from Perth, is for example 10%, i.e. host location (Port-of-Spain) premium of 20% minus home (Perth) location premium of 10%.

Want to know more about cost of living, hardship (quality of living) or expat salary in Port-of-Spain? Register subscribe to your home location and Port-of-Spain and run your personalised reports.

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The cost of living for expatriates / professional migrants in Port-of-Spain as at 1 November 2019 is high in comparison to other places in the world.

Port-of-Spain is ranked as a some hardship location.