Cost of Living in Moldova (2024): A Practical Overview

Moldova is one of the lesser-known countries in Europe. However, it has recently been showing movements to join the European Union and has been steadily developing economically over the past few years.  

Although it doesn't have famous tourist attractions compared to neighboring countries like Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, there are several reasons worth visiting Moldova. Based on my subjective experience, I will list reasons to visit Moldova

 Moldova Leu Exchange Rate in 2024

1. Coexistence of Romanian and Russian languages.  

People here are familiar with both Romanian and Russian. 

I am Korean and comfortable with English.  

Most travelers to this region probably aren't familiar with both languages either. 

Those who are interested in the Russian language but find it difficult to visit Russia due to various issues, or whose original travel destination is far from Russia, can visit Moldova as an alternative.

The Transnistria region in particular has a strong presence of Russian speakers. 

Most people there use Russian.  

I was interested in both languages and had learned them to an A2-B1 level, so Moldova was a good place to utilize both languages.

Interior Design of a Restaurant in Tiraspol, Transnistria

 Interior Design of Another Restaurant in Tiraspol, Transnistria.
This place reminds one of an underground bunker

Old Newspaper Articles Published During the Soviet Era.

2. Unique Soviet Era Experience Unique Soviet cultural experience After the collapse of the Soviet Union, satellite countries including Russia have been developing rapidly. 

Or they have been recovering their own unique identities. Russia surely has regions or buildings with this Soviet concept too. 

Tiraspol in the Transnistria region is a small city, but there are small facilities throughout for people with nostalgia for that era or those interested in such history. 

Please refer to my Transnistria travel log on my blog. 

 A restaurant in Transnistria. This place had quite an upscale atmosphere.
255 Transnistrian rubles was about $18 at the exchange rate at that time

 This was a Transnistrian restaurant where you could eat Moldovan food. In Transnistria, Russian is mostly used. 159 Transnistria rubles = about 11$

 This is a restaurant menu from Chisinau, Moldova. It costs about $10. There is a slight price difference between Moldovan Lei and Transnistrian Rubles. Moldovan Lei is about 10% cheaper in terms of exchange rate. (2024)

3. Affordable living costs for tourists Although prices have risen a lot compared to 2021-2022 when I first planned my trip... Living costs are still relatively cheap compared to other European countries.  

On a monthly basis, apartment rent ranges from about $400-600, but this is the reservation cost through AirBnB or other accommodation providers.  

If you visit local real estate rental sites or visit directly, you could find rent in the $200-300 range. Based on information from locals, the cheapest properties were around $100, but

this would be difficult for foreign travelers.  

And there probably aren't many people like me who plan to stay here for an extended period. 

You can find affordable accommodation for $400-600 per month, or about $20-30 per day. Guesthouses would probably be cheaper, and 3-star hotels or higher would be more expensive. 

For food expenses, eating at restaurants costs about $10-20 per meal. 

 Using the supermarket, buying meals for about a week costs around $30-50.  The price of packaged steak meat at the supermarket was about $1-2 per serving, and it was a bit cheaper when purchased directly from the butcher. Locally produced agricultural products were very inexpensive.  

The amount I paid while staying here for 2 months was an average of $800-1000 per month. If I had a reliable local friend here and stayed in one place for 2 months with their help, I expect it would have been cheaper. 

(However, finding a landlord who provides short term accommodation for 1-2 months at $200-300 would require a lot of luck. Usually, they contract on a yearly basis)  From conversations with locals I met there, in small cities outside Tiraspol in Transnistria, they spent about $50-60 per month on apartment rent, and the cost of renting an apartment on the outskirts of Chisinau, Moldova was about $90. 

If you're planning to stay long-term for more than a year, you might be able to expect this price range in the city outskirts, but considering safety and convenience, it would be better to spend a bit more and stay closer to the city center.  

Taxi costs were about $5-8 for travel within the city (approximately 10 minutes distance). The Transnistria region was about $1-2 cheaper than this. Public transportation would be much cheaper. 

For mobile phone service, I spent about $8. For rates in the Transnistria region, please refer to the Transnistria travel section above. 

In summary, for short-term travel, you can expect about $70-100 per day including daily accommodation, transportation, and food costs (for economical travel).  

In addition to flights, you can also travel between Moldova and other countries using Flix buses.

This wine doesn't seem to be Moldovan wine, but I don't have any Moldovan wine among the photos I took..😢

4.Affordable and quality wine.  

The quality of wine here is excellent. and the price is also very satisfying. 

Although I'm not particularly fond of alcohol, I can definitely say that the wine and cognac enjoyed here were very reasonably priced and of very good quality.  

Cognac could be found from very cheap ones starting at $5 to economical ones around $15, and wine was similarly priced. From my perspective as a Korean, cognac is quite

expensive in Korea, and imported wine isn't cheap either. This is because of the tremendous alcohol tax....

5.Not bad security.  

As someone who enjoys traveling at night, I didn't have any major issues.  

I am a man with an above-average build, but during my 2-month stay, I didn't feel threatened by the security here.  

Of course, deliberately seeking out high-crime areas would certainly be dangerous. 😂 Vehicles operate until late hours, and I didn't see dangerous refugees or criminal organizations. 

I did meet some gypsies, but there were no confrontations with them. People like alcohol, but I rarely saw them wandering the streets causing trouble to others.  

But always be mindful of your safety as a foreigner.

I had a conversation with an elderly gentleman at Piana Vyshnia.

6.Communication with foreigners People have a somewhat cold impression, but I've rarely experienced overt discrimination. 

From what I've heard, people from Ukrainian and Russian-speaking regions don't tend to smile much... That doesn't mean they weren't friendly though. 

It's just that as a Korean who thinks service culture is excessive, this aspect felt a bit unfamiliar to me. 

😆From my personal perspective, having worked in the service industry for 10 years, I think it would be nice if our country was a bit like this too, but of course, I'm joking. (Service is really challenging emotional labor, haha) In the Transnistria region, I could hang out with many foreigners who came there at my accommodation. 

There is also such a meeting place in Chisinau. It's called Piana Vyshnia.

People drink wine here and chat outside. My roommate also visited this place and recommended it to me. 

The people here are a bit gruff, but that doesn't mean they don't welcome you. I always received their help, and they became pleasant neighbors to me.

This is a park in Tiraspol. It's very peaceful and beautiful

Streets of Tiraspol

 A rainbow in Chisinau.

7. Quiet and peaceful  

Negatively speaking, it could be called a boring city...  but I've always preferred places where I can enjoy quiet peace rather than crowded tourist destinations.  

That's because all my good childhood memories are there. 

Moldova wasn't a bad choice in terms of experiencing a quiet and peaceful countryside village in a foreign country and having a somewhat economical trip.  

Especially, this place is warm and beautiful in spring or fall.

For me, who had lived in crowded big cities all my life, traveling here was very satisfying and a peaceful experience for my mind and body.