Cost of living in Cairo
* 20-minute taxi ride from the western side of Cairo to central Cairo for a foreigner (with a generous tip included so the taxi driver doesn’t yell for more money) = $1.20
* Subway ticket after recent price hike = $0.17
* 12 1.5-liter bottles of water (lasts us about 4 days) = $3.00
* Can of Coke = $0.35
* Notebook from local stationary shop in Zamalek = $2.20
* Same notebook from Alpha Supermarket in Dokki = $0.43
* 50-hours of Arabic group lessons (max. 8 students per group) = $200
* New shower curtain = $20
* One year temporary resident visa for tourist purposes = $16
* Box of Chips Ahoy cookies = $7.00
* Cup of yogurt with fruit on the bottom = $0.17
* One kg of ground beef = $7.00
* Carton of six eggs = $1.20
* Bag of carrots = $0.43
* One kg of mangoes = $1.20
* Hot falafel straight out of the frying pan from the guy in the local market = $0.02 per piece
* Falafel sandwich with cucumbers and tomatoes = $0.13
* Big bowl of kushari, a hearty Egyptian meal of rice, pasta, and lentils topped with tomato sauce and dried fried onions = $0.70
* Big Mac Combo meal = $2.45
* International Herald Tribune newspaper = $2.00
* Egyptian Gazette, the local newspaper = $0.17
* Monthly rent to foreigners of one-bedroom furnished apartment in Dokki with satellite TV, telephone, and new washing machine = $383
* Monthly tip for apartment doorman (he’ll also run your errands, clean your car, and take out your trash) = $8.60
* Ticket for a play at the Townhouse Gallery fundraising event for Beirut = $0.87
Monthly salaries in Cairo, according to 2004 edition of Cairo Guide by Claire Francey,
* Cairo University tenured professor with twenty years experience = $157
* Egyptian housemaid, full time = $52
* Government schoolteacher; mid-level civil servants = $70
* Sales clerk, mid-range clothing shop = $35
* Laborer at Stella bottling plant = $35
admin