2.65/5
113 reviews
Photo by Yaroslav Maltsev via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Bishkek

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cheap

costs

good

opportunities

internet

clean

hiking

almaty

karakol

great

data

beautiful

mountains

skiing

winter

travel

taxi

air

quality

Green, clean, organized, cheap, good food.
Very easy and cheap to go around with Yandex.
Amazing hiking opportunities nearby.
Bus to Almaty costs ~5€ and runs several times a day.
Bus to Karakol costs also ~5€.
Internet was great. Did several video calls without any issues. Data plans are super cheap (5€ for unlimited data, 1 month).

1 year ago

Pros:
Wonderful and friendly people
Cheap
Green and clean - many parks with big trees in the city center
Several modern and nice cafes and bars, especially around Erkindik boulevard
Enormous opportunities for hiking - huge and beautiful mountains right near the city. For instance, Ala-Archa national park is just 30 km from center
Good opportunities for skiing in winter, especially for freeride, but it might be better to travel to Karakol for this activity
Close to Almaty (Kazakhstan), so you can combine your travel with another beautiful country. The bus costs around USD 5
Several good hostels and hotels in the city and good coworkings also
Cons:
Bad public transportation, but taxi is cheap
Sometimes bad air quality, especially in winter

2 years ago

Bishkek is very cheap. However, I do not agree with several points mentioned in scoring:
1. Bishkek certainly has more English speakers than, for example, in Budapest
2. The air quality is not great - Bishkek is one of the most polluted cities in the world
3. Internet - depends, you can find internet faster than in the UK
Other points - it is difficult finding a job here, I am glad I am working on a project in the UK. The costs of living are very low, average person will earn about $100-200 in the city, so money for food goes really far (though Cambodia is cheaper, Brazil is more expensive). You can find a good flat in the city centre 80 m2 for around $350/month, but you can find a room for around $120/month too. Travelling around is cheap - taxi is around $0.7 for 4 miles trip. City is quite small when comparing to London
Recreation - skiing, swimming (in Issyk-Kul, though summer costs are higher than in Spain, I find this ridiculous), thermal waters, "Dead Sea" (highly salted lakes), mountains

4 years ago

✅ Very cheap cost of living

✅ Good English-speaking population

✅ Wonderful and friendly people

✅ Green and clean environment with many parks

✅ Many modern cafes and bars

✅ Enormous hiking opportunities nearby

✅ Good skiing options in winter

✅ Close proximity to Almaty, Kazakhstan

✅ Several good hostels and hotels

✅ Cheap and reliable internet

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Bad public transportation

❌ Poor air quality, particularly in winter

❌ Difficult job market

❌ Not very democratic

❌ Pretty slow internet

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

23 -5°
freezing

34 1°
cold

37 3°
cold

52 11°
cool

61 16°
cool

66 19°
mild

73 23°
mild

66 19°
mild

63 17°
cool

43 6°
cold

0°
freezing

30 -1°
freezing

Real

23 -5°
freezing

34 1°
very cold

37 3°
very cold

52 11°
cool

61 16°
cool

66 19°
mild

73 23°
mild

65 19°
mild

63 17°
cool

42 6°
very cold

32 0°
freezing

30 -1°
freezing

Humidity

too dry
25%

too dry
29%

nice
32%

too dry
27%

too dry
25%

too dry
17%

too dry
16%

too dry
15%

too dry
13%

too dry
24%

too dry
26%

too dry
25%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

dry
26mm

dry
47mm

rainy
116mm

rainy
72mm

rainy
52mm

dry
15mm

dry
16mm

dry
30mm

dry
45mm

rainy
61mm

dry
43mm

dry
25mm

Cloud

pockets
32%

pockets
49%

pockets
47%

pockets
35%

pockets
43%

pockets
35%

pockets
37%

pockets
34%

pockets
19%

pockets
38%

pockets
24%

pockets
44%

Air quality

bad
136 US AQI

bad
111 US AQI

bad
104 US AQI

okay
69 US AQI

okay
66 US AQI

okay
62 US AQI

okay
76 US AQI

okay
73 US AQI

okay
72 US AQI

okay
78 US AQI

bad
142 US AQI

bad
107 US AQI

Sun

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

200 people

280 people

250 people

520 people

429 people

800 people

371 people

400 people

733 people

525 people

320 people

267 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Bishkek's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Help pick the best photos for Bishkek and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

290pts

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60pts

34pts

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27pts

16pts

11pts

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8pts

6pts

4pts

3pts

200pts

67pts

38pts

34pts

31pts

30pts

26pts

12pts

10pts

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8pts

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117pts

63pts

37pts

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17pts

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Almaty

Kazakhstan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 61°

✈️2h

$1,277 / mo

34 Mbps

Almaty

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️6h

$2,815 / mo

🌇 Also went here48 people

Vienna

Austria

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️6h

$3,710 / mo

🌇 Also went here40 people

Prague

Czechia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels -1° 30° 2° 35° AQI 79 😷

✈️6h

$2,925 / mo

🌇 Also went here45 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️6h

$3,531 / mo

🌇 Also went here44 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 5° 41° 7° 44° AQI 85 😷

✈️7h

$5,091 / mo

🌇 Also went here42 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵 AQI 52 😷

✈️7h

$1,358 / mo

🌇 Also went here45 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.65/5 (Rank #360) 113 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Bad
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,511 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 7Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 3°C38°F (feels 1°C34°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 59%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 21 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 72 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $92 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
👩 Female friendly	Bad
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Kyrgyzstan
🗓️ Average trip length	10 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	7 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 3°C 38°F + 😊 Comfy (59%) = feels 1°C 34°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 21 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 72 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 KGS in USD	USD 1.15
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	KGS 10,000 = USD 115
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	960,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$1,100 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 43% 👱‍♀️ 57%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Turkish
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Turkish

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,511 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$958 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,086 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$596 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,097 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,144 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$457 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$51 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$37 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$55 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$7,005 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$3 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip