Moving back

From Miami, Bogotá, Santiago or Lima back to Maracaibo: the honest comparison

Claudia Velazco · RE/MAX Eleva, Maracaibo, Zulia · 8 min read

A one bedroom apartment in Miami rents for around 2,620 dollars a month. Orlando runs 1,950 and Tampa 2,040. In Maracaibo, Zulia, 450 dollars rents a three bedroom house of 110 square metres. That gap is real and explains much of the return movement. What follows is the other half of the comparison, the half almost nobody writes.

When someone writes to me from Miami, Bogotá or Santiago asking whether returning makes sense, I know the economic question is only part of it. But it is the part that can be answered with numbers, so let us start there and then get to the rest.

What you pay in rent now against what you would pay here

The honest reading of that table is not that Maracaibo is cheap. It is this: what rents one bedroom in Miami rents a whole family house in Maracaibo, five times over. And what rents an average apartment in Bogotá or Santiago rents something markedly larger here.

And in total cost of living

In the United States, monthly spending is estimated near 2,930 dollars for a single person in 2026, and around 4,258 for a household of four. In Maracaibo, a family of four runs around 2,306 dollars a month before rent, and between 2,550 and 2,750 with rent included.

Between Colombia and Chile the difference also matters: national average rent sits near 294 dollars in Colombia and 475 in Chile, with day to day life cheaper in Colombia across food, transport and household bills.

What you gain by returning

• Space. The most tangible and immediate gain. You move from a cramped apartment to a house with a yard.
• Cheap utilities. Around 52 dollars a month for an 85 square metre apartment.
• Family proximity. The reason that comes up most when people answer honestly, especially where elderly parents are involved.
• An end to migration fatigue. Paperwork, status, xenophobia and the permanent sense of being temporary.
• Purchasing power. Anyone with dollar income lives in Venezuela with markedly greater buying power.

What you lose, and it has to be said

• Income. If your work is not remote and in hard currency, a local salary changes the equation completely. This comparison works above all for those who keep dollar income.
• Predictable services. In Miami you never think about water or a generator. Here you do, and it has to be budgeted.
• The climate. Air conditioning adds 50 to 180 dollars a month and raises the real cost of living by 10 to 20 percent.
• Health and education systems of very uneven quality, which need researching beforehand rather than after.
• Liquidity. If you buy property here, exiting takes months. It is not an asset you can turn into cash quickly.

The profile this comparison suits best

1. Remote income in dollars. The scenario where the difference converts into quality of life rather than sacrifice.
2. Family in Venezuela, particularly elderly parents who need presence.
3. A need for space that became unattainable in your country of residence.
4. Willingness to solve services. Buying or renting where there is independent water, a generator and fibre, rather than wherever is cheapest.

And if the answer is neither yes nor no

For most people it is not. Only 12 percent of Venezuelan migrants surveyed report concrete plans to return soon, while 44.7 percent would return if conditions improve. If you are in that second group, the decision is not whether to return: it is how to design a reversible return, in stages, without liquidating everything on one side before testing the other.

Frequently asked questions

How much do you save returning from the United States to Maracaibo?

The sharpest difference is housing. A one bedroom apartment in Miami runs around 2,620 dollars a month, while in Maracaibo, Zulia a three bedroom house of 110 square metres rents for around 450.

How does renting in Bogotá or Santiago compare with Maracaibo?

Capital city average rent sits near 463 dollars in Bogotá and 520 in Santiago. In Maracaibo the range runs from 230 dollars for 140 square metres in the north to 450 for 110 square metres with three bedrooms in the west.

Does returning to Venezuela make sense if I work remotely?

That is the profile the comparison suits best. Anyone keeping hard currency income while working remotely gains markedly greater purchasing power, provided they verify there is fibre on the property's street.

What do you lose by returning to Venezuela?

Mainly predictable services, income level if the work is not remote and in hard currency, and liquidity if you buy property, since selling takes months. Air conditioning also has to be budgeted at 50 to 180 dollars a month.

How many Venezuelans are considering returning?

Recent surveys show 12 percent with concrete plans to return soon and 44.7 percent who would return if conditions in the country improve, which makes a staged return the most reasonable option for most.