$$$

Did I mention that food and real estate are really expensive here? A piece of property in Lagos costs approximately 2 million dollars and once a nice home is built it is worth $3,500,000 or so! An average dinner (nothing special) will run around $25 and a local beer will cost you $5. This is pretty high considering that locals here don't even make $5 a day! Can you imagine spending 2 days worth of pay on 1 beer at a restaurant? You could try the local cuisine but I'd make sure to stick close to the bathroom! And, everyone is only allowed to buy 3 rolls of toilet paper at a time so that could be a problem as well... :)


Pictured here is my $12 box of raisin bran!

You'd think things would be less expensive but it is all imported. A British couple we met had a crate of frozen meats and seafood flown from England here. I have no idea how much that cost but after 6 years of living here that is what they have resorted to. It is a bit of a risk buying meat and dairy products here because the power/refrigeration goes out so often it is hard to know if it has been spoiled.


The power outages are so bad here that the people who who can afford it have a generator. The generator here at AIS (American International School) runs an average of 23 hours and 44 minutes a day! This means that the power would normally be off almost all day every day. We still lose power from time to time when there is a problem with the generator or when it needs a break. We've heard the cost of oil to fuel the generator is $60,000 a month!