The cost of living is a major deciding when choosing your new home. Living in a cheaper location is essential for those hoping to reduce their bills.
The cost of living is a major deciding when choosing your new home. Living in a cheaper location is essential for those hoping to reduce their bills. How do you determine what your food shopping or rent for the month will cost?
Numbeo is the world's most significant value and quality of life database. The site helps you understand how expensive it is to live in different countries. The platform's algorithms estimate the cost of rent, food in stores, and the average check in a restaurant.
The city of New York is the basis. It has an index of 100 for all three indicators. If your city has an index of 60, then prices in your town are about 40% lower than in New York City. If the index is 110, then prices in your city are about 10% higher than in New York.
The ranking helps to understand which country is the most expensive to live in and which – is the cheapest. Numbeo ranked the cost of living in cities popular among digital nomads: Lisbon, Valencia, New York, Prague, Sydney, London, and Berlin. See what it came up with:
Mladen Adamovic, CEO of Numbeo, says that he decided to create Numbeo when considering moving to another city. He couldn't find a service that could compare hundreds of metrics and compare cities. That's when he came up with this site.
How does Numbeo keep its data up to date? Mladen Adamovic explains that the tool uses adaptive archive technology to ensure current information.
"That means if there are, for example, 120+ people contributing a certain price in Munich in the past three months, we archive entries older than three months. Our primary target is people who are considering relocation from one country to another so that they can estimate if that move would be money-wise. That includes people who want to relocate to cheaper countries; the website helps them choose a new location."
How can you find out the cost of living in different cities? How can you use Numbeo?
Option 1. To get the data, use color-coded pins on a map.
Find the desired location and click on it. You will see the prices at that location:
Option 2. You can also directly compare your current city of residence with the place you are hoping to move to, and it shows you prices side by side.
Choose a city and write the city you want to compare with in the "Compare with" field. Let's compare the cities that digital nomads often choose to live in.
Comparing Valencia (Spain) to Lisbon, reveals that rent and restaurant prices are higher in the Portugal capital:
Comparing Amsterdam to Lisbon, reveals that rent and restaurant prices are higher in the Netherlands capital:
Option 3. Compare different cities in the same country
Choose a country, not a city, on the main menu. You will find an analysis of major cities and can compare the cost of living in different locations.
According to Numbeo, the cost of living in Germany is, on average, 38.4% higher than in Portugal. Rent in Germany is, on average, 17.1% higher than in Portugal.
You will find a comparison chart of cities. If your city has an index of 91.5 (Berlin), then prices in your town are about 8.5% lower than in New York City. The principle is the same: The city of New York is the basis.
What do you do if you're planning to change where you live?
We are not an agency but a community of experts who help you move without mistakes and overpricing. We help move to Portugal, Spain, Montenegro, Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries. To learn how we can help you, please visit this page.
