There’s plenty to consider if you’re tempted by a lifestyle as an expat. Everything from your personal safety to the buzz of a city is likely on your list of swaying factors, but given so many of us move abroad for a more affordable lifestyle, the cost of living has gotta be up there too.
To shed some light on where it’s actually affordable to live, expat tax services company Greenback has analysed data from Trading Economics and Expatistan to estimate the cost of living across 184 countries and 43 major cities. They’ve incorporated the cost of individual living as well as the cost for a family of four – and the results are in.
Ranking as the most affordable city in the world for expats is Cape Town, the dazzling capital of South Africa. The average monthly cost of living here is around $1,447 (£1,140, €1,333) for an individual, and $2,694 (£2,123, €2,482) for a family.
In second place was Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali. This is actually the cheapest destination for a family, with the monthly cost of living being around $2,678 (£2,110, €2,468), and $1,516 (£1,995, €1,397) for an individual.
But the study gave us some insight on the least affordable places for expats too, with San Francisco, Singapore and London claiming the top three spots – shocker.
These are the cities with the lowest cost of living for expats, according to Greenback
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Denpasar, Indonesia
- Athens, Greece
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Glasgow, UK
- Istanbul, Türkiye
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Barcelona, Spain
- Birmingham, UK
To read about Greenback’s study in more detail, you can head to the website here. For some more info on life abroad as an expat, it’s worth looking at this list of the cheapest (and most expensive) European cities for remote workers, and these lists of the very best (and very worst) cities for expats.
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