Why is the visa not factored in?

Visa eligibility depends on your passport, income type, and family situation — it can't be reduced to one number. Treat this list as the affordability filter, then check visa routes for your shortlist.

Tool 02 · Interactive · 478 cities

Where Can You Afford to Live?

Q: Where can I live on $2,000 a month?

324 of the 478 cities in the GeoRank dataset come in under $2,000/month for a single person including one-bedroom rent. Standouts with 2,200+ annual sunshine hours: Valencia ($1,658), Mexico City ($1,566), Bangkok ($1,248), Tbilisi ($1,089), Chiang Mai ($881).

Q: Where can I live on $1,500 a month?

220 of 478 cities fit under $1,500/month including rent — among them Bangkok ($1,248), Sofia ($1,282), Buenos Aires ($1,276), Tbilisi ($1,089), Kuala Lumpur ($1,016), Medellín ($986), and Chiang Mai ($881).

Q: What does the monthly figure include?

Numbeo's estimated single-person monthly costs (food, transport, utilities) plus median one-bedroom rent outside the city centre. It excludes visa costs, health insurance, and taxes.

Q: Is $1,000 a month realistic anywhere?

Yes — 122 of 478 cities come in under $1,000/month including rent, concentrated in South and Southeast Asia, with a few in Latin America and the Caucasus such as Medellín ($986) and Hanoi ($752). Visa access is usually the binding constraint, not cost.

Enter your monthly budget — see every city you can afford, rent included. 324 of 478 cities fit under $2,000/month for a single person.

Open the Map →

Budget console — 478 cities · rent included · Numbeo 2026

Monthly budget (USD)

Region

Sunshine

Budget = single person, Numbeo 2026 living costs + one-bed rent outside the centre. ±15% band.

Quick answers

Jump to a budget

Where can I live on $1,000/month? — 122 cities → Where can I live on $1,500/month? — 220 cities → Where can I live on $2,000/month? — 324 cities → Where can I live on $2,500/month? — 425 cities → Where can I live on $3,000/month? — 450 cities → Cheapest countries ranking →

Worked example

What $1,500 a month actually gets you

Monthly totals below are a single person's living costs plus a one-bedroom outside the city centre, Numbeo 2026. Sunshine is GeoRank's ERA5-calibrated annual figure.

City	Total/mo	Sun hr/yr	Jan °C
Chiang Mai, Thailand	$881	2,487	22.0
Medellín, Colombia	$986	1,293	19.2
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	$1,016	2,357	26.2
Tbilisi, Georgia	$1,089	2,270	0.0
Bangkok, Thailand	$1,248	2,791	26.4
Buenos Aires, Argentina	$1,276	2,515	23.5
Sofia, Bulgaria	$1,282	2,053	-0.4

Stretch to $2,000 and southern Europe opens up: Mexico City ($1,566), Valencia ($1,658), Porto ($1,666) all clear the bar with 2,200–2,850 sunshine hours. Lisbon just misses at $2,004.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Where can I live on $2,000 a month?

324 of 478 cities, rent included. Sunny standouts: Valencia ($1,658), Mexico City ($1,566), Bangkok ($1,248), Tbilisi ($1,089), Chiang Mai ($881).

Where can I live on $1,500 a month?

220 of 478 cities — Bangkok ($1,248), Buenos Aires ($1,276), Kuala Lumpur ($1,016), Medellín ($986), Chiang Mai ($881) among them.

What does the monthly figure include?

Numbeo single-person living costs (food, transport, utilities) plus a one-bed outside the centre. Excludes visas, health insurance, and taxes.

Is $1,000 a month realistic anywhere?

122 cities come in under $1,000 including rent — mostly South/Southeast Asia, plus Medellín ($986) and Hanoi ($752). The visa is usually the blocker, not the cost.

Why isn't the visa factored in?

Visa eligibility depends on your passport and income type — no single number covers it. Use this as the affordability filter, then check visa routes for your shortlist.

Found your budget matches? Now compare them.

Pin your candidates on the map and weigh cost against sunshine, tax, safety, and air quality — as deltas vs. your home.

Open the Map → Pin & Compare with Your Home →

About the data: GeoRank is built by a small team that thinks moving abroad shouldn't be guesswork. Cost figures come from Numbeo 2026 with stated ±15% bands; sunshine and temperature are calibrated against weather stations, not guessed. See the methodology for source-by-source detail.

Sources: Numbeo 2026 (12,743 cities, 9.8M prices) · ERA5 (Copernicus Climate Data Store) · 56 WMO/KNMI reference stations. Methodology and accuracy bounds at methodology.