15 countries · reviewed September 4, 2026
Everything a move abroad costs, before you commit to it.
Cost of living, visas, tax and healthcare for 15 countries. Every number linked to the source it came from.
Figures from the OECD, Eurostat and the World Bank, and from each country's own immigration and tax authority.
Country guides
Ordered by how many Americans are searching for each move.
Canada
9% cheaperCheaper rent and free hospitals, but you need a job offer
- 1-bed rent
- $1,433/mo
- Net salary
- $3,210/mo
- Visas
- 6
Ireland
Like the USUnbeatable with an Irish grandparent or a Dublin offer
- 1-bed rent
- $2,263/mo
- Net salary
- $4,059/mo
- Visas
- 8
Australia
Like the USBest with an employer sponsor or a skilled occupation
- 1-bed rent
- $1,675/mo
- Net salary
- $4,996/mo
- Visas
- 8
New Zealand
13% cheaperCheap healthcare and short commutes, for lower pay
- 1-bed rent
- $1,112/mo
- Net salary
- $3,392/mo
- Visas
- 8
Portugal
37% cheaperBest value in Western Europe if your income is in dollars
- 1-bed rent
- $1,200/mo
- Net salary
- $2,077/mo
- Visas
- 8
Spain
30% cheaperFor remote workers and retirees who meet the income tests
- 1-bed rent
- $1,390/mo
- Net salary
- $2,620/mo
- Visas
- 6
United Kingdom
8% cheaperFast settlement with a sponsor, nothing without one
- 1-bed rent
- $2,370/mo
- Net salary
- $3,566/mo
- Visas
- 7
Italy
29% cheaperBuilt for income that already arrives from somewhere else
- 1-bed rent
- $1,200/mo
- Net salary
- $2,690/mo
- Visas
- 7
Japan
34.3% cheaperLower costs without lowering your standard of living
- 1-bed rent
- $1,280/mo
- Net salary
- $1,985/mo
- Visas
- 6
Mexico
38% cheaperHalve your costs, stay a short flight from home
- 1-bed rent
- $765/mo
- Net salary
- $1,010/mo
- Visas
- 6
Germany
28.5% cheaperA Blue Card entitlement, with a degree and an offer
- 1-bed rent
- $645/mo
- Net salary
- $3,400/mo
- Visas
- 6
Netherlands
12% cheaperTwo routes almost nowhere else offers, including DAFT
- 1-bed rent
- $1,640/mo
- Net salary
- $3,950/mo
- Visas
- 7
Norway
Like the USHigh trust and stability, but only with a job offer
- 1-bed rent
- $1,642/mo
- Net salary
- $4,912/mo
- Visas
- 6
Sweden
8% cheaperShort weeks and free childcare, not take-home pay
- 1-bed rent
- $1,206/mo
- Net salary
- $3,475/mo
- Visas
- 6
Thailand
67.7% cheaperA third of US prices, if you never need to settle
- 1-bed rent
- $475/mo
- Net salary
- $485/mo
- Visas
- 9
Start with the number that decides it
Your income, against real price levels. No account, nothing sent anywhere — it runs in your browser.
A ratio, not a budget: it scales your income by the country's overall consumer price level against the US average, rent included.
Where that income goes furthest
Every country in the dataset, ranked by what the figure above is worth at local price levels. Showing $4,230 a month.
- 1Thailand$13,096index 32
- 2Mexico$6,823index 62
- 3Portugal$6,714index 63
- 4Japan$6,438index 66
- 5Spain$6,043index 70
- 6Italy$5,958index 71
- 7Germany$5,916index 72
- 8New Zealand$4,862index 87
- 9Netherlands$4,807index 88
- 10Canada$4,648index 91
- 11Sweden$4,598index 92
- 12United Kingdom$4,598index 92
- 13Norway$4,273index 99
- 14Australia$4,230index 100
- 15Ireland$4,230index 100
How to use this
In this order. The money question decides whether the other three are worth asking.
Check the money first
Run your take-home pay through the calculator. If the number does not work, the visa question is moot.
Find a route you actually qualify for
Every country page lists the residence routes open to US citizens, with the real fee, the duration, and whether it leads anywhere permanent — linked to the immigration authority's own page.
Understand what you still owe the US
American citizenship comes with a filing obligation that does not end at the border. Know how the treaty, the FEIE and the foreign tax credit interact before you resign.
Sort healthcare before you land
Most residence permits require proof of cover from day one, months before you are inside the local system.
Why these numbers can be trusted
Most relocation content recycles crowdsourced price data and immigration rules that expired two governments ago. This site is built the other way round: from official price-level statistics published by the OECD, Eurostat and the World Bank, and from each country's own immigration and tax authority.
Every page shows when its data was last reviewed and links each figure to its source, so you can check the claim rather than trust the site. Where a figure could not be verified to that standard, the page says so.