Moving abroad is exciting in many ways, but it also requires a lot of research – from where you live to how you get there and that language you need to learn.
The cost of living is an important decision when choosing your new home – especially in the current economic climate. It’s especially important for those hoping to reduce their bills by living somewhere cheaper.
So how do you calculate what your grocery shopping or rent will cost for the month?
numbero, an online crowdsourcing tool, could be the answer. The Serbia-based website collects information from users from all over the world about the prices of everyday purchases.
“Anyone can add the data, like Wikipedia,” Mladen Adamovic, CEO of Numbeo, told Euronews Travel.
What does Numbeo’s data reveal about different countries?
Numbeo is a cost of living index that includes data for most cities around the world. The data is represented on a map with color-coded pins. You can also directly compare your current place of residence with your desired place move to and it shows you the prices side by side.
For example, comparing Lyon, France to London shows that rents and restaurant prices are higher in the British capital. In fact, however, food prices in London are around 20 per cent lower.
The comparisons also include a list of certain everyday objects such as a liter of milk, a kilogram of apples or even a pack of cigarettes. For long-term residents, there are square meter prices for buying apartments inside and outside the city center.
If you’re not looking for specifics, Numbeo’s data provides an overall count that shows Londonto maintain the same lifestyle you had in Lyonsyou would need €1,756.79 more per month.
Users can also add data on factors that affect quality of life, such as traffic, safety, and health care.
How does Numbeo keep its data up to date?
Adamovic, CEO of Numbeo, explains that the tool uses adaptive archiving technology to ensure information is up to date. An important feature given today’s constantly fluctuating prices.
“This means that if, for example, 120+ people in Munich have brought in a certain prize in the last three months, we archive entries that are more than three months old.”
The more entries they get, the better they can account for it changing costs of inflation.
“Our main target is people who are considering moving from one country to another, so they can assess whether that move would make financial sense,” says Adamovic.
“This also includes people who want to move to cheaper countries, the website helps them to choose a new location.”
Cost of living comparisons could be helpful, especially for digital nomads
The online tool is particularly useful for those who only want to spend a few months abroad – such as digital nomadssays Adamovic.
“Numbeo is frequently visited by digital nomads,” he explains, “I guess since many stay in a certain country for a few months, they check the prices before they leave.”
He says that Numbeo is the most popular traffic site for people checking prices in other cities and countries.
Italy: where is the cheapest place to live?
Many dream of moving to Italy, whether for retirement or earlier in life. with the country Introducing a visa for digital nomadsit might be easier to live and work from Italy.
Looking at the costs in the country gives some interesting results. Comparing the capital city of Rome to, say, life in Naples shows that the south is cheaper on all fronts – particularly when it comes to rental costs, which are 44 per cent lower.
Further south in Palermo, Sicily, rental rates are even cheaper than Rome at nearly 58 percent.
But Numbeo can be used to compare the cost of living around the world, not just in Europe. Those looking to reap the benefits of Visa for digital nomads further afield Bali, Indonesia For example, you’ll find that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the prices are significantly lower.
Compared to Paris, the amount you can expect to pay for a meal in a budget restaurant can be almost 90 percent lower on average in Bali. However, if you’re looking for a bottle of red wine, expect it to be more than 100 percent more expensive than in France.
It’s this level of specificity that makes the cost of living tool appealing to those looking to explore the realities of being a digital nomad or expat.
