| Country | $2,086 is worth | Healthcare / year | Residency floor | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | $7,039 | $270 | — | 0 |
| Thailand | $6,750 | $106 | 800,000 baht in a Thai bank, or 65,000 baht a month | 1 |
| Philippines | $5,761 | $249 | a deposit of $15,000 to $50,000 | 0 |
| Colombia | $5,511 | $250 | about $1,640 a month | 0 |
| Ecuador | $4,633 | $382 | $1,446 a month | 0 |
| Panama | $4,082 | $1,342 | $1,000 a month | 2 |
| Mexico | $3,535 | $564 | $4,200–4,510 a month over six months, or $71,500–75,950 held for twelve | 2 |
| Greece | $3,455 | $1,185 | €3,500 a month | 0 |
| Portugal | $3,449 | $1,371 | €920 a month | 2 |
| Costa Rica | $3,275 | $465 | $1,000 a month | 2 |
| Spain | $3,275 | $1,029 | €2,400 a month | 4 |
| Italy | $3,083 | $1,151 | €31,000 a year | 0 |
| France | $2,688 | $622 | about €1,478 a month | 0 |
Cost of living abroad, country by country
Each country priced against the average US retirement check of $2,086 a month, with what healthcare costs there and what residency asks for. Sorted by how far the money goes.
Full guides
Written and fact-checked by hand: visa file, real monthly budgets, healthcare, taxes.
All 18 countries, by the numbers
Data pages built from public datasets. Full guides for more countries are on the way.
If this table saved you time, you can buy Alex a coffee.
Common questions
- How Much Does It Cost to Move Abroad? The Fees Are Small. The Deposits Aren't.
- How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Abroad? Two Numbers, and the Visa Usually Sets the Higher One
- Can I Collect Social Security If I Live Abroad? Yes, Everywhere but 9 Countries
- The Cheapest Countries to Live In: 163 Economies Ranked by World Bank Price Levels
- The Best Countries to Live On a Budget, and What Each One Asks Before It Lets You Stay
- The Cheapest Countries to Live That Speak English, With the Visa Each One Asks For
- Do I Pay Taxes If I Live Abroad? Yes, a US Return Every Year, and Often $0 Owed
How to read the table
“$2,086 is worth” converts the average US retirement check into local buying power, using the World Bank's price levels for household consumption. A figure of $4,000 means the same check buys roughly what $4,000 would buy in the United States. It measures prices across a whole country, so a capital city will cost more than the number suggests.
Healthcare per year is what people there pay out of their own pocket on average, also from the World Bank. It is not an insurance quote: your age and your cover decide your number.
Residency floor is the monthly income each country asks for before it grants a retirement or long-stay visa, from its own immigration pages. Several of these floors are tied to a national index and move every January, so check the date on each guide.
How to use it to choose
Start with the floor: a country is only an option if your income clears it, or if your savings fit its savings route. Then look at what your money is worth there and what healthcare costs at your age. The full guides go a level deeper, with real rents by city, the visa file document by document, and how each country taxes a US pension.