Enter your remote salary and see exactly how far it goes in 30+ cities around the world. Rent, food, internet, coworking — all factored in.
| City | Monthly Cost ↕ | Rent (1BR) ↕ | Internet | Quality of Life | Purchasing Power ↕ | Verdict |
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Geographic arbitrage means earning a salary benchmarked to an expensive country (like the US) while living in a lower cost-of-living location. A $100,000 USD salary in San Francisco leaves roughly $3,500–$4,500/month after rent and taxes. The same salary in Lisbon, Chiang Mai, or Medellín can leave $6,000–$8,000/month after all expenses — while maintaining the same quality of work and career growth.
Our cost estimates include: 1-bedroom apartment rent in a central neighborhood, monthly groceries for one person, restaurant meals (mix of home cooking and dining out), fast fiber internet, a coworking space day pass budget, and local transport. Healthcare costs are not included as they vary significantly based on individual insurance choices.
Based on our analysis, the best value cities for remote workers earning $80k+ USD are Lisbon (Portugal), Medellín (Colombia), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Tbilisi (Georgia), and Budapest (Hungary). These cities combine fast internet, remote-worker-friendly visa policies, good coworking infrastructure, and very favorable purchasing power compared to US or Western European salaries.