Nomad InsidersHONEST CITY FILES
Watch a place
COST INDEXUSD/MO · ▲▼ VS LAST YEAR
Armenia$1,050Asunción$1,100▲ +6%Balneário Camboriú$1,700▲ +6%Barranquilla$1,200Bogotá$1,500▲ +9%Bucaramanga$1,100Buenos Aires$2,000▲ +36%Cali$1,400Curitiba$1,300▲ +6%Florianópolis$1,700▲ +9%Fortaleza$1,500▲ +6%João Pessoa$1,300▲ +6%Lima$1,500Manizales$1,050Medellín$1,400▲ +14%Mendoza$1,000Montevideo$1,850▲ +8%Natal$1,250▲ +6%Rio de Janeiro$1,900▲ +6%São Paulo$1,900▲ +6%Viña del Mar$1,850Chicago$3,250▲ +1.4%Guadalajara$1,650Las Vegas$3,300▲ +6.8%Mérida$1,900Mexico City$2,200▲ +8.7%Miami$4,200▼ -2%Nashville$2,900New York City$5,000Oaxaca City$1,400Playa del Carmen$2,000Puerto Vallarta$2,200San Miguel de Allende$1,900Toronto$2,950▼ -0.6%Vancouver$3,100▼ -4%Athens$1,800▲ +9%Barcelona$2,500▲ +3%Belgrade$1,500Bologna$2,080▲ +3%Budapest$1,700▲ +7%Chania$1,500Edinburgh$3,000▲ +1%Florence$2,500▲ +7%Funchal$2,300Ibiza$3,900Istanbul$1,800▲ +15%Kraków$1,800▲ +5%Las Palmas$2,250▲ +9%Lisbon$2,900▲ +12%London$4,000▲ +2.2%Madrid$2,350▲ +8%Málaga$2,100▲ +6%Milan$2,650▲ +1%Mykonos$2,970▲ +5.0%Porto$2,500▲ +5%Prague$2,200▲ +6%Rome$2,350▲ +5%Santorini$3,600Seville$1,900▲ +5%Split$1,900Tallinn$2,200▲ +4%Tbilisi$1,300▲ +4%Thessaloniki$1,500▲ +5%Tirana$1,500▲ +10%Valencia$2,300▲ +8%Bangkok$1,900▲ +5%Canggu$2,000▲ +12%Cebu City$1,250▲ +6%Chiang Mai$1,300▲ +6%Da Nang$1,300▲ +8%Hanoi$1,300▲ +6%Ho Chi Minh City$1,400▲ +6%Kuala Lumpur$1,450▲ +6%Penang$1,600▲ +6%Phnom Penh$1,300▲ +8%Phuket$2,200▲ +6%Singapore$4,300▲ +5%Seoul$2,100Taipei$1,700Tokyo$2,600Cape Town$2,000Dubai$3,400Melbourne$2,900Panama City$2,100Sydney$3,600▲ +7%Armenia$1,050Asunción$1,100▲ +6%Balneário Camboriú$1,700▲ +6%Barranquilla$1,200Bogotá$1,500▲ +9%Bucaramanga$1,100Buenos Aires$2,000▲ +36%Cali$1,400Curitiba$1,300▲ +6%Florianópolis$1,700▲ +9%Fortaleza$1,500▲ +6%João Pessoa$1,300▲ +6%Lima$1,500Manizales$1,050Medellín$1,400▲ +14%Mendoza$1,000Montevideo$1,850▲ +8%Natal$1,250▲ +6%Rio de Janeiro$1,900▲ +6%São Paulo$1,900▲ +6%Viña del Mar$1,850Chicago$3,250▲ +1.4%Guadalajara$1,650Las Vegas$3,300▲ +6.8%Mérida$1,900Mexico City$2,200▲ +8.7%Miami$4,200▼ -2%Nashville$2,900New York City$5,000Oaxaca City$1,400Playa del Carmen$2,000Puerto Vallarta$2,200San Miguel de Allende$1,900Toronto$2,950▼ -0.6%Vancouver$3,100▼ -4%Athens$1,800▲ +9%Barcelona$2,500▲ +3%Belgrade$1,500Bologna$2,080▲ +3%Budapest$1,700▲ +7%Chania$1,500Edinburgh$3,000▲ +1%Florence$2,500▲ +7%Funchal$2,300Ibiza$3,900Istanbul$1,800▲ +15%Kraków$1,800▲ +5%Las Palmas$2,250▲ +9%Lisbon$2,900▲ +12%London$4,000▲ +2.2%Madrid$2,350▲ +8%Málaga$2,100▲ +6%Milan$2,650▲ +1%Mykonos$2,970▲ +5.0%Porto$2,500▲ +5%Prague$2,200▲ +6%Rome$2,350▲ +5%Santorini$3,600Seville$1,900▲ +5%Split$1,900Tallinn$2,200▲ +4%Tbilisi$1,300▲ +4%Thessaloniki$1,500▲ +5%Tirana$1,500▲ +10%Valencia$2,300▲ +8%Bangkok$1,900▲ +5%Canggu$2,000▲ +12%Cebu City$1,250▲ +6%Chiang Mai$1,300▲ +6%Da Nang$1,300▲ +8%Hanoi$1,300▲ +6%Ho Chi Minh City$1,400▲ +6%Kuala Lumpur$1,450▲ +6%Penang$1,600▲ +6%Phnom Penh$1,300▲ +8%Phuket$2,200▲ +6%Singapore$4,300▲ +5%Seoul$2,100Taipei$1,700Tokyo$2,600Cape Town$2,000Dubai$3,400Melbourne$2,900Panama City$2,100Sydney$3,600▲ +7%
HONEST CITY FILES · UPDATED DAILY

Freedom starts now.

The facts behind the freedom: what a city really costs, which visas you’ll actually get, and the news that moves each one. Sourced, dated, no influencer fluff.

The world is waitingCheck your visa options
CITY FILES
85
across 38 countries
VISA PROGRAMS
138
sourced & confidence-rated
AVG COST · MO
$2,106
across 85 tracked cities
CURRENCIES
159
live FX, updated daily
[01]

Count the real cost

Rent, food, transport and the rest, itemised per city and stamped with the date we last checked it. When a number moves, you can see that it moved.

[02]

Find the visa that fits

Every programme we can source, with the income bar, the paperwork and where the rule is written. Confidence-rated, so you know how sure we are.

[03]

Know before it reaches you

A live wire on the cities you are watching. A city only carries a warning when the coverage earns it, so a quiet badge means quiet.

§ 01: Destinations

Top-scored cities

TOP-SCORED · FROM THE AUDITED CITY FILES
#CITYCOST·MOREGIONSCORETRENDVERDICT
01🇲🇽Mexico CityMexico$2,200North America4.1▲ +8.7%Go, but stay alert02🇨🇴MedellínColombia$1,400South America3.6▲ +14%Go, but stay alert03🇪🇸ValenciaSpain$2,300Europe4.2▲ +8%Go04🇹🇭BangkokThailand$1,900Southeast Asia4.1▲ +5%Go05🇲🇾Kuala LumpurMalaysia$1,450Southeast Asia4.1▲ +6%Go06🇵🇹PortoPortugal$2,500Europe4.1▲ +5%Go
Browse all city files
§ 02: The Toolkit

Everything on the desk

Visa IntelligenceEvery program sourced and confidence-rated→Currency & FXLive rates plus the dollar-strength board→US Expat TaxesFEIE, FBAR, and what actually applies to you→GlossaryEvery term in the files, defined in plain English→Nomad WireThe news that moves visas, costs, and cities→
Puerto Vallarta, MexicoFEATURED CITY FILE
🇲🇽

Puerto Vallarta

Mexico
4.0SCORE
$2,200/moGo

A Pacific beach town with a real nomad and expat scene, cheap tacos and Uber, and a US-priced housing market in the walkable core. Easy to land, hot and wet from June to October.

Live weather
☀️32°C
Feels like 35° · Clear
Humidity50%
Wind4 km/h
WED🌦️35°
THU🌦️34°
FRI⛈️34°
SAT⛈️30°
SUN🌦️31°
Open the city file
NOMAD WIRE · LIVE
All news →
5hNEW🇲🇽MXThe cost of surviving on a salary of 14 thousand pesos in the State of Mexico and CDMXSP → ENGoogle News — Mexico City (local)2hNEW🇲🇽MXPanama, Guest of Honor at the 42nd Guadalajara International Film FestivalSP → ENGoogle News — Guadalajara (local)EDITOR RECOMMENDSSafetyWingHealth insurance that follows you across borders SafetyWing Essential: sign up from anywhere, keep it as you move.We earn a commission if you sign up5hNEW🇲🇽MXMexico City’s Hipnosis Festival Reveals 2026 Lineup With Kim Gordon, Future Islands, and MelvinsConsequence of Sound13h🇲🇽MXWeather During Independence Grito in Guadalajara; Rain ExpectedSP → ENGoogle News — Guadalajara (local)33mNEWAmerican Airlines Plans A Lounge Upgrade A Month For 3 Years—After A Decade Of Closures And CutbacksView from the Wing46mNEWSave 10% when buying $150+ Hotels.com gift cardsFrequent Miler3hNEWWyndham Rewards’ New Four-Tier Award Chart Is Live, Top Hotels Cost 50% More PointsOne Mile at a Time