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Visualizing The Cost Of Living Around The World
Imagine that users submitted hundreds of thousands of prices for everyday items, and that they all got compiled into a massive database. Then, suppose a worldwide index of prices was created that compared the cost of living across different places by using these many data points.
Well, that’s already happened at Numbeo which is the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries.
This infographic uses this information to show the most expensive and cheapest places to live by country. While it is missing some of the granularity of looking closer at individual regions and cities, it does do a good job of showing a broad perspective on living costs.
Switzerland and Norway may not surprise you as two of the most expensive countries. However, Venezuela might not have been a place that was on your radar. Of course, in retrospect, when you have inflation spiraling out of control at a rate of 64% per year, that will make things a bit pricey.
Want cheap goods and services? Head over to India, Nepal, and Pakistan. With about 1.5 billion people spread between those three countries, labour is cheap and the cost of living is very low.
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I gotta move to a cheaper country...
India, Nepal and Pakistan, glorious shitholes for a wondrous retirement, living out your golden years.
Why not add in Outer Mongolia and Tajikistan for shits and grins
Or even the South Bronx
PS I note that Greenland is on the high side. One of my good buds spent quite some time at USAF Thule. Sort of one of the threats that you fuck up again, you'll be spending a long time somewhere like... Said it was cheap. Plenty cheap. Saved a lot of pay because nothing to do, no where to go, but lost his fucking mind. Come see come saw
Knuckles, have you ever been to Nepal?
Actually, my mistake. Forgive me. I was thinking of elsewhere. A flashback to elsewhere.
Try the country of Detroit
Bhutan
GDH=Gross Domestic Happines
They charge the hell out of the Euroscum trekkers just to walk thru.
Pretty laid back and they won't let the king retire because they like him "long time".
GDH is just a govt. PR campaign.
Read up. The place sucks.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/bhutans-human-rights-record-defies-happin...-1000
not Nepal dude
you have no idea
Thailand bitches.
The best all around place on earth.
Cheapest != Safest!
I took a look at their recommended "cheap" options, and for the life of me I cannot figure out what type of scale they are using - it isn't linear (unless the authors are living in a post-redistributionist dream world).
I apparently spend a respectable amount of time among those evil terrorists, both in the bankster terrorist haunts (Switzerland, UK, France, Singapore) and the CIA terrorist haunts (Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia). Life in the upper end Obama-cave places is a lot more than 3-4 times more expensive than life in the more dirty Osama-cave places, except at at the oligarch class level (where there is ironically far less inequality in regards to those pesky "costs").
Kerala is quite nice.
Significant Christian presence there?
Don't know, but if they have Christians not progressive Christians In Name type, so move on...
India, Nepal and Pakistan
3 of my favorite counties to go trekin..
big mountains , friendly peoples
cheaper country are failed state with high corruption, besides t the truth is there are not many places anymore in the world safe or cheap at the same time
Iraq looks pretty cheap. Im sure infrastructure jobs are plentiful with the daily murderous drone strikes destroying parts of the country each day. Also, if you run into a sticky situation .gov built an embassy complex the size of Vatican city to help with any troubles.
Actually, the infrastructure depreciation issue is more related to the excessive number of car bombs, and the suicidal inhabitants who strap C4 to themselves in order to kill the other inhabitants.
Bob Seger :-)
"That's why I'm going to Katmandu
I'm really really really going, too.
If I ever get out of here.
That's what I'm gonna do."
I don't know. After seeing those pictures of corpses floating down the Ganges purifying while people bathed, living there with microbiological roulette hanging over your head does seem to negate the cheap. But maybe I just am deep in cultural bias.
Miffed
It's hard to describe lebensraum much less quantify it, but I like wide open spaces, small towns without madding crowds, and a taste of real wilderness now and then.
I also like not having to lock my house, even though I usually do.
Kaiser - I never lock my doors. Check this out.
https://www.google.com/search?q=salween+river&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ...
So how much do you tip the pizza delivery guy? /sarc
Miffed - imagine the high-metabolic-rate [for lack of a better term] of rivers in the tropics, quickly breaking down bio-pathgens. Of course, locals can be better adapted.
This is so true. So many times do I see an elderly couple come to southwest with dreams of a carefree retirement in the warmth and one comes down with a fulminant coccidioides immitis infection. Their lack of local immunity plus their waning immunity makes them so much more likely to succumb. To imagine that their only worries were of living expenses during their golden years when they are blindsided by a microbe.
Having a unique place watching the horrors of people's lives makes me a bit cautious with the idea of foolproof planning for the future.
Miffed
I bet you are fun at cocktail parties
Only when I get drunk. And then for some reason people laugh themselves under the table. To this day I can't understand why.
Miffed;-)
OK Miffed, I had to look that microbe up. "Valley Fever", difficult to diagnose, minimum 6 mos recovery time, expensive regimen of antifungals. OMG. Being already old and infirmed, they must be stacking 'em like cordwood down in AZ.
On another point, I'd be more inclined to live in the European "cheapo" spots, rather than ones in Asia. Though I have been in the Philippines and liked it very much and could even go along with living there, the spectre of so many opportunistic infections in my old age would definitely make it an earlier (if not well catered) death.
You dont have to live near the Ganges in India. Plenty of cleaner places, some even pristine, I would take microbiological contamination over chemical any day.
world's biggest outdoor toilet!
I measure places I don't want to live by the number of people moving from those places to where I live.
By that measure China tops the list, followed by India, the Middle East and just about anywhere in Africa.
I've done a lot of travelling, and there's some very nice places out there, but I always come back to Canada.
I can't imagine living anywhere that doesn't have snow and bears.
o yea,, don,t want to miss out on shooting bears?
That is in India, but that is not India.
and for anyone who doesn't know what miffed is referring to, here is the link, courtesy of el vaquero:
http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/filthy-india-photos-chinese-neti...
definitely work a look; and best viewed right after you've had a big meal!
I saw people bathe there... and this guy was swimming ... and we were like WTF!!!
Then there are people cleaning linen... and upriver people shovelling cremation ashes into the river...
Heard they have tried to reduce the number corpses that are placed into the river though, so less likely to see it. In my short time (like 1 day/morning) only saw a skull on the river side that one of the street hawkers crowding around us pointed out to another guy so he didn't accidentally step on it.
They say mostly priests, pregnant women, and children do not get cremated. Instead are given the mafioso treatment (except they're already dead", tied to a rock and placed closer to the middle of the river.
America is a rip-off, but none of the inmates are allowed to know and Lois Lehner's gang is out to keep it that way.
There are plenty of cheap places to live in America. Just have to get away from Kalifornia, Jew York, Illinois, etc. And where are all those douchebags who were giving me shit about saying Canada is overpriced?
Socialism states high COL..go figure..rip-off for the dumb fucks who drink the coolaid
Socialist states are only expensive if you convert your dollars at the "official" exchange rate. E.g. 6.3 Venezuelan bolivars per dollar vs. 187 (thirty times as many!) per dollar on the black market.
a tip regarding cheap travel to Venezuela: avoid using local ATMs in that country as you will get the 6.3 rate to the USD, but go over to neighboring Colombia and get pesos from local ATMs then convert to Venezuelan currency, you have got the highest black market rate
Its still expensive for the locals. How much is the minimum wage in dollars once you account for the real exchange rate 200Bs/dollar?
Oklahoma or Mississississippi ought to be in their with all those Shitistan countries.
Forget it, you can't get a family-sized apartment or house anywhere in the USA for less than $900/month, because that's what Section 8 pays.
That couldn't be more patently UNTRUE. You have to travel more. Real estate in flyover country is UNBELIEVABLY cheap. There are so many ghost or near ghost towns in rural agricultural america, that it defies belief for one that has never left urban america. You could rent a 2000 square foot ranch style home for the price of renting a ROOM in urban america. No exaggeration, no bullshit.
The chart has got Brazil wrong.
If you compare food prices there with similar products in (say) London, they are far higher in Brazil. Not only relative to local wages but also in BRLs when bought with foreign currency exchanged into BRLs. EG: 1st quality (washed and without bruises) Brazilian bananas in London = £0.68/kilo. 2nd quality (dirty, gooey & sticky and often bruised) Brazilian bananas in Brazil = £1.00/kilo. Same thing with many other foods and manufactured items. A pair of unknown brand trainers in Brazil can easily cost BRL400. A 600ml bottle of beer in a bar = BRL6-7.
Prices in the North East (Recife etc) are exeptionally high and slightly lower in the South East (São Paulo, Rio, Curitiba).
The charts are fucked.. fixed it for you.
NO Fucking way. BraZil is cheaper than Argentina.....and ESPECIALLY URUGUAY.
I live like a king and my cost of living for three is 30k a year in Patagonia.
I have posted the data from numbeo with a cost comparison between Rio and London.
http://tinyurl.com/ml6g2kv
all prices in Rio are far, far cheaper than in London
edit:
the following are more expensive in Rio
cell phone tariffs
tennis courts/hour
dresses
mortgage interest rates
"all prices in Rio are far, far cheaper than in London"
Simply not true. And in the NE of Brazil it's even more not true.
I don't know where you get your prices from. One glaring error is your price of white rice in London where you say 1Kg costs $2.57. In sterling that's about £1.70. Well, I can buy white rice (regular long grain) in any supermarket in London for half that price. And it's doubtful you can buy 1Kg of long grain rice in Rio for $1.28 (about $R3.50 local). $R8-10 is more like it. If you only pay $R3.50 all you get is a cheap, sticky rice which is tasteless rubbish.
Trust me, I have spent a lot of time in Rio in the 90s - and prices "for me" were very cheap given the exchange rate. More recently in the NE where for the last 5 years prices have been far far higher than in London, given current exchange rates. I have estimated for me to get PPP in the NE on food and clothes etc, I'd need an exchange rate of $R6-7 = UKP1. I'm lucky to get $R3.60 = UKP1 and two years ago it was $R2.70 = UKP1.
Also as I alluded to, current Brazilian prices are not only very high for me due to exchange rates, but also for local people where average salaries are way less than half of the UK.
kaiserhoff. I share your sentiments for life style and I think if you have traveled to many of the far flung places around the world. In the USA it will always be possible to have the small town with the wide open space. Sure you need to know your community and who runs the place, and they need to know you, but once all that's out of way. There is nothing like walking back into town after being gone a few months or more and finding a friendly greeting where ever you go. Yes you need not have locked your door as I have forgotten to on several occasions coming back a year later to one of my haunts to find the door unlocked. So far so good.
cheap ain't all it's cracked up to be. there are things worth paying for in life.
I have been to many of these countries.
Cost of living in a shithole is low.
If your wealth is comparable to the countries that are more costly to live in.
DUH! A shithole apartment is cheap, for someone who is rich enough to not have to live in it.
If you want a nice country, you have to pay for it.
Free trade, low taxes, no regulations, devolves your country into a shithole.
Cheap to live in, till you make the average wage, or can't stomach the place anymore and take your money elsewhere.
Then make that country a shithole too. Because you don't want to pay the rent and upkeep on a nice country. Just want to sell it out.
"If you want a nice country, you have to pay for it."
Bullshit.
Unless of course you mean pay for it with blood.
At this point the "folks" living in America won't be having a "nice country" unless they become sufficiently willing to pay for it.
And if you're confused??
Can ya say Venezuala?
"nice country" - another oxymoron.
some are worse, some are better, but the very notion of country entails that there's an armed gang who drew some imaginary lines in the dirt, and everything inside those lines is under their control, including YOU, if you happen to find yourself there.
the only good country, is no country.
down with all government!
freedom for the people!
True, all countries are made up so lets us rephrase:
"In some territories administered by some gangs life seems easier and more pleasant than in the territories administered by different gangs, where life is hard and bleak".
Got it?
False construct.
Nations emerge from a commonality of interests, the first of which is defending against outsiders who would take by force what you've worked to achieve. This is true at the most basic level of tribes defending their hunting grounds against incursion by other tribes, or by frontiersmen clearing and settling the land.
Any group of people that defines a shared purpose, the first being survival, constitutes a nation. It's only a matter of how successful they are that defines the territory in which they live, and are prepared to defend.
You may as well argue that atoms aren't made of protons, neutrons and electrons. That's how fundamental nations are.
it is simple to show that what you're saying is not correct.
i would like to live on my own small plot of land in the usa, keep to myself, not be bound by rules imposed on me by others - can i? no, not really. one small example: if i dont' pay their taxes, they can come and take my land through violence or threats of violence.
so, is there really a "commonality" of interests? clearly there is not. the interests of the ruling class, the true owners of this country, are imposed on me through threats and coercion.
a true commonality comes from voluntary cooperation, and doesn't require anything to be forced on anyone.
No one pays high taxes in Venezuela and a many pay none. Taxes are not the problem in Venezuela.
And its Venezuela, not Venezuala.
Yeah, Nicaragua is a shithole. You guys better stay in 'Murika.
Your statements are a little confusing. But I think I get it.
I agree, free trade, low tax, less regulations, turns any country into shitholes. And those with money make that happen. Yes. True.
Well, if it is real free trade as opposed to the current global corporatocracy "free Trade," income treated as personal property instead of property of the state, and a justice system that does not exist purely to protect the state and its corporate sponsors, then you are wrong.
Voltaire set the example. That mankind does not follow it has nothing to do with the acts of the state and everything to do with the quality of mankind.
Its not the taxes what kill an economy, but the croniysm and absurd regulations and permits given to connected ones.
I use to live in Venezuela. Had to leave because it was simply impossible to do some things at any price. Plus i got tired of dodging bullets. Guess its not as fun anymore for the elite once the overfucked serfs start shooting up the place.
High taxes, as long as they are flat and without loopholes, will slow you down but not stop you.
"the rent is too damn high"
How could you even consider living in a country where there are no Freeeeee Obama phones......??
Presumably gray means no data?
I remember when I went to Hawaii for the first time with my family a while ago. One of the things that shocked me at first was just how expensive most stuff was over there. A gallon of milk was like 6 bucks.
Then a few years later we went on a trip to Norway. Just when I thought stuff was expensive in Hawaii... holy fucking shit. Norway made Hawaii look dirt-cheap in comparison.
Have you tried Switzerland yet?
try Punta del este in January.
Or Mar del Plata in January, getting pesos out of the ATM at the official exchange rate of $8.50 when all the prices revolve around the parallel rate of $13.50.
i Just change my dollars at 13,50
I didn't look at the numbers but I've checked out that site before. Having traveled to 50 countries and lived in 10+, I think Malaysia ticks most of the required boxes from great healthcare to great food, low crime, cheap rent, nice people etc. The only negatives I could find are the expensive beer (if you're in a bar) and the scary as fuck jellyfish if you like swimming in the sea. You need to like high humidity of course.
The only people who "like" 34C and 98% humidity are people who have never experienced mid-latitudes.
True. When it's cloudy it's quite bearable and in the evenings, eating outside is very pleasant. When the sun's out, you need AC or a swimming pool. Period.
Snow. It's what makes us strong.
There's a reason the North evolved while the South languished. Snow makes you work hard and prepare for the future. The most prosperous nations are the ones that have snow. The great advances in science, engineering and the humanities all came from places that have snow. Snow is the common factor in human evolution.
Sun people don't do much beyond the needs of basic survival. How can you when it's so fucking hot? Even when nature provides you with rich dark skin, it's still not enough to overcome the suffocating heat. Sloth and indolence are the defining features of the sun people. Nothing works properly, nothing runs on time, nothing is safe to eat or drink and there's always the chance of a nasty disease or poisonous snake getting the better of you.
You guys can trot off to Thailand or Brazil if you like. Whlie you're popping chloroquine and brushing away the fire ants, I'll be up here enjoying the fresh clean snow!
great, lets move to a third world country , look at the water whilst drenched in humidity and think how great it would be to swim in it. ok.
Thanks for the braindead comment. Have you lived in Florida or anywhere else in the south? Malaysia isn't third world compared with the US and most of Europe. There are mountain towns that are cooler than the coast if you worry about sweating like a pig.
I lived in Tampa Bay , playa del carmen and Rio.
The hill stations in Malaysia are quite cool, that is the area in which the famous Thai silk king, the American JIm Thompson disappeared a long time ago
"Want cheap goods and services? Head over to India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
With about 1.5 billion people spread between those three countries, labour is cheap and the cost of living is very low."
Happens to lie in Eurasia that the US and Russia are trying to control and fighting over. Next to these countries are a string of other countries that need to be 'liberated' (meaning their natural resources need to be liberated from their owners). Add China and there are over 2.5 billion people sitting on natural resources, trade routes, markets and cheap labour.
I don't see refugees and immigrants lining up to go to those places though - I wonder why.
But the people from those countries and similar do try their best to flock to the most expensive countries on your list.
I was in Calcutta once, probably the hell hole of the planet, found that people from neighboring Bangladesh were tying to get into India!
illegal immigrants have very high standards, hundreds of them are trying to leave France, which has one the highest standard of living in the world, to get into the welfare paradise of the UK
Another stupid article on ZH!! Gosh it is getting very hard to find something worth reading here lately. Tyler Turden is using nominal terms for his stupid calculations. How silly, sensationalist and at end of the day misleading!!!
The article links to a website that just about every traveler in the world uses to gauge cost of living in various countries, based on the input of people who have stayed in those places. Stop wasting pixels with dumbass comments.
I visited China and found it was expensive, maybe just where I went but everything was more than I expected. Stifling air pollution too. I just can't stand it.
Is Sweden really that expensive? Not what I found. Aside from truly stunning women, you get fresh air, and essential food stuffs are not that expensive. Maybe it's the housing that costs an arm and a leg. I liked Sweden and their spirit of doing well in business. The curious thing is, I work among international people and know some Swedes in USA, and every one of them is happy to be here not there.
There are regions in Tennessee, etc, with low property taxes, safe, weather is nice, you can do what you want and it's not expensive. Maybe if you're lucky enough to own a rental property in an expensive city, use the rental revenue to fund a comfortable life in the south. I'd really like to get out of USA though.
Germany and lots of places in Europe are so crowded.
Some people I know moved to Cuenca Ecuador. Look into it. The weather is great year-round, people are friendly, apartments are spacious and cheap. If something goes haywire just leave and be thankful for the good times you had for a fair price.
As for Thailand, yeah. It's a type of trap though. There's a mean side as well. It would be cool, if you had good health, to stay in Thailand Sept-April then head up to Mongolia for a few months of adventure. Mongolian women are gorgeous, and it's a relatively inexpensive place. Fresh air, water, fishing, free spirit to travel, etc. I had good experiences there--a type of hidden treasure. Terrible drivers though, watch out.
Move to Argentina, medical care $120 a month.
Unlesss you really think a Mongolian is hotter than an Argi.
For sure they are.
lol,
you need to do some research and travelling to santa fe.ñ
move to Honduras, funerals are free!
Yeah, and you can hang out with Doug Casey...LOL!
There are a couple of good cities and places in China but it drives me nuts after a couple of months. I went there because I wanted to see shanghai and I hated the place so i got on the train and went to 70 other cities. Some of the second tier cities down south like Zhongshan and areas east of Shenzhen can be pretty nice. I met some gorgeous Mongolian chicks in my travels (who would've guessed?) but I haven't made it there yet. Thailand in September and October still suffers from the monsoon weather but indonesia goes through its dry period then. Gotta keep on the move.
I tried Argentina, Uruguay, Panama and Colombia and surprisingly Colombia was the most appealing. I've read some great things about Medellin recently too which seems to have shed its past. Similar year round spring weather like Cuenca too.
Crimea its not marked as part of Russia, wtf? still on denial?
Pakistan - anus of the world
High cost of living countries are either those who are socialist shithole with re-distributive progressive taxes or those who have printing press and cater to the 1% ...
Socialist shitholes like Singapore also have zero debt, low taxes, great healthcare and the government has a stake in 70% of the country's companies.
And don't spit on the sidewalk if you don't like getting caned.
Also, they have no natural resources and they drink recycled sewer water.
Why move? Why not retire where you already live? You have friends, probably have a house that you have made comfortable for your habits, know which neighbors and businessmen are honest, know the soil, etc., etc. Just travel a little, and volunteer a little, and attend to your hobbies and garden and family.
< TGR, get the hell OUT - and SEND MORE MONEY.
< Kristin Schall is right.
For Saturday Fun, I added up all the comments, and learned.... :-)
Every country is a shithole.
Every leader that ever lived was an asshole.
People are scumloving retard fackfaces, and everything people think, do, and, especially, write is stupid. Except me.
Clearly, therefore, Kristin Schall is right, and men DO need more room on the subway to spread out and air out.
< Kristin Schall is right, AND she is hot. :-)
< Kristin Schall may or may not be right, but she is certainly hot. :-)
Luanda, Angola could be the most expensive place in the world
look at comparison between Luanda and Oslo
http://tinyurl.com/ltxbaa5
Consumer Prices in Luanda are 4.22% higher than in Oslo Consumer Prices Including Rent in Luanda are 62.43% higher than in Oslo Rent Prices in Luanda are 198.67% higher than in OsloThere will be a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl tomorrow featuring Ecuador. I've been here 4 years & love it! Check it out!
Nice place to live, perhaps. Not so great to invest in though. Talk to anyone involved in mining - see what they say.
There will be a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl tomorrow featuring Ecuador. I've been here 4 years & love it! Check it out!