Comparisons
The Earth Awaits lets you choose a budget and lifestyle and then suggests cities to consider
My Life Elsewhere compares basic statistics like life expectancy, health care, and expenses
The Culture Factor Group has a country comparison tool that graphs cultural factors
At Numbeo you can compare the detailed cost of living
Cost of living
Numbeo (pretty accurate in my experience)
Crime, safety
Crime in Europe shown in maps
The Global Peace Index ranks countries according to their “peacefulness,” which includes societal security and military conflict
Intentional homicide rates around the world
Gun laws by country
Countries with high rape rates
Culture
Country comparison tool that graphs cultural factors
Gay rights in each location; country rankings
Economy and development
Human Development Index as map and data
Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom
Economic maps of Europe
Countries with the highest food self-sufficiency
Economist Global Food Security Index
Freedom, crypto
Bitcoin’s legal status in each country
Cato Institute Human Freedom index
Freedom of speech:
- Overview of several countries
- Countries ranked
- Hate speech laws by country
Surveillance: Compare the density of surveillance cameras for many cities
Health
Health care systems ranked by various criteria. These ratings might apply only to the public system; the private system is often better.
Investing
Which strategy?
- Dividend growth stocks compared to the 4% strategy
4% rule: How much money do I need to “retire?” Monte Carlo simulations:
- cFIREsim has a clean layout
- FI Calc lets you choose different strategies and see the results based on historical data
- Early Retirement Calc lets you test the impact of different tax rates
- Rich, Broke, or Dead? uses statistics to guess the age at which you’ll die
- WalletBurst offers several calculators based on the standard of living you hope to have
4% rule: How long will it take to save up that amount?
- Networthify Early Retirement Calculator shows the effect of your savings rate — the percentage of your income that you stuff into your portfolio
Dividend growth investing:
- Compare two dividend stocks to see which is the better long-term investment
- Also compare two stocks, but you can turn off dividend reinvesting to see its impact (you’ll probably stop reinvesting dividends when you “retire”)
- Calculate how much you need to save each month to reach your goal portfolio by your deadline
Choosing stocks
- Finviz stock screener lets you filter by dividend yield, company size, country, sector, etc.
Social life
Facebook is unfortunately the best way to find social groups and events in most countries, even once you’re living there.
- To find other foreigners: Search for for “expats in [place]” or “foreigners in [place].”
- To find local hobby groups: Use a translation site (I like DeepL) to translate the name of your hobby to the local language, then search for that and the name of the place. Facebook won’t translate your search for you or will do it badly.
Organizations like Internations that organize in-person events in popular cities get varying reviews.
Taxes
PwC worldwide tax summary for each country
Facebook groups to help US people deal with citizenship-based tax and other restrictions:
- US Expat Tax Questions
- US Expat Investment Community
- American Expatriates for Residency Based Taxation — advocacy group
- Renounce US citizenship: Why? How?
Travel
Countries in the Schengen area
How long can you stay in the Schengen? Calculators: simple, more info
US veterans
A US veteran who has moved abroad has compiled this useful PDF of tips that are especially applicable to veterans.
Visas
Many digital nomad visas and their requirements
Many retirement visas around the world
Visa requirements for US citizens and how long you can stay. Sort by “allowed stay” to find long-term visas.
Weather
Climate and typical weather for any location: WeatherSpark
YouTubers and bloggers
Expat lifestyle, full-time travel
Amelia and JP Abroad
Americans who moved to Ecuador are now traveling to check out other locations
Bonus Nachos
Eric and Katie retired in their early 40s and travel full time, tracking expenses
Earth Vagabonds
Americans who retired early now travel full time with a $2,000/month budget
- Blog
- Key post: How to Retire Early and Travel the World
Expat Life Ghana
Americans who live and run businesses in Ghana
Grounded Life Finances
Americans who travel full-time and often describe costs
Retirement Travelers
Full-time travelers who often share practical advice
Warren and Julie
Americans with a base in Montenegro who travel often and describe costs
Money and visas
Expat Money
Experienced expat gives advice about destinations and money. He can over-focus on the good side of a destination, in my opinion.
Nomad Capitalist
The videos are mostly about mindset without a lot of specifics and are either entertaining or annoying, you decide
Offshore Citizen
Advice and news about foreign investing and visas
Our Black Utopia
Americans in Portugal share financial and mindset advice
Our Rich Journey
Americans who retired before 40 and moved to Portugal share financial advice
The Wandering Investor
Focuses on investing in international real estate and gives real-world examples of real estate purchases and their returns
Wealthy Expat
Gives concise advice about taxes, visas, and global trends and might offend some