The same $2,500 is tight in New York (about $10,297 a month here) and comfortable in much of Southeast Asia. That gap is the whole idea behind geoarbitrage.
Top 20 on $2,500 a month
Coverage = monthly income ÷ a month in that city (short-term studio + food, transport, phone and a little fun). 2× means you could spend half and save half.
Recalculate with your monthly income
Ranked by how many times your income covers a month there (1× = just enough).
1🇲🇲 Yangon4.5×about $561 · stay $312 + living $249
2🇮🇳 Amritsar4.3×about $581 · stay $255 + living $326
9🇮🇳 Udaipur3.7×about $667 · stay $287 + living $380
10🇮🇳 Kolkata3.7×about $668 · stay $297 + living $371
11🇻🇳 Ha Giang3.7×about $682 · stay $356 + living $326
12🇵🇰 Lahore3.6×about $696 · stay $283 + living $413
13🇧🇴 La Paz3.4×about $730 · stay $377 + living $354
14🇻🇳 Rach Gia3.4×about $734 · stay $431 + living $303
15🇳🇵 Pokhara3.4×about $736 · stay $298 + living $438
16🇮🇩 Surabaya3.4×about $738 · stay $417 + living $321
17🇪🇬 Aswan3.4×about $742 · stay $328 + living $414
18🇮🇩 Yogyakarta3.4×about $744 · stay $417 + living $327
19🇳🇵 Kathmandu3.3×about $749 · stay $336 + living $413
20🇵🇰 Karachi3.3×about $757 · stay $364 + living $393
Before you pack
Visas — working on a tourist visa is treated differently everywhere. Check for digital-nomad visas first.
Taxes — where you are tax-resident changes what you actually keep. For long stays, talk to a tax professional.
Health insurance — long stays may need long-stay coverage rather than travel insurance.
Time zones — if your clients are at home, overlap matters more than rent.
Housing — the table uses short-term rentals; month-plus leases can nearly halve them.
Run it on your own numbersIn the app, "Where to → Month abroad · with income" re-ranks all 502 cities on your income, lodging style and spending style. Try it in the app ›
Figures come from the app: estimates built from public cost-of-living data, corrected over time by traveler reports. Exchange rates as of October 2026.
