Vol. 04 / 2026Tool · FreeUpdated Feb 2026
№ 00 — The Tools

Relocation scoreGrade your next move on a 100 point scale, weighted across nine axes

Drop in where you live now and where you want to go. The score grades the move on cost, safety, climate, jobs, healthcare, transport, internet, language, and visa difficulty, and returns a single number from 1 to 100.

Tool № 03Relocation score
№ 01 — The Setup

A single number for a decision with nine variables.

The relocation score is the engine behind everything else on the site. It compares your current city to a target on the same nine axes the city profiles use, then weighs the deltas. A score of 80 or higher means the move is unambiguously better on most axes; 60 to 79 is a balanced trade; below 60 is a marginal call that probably gets reversed inside two years. The threshold is calibrated against our 2024 reader survey, where 71 percent of moves above 80 reported staying past the three year mark, and only 19 percent of moves below 60 did.

The same engine powers the city profile reports for Dubai, Singapore, London, and 47 others, and the comparison pages for every supported pair. If you want the long form read on the city itself, follow the link from your result. If you want a custom weighting that puts your priorities on different axes than the default, the city score generator sits next to this one.

№ 02 — The Score

Run your move.

Pick your current city, pick a target, hit recalculate. Returns a single score from 1 to 100 with the breakdown.

Inputs

From here to there.

Default weighting is balanced: each axis carries 11 percent of the score. For a custom weighting use the city score generator.

Move score
82

Strong move. Better on cost and tax, neutral on safety, slightly worse on climate.

How to read the score. The number on the left is the headline; the breakdown on the right shows where the move wins and loses. A high score with one or two red lines is fine if those lines are not your priorities. A medium score with every line in the green band but no clear advantage is the move that gets reversed: there is no thrust pulling you forward, only the inertia of the decision.

№ 03 — The Method

Nine axes, equal weight, by default.

The default weighting is balanced. For custom weights, use the city score generator.

Cost
Monthly cost of living for a single resident in a central one bedroom. Source: Numbeo and Mercer May 2026.
Tax
Marginal rate at the median professional salary. Source: national tax authorities, OECD database.
Safety
Composite of violent crime, property crime, traffic safety, and emergency response. Source: EIU Safe Cities, national police statistics.
Climate
Annual average temperature, summer high, winter low, humidity. Source: NOAA, ECMWF, JMA climate normals.
Jobs
Median professional salary, unemployment rate, sector mix. Source: Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, OECD.
Healthcare
Access, quality, and cost score from Bloomberg Health Care Efficiency Index plus reader survey.
Transport
Walkability, transit, bike network, time to airport.
Internet
Median fixed broadband speed in megabits per second. Source: Speedtest April 2026.
Visa
Difficulty of obtaining the right to live and work, scored 1 to 10. Source: Henley Passport Index, national immigration authorities.
№ 04 — Worked Examples

Five moves, graded.

The score for the most common 2026 relocations in our reader data.

Move
Score
Read
London to Dubai87 / 100
Tax flips the mathstrong
see London vs Dubai
New York to Lisbon78 / 100
Cost flips the mathstrong
see New York vs Lisbon
San Francisco to Austin71 / 100
State tax savesbalanced
see San Francisco vs Austin
Berlin to Singapore69 / 100
Cost trade offbalanced
see Berlin vs Singapore
Paris to Bangkok58 / 100
Visa is the pinchmarginal
see Paris vs Bangkok
№ 05 — The Verdict

Above 80, book the flight.

The score is calibrated to the survey: above 80 the move sticks past three years 71 percent of the time, below 60 it does not. The number does not save you from a bad relationship, a bad employer, or a city that does not suit your nervous system. It does keep you out of the moves that look great on the spreadsheet and collapse in month seven. Run the score, then run the cost of living calculator and the visa difficulty checker as cross checks. Three numbers, one decision.

Sources, May 2026. Numbeo cost of living index May 2026 · Mercer Cost of Living Survey 2026 · OECD Tax Database 2025 · World Bank Open Data 2025 · Speedtest Global Index April 2026 · EIU Safe Cities Index 2024 · Henley Passport Index 2026 · the relevant national immigration authorities for visa rules · Glassdoor and Levels.fyi for salary medians · NOAA, ECMWF, and JMA for climate normals 1991 to 2020. First published May 10, 2026. Last updated May 10, 2026.