Most people start the wrong way. They Google "cost of living in Colombia," land on a number that sounds small, feel something vague and optimistic, and call that research. It is not research. It is the beginning of a misunderstanding that will surface later — usually when the moving plan is already in motion.
The comparison that actually works begins somewhere else entirely: with your real monthly number.
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**Reading time: 4 min | Last verified: April 2026 | Category: Cost of Living**
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## The Problem With Country Averages
A national cost of living average tells you approximately nothing about your specific life. It tells you what a statistical composite of that country's population spends — across every income level, every region, every lifestyle. That composite is not you.
Numbeo — one of the few independent cost of living databases with published, transparent methodology and continuously updated city-level data — shows meaningful gaps between national averages and neighborhood-level reality (Numbeo, numbeo.com, 2024). The difference between their national average for Colombia and their data for El Poblado in Medellín is significant. The difference between that and what an American expat actually spends in El Poblado, maintaining an American-adjacent lifestyle, is wider still.
National averages are a starting point for curiosity. They are not a basis for a decision.
## Your Number First. Everything Else Second.
Before you open a single cost comparison tool, sit down with three months of bank and credit card statements and add up what you actually spend. Not what you think you spend. What you spend. Rent or mortgage. Groceries. Car payment and insurance. Health insurance premium. Utilities. Subscriptions. Dining out. The gym you go to twice a month. All of it.
For a single adult in Chicago, that number typically lands between $3,800 and $5,200 per month depending on the neighborhood and how they live (Numbeo, Chicago cost of living data, 2024). A couple in Austin looks different. A family in Denver looks different again. The national median does not tell you your number. Your statements do.
That monthly figure is the thing you are trying to replace. Not a benchmark. Not a vague impression. Your actual life, converted to a monthly dollar amount.
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```
[ KEY FIGURE ]
$8,951
Average annual cost to insure one person under an employer-sponsored US health plan — before copays, deductibles, or out-of-pocket expenses
KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey, 2024
```
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## Running Each Line Against a Real Place
<!-- IMAGE CUE: El Poblado neighborhood street, Medellín — 300px right-aligned. Alt text: "Residential street in El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia." -->
**Housing** is the most reliable comparison point and the easiest to verify. A one-bedroom apartment in Medellín's El Poblado neighborhood runs approximately $550–850 USD per month at current exchange rates (Numbeo, Medellín cost of living data, 2024). The equivalent category in Chicago's North Side runs $1,800–2,500 (Numbeo, Chicago cost of living data, 2024). That gap is real and has held relatively consistent. Use the figures as a planning range — Numbeo's methodology is sound but the data reflects crowdsourced averages, not a guarantee of what you will personally find.
**Groceries** require a distinction the averages never make. You will not find the Jewel-Osco in Chiang Mai. What you will find is a morning market two blocks from most neighborhoods where a full day's produce costs less than a Starbucks order and came off the truck the same morning. If you plan to eat locally — and that is the correct plan — your food spend can drop substantially compared to the US baseline. If you plan to seek out imported goods and recreate your American grocery cart abroad, subtract most of those savings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey places average food-at-home spending for a single-person household at approximately $4,200 per year in the US (BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2023). Eating regionally in Chiang Mai or Medellín costs a fraction of that. How much of a fraction depends entirely on how locally you eat.
<!-- IMAGE CUE: Morning market scene, Chiang Mai — 300px right-aligned. Alt text: "Produce stalls at a morning market in Chiang Mai, Thailand." -->
**Healthcare** is where the comparison turns counterintuitive. The average total annual premium for employer-sponsored single coverage in the US was $8,951 in 2024 — that is the combined employer and employee cost to insure one person, before deductibles or out-of-pocket expenses (KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey, 2024). For someone moving abroad who is no longer employer-covered, the relevant comparison is that full figure against the cost of an international policy. A comprehensive international health insurance plan for a healthy adult in their 40s, covering Thailand or Portugal, typically runs $1,500–3,200 per year depending on coverage tier, deductible, and provider (Pacific Prime, Cost of International Health Insurance Report, 2024). Verify current quotes directly — Pacific Prime, Cigna Global, and Allianz Care all publish online quote tools with no obligation.
**Transportation** often simplifies dramatically. Vehicle ownership — payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance — is one of the largest single expenditure categories for American households according to BLS data (BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2023). In a walkable city with functional public transit — Porto, Chiang Mai, Medellín — a car becomes optional or disappears entirely. That one line item changes the comparison more than most people expect.
<!-- IMAGE CUE: Metro system or tram scene in a walkable city — 300px right-aligned. Alt text: "Public transit in [city], [country]." -->
## Where to Find Reliable Data
Three sources are worth knowing before you run any comparison.
**Numbeo** (numbeo.com) is the most practical starting point. Use the city-to-city comparison function, not the country-level index — city data is more useful, and neighborhood context matters more than national aggregates. Treat the figures as planning ranges rather than precision instruments.
**Expatistan** (expatistan.com) provides a direct city-comparison format that is faster to use for an initial read. Less depth than Numbeo, but useful for a first pass before you go deeper.
**The EIU Worldwide Cost of Living Survey** (Economist Intelligence Unit, published annually) is the methodological gold standard — built for corporate relocation decisions, which is exactly why it is worth trusting for planning purposes. Their 2024 survey ranked Singapore, Zurich, and Geneva among the most expensive cities globally (EIU, Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, 2024). Medellín, Chiang Mai, Porto, and Mexico City do not appear in that tier. That is data, not a sales pitch.
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*"The comparison that works runs your actual life against a specific city. Country averages are curiosity. Line-item breakdowns are decisions."*
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## The Costs That Break Comparisons
<!-- IMAGE CUE: Currency exchange or international wire transfer visual — 300px right-aligned. Alt text: "Currency exchange board showing multiple international currencies." -->
**Currency exposure** is the line item people reliably forget to model. If your income is in dollars and your expenses are in a currency that strengthens against the dollar, your effective cost of living rises without a single local price changing. The Federal Reserve publishes exchange rate data showing meaningful multi-year volatility across currencies like the Colombian peso, Thai baht, and Mexican peso (Federal Reserve, H.10 Foreign Exchange Rates Release, 2024). This is not a reason to abandon the comparison — it is a reason to model a 15% swing in both directions and confirm the math still holds. If it only works at today's rate, it does not actually work.
**International schooling**, if children are part of the move, typically runs $6,000–18,000 per year depending on country and school tier (figures vary by institution and region — see individual school directories for current tuition). That single line restructures a cost of living comparison significantly. The calculation that works for a couple without school-age children does not automatically work for a family. Run the actual school costs for your specific destination before you build the comparison. The [Moving Abroad with Kids guides] cover school cost breakdowns by destination in detail.
**One-time move costs** — visa application fees, legal fees for residency, shipping, storage, and transition housing — typically land somewhere between $3,000 and $10,000 depending on destination and complexity. These belong in the first-year math, not the ongoing monthly budget. Keeping them separate prevents a distorted picture in either direction. They are real costs. They are also finite.
<!-- IMAGE CUE: Moving boxes or shipping containers — 300px right-aligned. Alt text: "Shipping and logistics for an international move." -->
## The Comparison That Changes the Conversation
Run the numbers correctly — your real baseline, against a specific city, line by line, with healthcare modeled honestly and currency risk acknowledged — and most Americans find the same thing. The place they are considering is not cheap in the abstract. Their specific life, rebuilt in a specific neighborhood, costs significantly less than what they are paying now.
That is not a guarantee. A lifestyle import erases most of the gap. A genuine local rebuild of a good life, done honestly, usually does not erase it. The comparison is sitting there waiting to be built. Most people never build it.
Run it. The answer is real.
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*Related: [The Cost of Staying series — what your current life costs in US cities, year by year]*
*Related: [Medellín cost of living breakdown — what a real monthly budget looks like in El Poblado]*
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## Sources
- Numbeo — Cost of Living Database, City-Level Data — 2024 — numbeo.com
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023 — Published 2024 — bls.gov/cex
- KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) — Employer Health Benefits Survey 2024 — Published September 2024 — kff.org/health-costs
- Pacific Prime — Cost of International Health Insurance Report 2024 — Published 2024 — pacificprime.com/cost-of-international-health-insurance
- Economist Intelligence Unit — Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2024 — Published 2024 — eiu.com
- Federal Reserve — H.10 Release: Foreign Exchange Rates — 2024 data — federalreserve.gov/releases/h10
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*Editor notes before publishing:*
*— Verify Numbeo rent ranges for Medellín, Chicago, and Chiang Mai against current city data*
*— Confirm KFF 2024 single coverage premium figure ($8,951) against published report*
*— Update Pacific Prime figure if 2025 report is available at time of publish*
*— Confirm EIU 2024 top cities ranking*
*— Add specific internal link URLs when The Cost of Staying index and Medellín breakdown posts are live*
*— Add header image and confirm all image sources meet GAE image sourcing standard*
