Understanding the gap between salary and what you actually keep
Cost of living is not a single number — it is a stack of categories, each driven by different forces. Rent might be 40% cheaper in one city while groceries are 15% more expensive and out-of-pocket healthcare costs 200% more. Comparing "average" indexes hides the categories that matter most for your actual life.
This optimizer takes your real monthly expenses and recomputes them in any destination city using locally weighted price data. The result is not what an average resident spends — it is what you would spend maintaining the same lifestyle. The destination column shows where you can keep your habits at a lower price, where they become more expensive, and where the local alternative differs enough to be worth a change.
If you supply your monthly net income, the tool also computes your savings rate — how much of your earnings you keep for the future — in both cities. The savings rate is the single most predictive metric for long-term financial health: above 20% puts you on a comfortable path, below 10% means each month consumes a year of your future.
Frequently asked
How is the destination cost computed if I have not been there?
The destination column uses categorical price ratios drawn from rent indexes, grocery baskets, transport tickets, restaurant pricing, healthcare averages, and utility data. For each input category, we apply the appropriate ratio between your origin and destination at the lifestyle level you selected. A "Comfortable" lifestyle in a low-cost city uses a different basket than "Minimal" in a luxury market, so the same input produces different destination figures depending on the level you choose.
Why does the destination figure sometimes look lower than the city's official cost-of-living index?
Official indexes measure averages across the entire metropolitan area, weighted by total population. International professionals tend to live in specific neighborhoods near work, transport hubs, or international schools — these neighborhoods can be pricier than the city average for rent, but cheaper for transport because of metro access. The destination figure here is closer to what a recently-arrived professional actually spends than to a city-wide average.
What is a healthy savings rate and how do I know if mine is sustainable?
As a rule of thumb: under 5% is concerning, 5–15% is normal but vulnerable to shocks, 15–25% is solid for most life stages, and above 25% accelerates major goals like home ownership or financial independence. Sustainability matters more than the headline number — a 30% rate that requires skipping holidays and avoiding social life is rarely sustainable for more than a year. The optimizer flags categories where small changes could lift your rate without compromising quality of life.
Do the investment projections account for inflation?
The 7% return is a nominal long-term equity figure that already includes a typical inflation premium. Returns are shown in today's purchasing-power terms — meaning the figure projected for ten years out is roughly equivalent to that amount of goods and services today, not a higher nominal value eroded by inflation. Actual returns vary; the 7% reflects long-term averages for diversified equity portfolios over 20+ year horizons, not a forecast.
Can I optimize without a destination — just analyze my current spending?
Yes. Leave the destination field empty and submit only your origin city, monthly net income, and current expenses. The tool will identify your largest categories, compare them against typical patterns at your lifestyle level, and surface the biggest opportunities for optimization in your current city — no relocation required.
Is this financial advice?
No. The optimizer is a planning tool that produces estimates based on published cost-of-living data and standard financial-planning conventions. Your actual situation depends on debt, household composition, irregular income, healthcare needs, and tax treatment — all of which require a personal advisor to address properly. Use this as a starting point for the conversation, not as the final word.