Free tool · Geographic Sovereignty
Can I afford to move abroad?
Not a fantasy calculator. A quiet, honest look at what your life actually costs — and what the same life could cost somewhere designed for a slower pace. The point isn't to convince you to leave. It's to see the margin clearly, so you can choose from a real place instead of a scared one.
Your current monthly spend (USD)
Round to the nearest $50. Estimates are fine — this is directional, not accounting.
Runway inputs (optional)
Flights, visa, shipping, deposits, setup.
Colonial, walkable, one of the safest cities in the Americas. Where we chose to land.
Current US monthly
$6,000
In Mérida
$2,530
Monthly margin created
$3,470
Annual margin
$41,640
Runway on savings — US
5.8 mo
Runway — Mérida (after move)
10.7 mo
That's roughly 4.8 extra months of breathing room on the same savings — even after covering the move.
Breakdown by category
- Housing (rent or mortgage)$2,400 → $840
- Utilities & internet$350 → $193
- Groceries$900 → $495
- Dining out & coffee$600 → $270
- Transportation$700 → $350
- Healthcare & insurance$650 → $163
- Personal, fitness & lifestyle$400 → $220
The honest context for Mérida
- Visa pathway
- Temporary Resident (income or savings threshold) → Permanent after 4 years.
- Healthcare
- Excellent private care out-of-pocket; private insurance ~$100–$200/mo.
- What people don't tell you
- Hot and humid May–September. Spanish makes daily life much easier.
Cost factors are drawn from 2025 Numbeo and Expatistan ranges and rounded conservatively. Your actual numbers will vary by neighborhood, lifestyle, healthcare choices, and exchange rate. This is a directional tool — not tax, legal, or financial advice.
A quieter question
The number isn't the answer. It just makes the real question askable.
If a move would give you $3,470 back every month, what would you actually do with it? Rest? Build? Stop performing a life you were never quite in? That's the work — and it's the same work whether you stay or go.
The Sovereign Letters
Letters for women choosing peace over performance.
Small weekly practices. Gentle reminders. Questions worth sitting with. Tiny shifts that, repeated over time, become a different way of living. Arriving only when there's something real to say.
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