Yahoo Finance 10 Best European Cities To Retire on a Budget of $2,500 a Month
Europe has a reputation as being an expensive destination, but the truth is it is full of charming cities with a high quality of life that are also affordable.
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To determine which are the best places where you could retire on a budget of $2,500 per month, GOBankingRates sourced data from WorldPopulationReview, Numbeo and the 2023 Global Peace Index to rank the top 500 cities in terms of population, according to a combination of their overall cost of living, level of safety and security, quality of life and monthly rent, with quality of life receiving the highest weighting. Here are the results, presented in reverse order.
Valencia, Spain
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,513
Valencia is one of the most well-known cities in the top 10, and with good reason. The city offers everything from medieval cathedrals to fantastic paella to great museums and beaches, all in a walkable environment that is much less expensive than big-brother Barcelona. The city’s quality-of-life index is the highest of any city in the top 10, at 194.
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Porto, Portugal
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,546
Portugal in general is getting a lot of press lately as a mecca for American retirees, and Porto, famous for its port wine and its UNESCO World Heritage city center, is often listed as the highlight. Rents are a tad high compared to other cities in the top 10, with a one-bedroom averaging $862.62 per month, but its quality-of-life index is also among the best, at 178.25.
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Klaipeda, Lithuania
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,124
Compared to some other countries in the survey, Lithuania doesn’t receive a lot of attention, but Klaipeda is definitely a hidden gem. Boasting forests, rivers, lakes and sand dunes, Klaipeda is also home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Vilnius Old Town and the Curonian Spit.
Ostrava, Czech Republic
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,230
While most Americans think of Prague when they hear the words “Czech Republic,” Ostrava is actually a much better option for those retiring on $2,500 per month. Although known by some as an industrial center, Ostrava has gorgeous parks, architecture, museums and, of course, a brewery. Overall, the city has a quality-of-life index of 161.77.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $857
If you’re looking for a European city where you can retire on the cheap, Plovdiv might be near the top of your list. With a one-bedroom apartment averaging just $287.05 in monthly rent, $2,500 will be plenty of money to get you by. The city’s quality-of-life index of 143.72 is among the lowest in the top 10, but the city still has its charms, including the longest pedestrian street in Europe and plentiful Roman ruins.
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Burgas, Bulgaria
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $879
Burgas is the second Bulgarian city to crack the top 10, mainly on the back of its extreme affordability. Even a three-bedroom apartment in the city rents at just $553.77 per month, while a one-bedroom clocks in at just $302.21. The city is actually popular due to its close location to the resort town of Varna along the Black Sea coast, but Burgas also has its own seashore location and a host of charms, from its vibrant gardens to its pink lake.
Zaragoza, Spain
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,205
Zaragoza is one of the most overlooked cities in Spain, as it has such big-name competitors as Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and others. But it beats out all of its famous brethren in terms of quality of life — with an index of 184 — and affordability. The rent for a one-bedroom apartment averages just $556.81 per month.
Debrecen, Hungary
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $960
Hungary is rising in popularity in the travel and retirement community, and Debrecen is one of the most affordable options. Tourism has been rising in the city, especially since Lonely Planet put Debrecen on its list of top-10 value destinations in the world in 2017. A one-bedroom apartment in the city still averages just $369.38 per month, while its quality-of-life index sits at 154.79.
Split, Croatia
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $1,168
For all of the publicity that it receives, Split remains surprisingly affordable. This gem of a city right on the beautiful blue Adriatic Sea has one of the best quality of life indexes in the survey, at 172.69, but a sizable three-bedroom apartment still only costs $814.27 per month on average.
Szeged, Hungary
Monthly Cost for One Person With Rent: $949
Szeged may fly under the radar of many American retirees, but that’s a shame. The beautiful city near the Serbian border is an architectural wonderland, and its university culture means there’s an ample supply of outdoor cafes, restaurants and entertainment venues to provide for an exciting retirement. While overall costs are low, rents are particularly affordable, with a one-bedroom running just $314.02 on average.
Methodology: To find the best European cities to retire on a budget of $2,500 a month, GOBankingRates used a list of cities in Europe by population of the top 500 cities, sourced from WorldPopulationReview. The top 5 cities by population of each country were kept, and for each of the cities, the cost of living across many expenditure categories was found from Numbeo. This data allowed GOBankingRates to calculate each city’s average cost of living and average rental price. For each city where the expenditures and the rental cost are at or below $2,500 a month, the quality of life was sourced from Numbeo across a number of factors. The safety index was also sourced from the Institute for Economics and Peace’s 2023 Global Peace Index, which takes into account numerous factors, such as the levels of societal safety and security, extent of ongoing domestic international conflict, and the degree of militarization. The safety index was scored and weighted at 1.25, the monthly cost without rent was scored and weighted at 1.00, the average rent was scored and weighted at 1.00, and the overall quality of life index was scored and weighted at 1.50. All the scores were combined and sorted to show the best European cities to retire on a budget of $2,500 a month. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of Sept. 15, 2023.
Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only. As a result, some of the photos might not reflect the locations listed in this article.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Best European Cities To Retire on a Budget of $2,500 a Month
