Of 112 countries surveyed by GoBankingRates, The Bahamas is listed as the second most expensive place to live, according to Elyssa Kirkham, writing for GoBankingRates. Only Bermuda is a costlier place to call home.
GoBankingRates is a U.S. online aggregator that provides readers with information on interest rates on financial services nationwide, plus personal finance content, news and tools. The site collects interest rate information from thousands of U.S. banks, credit unions and lenders.
Kirkham wrote, "With the American dollar strong compared to other currencies, moving or retiring abroad could be a smart strategy to stretch your retirement savings further. To find the cheapest countries to live in, GoBankingRates ranked nations by four key affordability metrics provided by online pricing database Numbeo."
Those metrics include a local purchasing power index, which measures the relative purchasing power of a typical salary in that country, compared to New York City. A lower purchasing power buys fewer goods, while a higher purchasing power buys more. They also include a rent index, which compares typical rental prices in the country to New York City.
The other two indices are a groceries index, which compares typical grocery prices in the country to New York City, and a consumer price index, which compares costs of local goods and services -- including restaurants, groceries, transportation and utilities -- to New York City.
Since the published list only gives details on the 50 cheapest places to live, it does not outline why The Bahamas is listed where it is. If The Bahamas is listed as the second most expensive country in which to live or retire, that means that according to this survey, relative purchasing power of a typical salary in The Bahamas is lower than a typical salary in New York City. That means the same money buys fewer goods in The Bahamas than in New York City.
The rent index would also likely have to be higher: typical rental prices in The Bahamas would have to outstrip those of New York City. While this may be unlikely, it is far more likely that the reasons for The Bahamas placement would center on purchasing power, and the last two criteria: typical grocery prices in The Bahamas compared to New York City, and the consumer price index, which compares costs of local goods and services -- including restaurants, groceries, transportation and utilities -- to New York City.
Cheap
"Even among the 50 cheapest countries, rent is at least 70 percent cheaper than rent in New York City, groceries are at least 40 percent cheaper, and consumer goods and services cost less by 30 percent or more. Local purchasing power does vary greatly among these cheap countries, however," Kirkham said.
The top ten cheapest countries to live in, from 10 to one, are Macedonia, where rent is 94 percent cheaper; Czech Republic, which lands at ninth "thanks to a balance between lower costs and a higher local purchasing power"; Paraguay, where rent is 91.7 percent cheaper; Oman; Zambia, where local purchasing power is 50 percent higher; Kazakhstan, with significantly lower costs for groceries and consumer goods; Saudi Arabia, with high purchasing power; Kosovo, given that on costs, Kosovo scores the best on consumer goods and groceries -- in the capital of Pristina, expenses for a single person are just $324 a month; India, where rent is 95.2 percent cheaper and local goods and services are 74.9 percent cheaper, and South Africa, with local purchasing power 26.9 percent higher, rent 87.5 percent cheaper, groceries 71 percent cheaper and local goods and services 65.8 percent cheaper than New York City.
"Along with a higher local purchasing power, South Africa also offers lower prices on consumer goods and groceries, and rent costs that are typical of the 50 cheapest countries. In the major city of Cape Town, for instance, monthly expenses total just under $400 while the average rent costs are reflected by the typical price to rent a one-bedroom in Durban of around $280 a month," Kirkham wrote.
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