Czechland Ranks #9

Back in February, GoBankingRates published a list of the cheapest countries to live in / retire in.  Based on various indices they ranked Czechland as the #9th best country.  While I do find this a great place to live I'm not quite sure I buy in to how accurate these rankings are.

First of all, every place was compared to New York City which is among the most expensive places in the world.  Virtually everywhere is a bargain compared to NYC.  Here are the four indices used.

1.  Local purchasing power index:  how much one can buy with a typical salary compared to NYC.
2.  Rent index:  compares the typical rental prices to NYC.
3.  Groceries index:  compares typical grocery prices to NYC.
4.  Consumer price index:  compares the the costs of local goods and services, including restaurants, utilities and transportation.

Here's how Czechland scored.

Local purchasing power is 8,4% lower.  Rent is 87,8% cheaper.  Groceries are 63% cheaper and local goods & services are 57.7% cheaper.

GDP here per capita is around $19,500.  Due to lower costs and a higher local purchasing power, Czech Republic came in 9th.  Though compared to New York City of course Czechland scored well.

According to this study, South Africa came in #1.  Local purchasing power is 26,9% higher, rent is 87,5% cheaper, groceries are 71% cheaper and local goods & services are 65,8% cheaper.  So while South Africa may be the cheapest country to live or retire in I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Though it may be cheap it is certainly not one of the safest countries to live in.  South Africa has been on my list of places to visit for years but I also have too many friends, including South Africans, who have a long list of reasons not to live there.

But still, kudos to Czechland for coming in at #9.