£2,000 a month, a couple
22 of the 52 countries we track are comfortably within £2,000 a month for a couple. The table shows what is left over in each after normal living costs — rent, food, utilities, transport and private health cover.
| Country | Modest | Comfortable | Spare on £2,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | £1,300 | £2,000 | £0 left |
| Bali, Indonesia | £1,200 | £1,900 | £100 left |
| Malaysia | £1,200 | £1,900 | £100 left |
| Morocco | £1,200 | £1,900 | £100 left |
| Argentina | £1,150 | £1,900 | £100 left |
| Turkey | £1,150 | £1,800 | £200 left |
| Montenegro | £1,300 | £1,800 | £200 left |
| Vietnam | £1,100 | £1,700 | £300 left |
| Georgia | £1,100 | £1,700 | £300 left |
| Dominican Republic | £1,150 | £1,650 | £350 left |
| Philippines | £1,000 | £1,650 | £350 left |
| Cape Verde | £1,050 | £1,600 | £400 left |
| Ecuador | £1,050 | £1,600 | £400 left |
| Colombia | £950 | £1,400 | £600 left |
| Cambodia | £850 | £1,400 | £600 left |
| Sri Lanka | £800 | £1,350 | £650 left |
| Tunisia | £850 | £1,300 | £700 left |
| India | £750 | £1,300 | £700 left |
These sit within about 20% of your budget — possible on a modest standard of living, or if you own outright and have no rent to pay: Mexico (£2,100), South Africa (£2,100), Mauritius (£2,100), Costa Rica (£2,100), Belize (£2,100).
£2,000 is roughly the line at which you stop picking the cheapest country that will have you and start picking on things you actually care about — flight times home, whether there is a hospital you trust nearby, whether you can hold a conversation in the local shop.
It is enough to rent somewhere you would be happy to show people, in a decent part of town, in every country on this list. What it does not stretch to in the pricier countries is running a car and travelling home twice a year as well. One or the other.
A specific warning at this level: do not plan on the exact figure. A 10% currency move against a sterling or dollar pension is unremarkable over a few years and takes £200 a month out of this budget.
It assumes you are renting, and it excludes flights home, tax on your pension in your home country, and the cost of any property you still own there. Those three are what most often break an otherwise sound plan.
Working to about £2,000 a month? The four questions take two minutes and tell you honestly whether buying abroad fits your situation.