Breaking Down The Cost of Living Difference As A Digital Nomad - USA vs. Ukraine
One of the most obvious and provocative reasons to become a digital nomad is the enticing reality that one can maintain roughly the same salary held in one’s current country, while cutting costs of living dramatically—all-while living in a more fun, interesting, and potentially safer place.
This month, for only a month, I decided to move to Ukraine - and it got me thinking once more about that difference.
It’s clear - the disparity has only grown since I became fascinated with the lifestyle 7+ years ago.
Here’s a rough breakdown of what my personal costs of living are in the United States, vs. what it would be like to live here in Lviv, Ukraine, (for example). Keep in mind, this is for a married couple with no kids:
USA in an “affordable” city, Raleigh, North Carolina
Mortgage: $2,200/mo
Property taxes: $200/mo
Homeowner’s insurance: $100/mo
Car insurance: $150/mo
Health insurance: $550/mo (almost no coverage until $8,000 deductible)
Cell phone bills: $150/mo
Electricity / water / sewer: $150/mo (this is only due to the fact that we built an eco, nearly off-grid house on well & septic)
Gym membership: $80/mo
Co-working: $300/mo (no desk)
Food: $200/mo minimum
Gas: $100/mo minimum
Internet: $70/mo
For the sake of this example, I will not include entertainment or other activities.
Total base-cost of living per month in the USA:
$4,250/mo
That’s $51,000/year
Now, most of these are conservative estimates - but the largest amount that could be reduced from this equation is the mortgage. Eliminating property taxes, homeowners insurance, and mortgage payments, we’d deduct $2,500 from this amount - but rent for 2 people in a decent place would likely still cost around half of that, say $1,250 - and this rate is growing every year, whereas our mortgage is fixed and about $1,000/mo goes towards principle. This assumes all cars are owned in cash with no monthly payments.
Ukraine in a “destination” city, within a UNESCO neighborhood, Lviv
Mortgage or Rent: $800/mo or less (for a luxury, 3 bedroom apartment centrally located)
Public transportation + Uber: $200/mo (used liberally every day)
Health insurance: $80/mo (great coverage)
Cell phone bills: $16/mo (literally $8/mo with unlimited data per person)
Gym membership: $20/mo
Co-working: $120/mo (with dedicated desk)
Food: $100/mo minimum
Internet: $6/mo
For the sake of this example, I will not include entertainment or other activities.
Total cost of living per month in Ukraine:
$1,342/mo
That’s $16,104/year
Now there are obvious reasons to pay more money to live in areas where more opportunities exist - nearly every nomad understands this. Oftentimes, it’s worth paying 5x when you can get a 10x ROI. The question here becomes - how much of a ROI are we actually getting for living in the US (especially depending on the city) compared to some of the other nomad “hubs?”
It’s a question worth seriously asking yourself.
In addition, this gets compounded when you consider the costs of having a family in the USA - what would our costs look like, if we were a family of 4? 5? Primarily - the health insurance, childcare, food and utility costs would more than double. This would make the case for working remotely as a digital nomad in Lviv exponentially more compelling. That said, a majority of digital nomads we encounter today are still younger, slightly majority single, with more “flexibility and freedom” - but how long will this last?
When families start making the move to the nomadic lifestyle to take advantage of even greater cost / reward benefits, the so-called nomad movement will quickly and inevitably change from a fridge concept, to commonplace—or perhaps for many—a necessity.