1. Compare two cities side by side
Start with score, rent, and monthly budget — then dig into visa notes. Scores are a compass, not a verdict.
Trust & transparency · 2026
Methodology
How we score 15 cities so you can plan a move with eyes open
SetTern combines curated cost bands, an eight-dimension relocation score, visa context, and community pulse across 14 country hubs. This page tells you what each number means — and what it does not mean — before you shortlist a city.
How to use this
Four steps when shortlisting a city
Methodology only helps if it changes what you do next. Use the score to filter, then verify.
2. Read the city guide for verified numbers
Each hub lists cost bands, rent ranges, and the primary visa route with links you can check yourself.
3. Check what relocators discuss lately
Community pulse surfaces housing, visa, and cost themes from public conversation — useful early warnings, not gospel.
4. Personalise with the live matcher
Weight what matters to you (cost, remote work, visas) and score hubs against the same intelligence stream.
Relocation score (0–10)
What the headline score actually measures
The city score is a composite of eight dimensions (each 0–100 internally, rolled into a 0–10 headline). Higher is generally easier for a typical newcomer — but a high-scoring city can still be the wrong visa corridor or budget for you.
Example: Berlin scores 7.1/10 with average monthly budget about $2,600 and 1-bed rent around $1,200 — open the guide to see the full breakdown.
Cost of living
How stretchy a typical monthly budget feels relative to peer hubs.
Housing
Rent pressure and how hard it is to secure a place once you arrive.
Bureaucracy
Admin friction — registration, permits, and paperwork load for newcomers.
Remote-work fit
Connectivity, coworking culture, and how friendly the city is to location-flexible jobs.
Safety
Everyday personal safety relative to other SetTern hubs.
Healthcare
Access and quality signals for residents and newcomers.
Social life
Ease of building a network — expat density, nightlife, community spaces.
Transport
Getting around without a car — transit, walkability, airport links.
Pressure indexes
Stress index
Overall newcomer stress from cost, admin, and housing pressure combined.
Housing pressure
How competitive the rental market feels right now.
Visa friction
How hard the primary route is relative to peer cities (not a legal rating).
Costs & visas
Numbers you can plan with
Cost bands
Each city publishes min / average / max monthly budget plus a 1-bedroom rent estimate, with supporting ranges for utilities, groceries, dining, and transport. Use them to size a runway — then sanity-check local listings.
Visa context
Guides name a primary route and point to official portals. Processing times on Digital PR datasets are indicative. Never treat SetTern as a substitute for the embassy or home-office site.
Verified facts
Key claims carry a source URL and tier: government, official portal, or verified media. Content without that trail is not pushed through our daily publish pipeline.
Where data comes from
Four layers, clearly labelled
- Official portals — immigration and statistics sites cited on entity pages.
- Curated city baselines — structured cost and score seeds maintained by SetTern research.
- Scheduled research pipelines — quality-gated refreshes for signals, costs, and corridor guides.
- Community pulse — public relocation discussion summarised on Community insights (same stream as the live matcher).
City HTML refreshes at least daily. Community digests update as new scans clear relevance gates (often every few hours). Major methodology changes are noted here.
Important
What this is not
SetTern does not provide immigration, tax, or legal advice. Scores and cost bands are planning aids. Always confirm visa, residency, and tax rules with official authorities — and licensed professionals where needed — before you move.
FAQ
Common questions
Is a higher relocation score always “better”?
No. A 8.5 city can still be wrong for your visa route, budget, or family needs. Use the score to shortlist, then verify costs and official immigration rules.
Are cost figures in local currency or USD?
City cost bands on SetTern are published in USD for cross-city comparison unless a page states otherwise. Treat them as planning ranges, not quotes from a landlord.
How do you choose visa information?
We surface the primary route commonly used for that hub and link to official portals. Rules change — always confirm on the government site named on the page before you apply.
What is a “verified fact”?
A number or claim with a source URL and tier (government, official portal, or verified media). Pages missing verified facts are not promoted in our publish pipeline.
How is community pulse different from official data?
Pulse digests summarise recent public forum and news signals. They flag themes movers talk about; they do not replace statutes, fee schedules, or embassy guidance.
Can I cite SetTern in an article or essay?
Yes. Use the citation block on this page or any entity page, include the retrieval date, and link back. Dataset pages are CC BY 4.0 where noted — see /press.
Is this immigration or tax advice?
No. SetTern publishes relocation intelligence for planning. Confirm visas, tax residency, and deadlines with licensed professionals and official authorities.
For researchers, journalists & crawlers
- llms.txt — preferred URLs for LLM crawlers
- /feed/cities — JSON city summaries
- Community insights RSS
- Press kit & datasets — CC BY 4.0 where noted
- IndexNow + ISR: entity pages revalidate when verified facts change; search engines notified on publish.
Last updated 2026-07-17 · SetTern Research