Our Methodology
This page explains where our numbers come from, how we turn them into scores, and what we do to keep them honest. In short: official sources first, estimates labeled as estimates, scores labeled as editorial ratings, and a "last checked" date on every record.
Data sources
Visa and immigration rules. Thresholds, fees, durations and requirements come from official government pages, which we link from each visa guide. If we could only find secondary sources, we mark the record as lower confidence and say so. Blogs, law firm summaries and immigration agencies are leads, not sources.
Country data. Population, minimum wages, tax rates, tax treaties and healthcare systems come from national statistics offices, ministries, tax authorities, Eurostat and international bodies. Where we cite an index, such as Eurostat's price level index or the EF English Proficiency Index, we name it and avoid claiming rankings the source does not support.
Climate. Monthly temperature normals come from national meteorological services or reference tables that cite them.
Cost of living. City costs are our own estimates, built from several cited sources: national statistics, Eurostat, transit operators' fare pages, published rent reports, utility regulators and coworking price pages. We may use crowd-sourced price databases as a sanity check, but we do not copy their tables. We round rents to the nearest €50 and budgets to the nearest €50 or €100. Budgets describe a comfortable mid-range lifestyle: a single person in a one-bedroom, a couple in a two-bedroom, and a family of four in a three-bedroom, outside the very center. They are not quotes. Your costs will differ.
Currency. We show money in euros. Where we convert from another currency, we use the European Central Bank rate on the date of the research.
How we score
Scores from 1 to 5 for cost, climate, English, safety, healthcare, tax, visa ease, family, nature and nomad friendliness (countries) and similar categories for cities (walkability, transit, culture, nightlife and others) are editorial ratings. They compare each place against the other countries or cities in our set, not against the world. A 5 means best-in-set, not perfect.
We try to make them defensible: each score has reasoning behind it, and extreme scores (1 or 5) are documented in our notes. When facts change, we revise the score. Scores are not rankings, and we don't claim any place is "the best" unless a cited source says so. Our quiz and compare tools use these scores, weighted by what you tell us matters.
Last checked dates
Every country, city and visa record has a "last checked" date. It means a person reviewed the sources on that date. It does not mean the rule is guaranteed current today. For visas especially, treat the date as a prompt to check the official page before you apply.
Corrections
We correct errors when we find them or when readers report them with a source. See contact.
Licensing and reuse of data
We build our own dataset from public official sources and our own analysis. We don't republish other sites' databases or copy their tables. Where an underlying source has licence terms (for example Eurostat's reuse policy), we follow them and cite the source. If you believe we have used material in a way that conflicts with its licence, tell us.
Editorial independence
We earn affiliate commissions on some links, described in our affiliate disclosure. Commercial relationships don't change our scores or the facts we report. Partners can't pay for rankings, edit our research, or review articles before they are published. We include partner links only where the product is relevant to the reader's problem, such as health insurance in a visa guide.
Limits
We are researchers, not lawyers or tax advisors. Our work is a starting point for your own checks. For legal, tax and immigration decisions, rely on the official source and a qualified professional.