What $10,000 Gets You in 20 Countries
Ten thousand dollars is a number that comes up a lot when people dream about taking a year off, travelling slowly or testing life abroad. In the United States it covers a little over three months of ordinary living for one person. In some countries it covers a year or more. The gap is mostly down to rent, and to how much everyday things like meals and transport cost.
Below are 20 popular destinations, ranked by how long $10,000 lasts for one person renting their own one-bedroom apartment in the main city.
How long $10,000 lasts
| City | Monthly cost, moderate | Months on $10,000, moderate | Months, lean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangalore, India | $758 | 13.2 | 17.2 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $1,234 | 8.1 | 10.5 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $1,235 | 8.1 | 10.5 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $1,270 | 7.9 | 10.2 |
| Manila, Philippines | $1,357 | 7.4 | 9.5 |
| Marrakech, Morocco | $1,399 | 7.1 | 9.3 |
| Istanbul, Türkiye | $1,541 | 6.5 | 8.5 |
| Tbilisi, Georgia | $1,558 | 6.4 | 8.3 |
| Bali (Canggu), Indonesia | $1,647 | 6.1 | 7.8 |
| Medellín, Colombia | $1,769 | 5.7 | 7.3 |
| Seoul, South Korea | $1,885 | 5.3 | 6.9 |
| Budapest, Hungary | $1,888 | 5.3 | 6.9 |
| Athens, Greece | $2,070 | 4.8 | 6.3 |
| Mexico City, Mexico | $2,193 | 4.6 | 5.9 |
| Tokyo, Japan | $2,419 | 4.1 | 5.4 |
| Lisbon, Portugal | $2,722 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| Madrid, Spain | $2,768 | 3.6 | 4.7 |
| Berlin, Germany | $2,862 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| United States (average) | $3,190 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
| London, United Kingdom | $4,140 | 2.4 | 3.1 |
The full list of 40 countries, with your own amount and lifestyle, is in the how far $10,000 goes calculator.
What stands out
South and Southeast Asia dominate the top of the list. In Bangalore, $10,000 lasts more than a year even on a moderate budget, and Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur all stretch it to around eight months. These cities combine fairly low rents with very cheap food, transport and services.
Some results surprise people. Tokyo, often thought of as one of the world’s most expensive cities, now comes in well below Lisbon or Madrid for an ordinary monthly budget, helped by a weak yen and modest rents outside the very centre. Seoul is cheaper than Mexico City on our figures, mainly because a small officetel rents for less, although it usually needs a refundable deposit. Bali, meanwhile, is not as cheap as its reputation suggests if you want your own villa in a popular area like Canggu, where rents have climbed with demand from remote workers.
Southern Europe has become much more expensive for housing. Rents in Lisbon and Madrid now take more than half of a moderate monthly budget, which is why $10,000 lasts less than four months in either city.
How the numbers are built
Rent is a typical 2026 asking rent for a one-bedroom in each city, converted at October 2026 exchange rates. Other costs start from a US budget for one person and are scaled by the World Bank’s International Comparison Program price levels for each type of spending, so a country where restaurant meals cost a third of US prices gets a third of the eating-out budget. Lean means cooking more, using public transport and renting further out; moderate is an ordinary, comfortable single life.
The figures leave out flights, visas and health insurance, which can add several hundred dollars a month for a long stay. Treat them as a planning starting point rather than a quote.
Making $10,000 last longer
Sharing an apartment cuts rent roughly in half and can add months to every result above. Staying a month or more at a time, rather than booking nightly, brings accommodation close to local long-term prices. And choosing a second-tier city, such as Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok or Porto instead of Lisbon, often lowers rents a lot with little change in quality of life.
To compare any two countries line by line, try the cost of living comparison, or see which countries a monthly budget covers with the where can I live on my budget calculator.
Run your own numbers
This guide is general information for planning, not personal financial advice. Figures were checked on the date shown and can change.