How this is calculated
feels like = salary × (home price level ÷ destination price level)
Every country gets a comparative price level — how much the same basket of goods and services costs relative to the United States (US = 100). Dividing your home level by the destination level gives the stretch factor for your money. Moving from a US=100 country to a 45 country nearly doubles what each dollar does; moving to a 130 country shrinks it by a quarter.
The second number — what your current lifestyle would cost — runs the same conversion the other way. And because a salary that teleports is the exception, not the rule, the tool always shows the destination's average wage next to yours: a $60,000 remote salary in a country where the average is $18,000 is a very different life than the same salary where the average is $85,000.
Price level comparisons are averages over entire countries; capital cities are pricier, rural areas cheaper, and your personal basket differs. Treat results as a well-grounded first approximation.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'feels like' mean exactly?
It converts your salary through relative price levels. If prices in the destination are half your home country's, the same money stretches twice as far — so $60,000 'feels like' $120,000 of home-country living. It's a purchasing-power translation, not an exchange-rate one.
Where do the price levels come from?
From OECD-style comparative price level indices (US = 100) and average annual wages, stored as open data and refreshed automatically. The model is deliberately simple; the methodology page lists the caveats.
Would I really earn the same salary if I moved?
Usually not — local job markets pay local wages, which is why we show the destination's average wage next to your result. The teleport scenario is most realistic for remote workers, retirees and anyone spending savings earned elsewhere.
Why do rich-country salaries stretch so far in some countries?
Services — rent, food, childcare, haircuts — cost dramatically less where wages are lower. Tradable goods (electronics, cars) stay closer to world prices, so the stretch isn't uniform across your budget.