Mike's Notes
Got this from reading Vitaly Friedman (Smashing Mag) on LinkedIn. Will need to know what the cost of living is around the world. For contractors, volunteers, interns, etc.
Smashing Magazine is a fantastic resource for CSS, designing accessibility in web UX, design systems and much more. Has a ton of references to useful resources. I follow it daily to build Pipi UX.
Resources
- https://lnkd.in/p/eqEFsyAt
- https://cityparity.com/
- https://www.smashingmagazine.com/author/vitaly-friedman/
References
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- Home > Ajabbi Research > Library > Subscriptions > Smashing Magazine
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Last Updated
10/06/2026
The real cost of living, city to city
Vitaly is the founder and editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine since 2006, an online magazine for designers and engineers, where he helps curate friendly, inclusive UX conferences (SmashingConfs).
Cost of Living and Quality of Life Comparison (https://cityparity.com), a lovely tool to decide if a move from one city to another is worth it — and compare cities against take-home pay, childcare, healthcare and social safety net. Designed to help answer one single question: "If I take this offer in another country, what salary do I need over there to keep my life roughly the same?"
1. Every City Can Be a “Perfect” City
Every city has its own advantages and disadvantages. Living in Europe, I sincerely appreciate the quality of healthcare and a social safety net. Of course it comes at a cost, but it doesn’t surprise me much that Scandinavian countries are happy to pay larger contributions to make sure that they don’t have to worry about anything — from kindergarten to hospital bills to recovery courses in case of accidents to retirement.
I’ve moved between 7 cities and countries in my life. And looking back, I keep thinking that for every period in life there is a “perfect” city — and that’s a city where you build strong and sincere relationships, where you meet incredible people, where you make memories and experiences for the entire lifetime.
It can be pretty much any city in the world. And usually it's just the one where you happen to be, and where life brings you to.
Really the perfect city is the one where you have incredible people around you, and where you can build relationships that will last your entire lif
2. Numbers Aren’t Everything
Of course numbers will tell you what you can afford, but not where you’ll love the vibe and the people. If anything, it’s always a good idea to travel and stay in a place for a while to really start feeling it.
As time passes by, even within the same city you can find places to explore and get lost, but then also to relax and calm down, and then to build a family and spend time with children. Finances might matter significantly more in life early, but the chase for finances often fades away as we grow older.
And sometimes it might feel like just the right time to reshuffle things — and that’s a great opportunity to explore a very different city on the other side of the Earth. Even despite lower pay.
If you're looking for another quick tool to compare the quality of life between cities, you can also look up Numbeo (https://lnkd.in/e8yMXJFB), which is world's largest cost-of-living and quality-of-life database with millions of crowdsourced reports on living, housing, crime, healthcare, transport and other key indicators.
And if you already found a perfect place — please leave a comment and share where it is! I’d love to hear your story, and I’d love to learn just what place in the world makes you feel genuinely happy! ð
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