Best countries to move abroad with a family
About this page
Ranked on family monthly costs, school fees, safety, healthcare and how welcoming the country is.
A family budget behaves differently from a single one, so this tab ranks on family costs rather than individual spending. It combines the monthly cost for a family excluding rent, the cost of international primary school or preschool, safety, healthcare and a friendliness measure drawn from the country record.
A country needs both a family cost and at least one school figure to be ranked, because school fees decide the budget more often than rent does. The headline shows the family cost and the school figure the ranking used.
Fees are published estimates and vary by city and curriculum. Confirm admission rules, waiting lists and visa conditions for dependants before you commit to a city.
Countries at travel advisory level 3 or 4 are not ranked here.
Read the full methodFamilies ranking
Tuvalu
Family est. $1,300/mo · intl primary school $4,000/yr
Safety index 82.
- English widely spoken
- Low cost
Kiribati
Family est. $911/mo · intl primary school $5,678/yr
Safety index 96.
- Low cost
Bhutan
Family est. $1,379/mo · intl primary school $617/yr
Safety index 70.
- Low cost
Marshall Islands
Family est. $1,532/mo · intl primary school $3,570/yr
Safety index 77.
- English widely spoken
- Path to residency
Georgia
Family est. $2,122/mo · intl primary school $5,170/yr
Safety index 73.
- Path to residency
India
Family est. $1,059/mo · intl primary school $1,750/yr
Safety index 56.
- Large expat community
- Low cost
Sri Lanka
Family est. $1,711/mo · intl primary school $597/yr
Safety index 58.
- English widely spoken
- Low cost
Eritrea
Family est. $840/mo · intl primary school $2,600/yr
Safety index 74.
- Low cost
Kosovo
Family est. $1,884/mo · intl primary school $2,558/yr
Safety index 59.
- Low cost
Thailand
Family est. $2,203/mo · intl primary school $12,603/yr
Safety index 64.
- Large expat community
- Retirement visa
Mauritius
Family est. $2,167/mo · intl primary school $4,330/yr
Safety index 62.
- English widely spoken
- Clean air
- Path to residency
Philippines
Family est. $1,854/mo · intl primary school $5,820/yr
Safety index 57.
- English widely spoken
- Large expat community
- Path to residency
Taiwan
Family est. $2,926/mo · intl primary school $14,981/yr
Safety index 83.
- Path to residency
Samoa
Family est. $1,583/mo · intl primary school $5,500/yr
Safety index 58.
- English widely spoken
- Low cost
Maldives
Family est. $2,862/mo · intl primary school $3,078/yr
Safety index 64.
- English widely spoken
Japan
Family est. $3,000/mo · intl primary school $11,980/yr
Safety index 78.
- Large expat community
- Clean air
San Marino
Family est. $2,600/mo · intl primary school $15,000/yr
Safety index 78.
- Retirement visa
Andorra
Family est. $3,190/mo · intl primary school $16,102/yr
Safety index 87.
- Clean air
- Retirement visa
Portugal
Family est. $2,805/mo · intl primary school $12,159/yr
Safety index 67.
- English widely spoken
- Large expat community
- Path to residency
Estonia
Family est. $3,528/mo · intl primary school $10,876/yr
Safety index 77.
- English widely spoken
- Clean air
- Path to residency
Czechia
Family est. $3,020/mo · intl primary school $12,994/yr
Safety index 73.
- English widely spoken
- Path to residency
Lithuania
Family est. $3,032/mo · intl primary school $10,026/yr
Safety index 67.
- English widely spoken
- Path to residency
Finland
Family est. $4,005/mo · intl primary school $10,934/yr
Safety index 74.
- English widely spoken
- Clean air
- Path to residency
Netherlands
Family est. $4,209/mo · intl primary school $9,287/yr
Safety index 72.
- English widely spoken
- Large expat community
- Path to residency
Brunei
Family est. $3,024/mo · intl primary school $10,907/yr
Safety index 78.
- English widely spoken
Indonesia
Family est. $1,529/mo · intl primary school $5,454/yr
Safety index 54.
- Large expat community
- Path to residency
- Low cost
China
Family est. $1,855/mo · intl primary school $19,198/yr
Safety index 77.
- Large expat community
- Path to residency
- Low cost
Croatia
Family est. $3,131/mo · intl primary school $9,897/yr
Safety index 75.
- English widely spoken
- Path to residency
Denmark
Family est. $4,588/mo · intl primary school $6,665/yr
Safety index 73.
- English widely spoken
- Clean air
- Path to residency
Paraguay
Family est. $2,033/mo · intl primary school $4,688/yr
Safety index 48.
- Path to residency
- Retirement visa
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