Meru vs Molo

Meru is a cheap, high-altitude town that rewards self-sufficient expats and punishes anyone who needs hand-holding. Rents are absurdly low, with a city-center one-bedroom at $250/mo and a three-bedroom outside the center at $280/mo, and a single adult can live on $301/mo at the budget tier. The catch is that the expat community is very few, English is common only in tourist areas, and internet crawls at 11 Mbps, so remote work is a gamble despite the 85/100 FIRE score. Come for the low costs and the 1500 m climate, not for the social life or the 51/100 digital nomad score.

Molo is a small highland town of 40 thousand people where a one-bedroom in the city center runs about $259/mo and a cappuccino costs $3, so your money stretches further than in Nairobi. The catch is earning it: the average monthly net salary is $385/mo, and the Kenya Digital Nomad Visa demands $4,583/mo, which prices out most remote workers despite the $35/mo internet that only delivers 10 Mbps. Retirees on a Class K ordinary residents visa need $2,000/mo and get a fair healthcare system, a 62/100 retiree score, and clean-ish air at 45 AQI, but a 52 crime index and limited English proficiency mean daily life takes some adjusting. Come for the cheap rent and Mediterranean climate at 2540 m, not for the digital nomad scene, which scores a weak 42/100.