Kiribati

Kiribati is not a retirement or remote work destination for the vast majority of Western expats, and saying so plainly is more useful than hedging. The country is a collection of low-lying atolls in the central Pacific, and the practical infrastructure simply does not support the kind of life most Americans relocating abroad are seeking. The person who might genuinely consider it is someone with a specific professional reason to be there, a researcher, an aid worker, a development contractor, or someone with deep ties to the I-Kiribati community. If you are chasing lower costs, tax efficiency, or a comfortable base for remote work, there are dozens of better-suited countries in Southeast Asia or Latin America that will not require you to rebuild your expectations from scratch.

The numbers here require serious scrutiny. A monthly budget excluding rent of around $305 sounds low, but that figure almost certainly reflects local consumption patterns, not what a Western expat actually spends. A one-bedroom in South Tarawa, the only urban center, runs roughly $829 per month, which pushes an all-in budget closer to $1,200 to $1,500 before accounting for the real cost driver: imported goods. Kiribati imports the overwhelming majority of its food and consumer goods, and that dependency is baked into prices for anything beyond basic local staples. A can of imported goods or a bottle of Western alcohol will cost noticeably more than in Bangkok or Medellin. Internet connectivity is slow and expensive by any international standard, which matters enormously for remote workers.

The practical friction starts before you land. There is no US embassy in Kiribati. The nearest is in Suva, Fiji, which means any consular emergency requires a flight out of the country. Healthcare here is a genuine concern. The healthcare index of 48.5 reflects a system that lacks specialists and advanced diagnostic equipment. Serious medical issues require medical evacuation, likely to Fiji or Australia, and the cost of that evacuation and treatment abroad can be enormous without proper international health insurance. English proficiency is low, Gilbertese is the dominant language, so day-to-day logistics outside of government offices can be genuinely difficult. Climate-wise, the country sits near sea level with real long-term questions about habitability as sea levels rise, which is not an abstract concern but an ongoing political and physical reality the government itself has been negotiating around for years.

For US expats, standard obligations apply. You file and pay US taxes on worldwide income regardless of where you live. If you spend enough time outside the US, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $126,500 of earned income for 2024 from federal tax, and you would need to meet either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test to qualify. Kiribati has no tax treaty with the United States, so there is no mechanism to reduce double taxation beyond the Foreign Tax Credit. Kiribati itself has a personal income tax, so if you are earning locally, you will be paying into both systems. The FEIC and Foreign Tax Credit together manage most of the overlap for earned income, but passive income like dividends, interest, and rental income from US sources remains fully taxable by the IRS with no treaty relief available.