Cost of Living for Retirees: Comparing Our 6 Destinations

We're deliberately not going to hand you a table of precise monthly figures here. Cost-of-living numbers you find online are usually snapshots that go stale fast, vary wildly by city and lifestyle, and rarely account for your specific housing and healthcare choices. What's more useful is a realistic, relative picture — and a plan to get real numbers for your situation.

Generally more affordable: Portugal & Greece

Of our six destinations, Portugal and Greece tend to offer the lowest overall cost of living, especially once you move outside the capital regions of Lisbon and Athens. Housing, dining out, and everyday services are generally more budget-friendly, though popular coastal areas in both countries have gotten noticeably more expensive in recent years as international demand has grown.

Solid mid-range value: Spain & Cyprus

Spain and Cyprus sit in the middle. Major cities like Madrid and Barcelona run higher, but plenty of smaller cities and coastal towns offer strong value. Cyprus follows a similar pattern — Limassol tends to run higher than smaller towns like Paphos.

Typically higher: Italy & Malta

Italy and Malta tend to sit at the higher end among our destinations. In Italy, this is heavily driven by region — well-known areas like the Amalfi Coast or central Tuscany cost meaningfully more than quieter regions such as Le Marche or Puglia. Malta's small size means less regional variation, and its popularity has pushed housing costs up in recent years.

Why this only gets you so far

Country-level comparisons hide more than they reveal. The gap between a capital city and a quiet inland town within the same country is often larger than the gap between two entire countries. Your actual cost of living will depend heavily on whether you rent or buy, how often you eat out, whether you carry private health insurance on top of any public coverage, and what kind of home you want.

Rather than budgeting off a generic number, we'd rather build an estimate around the specific city and lifestyle you're picturing — that's a conversation your case manager can walk through with you directly.