The Expat Almanac
Methodology
The Expat Almanac scores every country on ten weighted metrics for American families weighing where to actually move. It is designed for readers evaluating destinations they intend to live in, a Plan B passport built purely for optionality has a different shortlist and starts with a different conversation. This page documents the weights, the 1 to 5 rubric for each metric, the data sources, the update cadence, and the practitioner-review layer that governs featured destinations.
Current version: v2026-07-17 · Generated Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:36:44 GMT
The 10 metrics and their weights
Weights sum to 100%. To change them, editdata/weights.tsand re-run the build script, the composite recomputes cleanly.
| Metric | Weight |
|---|---|
| Quality of Life | 16% |
| Safety | 14% |
| Taxes | 12% |
| Climate | 10% |
| Healthcare | 10% |
| Citizenship Path | 9% |
| Friendliness | 8% |
| Infrastructure | 8% |
| Connectivity | 7% |
| Cost of Living | 6% |
Scoring rubric
Each metric is scored 1 to 5, where 5 is best-fit for the avatar (wealthy American family, ages 30 to 60) and 1 is worst-fit. The composite is Σ(metric × weight) × 5, rounded to one decimal and displayed 0 to 100.
Taxes
- 5 No income tax or strong territorial regime accessible to foreign residents.
- 4 Favorable special tax regime (flat tax, non-dom, or NHR-style) with modest conditions.
- 3 Ordinary residence-based taxation at moderate rates or generous US treaty network.
- 2 High-tax with limited relief.
- 1 High-tax plus wealth taxes / hostile to foreign income.
Safety
- 5 Top-tier peace and security by global-index measures.
- 4 Broadly safe with low violent-crime rates for expats.
- 3 Moderate; neighborhood matters more than country average.
- 2 Elevated violent-crime or instability concerns.
- 1 Active conflict or high risk to personal security.
Quality of Life
- 5 Consistently ranks in the global top decile for livability.
- 4 Strong overall, services, environment, and leisure infrastructure.
- 3 Serviceable; expat-friendly cities carry most of the score.
- 2 Below-average livability on multiple axes.
- 1 Structural quality-of-life issues for a US family standard.
Climate
- 5 Mild or warm year-round (Mediterranean, highland tropical).
- 4 Generally comfortable with distinct but mild seasons.
- 3 Strong seasons or persistent humidity.
- 2 Harsh extremes for part of the year.
- 1 Extreme (arctic, desert, severe cyclone/disaster exposure).
Healthcare
- 5 World-class private healthcare with strong pediatric care.
- 4 High-quality private system, English-speaking doctors common.
- 3 Serviceable private care in major cities.
- 2 Limited quality; expats typically fly out for complex care.
- 1 Weak system across public and private sectors.
Citizenship Path
- 5 Citizenship by investment OR ≤3-year naturalization with dual citizenship allowed.
- 4 Naturalization in ≤5 years, dual citizenship allowed.
- 3 Naturalization in 6 to 10 years, dual citizenship allowed.
- 2 Naturalization requires >10 years OR dual citizenship restricted.
- 1 Practically inaccessible for foreign residents.
Friendliness
- 5 Strong English and established American-expat communities.
- 4 Widely English-friendly in urban areas; welcoming.
- 3 Language and integration effort meaningful outside expat hubs.
- 2 Limited English or cultural distance for a US family.
- 1 Difficult social integration for foreigners.
Infrastructure
- 5 Everything works, utilities, banking, internet, logistics.
- 4 Modern infrastructure in the cities you'd actually live in.
- 3 Serviceable; minor friction in banking or utilities.
- 2 Meaningful gaps in utilities, banking, or internet reliability.
- 1 Systemic infrastructure limitations.
Cost of Living
- 5 Exceptional value relative to US metros at an upper-middle standard.
- 4 Strong value; comfortable spend without dilution.
- 3 Broadly comparable to a mid-tier US metro.
- 2 Elevated cost; premium-only.
- 1 Highest-tier cost, comparable to top US metros.
Connectivity
- 5 Multiple direct routes to US hubs and around the region, plus strong broadband. Serves both the US-return and regional-travel proxies.
- 4 Regular direct US and regional routes, reliable connectivity.
- 3 Some direct US or regional routes; broadband adequate.
- 2 Limited direct routes to the US or the region; connectivity gaps.
- 1 Essentially no direct routes to the US or regional hubs; weak connectivity.
Insufficient data and reweighting
Global indices don't cover every microstate. When a source has no coverage for a country on a given metric, that metric is marked "insufficient" and the remaining metrics are reweighted proportionally before the composite is computed. When fewer than six of the eleven metrics are measured, the composite is withheld, the row shows "not scored yet" until more data is added. This prevents under-measured countries from spuriously outranking fully-measured peers.
Featured destinations and expert review
Thirty-two countries are highlighted as Freedom Files featured destinations. These are the jurisdictions where our team places clients most often and where we hold the most detailed institutional knowledge on Taxes and Citizenship Path. Featured rows additionally carry seed scores on the seven quintile-required metrics; those seeds ship with a reviewedByFF: false flag until our team formally signs off. Rows displayed with a subtle "score pending expert review" hint in the detail modal are the ones still awaiting that final sign-off.
Data sources
No third-party index values are republished on the Expat Almanac, we only surface our own 1 to 5 buckets. The Expat Almanac uses the following inputs:
Taxes
- PWC Worldwide Tax Summaries
- OECD tax database
- Government revenue-authority pages (per country)
Safety
Quality of Life
Climate
Healthcare
Citizenship Path
- Government immigration / citizenship pages (per country)
- Publicly documented CBI program pages
Friendliness
Infrastructure
Cost of Living
Connectivity
- Direct-route counts to US and regional hubs, compiled from public route data / Wikipedia airport pages
- Ookla Speedtest Global Index (broadband)
Update cadence
The Expat Almanac is reviewed annually. Rubrics and weights are stable release-to-release unless a source materially changes methodology (e.g., a tax regime is legislated in or out of existence). Per-country scores refresh whenever the underlying dataset publishes a new edition.
A note on Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is a US territory. American citizens can relocate without visas, residency programs, or expatriation. It is included on the Expat Almanac and scored on the same rubric as every other row so families can compare it directly with the international options they're weighing.
On taxes
Tax scores are illustrative, based on typical profiles of American families relocating abroad. Individual outcomes vary substantially. This is not tax or legal advice, consult a licensed professional.