I’m a World Traveler: 7 Affordable Big Cities To Live In

Love city life, but hate the high rents and other cost of living?

I get that. I’ve lived in major cities all over the world, and the differences in cost of living can be startling.

Here are some of my personal favorite bargain cities, along with a few recommendations I have yet to visit. For the sake of comparison, I listed their total cost of living versus Chicago, as a major U.S. city without the extreme rents of New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

Speaking of rents, I added a comparison for them too, given that the bulk of cost of living differences come from housing. I used Numbeo to run the numbers.

Scroll on to learn more about the cheapest, most beautiful locations to live worldwide.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 56.5% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 73.5% lower.

Budapest is my favorite city in Europe.

Literally split in half by the Danube River, the western Buda side of the river has more Austrian and German influence, while the eastern Pest side of the river has more of an Eastern European feel. The Buda side is hilly, while the Pest side is flat.

In many real ways, you get two cities for the price of one. And a bargain price at that.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 65.4% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 77.5% lower.

I currently live in Lima, and it’s a fun and affordable major city.

Most Americans don’t realize just how big Lima is. It serves as home to 11.4 million people, which puts it on par with New York City (depending on where you draw the line for counting population).

The food scene here is just incredible. Three of the top 50 restaurants in the world are in Lima, according to TheWorlds50Best.com, plus another that was last year’s winner for Number One Restaurant (Central). And each tiny bistro is better than the last.

I can also personally attest to the low cost of living. While I don’t actually the pay the rent (my wife’s employer does), we enjoy an oceanfront apartment with a 180-degree view of the Pacific for a monthly rent of $1,300. Try finding that in the U.S., much less in a major city.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 57.7% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 66.9% lower.

Like Budapest, Istanbul feels like a crossroads city. Both geographically and culturally, it connects Europe and Asia.

Istanbul is rich in history, having served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The Hagia Sophia was built as a Christian church between 532-537 A.D., and later converted to a mosque.

And the culinary scene is just as rich, blending styles from all over the world, but especially continental and Middle Eastern cuisine.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 62.2% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 69.9% lower.

Cape Town sits wedged between jutting plateaus and the South Atlantic. You can enjoy a rigorous hike, then jump in the ocean to cool off, followed by a relaxing afternoon at the beach.

To cap it off for dinner, enjoy a “braai” or barbecue, short for braaievleis. Fans of perfectly spiced grilled meats won’t go hungry in South Africa.

Drive an hour or so inland for world class wine regions Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. They produce far more than pinotage and chenin blanc, and at stellar prices.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 67.3% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 78.6% lower.

When people ask me why Buenos Aires is my favorite city in South America, I struggle to articulate it.

Is it the outstanding food scene, rich with steakhouses and seafood? The Parisian architecture? The vibrant nightlife? The cheap-but-outstanding wines from Mendoza?

It’s all of those things. But there’s also a fun “vibe” or “energy” in Argentina’s capital — the same energy that led to a four-day public party attended by millions of people when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 14.0% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 23.1% lower.

I grew up in Baltimore. When I tell people that, most people lower their voice and ask “Is it really like ‘The Wire’?”

Parts of it are. And other parts of it are beautiful, and relatively cheap, especially for a major East Coast city.

Fells Point, where I spent much of my 20s and early 30s, is a cobblestoned waterfront neighborhood dating back over 300 years. Edgar Allen Poe wrote some of his most famous poems there at The Horse You Came In On, which opened in 1775 and remains the oldest continually operating saloon in the U.S.

You can reach Washington, DC, in under an hour, Philadelphia in an hour and a half, a dozen beaches within three hours — and New York City within three.

• Cost of Living vs. Chicago: 19.6% lower.
• Rents vs. Chicago: 32.0% lower.

Rewind a decade or two and Columbus didn’t feel like a particularly cosmopolitan city. Today, Ohio’s capital city has come a long way.

You can find trendy brewpubs and restaurants, a thriving nightlife scene and a beautiful waterfront on both sides of the Scioto River.

Or so I’m told by friends who live there, anyway. Check it out and report back to me.

Want more ideas for affordable major cities around the world?

Check out Lisbon in Portugal, Bangkok in Thailand, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Prague in the Czech Republic. I rented an Airbnb for a month in Prague’s old town, and it’s as starkly beautiful as it looks in photos. Rio de Janeiro offers the best peoplewatching in the world along Copacabana Beach’s boardwalk, along with striking mountains jutting up out of the sea. 

The world is a big place. Go explore it.