About ShouldIMove
We help people make informed relocation decisions by providing accurate, free salary and cost of living comparisons for 325+ cities worldwide.
Who builds this
ShouldIMove is built and maintained by Senén Hermida. I started it because every tool I could find solved one third of the problem: tax calculators ignore what things cost where you land, cost-of-living sites ignore what you actually take home after tax, and both ignore the currency you are paid in. Answering "am I better off?" meant opening three tabs and doing the arithmetic by hand. This site does the three steps in one.
I am not a tax adviser, and nothing here is tax advice. What I can account for is the arithmetic: I wrote and verify the tax engine behind these numbers, country by country, against the official brackets and the calculators that rank at the top of Google for each country — so if our figure disagrees with the local reference tool, that is a bug I want to know about.
The three data sources, stated plainly: taxes come from each country's official rates, cross-checked against the leading national calculators; cost of living currently comes from Numbeo, blended with Expatistan and LivingCost into a composite index for the cities where those exist. Building a price index of our own, from prices we collect directly, is on the roadmap but is not what powers the site today; exchange rates come from FloatRates, which publishes mid-market rates from central-bank feeds; the date of the set in use is shown with every cross-currency result. Where a number is estimated rather than measured, the page says so.
Our Mission
ShouldIMove was built to solve a critical problem faced by millions of people each year: understanding the real financial impact of moving to a new city or country. When you're considering relocation, comparing raw salary numbers isn't enough. You need to know your actual take-home pay after taxes and how far that money will go in your destination city.
Our tool calculates net salary (gross to net conversions) using official government tax rates, adjusts for real cost of living differences using comprehensive city-level data, and converts currencies using mid-market exchange rates. The result is a true purchasing power comparison that helps you make decisions based on what really matters: your quality of life and financial security.
ShouldIMove is free to use. You can run comparisons without an account; signing in (also free) removes the usage limit that keeps the calculators available to everyone.
What We Do
Our platform provides comprehensive salary and cost of living analysis through:
- Net salary calculations for 48+ countries using official government tax rates, including income tax, social security contributions, and mandatory pension deductions
- Currency conversion using mid-market rates from FloatRates, with the date of the rate set shown on every cross-currency comparison
- Cost of living comparisons across 325+ cities. Numbeo is the base source everywhere; for the 127 cities with enough independent data we blend it with Expatistan, LivingCost and a fixed-basket index we recompute from their published prices, into a trimmed composite — covering rent, groceries, restaurants, transport, utilities and entertainment
- Tax bracket calculations that accurately apply progressive tax rates, standard deductions, and country-specific rules
- 10 language support including English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, and Swedish
Our Data Sources
We use official government tax rates, OECD statistics, cost of living indices (Numbeo everywhere, blended with Expatistan and LivingCost where those exist), and mid-market exchange rates from FloatRates. Each figure carries the date of the data behind it.
For detailed information about our calculation methodology and data sources, see our Methodology & Data Sources page.
Key sources:
- OECD Tax Database – International tax policy and wage data
- Numbeo – World's largest cost of living database
- European Commission Taxation – EU tax rates and policies
Transparency & Limitations
Our calculations are estimates based on standard tax situations. We recommend consulting a qualified tax professional for decisions involving significant financial commitments. Individual circumstances can significantly affect actual tax liability, including:
- Marital status and filing jointly vs. separately
- Number of dependents and child tax credits
- Itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable contributions, medical expenses)
- Self-employment income and business deductions
- Investment income, capital gains, and dividend taxes
- State and local taxes (where applicable)
- Residency status and international tax treaties
Cost of living data represents city-wide averages. Actual costs vary significantly by neighborhood, lifestyle, and personal spending habits. Our tool provides a general comparison framework, not a precise budget.
Contact
We welcome feedback, data correction requests, feature suggestions, and questions. Reach us at:
Email: hello@shouldimove.co
For detailed contact information and to submit specific inquiries, visit our Contact page.