Proposal / January 2026

The Expatriator Index

A new scoring framework for expat destinations

Overview

What's Inside

01
The Problem
02
Research Insights
03
5 Pillars
03b
BELONGING (ADRI)
04
19 Factors
05
Profile Matching
06
What Changes
07
How It Looks
07b
Methodology
07c
Education & Regional
08
Next Steps

01 / The Problem

Current System Doesn't Work

15 factors that feel arbitrary

privateEducation, privateHealthcare, costOfLiving, realEstate, immigrationComplexity, taxation, cryptoFriendliness, ecoSustainability, expatCommunity, incentives, languageAccessibility, weatherClimate, safety, businessEnvironment, culturalIntegration

Key issues

  • Overlapping - crypto, business, taxation all touch same thing
  • Niche weighted equally - ecoSustainability vs safety?
  • Missing key factors - banking access, passport quality, path clarity
  • Vague - "incentives", "cultural integration"
  • No hierarchy - everything's flat
Current scoring: portugal: { privateEducation: 7.5, privateHealthcare: 8.0, costOfLiving: 6.5, realEstate: 5.5, immigrationComplexity: 4.0, taxation: 7.0, cryptoFriendliness: 6.5, // niche ecoSustainability: 7.5, // nice but... expatCommunity: 8.5, incentives: 8.0, // what does this mean? languageAccessibility: 8.0, weatherClimate: 8.5, safety: 8.5, businessEnvironment: 7.0, culturalIntegration: 8.0 // unmeasurable } Overall: 87 // but why?

02 / Research Insights

What We Learned

InterNations (53 factors)

Survey-based. Captures "lived experience" - emotional factors matter. Weights feeling at home equally with practical.

10,000+ expats surveyed

Nomad List

Hybrid data + community. Nomad-specific: cost, internet, safety, coworking. Real-time updates.

1,000+ cities

EIU Liveability

Expert + quantitative. 30+ indicators across 5 weighted categories. Rigorous but doesn't include cost.

173 cities

Sovereign Man

Plan B focus. Passport quality (GDP-weighted), tax optimization, citizenship paths, banking access.

Freedom & optionality

Global Peace Index

23 indicators, 3 domains. Data-driven safety measurement. Academic rigor.

163 countries

Henley Passport Index

Binary scoring on visa-free access. Objective but quantity over quality.

199 passports

Key insight: Nobody scores PATHWAYS, only countries

"Portugal" isn't one thing. D7 vs D8 vs Golden Visa are completely different experiences with different requirements, rights, and trajectories.

Missing from ALL indices: Will you actually belong?

Every index measures "expat community exists" or "English spoken." None measure whether the society's structure supports genuine human connection—or whether they'll let YOU into that structure.

03 / The Framework

5 Pillars, 19 Factors

ACCESS

"Can I get in?"
20%
  • Visa Availability
  • Entry Requirements
  • Process Friction
  • Work Rights

ECONOMICS

"Can I thrive?"
20%
  • Cost of Living
  • Tax Burden
  • Banking Access
  • Financial Freedom

LIFE

"Will I be safe?"
20%
  • Safety & Stability
  • Healthcare
  • Infrastructure

BELONGING

"Will I connect?"
20%
  • Social Fabric
  • Cultural Openness
  • Profile-Specific Access
  • Integration Pathways

PATH

"Where does it lead?"
20%
  • PR Route
  • Citizenship Route
  • Passport Quality
  • Rights Accumulation

Core principles

03b / The ADRI Factor

BELONGING: The Missing Pillar

The insight from ADRI research

Dense human networks—shared meals, multigenerational households, neighborhood ties—are structural defense against isolation. A country can have "expat community" but thin social fabric. You can survive there but never belong.

ADRI Country Rankings (lower = more resilient)
Italy: 24 (most resilient)
Australia: 65
Spain: 25
Canada: 68
Portugal: 26
UK: 71
Netherlands: 28
USA: 75 (least resilient)
Mediterranean countries score best due to dense family networks, communal norms.

But social fabric alone isn't enough

Japan has thick social fabric but is famously closed to outsiders. You need:

Belonging Potential = Social Fabric × Accessibility

The uncomfortable truth

A country's openness varies dramatically by WHO you are:

Nationality EU citizen in Spain vs. non-EU
Race Integration experience varies (let's be honest)
Religion Muslim in Hungary vs. Portugal
Wealth Golden visa holder vs. worker visa
Profession Tech worker vs. manual labor
Family status Single vs. family with kids
Language English-only vs. local fluency
This is why profile-matching is essential.
We can't just say "Spain is open." We need to say "Spain's integration path for a Black American tech worker with family" vs. "Spain's path for a wealthy British retiree."

03c / BELONGING Factors

The 4 Belonging Factors

1. Social Fabric

Does thick community exist?

ADRI-derived measure of relational density. Multigenerational households, communal norms, frequency of shared meals, neighborhood ties, civic associations.

Source: ADRI research, household surveys, civic participation data

2. Cultural Openness

Are foreigners welcomed into that fabric?

General societal attitude toward immigration and foreigners. Media sentiment, political climate, historical integration patterns, xenophobia indices.

Source: Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index, MIPEX, survey data

3. Profile-Specific Access

Are people like YOU welcomed?

Varies by user profile: nationality, race, religion, profession, wealth, family status. The honest factor that other indices avoid.

Source: Expat surveys segmented by demographic, discrimination indices, community reports

4. Integration Pathways

Are there on-ramps to belonging?

Practical pathways to integration: language programs, welcome services, meetup culture, professional networks, religious communities, kid-based connections.

Source: Program availability, InterNations "ease of settling in", community mapping

Example: Japan vs. Portugal

JAPAN Social Fabric: 7.5/10 (dense, communal) Cultural Openness: 3.0/10 (historically closed) Profile Access: Varies wildly Integration Paths: 4.0/10 (limited) BELONGING SCORE: 4.8/10 Thick fabric you can't access.
PORTUGAL Social Fabric: 7.0/10 (Mediterranean density) Cultural Openness: 7.5/10 (welcoming) Profile Access: Generally good Integration Paths: 7.0/10 (active expat infra) BELONGING SCORE: 7.2/10 Good fabric + they'll let you in.

04 / The 19 Factors

What We Measure

ACCESS

1. Visa Availability
Pathways for your profile
2. Entry Requirements
Income/asset thresholds
3. Process Friction
Timeline, paperwork
4. Work Rights
Remote? Local? Business?

ECONOMICS

5. Cost of Living
Monthly burn
6. Tax Burden
By income scenario
7. Banking Access
Accounts for foreigners
8. Financial Freedom
Capital controls

LIFE

9. Safety & Stability
Physical + political
10. Healthcare
Quality, cost, access
11. Infrastructure
Internet, transport

BELONGING

12. Social Fabric
ADRI relational density
13. Cultural Openness
Welcomes foreigners?
14. Profile Access
Open to people like YOU
15. Integration Paths
On-ramps to belonging

PATH

16. PR Route
Timeline, requirements
17. Citizenship Route
Availability, dual OK?
18. Passport Quality
GDP-weighted access
19. Rights Accumulation
What you gain over time

Data Sources

ACCESS
Official gov sources, crowdsourced timelines
ECONOMICS
Numbeo, tax code analysis, banking research
LIFE
GPI, WHO, Speedtest, World Bank
BELONGING
ADRI, Gallup MAI, MIPEX, InterNations
PATH
Official sources, Henley + GDP weighting

05 / Profile Matching

Different Weights for Different People

Default weights adjust based on user profile. What matters to a digital nomad is different from a retiree or tax optimizer.

Profile ACCESS ECONOMICS LIFE PATH
Default 25% 25% 30% 20%
Digital Nomad 30% 30% 30% 10%
Relocator 20% 20% 40% 20%
Tax Optimizer 15% 45% 15% 25%
Plan B Seeker 20% 25% 20% 35%
Retiree 20% 25% 40% 15%
Family 15% 20% 45% 20%

Tax Burden: Scenario-Specific

We score tax burden for specific income scenarios, not abstract "tax friendliness":

Scenario 1
Remote Worker
$100k salary
Scenario 2
Freelancer
$150k mixed
Scenario 3
Investor
Dividends + gains
Scenario 4
Retiree
Pension + invest
Scenario 5
Entrepreneur
Local business

06 / What Changes

Old Factors vs New

Current Factor Status New Location / Reason
privateEducation Removed Only for families; captured in profile-based LIFE weighting
privateHealthcare Merged Healthcare (combines quality, cost, access)
costOfLiving Kept Cost of Living
realEstate Removed Too narrow; property rights in Rights Accumulation
immigrationComplexity Split Visa Availability + Entry Requirements + Process Friction
taxation Enhanced Tax Burden (scenario-specific)
cryptoFriendliness Merged Banking Access + Financial Freedom
ecoSustainability Removed Nice but not decision-driving
expatCommunity Merged Language & Community
incentives Removed Vague; captured in Tax Burden scenarios
languageAccessibility Merged Language & Community
weatherClimate Removed Too subjective; mention qualitatively
safety Kept Safety & Stability
businessEnvironment Merged Work Rights + Financial Freedom
culturalIntegration Merged Language & Community

Net change: 15 factors → 16 factors (but more meaningful)

07 / How It Looks

Country Card Mockup

Portugal
84
Access
78
Economics
81
Life
86
Path
91

Best pathways for your profile:

D7 Passive Income Fit: 94% 760/mo requirement
D8 Digital Nomad Fit: 87% 3,500/mo requirement
Why it works for you:
EU citizenship in 5 years
NHR tax regime (if eligible)
Strong English, large expat community
Watch out for:
NHR ending for new applicants
Housing costs rising in Lisbon

07b / Methodology

Editorial + Crowdsource

V1: Launch with best judgment

We don't wait for perfect data. We launch with:

  • Hard data - Official sources for visa costs, processing times, tax rates
  • Validated indices - GPI for safety, WHO for healthcare, Numbeo for cost
  • Editorial judgment - For soft factors, clearly marked with confidence

Confidence indicators

●●● High - Official source or validated index
●●○ Medium - Multiple credible sources
●○○ Low - Editorial judgment (help us improve!)

Crowdsourced refinement

Every factor shows:

Banking Access 7.2/10 ●●○
👍 Agree 👎 Disagree 💬 Comment 🔗 Better source?

The 🔗 is key: "Point us to better data" turns users into research contributors.

This aligns with ADRI philosophy.
We're not positioning as the authority. We're providing a starting point and explicitly inviting human networks to correct us. The index improves through collective intelligence.

07c / Scoping Decisions

Education & Regional Distinctions

Education: Profile-dependent

Education matters enormously... for families with school-age kids. For digital nomads? Irrelevant.

Solution: Add to LIFE pillar for Family profiles only

  • International school availability
  • International school cost
  • Local school quality (PISA scores)
  • Language of instruction options

When profile = "Family with kids", LIFE pillar expands to include education factors. Otherwise, they're not weighted.

Regional: Two-stage approach

"Portugal" isn't one thing. Lisbon vs Porto vs Algarve vs Azores have different costs, climates, communities.

STAGE 1: INDEX
Score pathways (country-level visas)
D7 visa is Portugal-wide. The index helps you narrow to countries.
STAGE 2: DRILL-DOWN
Explore regions within high-fit countries
Once you've picked Portugal, we show regional data: cost, expat density, climate.

This keeps the index manageable while acknowledging regional variation. Country pages have regional breakdowns.

08 / Next Steps

Implementation Path

Phase 1: Validate

  • Confirm factor list feels right
  • Agree on profile types
  • Define what "pathway-centric" means practically

Phase 2: Methodology

  • Define exact scoring formulas
  • Map data sources for each factor
  • Identify automation vs manual research

Phase 3: Data

  • Build pathway database (visa programs)
  • Score 10 pilot countries deeply
  • Test with real user profiles

Data Sources

Safety Global Peace Index
Cost Numbeo + crowdsourced
Healthcare WHO + Numbeo
Internet Ookla Speedtest
English EF EPI
Passport Henley + GDP weighting
Stability World Bank Governance
Tax / Visa Manual research + official sources

Open questions

  • How granular on pathways? (5 per country? 10?)
  • City-level vs country-level?
  • How to handle climate? (removed but people care)