NavoyNostos

Almaty vs Arugam Bay

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Arugam Bay edges it, 57 to 53, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Almaty is stronger on nothing outright; Arugam Bay on climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.6 of 53 points (scores 61/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 53 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 4.9 of 53 points (scores 39/100)Visa ease: 7.5 of 53 points (scores 60/100)Getting there & around: 8.0 of 53 points (scores 64/100)Climate: 0.0 of 53 points (scores 0/100)Air quality: 8.3 of 53 points (scores 67/100)Quality of life: 7.6 of 53 points (scores 61/100)53
Almaty
out of 100

Mountain-backed city on the Silk Road

Full Almaty profile →Where to stay in Almaty →
Cost of living: 7.9 of 57 points (scores 71/100)Safety: 7.0 of 57 points (scores 63/100)Healthcare: 8.0 of 57 points (scores 72/100)Internet: 4.4 of 57 points (scores 39/100)Visa ease: 7.1 of 57 points (scores 64/100)Getting there & around: 6.1 of 57 points (scores 55/100)Climate: 2.8 of 57 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 8.3 of 57 points (scores 74/100)Quality of life: 5.8 of 57 points (scores 52/100)57
Arugam Bay
out of 100

Sri Lanka's surf capital, a single beach road on the east coast

Full Arugam Bay profile →Where to stay in Arugam Bay →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Cost of livingno data71
Safety6163 ✓
Healthcare6972 ✓
Internet3939 ✓
Visa ease6064 ✓
Getting there & around64 ✓55
Climate025 ✓
Air quality6774 ✓
Quality of life61 ✓52

Cost

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$750
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Homicides per 100k2.552.51 ✓
Political stability (0–100)6264.9 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)83 ✓72
Life expectancy70.3 yrs77.2 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Download6.6 Mbps7.8 Mbps ✓
Upload4.7 Mbps ✓2.5 Mbps

Visa

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Nomad visaNeo Nomad visa (B12-1)Digital nomad visa
Minimum income for the visa$3,000/mo$2,000/mo ✓
Entry, US passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, EU passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, UK passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓

Getting there and around

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Non-stop airport destinations83 ✓55
Walkability (1–5, editorial)34 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricAlmatyArugam Bay
Comfortable months per year03 ✓
Annual mean PM2.520 µg/m³16.5 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Almaty or Arugam Bay?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Almaty or Arugam Bay safer?
Arugam Bay scores higher on safety (63 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Almaty or Arugam Bay?
Arugam Bay: a measured median of 7.8 Mbps versus 6.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.