NavoyNostos

Arugam Bay vs Karakol

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Arugam Bay edges it, 57 to 53, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Arugam Bay is stronger on quality of life; Karakol on visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

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 →
Safety: 7.1 of 52 points (scores 57/100)Healthcare: 8.3 of 52 points (scores 66/100)Internet: 5.2 of 52 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 9.3 of 52 points (scores 75/100)Getting there & around: 6.3 of 52 points (scores 51/100)Climate: 2.1 of 52 points (scores 17/100)Air quality: 9.3 of 52 points (scores 75/100)Quality of life: 4.8 of 52 points (scores 38/100)53
Karakol
out of 100

Trekking and ski base at the east end of Issyk-Kul, in the Tian Shan

Full Karakol profile →Where to stay in Karakol →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Cost of living71no data
Safety63 ✓57
Healthcare72 ✓66
Internet3942 ✓
Visa ease6475 ✓
Getting there & around55 ✓51
Climate25 ✓17
Air quality7475 ✓
Quality of life52 ✓38

Cost

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$750no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Homicides per 100k2.51 ✓4.7
Political stability (0–100)64.965.3 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7274 ✓
Life expectancy77.2 yrs ✓72.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Download7.8 Mbps ✓7.1 Mbps
Upload2.5 Mbps7.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Nomad visaDigital nomad visaDigital Nomad status (DN visa)
Minimum income for the visa$2,000/mo$417/mo ✓
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Non-stop airport destinations55 ✓37
Walkability (1–5, editorial)44
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricArugam BayKarakol
Comfortable months per year3 ✓2
Annual mean PM2.516.5 µg/m³16.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Arugam Bay or Karakol?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Arugam Bay or Karakol safer?
Arugam Bay scores higher on safety (63 vs 57), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Arugam Bay or Karakol?
Arugam Bay: a measured median of 7.8 Mbps versus 7.1 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); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); 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.