NavoyNostos

Ashgabat vs Mary (Turkmenistan)

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Ashgabat edges it, 38 to 34, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Ashgabat is stronger on air quality; Mary (Turkmenistan) on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 8.0 of 38 points (scores 64/100)Healthcare: 8.5 of 38 points (scores 68/100)Internet: 1.2 of 38 points (scores 10/100)Visa ease: 0.8 of 38 points (scores 6/100)Getting there & around: 1.6 of 38 points (scores 13/100)Climate: 5.2 of 38 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 5.3 of 38 points (scores 42/100)Quality of life: 7.6 of 38 points (scores 61/100)38
Ashgabat
out of 100

Marble showcase capital of one of the world's most closed countries

Full Ashgabat profile →Plan a trip to Ashgabat →
Safety: 8.0 of 34 points (scores 64/100)Healthcare: 8.5 of 34 points (scores 68/100)Internet: 1.1 of 34 points (scores 9/100)Visa ease: 0.8 of 34 points (scores 6/100)Getting there & around: 1.9 of 34 points (scores 15/100)Climate: 4.2 of 34 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 2.1 of 34 points (scores 17/100)Quality of life: 7.6 of 34 points (scores 61/100)34
Mary (Turkmenistan)
out of 100

Desert oasis city beside the ruins of ancient Merv

Full Mary (Turkmenistan) profile →Plan a trip to Mary (Turkmenistan) →

Where they differ

  • Air quality. Ashgabat leads on air quality, 42 to 17, against Mary (Turkmenistan). PM2.5: 31 µg/m³ vs 42.4 µg/m³.
  • Climate. Ashgabat leads on climate, 42 to 33, against Mary (Turkmenistan). Comfortable months: 5 vs 4.

Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, quality of life.

Pick Ashgabat if you want

  • cleaner air

Pick Mary (Turkmenistan) if you want

  • no clear edge over Ashgabat in the data

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety6464
Healthcare6868
Internet10 ✓9
Visa ease66
Getting there & around1315 ✓
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality42 ✓17
Quality of life6161

Cost

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Homicides per 100k3.43.4
Political stability (0–100)69.769.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)8181
Life expectancy69.3 yrs69.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Download1.7 Mbps ✓1.6 Mbps
Upload0.4 Mbps0.4 Mbps

Visa

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Non-stop airport destinations19 ✓3
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricAshgabatMary (Turkmenistan)
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.531 µg/m³ ✓42.4 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Ashgabat or Mary (Turkmenistan)?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Ashgabat or Mary (Turkmenistan) safer?
Ashgabat and Mary (Turkmenistan) score the same on safety (64), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Ashgabat or Mary (Turkmenistan)?
Ashgabat: a measured median of 1.7 Mbps versus 1.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.