NavoyNostos

Baguio vs Semarang

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Baguio edges it, 54 to 51, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Baguio is stronger on climate, internet, quality of life; Semarang on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.1 of 54 points (scores 55/100)Safety: 5.3 of 54 points (scores 47/100)Healthcare: 6.0 of 54 points (scores 54/100)Internet: 7.0 of 54 points (scores 63/100)Visa ease: 6.5 of 54 points (scores 58/100)Getting there & around: 5.2 of 54 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 5.6 of 54 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 5.6 of 54 points (scores 50/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 54 points (scores 58/100)54
Baguio
out of 100

Cool mountain city of the Philippine highlands

Full Baguio profile →Where to stay in Baguio →
Cost of living: 6.7 of 51 points (scores 60/100)Safety: 7.4 of 51 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 51 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 5.3 of 51 points (scores 48/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 51 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 4.6 of 51 points (scores 41/100)Climate: 3.7 of 51 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 5.9 of 51 points (scores 53/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 51 points (scores 45/100)51
Semarang
out of 100

Central Java's port capital with a restored Dutch old town

Full Semarang profile →Where to stay in Semarang →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricBaguioSemarang
Cost of living5560 ✓
Safety4767 ✓
Healthcare5456 ✓
Internet63 ✓48
Visa ease58 ✓54
Getting there & around47 ✓41
Climate50 ✓33
Air quality5053 ✓
Quality of life58 ✓45

Cost

MetricBaguioSemarang
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,150$1,000 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricBaguioSemarang
Homicides per 100k4.310.41 ✓
Political stability (0–100)5152.7 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)69 ✓67
Life expectancy66.4 yrs68.3 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBaguioSemarang
Download23.1 Mbps ✓11.4 Mbps
Upload18.7 Mbps ✓5.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricBaguioSemarang
Nomad visaDigital nomad visa (DNV)Remote worker visa (E33G)
Minimum income for the visano data$5,000/mo
Entry, US passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, EU passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓
Entry, UK passport30 daysvisa on arrival ✓

Getting there and around

MetricBaguioSemarang
Non-stop airport destinations24 ✓14
Walkability (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)23 ✓

Climate and air

MetricBaguioSemarang
Comfortable months per year6 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.527.3 µg/m³26.3 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Baguio or Semarang?
Semarang is cheaper: about $1,000 per month versus $1,150 for one person.
Is Baguio or Semarang safer?
Semarang scores higher on safety (67 vs 47), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Baguio or Semarang?
Baguio: a measured median of 23.1 Mbps versus 11.4 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.