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Iași vs Penang (George Town)

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Iași edges it, 67 to 66, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Iași is stronger on air quality; Penang (George Town) on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.0 of 67 points (scores 54/100)Safety: 8.1 of 67 points (scores 73/100)Healthcare: 7.6 of 67 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 10.0 of 67 points (scores 90/100)Visa ease: 7.7 of 67 points (scores 70/100)Getting there & around: 6.5 of 67 points (scores 58/100)Climate: 4.6 of 67 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 8.2 of 67 points (scores 74/100)Quality of life: 8.4 of 67 points (scores 76/100)67
Iași
out of 100

Romania's cultural capital with a fast-growing IT scene

Full Iași profile →Hotels in Romania →
Cost of living: 6.8 of 66 points (scores 61/100)Safety: 8.7 of 66 points (scores 78/100)Healthcare: 7.8 of 66 points (scores 71/100)Internet: 9.8 of 66 points (scores 88/100)Visa ease: 8.4 of 66 points (scores 76/100)Getting there & around: 5.4 of 66 points (scores 49/100)Climate: 3.7 of 66 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 7.1 of 66 points (scores 64/100)Quality of life: 8.0 of 66 points (scores 72/100)66
Penang (George Town)
out of 100

Street-food capital with heritage streets

Full Penang (George Town) profile →Where to stay in Penang (George Town) →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Cost of living5461 ✓
Safety7378 ✓
Healthcare6971 ✓
Internet90 ✓88
Visa ease7076 ✓
Getting there & around58 ✓49
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality74 ✓64
Quality of life76 ✓72

Cost

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Monthly cost, one person$1,178$974 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno data$450

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Homicides per 100k1.120.69 ✓
Political stability (0–100)69.271.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7780 ✓
Life expectancy72.8 yrs72.8 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Download108 Mbps ✓93.6 Mbps
Upload45.8 Mbps55.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Nomad visaDigital nomad long-stay visa (D/AS)DE Rantau Nomad Pass
Minimum income for the visa$5,787/mo$2,000/mo ✓
Entry, US passport90 days90 days
Entry, EU passportunlimited ✓90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Non-stop airport destinations2930 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)4 ✓3
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricIașiPenang (George Town)
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.516.6 µg/m³ ✓21.2 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Iași or Penang (George Town)?
Penang (George Town) is cheaper: about $974 per month versus $1,178 for one person.
Is Iași or Penang (George Town) safer?
Penang (George Town) scores higher on safety (78 vs 73), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Iași or Penang (George Town)?
Iași: a measured median of 108 Mbps versus 93.6 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); 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); 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.