NavoyNostos

La Paz vs Puerto Varas

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Puerto Varas edges it, 53 to 45, winning 6 of the 9 factors. La Paz is stronger on nothing outright; Puerto Varas on healthcare, quality of life, internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.2 of 45 points (scores 58/100)Healthcare: 6.5 of 45 points (scores 52/100)Internet: 6.8 of 45 points (scores 55/100)Visa ease: 5.3 of 45 points (scores 42/100)Getting there & around: 5.7 of 45 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 0.0 of 45 points (scores 0/100)Air quality: 7.1 of 45 points (scores 57/100)Quality of life: 6.7 of 45 points (scores 54/100)45
La Paz
out of 100

Seat of government at 3,600 m with cable cars across the sky

Full La Paz profile →Where to stay in La Paz →
Cost of living: 4.5 of 53 points (scores 41/100)Safety: 6.3 of 53 points (scores 56/100)Healthcare: 9.1 of 53 points (scores 82/100)Internet: 7.3 of 53 points (scores 66/100)Visa ease: 5.1 of 53 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 4.2 of 53 points (scores 38/100)Climate: 0.9 of 53 points (scores 8/100)Air quality: 7.4 of 53 points (scores 66/100)Quality of life: 8.3 of 53 points (scores 74/100)53
Puerto Varas
out of 100

German-settled lake town with volcano views, gateway to Chilean Patagonia

Full Puerto Varas profile →Where to stay in Puerto Varas →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Cost of livingno data41
Safety58 ✓56
Healthcare5282 ✓
Internet5566 ✓
Visa ease4246 ✓
Getting there & around45 ✓38
Climate08 ✓
Air quality5766 ✓
Quality of life5474 ✓

Cost

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,650
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Homicides per 100k3.65 ✓6.11
Political stability (0–100)62.768.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)6784 ✓
Life expectancy65.4 yrs79 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Download15.8 Mbps27.2 Mbps ✓
Upload8.9 Mbps18.7 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓
Entry, EU passport90 days90 days
Entry, UK passport90 days90 days

Getting there and around

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Non-stop airport destinations13 ✓6
Walkability (1–5, editorial)24 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)4 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricLa PazPuerto Varas
Comfortable months per year01 ✓
Annual mean PM2.524.3 µg/m³20.1 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, La Paz or Puerto Varas?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is La Paz or Puerto Varas safer?
La Paz scores higher on safety (58 vs 56), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, La Paz or Puerto Varas?
Puerto Varas: a measured median of 27.2 Mbps versus 15.8 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); 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.