How NoodlePants Works — Data Sources & Methodology
Where every number comes from, and how often it updates.
1. Our data sources
Open Exchange Rates
Used for: Live exchange rates displayed on every country page.
Update frequency: Every hour
World Bank Open Data
Used for: Inflation (CPI), savings rates, GDP per capita, mortgage rates, purchasing power parity.
Update frequency: Annual (World Bank publishes annually)
IMF World Economic Outlook
Used for: Macro economic projections, inflation forecasts.
Update frequency: Twice yearly (April and October)
Numbeo
Used for: Cost of living index, average rent, restaurant prices, grocery prices, local purchasing power.
Update frequency: Quarterly (we update our dataset every 3 months)
Official Immigration Portals
Used for: Visa types, income requirements, validity periods, renewal conditions, path to PR.
Update frequency: Reviewed every 90 days and whenever official immigration policy changes
Source: Direct from each country's official immigration authority
travel-advisory.info
Used for: Travel advisory ratings and safety scores.
Update frequency: Real-time (pulled live from the API on page load)
2. How the NoodlePants COL Index is calculated
The NoodlePants COL Index is a single number from 0–100 that represents the relative cost of living in a country compared to New York City (which scores 100). A score of 35 means living costs are approximately 65% lower than New York.
It is a weighted composite of these everyday expenses:
- Rent — 1BR city centre35%
- Monthly grocery basket25%
- Local transport15%
- Average restaurant meal15%
- Utilities (elec, water, internet)10%
All prices are converted to USD at the current exchange rate before comparison. The index is recalculated quarterly when we update our underlying Numbeo dataset.
3. How the NoodlePants Match Score is calculated
The Match Score (shown in the quiz results and match engine) is personalised to your inputs and is not the same as the COL Index. Each factor is weighted differently depending on the goal you picked in onboarding or the quiz.
Cost of living vs your income
Higher weight if you said "lower cost of living" is your main goal.
Visa availability for your nationality
We assume an international, English-speaking audience by default.
Digital nomad infrastructure
Internet speed and coworking availability.
Safety score
Based on travel-advisory.info data.
English proficiency
How easy day-to-day life is in English.
Proximity to your home country
Optional weighting if you flagged it during onboarding.
4. What we don't do
NoodlePants is a data comparison tool, not a financial advisor or immigration consultant. We display national averages — your actual costs will vary by city, neighbourhood, lifestyle and circumstances. Visa rules change frequently — always verify with the official immigration authority of your target country before making any decisions. We are not responsible for decisions made based on our data.
5. Data freshness indicators
Every country page shows a "Last reviewed" date. Our team reviews all country data quarterly. If you notice a data error, you can report it using the feedback button on any country page.
6. Missing a country?
We currently cover 150+ countries. If a country you're looking for isn't listed, it's because we don't yet have sufficient reliable data to display meaningful comparisons. We're expanding our coverage regularly. Contact us at hello@noodlepants.com to request a country.