Tulungagung vs Foshan: Which City Wins for Expats in 2026?
Foshan ranks meaningfully higher on safety. Use our tool below to personalize the estimate based on your income and lifestyle.
Tulungagung is approximately 3% less expensive than Foshan based on cost of living including rent. This makes Tulungagung a more budget-friendly option for expats considering a move.
Tulungagung has a FIRE Score of N/A/100, indicating its suitability for financial independence and early retirement. The city's safety index is 63, which is relatively safe.
Recommended profile: Tulungagung is well-suited for retirees seeking a balanced lifestyle.
About Tulungagung
Tulungagung is a cheap small town, not a cheap city with big-city comforts: $288/mo for a one-bedroom in the center and $1 restaurant meals sound unbeatable until you see a local average net salary of $112/mo and an expat score of 53/100. The budget tier lands at $342/mo, but the $2,000/mo income floor on both the Indonesia Retirement Visa (KITAS) and the Indonesia Remote Worker Visa (E33G) means you must earn like a foreigner to live here legally. Limited English, fair healthcare, and 19 Mbps internet make daily life workable but not frictionless, and the digital nomad score of 46/100 tells you this is not a remote-work hub. Come for the low rent and the dry season from June to September, stay only if you can tolerate a 65-thousand-person town where your money goes far but your options do not.
About Indonesia
Skip this if you need English-speaking doctors or a fast path to citizenship, both weak here. But budget retirees can live well on $429.70/mo excl. rent plus sub-$320 rent, and the $2,000/mo Retirement KITAS is achievable. Best suited for low-cost-focused retirees, not remote workers facing the $387/mo nomad visa threshold.
$2,542/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
About Foshan
Foshan is a budget traveler's dream, with a comfortable single-person lifestyle costing just $691 a month and a local salary of $804 that actually covers it. The city is incredibly safe, with a crime index of 20, and offers excellent healthcare, but the limited English proficiency and a mediocre air quality index of 68 are real drawbacks. It's a no-frills, practical choice for cost-conscious expats, not a playground for digital nomads or retirees seeking luxury.
About China
China works for remote workers and business expats fluent in navigating bureaucracy, not retirees seeking an easy landing. Rent outside the city center averages just $238.5/mo, backing the low COL index of 30.7. But with no retirement visa, no digital nomad visa, and an advisory level of 2, getting legal footing here is the real obstacle, not the budget.
$2,499/mo
Cost of Living (Without Rent)
Rent Per Month
Attractiveness
City Details
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| Metric | Tulungagung | Foshan |
|---|---|---|
| 1BR Apartment (Center) | $288.33 | $298.3 |
| 1BR Apartment (Outside) | $198.23 | $160.34 |
| 3BR Apartment (Center) | N/A | $596.61 |
| 3BR Apartment (Outside) | N/A | $346.78 |
| Safety Index | 63 | 80 |
| Internet Speed | 18.7Mbps | 60Mbps |
| Walkability Score | N/A | N/A |
Monthly cost by categoryOne person, computed from each city's own average prices
| Category | Tulungagung | Foshan |
|---|---|---|
| Total (rent included) | N/A | $539/mo |
| Excluding rent | N/A | $379/mo |
| Rent | N/A | $160/mo |
| Groceries | N/A | $104/mo |
| Dining out | N/A | $37.00/mo |
| Entertainment & lifestyle | N/A | $119/mo |
| Utilities & connectivity | N/A | $109/mo |
| Transport | N/A | $10.00/mo |
Usage-based estimates from this city's own average prices. A row marked N/A means that city is missing data, so no figure is shown instead of a stale one.
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