Terms of Use

PortfolioAtlas is a free research tool. These terms cover what the site provides, how you may use our data, and what we do and do not promise.

Informational purposes only

Everything on this site - cost estimates, FIRE Numbers, backtest results, visa notes, and city ratings - is research and estimation for informational purposes only. It is not financial, tax, legal, or immigration advice. Costs vary with personal choices, exchange rates, and inflation, and visa rules change without notice. Consult qualified professionals before making relocation or retirement decisions.

Using our data

The PortfolioAtlas dataset (city cost estimates, FIRE Numbers, and scores) is our own research work. You are welcome to reference it: quote figures, cite city pages, and share links, with attribution to PortfolioAtlas and a link back to the page you used. What these terms do not permit is republishing the dataset in bulk, scraping it into a competing product, or reselling it. If you want to use the data beyond quotation and citation, ask us through the feedback form.

The historical market returns behind our backtests come from Robert Shiller's public dataset (1871-2022), used under the Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and License (ODC-PDDL). Our thanks to that project; its data remains public domain.

No warranties

The site is provided as-is. We work hard to keep figures current (each city page shows its data vintage), but we do not warrant that any figure is accurate, complete, or up to date, and we are not liable for decisions made from it. Past market performance does not guarantee future results.

Third-party services

The newsletter runs on Substack under Substack's own terms. Links to external sites are provided for convenience; we do not control and are not responsible for their content. How we handle your data is covered separately in our privacy policy.

Changes

If these terms change, we will update this page. Material changes will be noted on the blog.

Published July 8, 2026. Questions? Send us a note and include your email if you would like a reply.