These are the standards I’m using to rate the cost of living and quality of life in each city that I visit, listed in order of importance. A handful (rent, health care, crime, pollution) are derived from online data compiled by Numbeo; I will assign the other rankings based on my personal observations. I use a 0-10 scale, with 0 being worst and 10 best. In cases where I don’t have the data I need to rank a city in a particular category, I will use a nearby city as a proxy. I’ve included my ratings of Washington, D.C. as a reference. The Numbeo data on D.C. was current as of 7 April 2018.

1. Rent. This is based on the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center. Of course, there are many other living expenses besides rent, but I don’t have good data on those for all of the cities I’m visiting. Washington, D.C.: 1.0
2. Walkability. The city should have a compact, walkable downtown. People, not cars, should rule. Pedestrian-only boulevards add points here. Washington, D.C.: 7
3. Dating. This rating is principally a measure of the number of beautiful, available women in my target age range. It also takes into account how progressive the culture’s view of sex and relationships is. Washington, D.C.: 8
4. Food. I’m looking for plenty of delicious, cheap food. As a single guy and solo traveler, I’m more interested in street food, take-away, and fast food than I am in sit-down restaurants. Washington, D.C.: 4
5. Ambience. This is a measure of the pleasantness of the place. Things like beautiful architecture, sidewalk cafes and restaurants with great people-watching, parks, local flavor, and general cleanliness add points. Freeways through the middle of downtown, grime, and homeless beggars subtract points. Washington, D.C.: 4
6. Mass Transit. Public transportation should be extensive, cheap, reliable, and safe. Washington, D.C.: 6
7. Health Care. This rating takes into account the quality, convenience, and cost of medical care. Washington, D.C.: 6.1
8. Nature. Ideally, the city should be situated within easy walking, biking, or public transportation distance of hiking trails, national parks or extensive city parks, lakes, and the like. I’m a fan of mountains, so any city with steep, hikeable hills nearby earns extra points here. Washington, D.C.: 3
9. Internet. I’m looking for fast, reliable, and extensive public wi-fi, and also fast, reliable, and cheap home internet service. Washington, D.C.: 8
10. Crime. If I am the victim of any crimes while traveling, I might alter this statistic manually. Otherwise, I based this ranking on online data. Washington, D.C.: 3.8
    
11. Language. Wherever I end up settling down, I’ll want to learn the local language. This ranking is based on my best guess at how easy or hard it would be for me to communicate in the primary language, ranging from 0 (non-Indo-European language that uses a non-Latin script) to 10 (native language English). Cities where English is widely spoken as a second language get extra points here. Washington, D.C.: 10
12. Bikeability. Drivers should be used to sharing the roads with cyclists. There should be many designated bicycle lanes and bike paths. Also the city should have a public bike-sharing program (or several). Washington, D.C.: 8
13. Friendliness. This is a measure both of the general friendliness and politeness of the people and of the culture’s acceptance of foreigners, immigrants, and minorities. Lots of honking car horns cost a city points. Washington, D.C.: 4
14. Pollution. Washington, D.C.: 6.9

You’ll notice there are some criteria (climate, traffic, noise, schools, employment opportunities, natural disasters, scary critters, etc.) that didn’t make my list, either because they don’t apply to me, I’m not going to worry about them right now, or I just don’t care. After my trip, when I get down to thinking about where I’d like to move, I’ll consider nationwide factors like fiscal sustainability, environmental sustainability, and the overall level of political or ideological stupidity. In general, I’m attracted to places that are different from the country (USA) and city (Washington, D.C.) that I’m leaving. Countries that aren’t running up huge budget deficits, that aren’t run by hateful, greedy, shortsighted ideologues, and that aren’t particularly religious are appealing to me, as are cities that aren’t super touristy, aren’t national capitals, and don’t live and breathe politics.