AI generatedn° 870, middle east
Shiraz, iran.
For travellers who can read a Hafez line and want Persepolis without a Tehran detour. Skip if you need summer travel, card payments, or unguided access on a US/UK/Canadian passport.
- cost / mo
- $1,090
- internet
- 35 Mbps
- visa-free · eu
- 15 days
the scores
Four scores, seven components each.
Each ring is a weighted blend, click any of them to see the seven components that produce it.
your monthly budget
default $700–$4,500 range · drag to personalize
score priority
balanced weighting, cost 25%, infra 40%, lifestyle 35%
weighted blends of cost, internet, safety, climate, english, visa & social density. Default cost band: $700–$4,500/mo. 53% data coverage. Each ring is clickable, see exactly why a city scored what it did.
monthly cost · estimate
$1,090/mo
Component-level data not yet collected for this city.
in one sentence · curated
Hand-written by the ExpatWhy editorial team.
Shiraz is where medieval Persian poetry actually lived, Hafez and Saadi are buried here, and a 60-kilometre bus reaches the ruins of Persepolis.
editorial
The case & the friction.
ExpatWhy editorial
Rooms in the Zand or Karim Khan districts run 50-110 million IRR/night ($70-155 open-market), monthly rentals near the Quran Gate around 90-180 million IRR/month ($130-260). The Tomb of Hafez is the city's social centre, Iranians come at sunset to read his Divan aloud. The Tomb of Saadi is quieter. Nasir al-Mulk's stained glass throws coloured light onto carpets between roughly 7 and 9 a.m., arrive at opening or skip it. Eram Garden is the UNESCO Persian-garden archetype. Persepolis, the Achaemenid capital Alexander burned, sits 60km northeast, half-day trip with a driver.
Friction: summer is brutal. June-August routinely hits 38-42°C and Persepolis offers zero shade. November to March is mild but rain-prone and Persepolis tour buses are sparse. Mid-March to mid-May (around Nowruz, when domestic tourism spikes and hotels double) and October are the working windows, book ahead for Nowruz.
Visa: 30-day VOA for many EU passports at SYZ airport, $75-150. US, UK, Canadian passports need pre-approved tour visa with guide. Cash only, sarafis in the Vakil Bazaar area. English is decent in Karim Khan citadel cafes.
verdict
For travellers who can read a Hafez line and want Persepolis without a Tehran detour. Skip if you need summer travel, card payments, or unguided access on a US/UK/Canadian passport.
work & connectivity
Getting work done.
work-friendly density · OSM
Sparse for laptop work.
coworking spaces
0
wifi cafés
8
In practice: Light infrastructure (0 coworking, 8 wifi cafés on OSM), bring a fast local SIM as your fallback, and pick accommodation with a proper desk.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · Overpass API · ODbL 1.0 · 2026-07-09
when to visit
Twelve months of weather.
best month
May
Visit in May, 22°C, only 39mm of rain.
Off-season February–March, weather turns to 8°C and 36mm of rain, and hotel rates typically drop 20–40% from peak.
temperaturerainfallcurrent monthbest month
air quality · 12 months verified
When the air turns.
Hourly PM2.5 averaged by calendar month from Copernicus CAMS satellite data, window 2025-07-08 → 2026-07-07. WHO annual guideline is 5 µg/m³.
annual mean
28.2µg/m³
Unhealthy (sens.)
worst month
Nov · 33 µg/m³
Unhealthy (sens.)
cleanest month
Jun · 24 µg/m³
Moderate
annual swing
9 µg/m³
Stable year-round
Cleanest air in June (24 µg/m³); worst in November (33 µg/m³).
Annual mean 28.2 µg/m³ is unhealthy for sensitive groups, pack a mask for the November spike, and consider an air purifier if you stay long-term.
Source: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) via Open-Meteo Air Quality API · CC-BY 4.0. Modelled, not measured at a station: near coasts CAMS counts sea salt as PM2.5 and reads high against ground networks. Read the curve, not the absolute.
natural risk
The numbers other sites don't show.
seismic risk · 50 yr · 200 km
Moderate seismic exposure.
M5+ events
104
M6+ events
5
largest
M6.4
Largest recorded: M6.4 in 2013.
In practice: Real seismic exposure (104 M5+ and 5 M6+ in 50 years), long stays should factor in earthquake insurance, building age, and a basic preparedness kit.
Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog (public domain) · counted within 200 km, last 50 years.
tropical storms · 46 yr · 200 km
Outside the cyclone belt.
named storms
0
cat 1+ hurricanes
0
In practice: No tropical storms tracked within 200 km in 46 years, no storm-season window to plan around.
Source: NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 (public domain) · unique storm IDs within 200 km since 1980.
–Shiraz is where medieval Persian poetry actually lived, Hafez and Saadi are buried here, and a 60-kilometre bus reaches the ruins of Persepolis.
quality of life
LGBTQ+ legal protections rank in the bottom decile globally, verify your situation before settling.
0.7
/10
Velasco LGBT+ Policy Index (OWID), country-level, varies by neighborhood
Velasco LGBT+ Policy Index
Asher & Lyric Index 2024
ERA5 reanalysis · 12-mo derived
derived from monthly rainfall
vs Berlin 09–17 · Asia/Tehran
–For travellers who can read a Hafez line and want Persepolis without a Tehran detour. Skip if you need summer travel, card payments, or unguided access on a US/UK/Canadian passport.
ExpatWhy editorial
what to know
Pros & cons.
pros
- Budget-friendly for solo nomads
cons
- Slow average internet speeds
- Short visa-free stay (<60 days for EU)
visa & stay
How long can you stay?
- digital nomad visa
- No, not yet
- visa-free for EU passport
- 15 days
- visa-free for US passport
- –
visa figures as of August 2026 · verify with official immigration sources before traveling
before you go
What to plan around.
Drawn only from the verified figures on this page, the things worth knowing before you book.
US passport: visa needed before arrival
US passports need a visa arranged in advance, there is no visa-free entry to plan around.
EU passport: short visa-free window, 15 days
EU passports get 15 visa-free days. For a longer stay, plan an extension or a border run before day 15.
Seismically active region
5 quakes of M6+ within 200 km over 50 years (strongest M6.4). Know your building's earthquake rating before signing a lease.
compare side-by-side
Shiraz versus three popular alternatives.
you might also like
Where to go next.
Closer on the map, closer on the wallet, or closer on the way it feels.
closest on the wallet
Other budget cities, different continent.
Same band as Shiraz, budget (under $1,500/mo), outside middle east.
asia
8.4Osaka, japan.
A budget asia option with workable visa-free EU access.
asia
8.3Kyoto, japan.
A budget asia option with workable visa-free EU access.
asia
8.3Fukuoka, japan.
A budget asia option with workable visa-free EU access.
closest on the way it feels
Same wellbeing, different climate.
Cities that score like Shiraz on quality-of-life but trade arid for something else.
north america
7.0Savannah, united states.
A mid-tier north america option with workable visa-free EU access.
asia
6.9Ayutthaya, thailand.
A budget asia option with a nomad-visa pathway.
asia
6.9Hyderabad, india.
A budget asia option with limited visa-free access.
frequently asked
Shiraz, honest answers.
- How much does it cost to live in Shiraz per month?
- Solo monthly burn in Shiraz is estimated around $1,090, covering a central 1-bedroom, food, mobile, utilities, transit, and a small coworking allowance. This is a pipeline estimate; rent verified for cities marked with the ✓ badge.
- What visa do I need to live in Shiraz?
- EU passports get 15 days visa-free; US passports get – days. Longer stays require a residence permit or remote-worker visa, verify at the country's official immigration site.
- How is the air quality in Shiraz?
- Annual PM2.5 averages 28 µg/m³ (Copernicus CAMS satellite data), which unhealthy for sensitive groups, plan around the worst months. The 12-month curve on this page shows the seasonal swing, many cities have a sharp burning season or winter inversion that doesn't show in the annual number.
- When is the best time to visit Shiraz?
- May typically scores best on our combined comfort index, average temperature 22°C, low rainfall, high sunshine. Each city's Climate Chart on this page shows the full 12-month picture.
- Are there earthquakes in Shiraz?
- Yes, the USGS catalog records 104 M5+ earthquakes and 5 M6+ within 200 km over the last 50 years. The largest was M6.4 in 2013. Modern buildings in major cities are engineered for this; factor it into long-stay decisions.
Every answer is built from this city's verified pipeline data, Copernicus CAMS, USGS, NOAA IBTrACS, country tax authorities, EF EPI, Asher & Lyric, OpenStreetMap. No marketing copy.
where it is
Shiraz on the map.
Shiraz, Iran, Middle East.
29.5926, 52.5836
Map tiles & data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
primary sources · click to verify
Every number on this page comes from somewhere.
- ppp-estimate:region-base-rent (Middle East)
- internet-speed:regional-fallback (Middle East)
- Copernicus CAMS· CC-BY 4.0Air quality: Copernicus CAMS via Open-Meteo Air Quality API (CC-BY 4.0)
- OpenStreetMap· ODbL 1.0OpenStreetMap contributors (Overpass API, ODbL)
- Open-Meteo (ERA5)· CC-BY 4.0open-meteo.com (current + 2024 archive)
We aggregate from public primary sources only. Composite scores (nomad / solo / family / wellbeing) are derived using our own formula, see methodology. Full license map at /LICENSES.md.
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