Asia-Plus hits the streets with a simple question—and gets a wide range of answers.  How much money does it take to live a month without stress in Dushanbe?

That’s the question Asia-Plus posed to residents of the capital in a recent street interview. And as it turns out, the “price of peace of mind” varies greatly from person to person.

Some respondents said 4,000 to 5,000 somonis is enough to cover their basic needs, while others claimed that true comfort requires no less than 50,000 somonis a month.  A few even dreamed of earning millions.

Then there were those who took a more philosophical stance, insisting that money isn’t the answer to everything.

The video survey reflects the diverse financial realities—and mindsets—of people living in Dushanbe today.

Meanwhile, livingcost.org says the average cost of living in Dushanbe is US$697, which is in the top 23% of the least expensive cities in the world, ranked 7134th out of 9294 in our global list and 1st out of 10 in Tajikistan.

The median after-tax salary is US$208, which is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months.

Ranked 7217th (TOP 78%) in the list of best places to live in the world and 1st best city to live in Tajikistan.  With an estimated population of 863K, Dushanbe is the 1st largest city in Tajikistan.

Why living in Dushanbe costs 3.4 times more than the average salary? Because we have a developed country lifestyle as a reference and in some least developed countries maintaining such a standard of living is hard and expensive.  Thus, living costs in Dushanbe for locals and expats differ significantly.