Living in Shimla, India
Shimla is a smaller inland city in Himachal Pradesh, India (under 250,000 people in the city proper). It has a mild climate, averaging 12°C over the year with about 1,427 mm of rain. We estimate a couple needs about €1,756 a month to live centrally, and India sits in our low to medium tax tier. For foreigners, long-term residency in India is hard to obtain.
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- Est. cost
- €1,756
- a month for a couple
- Tax tier
- Low to medium
- personal income tax
- Climate
- 12°C
- 1,427 mm rain a year
- Size
- Smaller
- under 250,000 people
- Safety
- 55/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~70 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
- Residency
- Hard to obtain
- for most foreigners
What stands out about Shimla
- More affordable than 100% of the cities we compare
- Long-term residency is hard to obtain
Cost of living
We estimate a couple needs about €1,756 a month to live centrally in Shimla, 36% below the €2,729 median across the 900 cities we compare. That makes it more affordable than 100% of them.
Source: OurNextCity model: a country-level cost index (New York = 100) scaled up for larger cities. An estimate for comparing cities, not a budget.
Residency and visas
Hard to obtain. India has no retirement or passive-income visa; realistic long-term routes are a sponsor-tied employment visa for skilled professionals or the high-bar Permanent Residency Status scheme for major investors, while X visas and OCI serve only those with Indian family or origin.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for India:
- Investment: about $1.1M (India Permanent Residency Status (PRS) for foreign investors, cheapest option INR 10 crore brought in within 18 months and also requires employing 20 resident Indians; INR 100,000,000 at ~95.2 INR/USD (June 2026); as of June 2026)
For short visits, 3 of 198 passports can enter visa-free, 160 can get an e-visa or visa on arrival and 35 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).
Healthcare
India scores 55 out of 100 for healthcare, stronger than 15% of the cities we compare.
Source: Our own country-level healthcare estimate (0 to 100), shared by every city in India.
Climate
Shimla averages 12°C across the year with about 1,427 mm of rain, which makes it mild and wet. It is warmer than 16% of the 1225 cities we track.
Source: Temperature from the Open-Meteo historical weather archive, daily means for 2019 to 2023; rainfall from TerraClimate (University of Idaho) 1991 to 2020 normals. Annual averages; monthly breakdowns are not in our dataset yet.
Internet and remote work
Median fixed broadband in India runs at about 70 Mbps, faster than 19% of the cities we compare.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, median fixed broadband download speed, country-level.
Safety and stability
India scores 55 out of 100 on safety, safer than 31% of the cities we compare. Its EIU Democracy Index score is 7.0 out of 10.
Source: Our own country-level safety estimate (0 to 100, higher is safer), shared by every city in India. Stability: EIU Democracy Index.
Language and culture
Main languages: Hindi, English. English proficiency: some. Social openness scores 55 out of 100.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index (country-level); social openness is our secularism and tolerance composite.
Taxes
India sits in our low to medium tax tier: moderate personal income tax. We use three tiers (zero or very low, low to medium, high) and apply them to every city in the country.
Taxes are a dealbreaker filter in OurNextCity: a couple who caps tax at zero or very low will not see Shimla in their results.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Country-level and coarse by design; not tax advice.
Questions couples ask about Shimla
Is Shimla a good place to live for couples?
It depends on what the two of you weigh most. Compared with the other cities we track, Shimla scores well on affordability. It is weaker on healthcare and internet speed. Expect a mild, wet climate (12°C average). OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Shimla and 914 other cities for both of you at once.
How much does it cost a couple to live in Shimla?
We estimate about €1,756 a month for a couple living centrally, 36% below the €2,729 median across the cities we compare. It is a model estimate from a country-level cost index adjusted for city size, so use it to compare cities rather than to set a budget.
What are taxes like in Shimla?
India is in our low to medium tax tier (moderate personal income tax). Tiers are country-level and deliberately coarse: zero or very low, low to medium, and high. Couples who make zero or very low tax a must-have will not see Shimla in their results.
Can foreigners live in India long term?
Our assessment: hard to obtain. India has no retirement or passive-income visa; realistic long-term routes are a sponsor-tied employment visa for skilled professionals or the high-bar Permanent Residency Status scheme for major investors, while X visas and OCI serve only those with Indian family or origin. The cheapest self-funded routes we track: investment, about $1.1M (as of 2026-06).
What is the weather like in Shimla?
Shimla averages 12°C across the year with about 1,427 mm of rain, which makes it mild and wet. It is warmer than 16% of the cities we track.
Cities like Shimla
Closest matches in other countries across climate, size, coast, cost, safety, healthcare, internet, language and politics.
Near Shimla
Moving to India as a couple
Entry, residency, taxes and costs for a couple who both hold one of these passports.