First, let’s set some criteria here:

• “preferably English speaking or easy to navigate for an English speaker” = having more than 50% of English speaking population
• “High-speed internet (and very very reliable electricity/networking services)” = being among top 50% of countries here
• “Vegetarian-friendly” = being having more than 5% of vegetarians or being top 20 here

Currently, the countries meeting these criteria are Israel, Malaysia, Hungary, Czechia, Estonia, and Poland.

Now, let’s define a ‘Progressive society,’ recognizing its relativity. To avoid political discussions, I’ll establish the following criteria:

• No Countries that Criminalise LGBT People - not necessarily all marriages are legal, so I’m not being strict/very progressive here at all! - Malaysia is excluded due to this criterion, while the status of the other countries remains in a grey area…
• No countries where abortion are illegal with no exceptions - So, no Philippines anymore

While laws often reflect and influence societal moral values, the relationship is complex, with potential for both alignment and divergence based on cultural, individual, and evolving perspectives.

Having found no significant differences in other aspects among the remaining countries, the challenge now lies in figuring out how to survive in Israel, Hungary, Czechia, Estonia, and Poland with USD 10k

Finally, the city from one of the remaining countries with the best Numbeo’s Current Cost of Living Index is…Lublin, Poland!

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disclaimer: my country-picking method is as scientific as a cat’s decision to knock things off a table. If you’ve got better criteria or just want to share a laugh, join the party!